Eshan Shetty
Ms.Treybal
English 1
November 27, 2018
America's Greatest Defeat
The Siege of Charleston and its effects on the US
3,000 soldiers imprisoned and killed for fighting for what they believed in(History.com). This was the result of The Siege of Charleston. In 1780 Britain marched onto Charleston to capture it. It led to one of the most influential battles of the Revolutionary War. The Siege of Charleston caused tragedy over triumph. The tragedy was for the American side through the number of Continental troops and supplies captured, and the Continental army in the South was crippled. On the British side, they were able to triumph by capturing Charleston.
After losing major battles in the North, the British decided to set their sights on the South and work their way up from there. The British needed to create a base of operation in South Carolina and decided to attempt to capture Charleston (Mount Vernon.Org). The British had already tried to capture Charleston once before but were stopped and defeated at Fort Moultrie.
During the 1770s America rebelled from Britain for its independence. Battles had been fought across the East Coast to determine who would control America, the people or the King. “The French engaged in a global struggle for empire with the Engish since the end of the 17th century”(A Gallant Defense). The French realized the power of the Continental Army because they had defeated the worlds strongest country in multiple battles. After winning the Battle of
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Saratoga the French joined in to help the Continental Army and defeat the British.
The two commanders of this battle are General Sir Henry Clinton for the British and Major General Benjamin Lincoln for the Continental Army. Clinton marched onto Charleston with a force of 13,000 British and Hessian (German Mercenaries) men while Lincoln stayed with his 2,500 soldiers in Charleston to defend it (MountVernon.org).
On March 29 the British began to bombard Charleston killing soldiers and destroying businesses (Revolutionary War and Beyond). The Continental Army was at a disadvantage because they lacked a strong navy. They only had 6 ships at the siege while the British had 14 warships. The British used this to their advantage by blocking off the port and cutting off supplies. Lincoln called for a surrender where the British would take Charleston and the Continental Army would be allowed to leave Charleston. Clinton refused the surrender and on May 11 the British fired a red-hot shot( A heated cannonball) at Charleston to scare them into surrendering. On May 12 the Continental Army finally surrendered. The British captured 3,000 men, “311 artillery pieces, 9178 artillery rounds, 5916 muskets, 33,000 rounds of ammunition, 212 hand grenades 15 regimental colors, 49 ships, and 120 boats, plus 376 barrels of flour, and large magazines of rum, rice, and indigo”(Revolutionary war.us). After the battle, the British
stored the muskets and gunpowder into a gunpowder magazine ( A place where gunpowder is stored), the British did not unload the muskets beforehand and one went off detonating all the gunpowder killing 200 people and destroying six homes(RevolutionaryWar.US). After the battle, many soldiers would die of sickness in prison before they ever got their freedom.
The tragedy was for the American side due to the number of soldiers captured and the
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fact that the army left in the South was crippled. Without the men and supplies in Charleston, the Southern army was left with low supplies and manpower, while the British now had a stronghold in the South and 3,000 patriots locked up. Without these men and supplies, the Continental Army began to lose many battles in the South such as the Battle of Waxhaws (RevolutionaryWar.US). Lieutenant Governor Christopher Gadsen of Charleston insisted the troops stay in the city. The citizens of Charleston were willing to live on rice alone(A Gallant Defense). Gadsen also threatened to open the gates for the British and let them attack the Continental soldiers if Lincoln left the city. General Lincoln was very concerned about the people’s opinion. “In abandoning their capital he risked losing their faith in him as their commander and their support for the cause of independence”(A Gallant Defense). Lincoln blamed himself for the loss of Charleston.
The British were able to triumph by capturing Charleston and its resources. With the British in control of Charleston, they now had a new home base in the South from which they used to import and export supplies. They also were able to capture a large number of supplies during the siege such as boats, artillery, and cash crops like rice and indigo. Carl Borik an employee at the Museum of Charleston stated: “The British victory gave them a foothold from which to begin their conquest of the southern states”(A Gallant Defense). Even though the British triumphed, the policies and behavior of the British soldiers to the people of the South made it difficult for them to win over the people.
Immediate impacts of the Siege of Charleston included a dramatic decrease in the size of the Continental Army. In addition, the British army was able to dominate the South. With the lack
of supplies, the Patriots lost more battles in the South and began to lose control of the South.
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With Charleston captured, the British were able to increase the size of their army and gain more supplies.
Due to General Clinton denying the Patriots honors of war after the Siege of Charleston, General George Washington, Commander of the Patriots, denied honors of war to the Britsh after the Battle of Yorktown where the Patriots triumphed and defeated the British and ended the Revolutionary War. In 1780 Britain marched onto Charleston to capture it. It led to one of the most influential battles of the Revolutionary War. The Siege of Charleston caused tragedy over triumph. The tragedy was for the American side through the amount of US troops captured and killed. The US army in the South was crippled. The British on the other hand were able to triumph by capturing Charleston. After Britain set its sights on Charleston during the Revolutionary War they marched on Charleston and began to conquer capturing over 3,000 Continental troops along with Charleston. This led to the Continental Army having an extremely weak military in the South and Britain controlling Charleston and its resources. The Siege of Charleston was a decisive battle which became one of the greatest losses in American History. But History also shows that the Britsh were not able to break the American spirit. On October 19, 1781, the Britsh were defeated and were forced out of North America.