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History affords but few instances of commanders, who have achieved so much with equal means, as was done by General Greene in the short space of a twelvemonth. He opened the campaign with gloomy prospects, but closed it with glory. His unpaid and half-naked army had to contend with veteran soldiers, supplied with every thing that the wealth of Britain or the plunder of Carolina could procure. Under all these disadvantages, he compelled superior numbers to retire from the extremity of the state, and confine themselves in the capital and its vicinity. Had not his mind been of the firmest texture, he would have been discouraged; but his enemies found him as formidable on the evening of a defeat, as on the morning after a victory.

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CAMPAIGN OF 1781-OPERATIONS IN VIRGINIA-CORN-
WALLIS CAPTURED-NEW LONDON DESTROYED.

T has already been mentioned that Lord Cornwallis, soon after the battle of Guilford, marched to Wilmington, in North Carolina. When he had completed that march, various plans of operation were presented to his view. It was said in favour of his proceeding southwardly, that the country between Wilmington and Camden was barren and of difficult passage-that an embarkation for Charleston would be both tedious and disgraceful-that a junction with the royal forces in Virginia, and the prosecution of solid operations in that quarter, would be the most effectual

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plan for effecting and securing the submission of the more southern states. Other arguments, of apparently equal force, urged his return to South Ca rolina. Previous to his departure for Virginia, he had received informa tion that General Greene had begun his march for Camden, and he had eason from past experience to fear that if he did not follow him, the inha itants, by a second revolt, would give the American army a superiority over the small force left under Lord Rawdon. Though his lordship was very apprehensive of danger from that quarter, he hoped either that Lord Rawdon would be able to stand his ground, or that General Greene would follow the royal army to Virginia, or in the most unfavourable event he flattered himself, that, by the conquest of Virginia, the recovery of South Carolina would be at any time practicable. His lordship having too much pride to turn back, and preferring the extensive scale of operations which Virginia presented, to the narrow one of preserving past conquests, determined to leave Carolina to its fate. [April 25.] Before the end of April, he therefore proceeded on his march, from Wilmington towards Virginia. To favour the passage of the many rivers with which the country is intersected, two boats were mounted on carriages and taken along with his army. The king's troops proceeded several days without opposition, and almost without intelligence. The Americans made an attempt at Swift creek, and afterwards at Fishing creek, to stop their progress, but without any effect. The British took the shortest road to Halifax, and on their arrival there defeated several parties of the Americans, and took some stores, with very little loss on their side. The Roanoke, the Meherrin, and the Nottaway rivers were successively crossed by the royal army, and with little or no opposition from the dispersed inhabitants. [May 20.] In less than a month, the march from Wilmington to Petersburgh was completed. The latter had been fixed upon as the place of rendezvous, in a private correspondence with General Phillips. By this combination of the royal force previously employed in Virginia, with the troops which had marched from Wilmington, Lord Cornwallis was at the head of a very powerful army. This junction was scarcely completed, when Lord Cornwallis received Lord Rawdon's report of the advantage he had gained over General Greene, on the 25th of the preceding month. About the same time he received information that three British regiments had sailed from Cork for Charleston.

These two events eased his mind of all anxiety for South Carolina, and inspired him with brilliant hopes of a glorious campaign. He considered himself as having already subdued both the Carolinas, and as being in a fair way to increase his military fame, by the addition of Virginia to the fist of his conquests. By the late combination of the royal forces under Phillips and Cornwallis, and by the recent arrival of a reinforcement of fifteen hundred men directly from New York, Virginia became the princi

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pal theatre of operations for the remainder of the campaign. The formi dable force, thus collected in one body, called for the vigorous exertions of the friends of independence. The defensive operations, in opposition to it, were principally intrusted to the Marquis de Lafayette. Early in the year he had been detached from the main American army on an expedition, the object of which was a co-operation with the French fleet in capturing General Arnold. On the failure of this, the marquis marched back as far as the head of Elk. There he received an order to return to Virginia to oppose the British forces, which had become more formidable by the arrival of a considerable reinforcement, under General Phillips. He proceeded without delay to Richmond, and arrived there the day before the British reached Manchester, on the opposite side of James river. Thus was the capital of Virginia, at that time filled with almost all the military stores of the state, saved from imminent danger. So great was the superiority of numbers on the side of the British, that the marquis had before him a labour of the greatest difficulty, and was pressed with many embarrassments. In the first moments of the rising tempest, and till he could provide against its utmost rage, he began to retire with his little army, which consisted only of about one thousand regulars, two thousand militia, and sixty dragoons.

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ORD CORNWALLIS advanced from Petersburgh

to James river, which he crossed at Westown, and thence marching through Hanover county, crossed the South Anna or Pamunkey river. The marquis followed his motions, but at a guarded distance. The superiority of the British army, especially of their cavalry, which they easily supplied with good horses from the stables and pastures of private gentlemen in Virginia, enabled them to traverse the country in all directions. Two distant expeditions were therefore undertaken. The one was to Charlotteville, with the view of capturing the governor and Assembly of the state. The other to Point of Fork, to destroy stores. Lieutenant-colonel Tarleton, to whom the first was committed, succeeded so far as to disperse the Assembly, capture seven of its members, and to destroy a great quantity of stores at and near Charlotteville. The other expedition, which was committed to Lieutenant-colonel Simcoe, was only in part successful, for the Americans had previously removed the most of their stores from Point of Fork. In the course of these marches and countermarches, immense quantities of property were destroyed, and sundry unimportant skirmishes took place. The British made many partial conquests, but these were seldom of longer duration than their encampments. The young marquis, with a degree of prudence that would have done honour to an old soldier, acted so cautiously on the defensive and made

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60 judicious a choice of posts, and showed so much vigour and design in his movements, as to prevent any advantage being taken of his weakness. In his circumstances, not to be destroyed was triumph. He effected a junction at Racoonford with General Wayne, who was at the head of eight hundred Pennsylvanians. While this junction was forming, the British got between the American army and its stores, which had been removed from Richmond to Albemarle old court-house. The possession of these was an object with both armies. The marquis by forced marches got within a few miles of the British army, when they were two days' march from Albemarle old court-house. The British general considered himself as sure of his adversary, for he knew that the stores was his object; and he conceived it impracticable for the marquis to get between him and the stores, but by a road in passing which he might be attacked to advantage. The marquis had the address to extricate himself from this difficulty, by opening in the night a nearer road to Albemarle old court-house, which had been long disused and was much embarrassed. [June 18.] To the surprise of Lord Cornwallis, the marquis fixed himself the next day between the British army and the American stores. Lord Cornwallis, finding his schemes frustrated, fell back to Richmond. About this time the marquis's army was reinforced by Steuben's troops, and by militia from the parts adjacent. He followed Lord Cornwallis, and had the address to impress him with an idea that the American army was much greater than it really was. His lordship therefore retreated to Williamsburg. [June 26.] The day after the main body of the British army arrived there, their rear was attacked by an American light corps under Colonel Butler, and sustained a considerable loss.

About the time Lord Cornwallis reached Williamsburg, he received intelligence from New York, setting forth the danger to which the royal army in that city was exposed from a combined attack that was said to be threatened by the French and Americans. Sir Henry Clinton therefore required a detachment from Lord Cornwallis, if he was not engaged in any important enterprise, and recommended to him a healthy station, with an ample defensive force, till the danger of New York was dispersed. Lord Cornwallis, thinking it expedient to comply with this requisition, and judging that his command afterwards would not be adequate to maintain his present position at Williamsburg, determined to retire to Portsmouth. For the execution of this project, it was necessary to cross James river. The Marquis de Lafayette, conceiving this to be a favourable opportunity for acting offensively, advanced on the British. General Wayne, relying on the information of a countryman, that the main body of the British had crossed James river, pushed forward with about eight hundred light troops harass their rear. Contrary to his expectations, he found the whole British army drawn up ready to oppose him. He instantly conceived that

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