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Endurance and Triumph
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Charleston. When South Carolina’s capital fell in May 1780, more than
5,000 American soldiers were taken prisoner.
Confident now that the southern strategy would succeed, Clinton soon
returned to New York City. He left General Charles Cornwallis in charge
of finishing the campaign. Cornwallis was to consolidate control over
South Carolina, then take North Carolina. After that, he would march
into Virginia. British control of Virginia, the most populous state, might
spell the end of the Revolution.
Ignoring the wishes of George Washington, Congress appointed General
Horatio Gates to command the Continental Army’s Southern Department.
American and French soldiers attack the British fortifications at Savannah, Georgia, in October
1779. However, the siege of Savannah failed to drive out the British, and by August 1780 the
British held a strong position in the southern colonies.
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