Battle+of+Charleston



=Battle of Charleston:=

Territorial Changes: City surrendered to British
=Belligerents:=

Great Britian[[image:british_flag.png width="47" height="38"]] vs. United States[[image:united_states_flag width="52" height="41"]]
=Commanders and Leaders:=

Charles Cornwallis
=Strength:=

unknown artillery
=Casualties and Losses:=

5,266 captured
=Background:= ===In the late 1779, following strategic failures earlier in the war, the British were stymied by the waiting strategy adopted by General Washington leading the continental Army. Under political pressure to deliver victory, British leaders turned to launching their, __southern strategy__ for winning the war, that built on the idea that there was strong Loyalist sentiment supporting the southern colonies. Their opening move was the __Capture of Savannah, Georgia__ in December 1778. After repulsing a __siege and assault on Savannah__ by a combined Franco-American force in October 1779, the British planned an attack on __Charleston, South Carolina__ which they intended to use as a base for further operations in the north.=== ===The Siege of Charleston was one of the major battles which took place towards the end of the American Revolutionary War, after the British began to shirft their strategic focus towards fighting in the southern colonies. As a defeat, it was the biggest loss of troops suffered to the revolutionary army in the war where in the losses consisted essentially of the major part of the forces available to the revolutionaries. By contrast, General Washington avoided attemps to match force on force and adroitly getting his forces pinned strategically so the superior British communications could assemble a crushing blow. At the same time, Washington, at least withhis aide and sub-commander General Lafayette, was cognizant of efforts to bring in the Kingdom of France against the British.===

===From 1777 to 1778, the British had considerable success in the southern colonies, namely in the Province of Gorgia with the Seige of Savannah, whereas the waiting strategy of maneuver adopted by Washington leading the northern army, had the British freedom of action stymied, and with near parity of forces, the conflict was essentially a stalemate. The amount of battles won in the south by the British in 1779 immensely increased in the following year, when they victoriously swept up through South and North Carolina.=== ===In December 1779, General Henry Clinton sailed himself south bound for Charleston from New York City. The British fleet included 90 troopships and 14 warships with more than 8,500 soldiers and 5,000 sailors. Because they had been delayed serveral months in leaving, the fleet now sailed through stormy seas.===