Feb. 14, 1781, patriot forces under the command of Gen. Nathanael Greene crossed the Dan River, near the border of Virginia and North Carolina.
The Southern Campaign by the British had been pretty successful in 1780 and 1781. Charleston had surrendered on May 12, 1780. Patriot commander Major General Benjamin Lincoln had wanted to abandon Charleston at some point after the British siege of the city started on April 2, 1780. However, the community leaders had implored him to defend the city. As a result, the entire Continental forces were forced to surrender when Charleston fell.
Gen. Horatio Gates was sent south by Congress (Washington was not in favor of this, but elected not to battle Congress over the assignment), to take over the defense of the South. Gates had a high opinion of himself after defeating the British of Saratoga, but made a number of dumb mistakes and was routed in his first battle in the South, at Camden, South Carolina, by Lieutenant General Charles, Lord Cornwallis.
Before their capture of Charleston, the British had overran Patriot forces in Savannah and Augusta, GA. This had enabled them to return the British appointed Governor of Georgia, and re-establish British rule in Georgia (the 1st colony/state where this took place after 1776, and the only colony/state where it took place during the American Revolution). With the defeats of Southern Continental forces at Charleston and at Camden, the British proceeded to set up a series of forts across South Carolina. While they did not return the Royal Governor, or the pre-1776 legislature, the British took effective control of South Carolina.
After the debacle at Camden, Congress appointed Gen. Nathanael Greene to take over the Southern Continental forces. He was one of Washington's most trusted advisors, and the individual that Washington had wanted appointed to head up the Southern forces when Gen. Gates got the appointment.
Gen. Greene was the antithesis of Gen. Gates. He paid attention to detail, and worked hard to establish relationships with the Governors of the Southern states. In addition, he didn't disdain the efforts of the local militia, and worked hard to establish relationships with militia leaders Francis Marion, Thomas Sumter, and Andrew Pickens in South Carolina and Elijah Clarke in Georgia. He also benefited from Gen. Daniel Morgan electing to return from his farm to join the America forces.
The Americans scored their first major victory in the Battle of Cowpens on Jan. 17, 1781. Morgan had command at that battle, and his combination of militia and Continentals had smashed British Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton's forces. After that, Cornwallis worked hard to recapture the British prisoners taken prisoner at Cowpens, and also to defeat Morgan and Greene's Continental and militia forces.
Cornwallis chased Greene and Morgan all across North Carolina. The British frequently got very close, and there were a number of skirmishes, but no big battles. Greene was very calculating. He had anticipated possibly retreating across North Carolina, and had had the rivers scouted to determine the best place to cross. When the retreat was on, he would also collect all the boats for several miles, so that the British could not easily cross at a different location. In addition, by moving through an area he would take most of the available food for his troops, and most of the hay and forage for his horses, which denied Cornwallis the same when he came through a day or two later. Greene also realized that the further Cornwallis was from Charleston, SC, the more difficult his supply lines were. Lastly, Greene concluded that his militia and Continental forces could not match up in a traditional battle against the British, so his retreat was one of survival.
Cornwallis kept doing everything he could to overtake Greene's forces before they got to Virginia. At one point, he had all the troops, including officers, discard pretty much everything that was not absolutely necessary, and burnt all of it in a big fire. The idea was to lighten the troops so they could move even faster.
About 2/3 of the way through the retreat, Gen. Morgan had had to abandon the field due to sciatica, which made it difficult for him to stand or to ride on a horse. He command was given to Col. Otho Williams.
About mid-day on Feb. 14, 1781, the first of Greene's forces arrived at Irvine's Ferry on the Dan River. They sent the wagons across first, and they were all across by 2 pm. Then abut 900 patriot forces crossed -- about 90% were Continentals, and 10% were militia, as the militia had tended to depart the farther they got from their home (Georgia or South Carolina), or the closer they got to their homes (North Carolina) so that they could protect their personal property. Otho Williams and his 100 troops had been faking that they were heading to Dix Ferry (about 25 miles from Irvine's Ferry), to lead the British away from the main crossing. Just after 5 pm, Williams got word from Gen. Greene that all of the troops had crossed the Dan. When word spread through the troops, they let out a cheer that was heard by the British that were close on their heels.
From that point, Williams and his troops hightailed it to Irvine's Ferry. Their rear was protected by the Continental calvary troops commanded by Lt. Col. "Light Horse" Harry Lee. If I recall correctly, Williams and his troops crossed at Irvine's Ferry and Lee's calvary forces crossed at Boyd's Ferry.
Collectively, this sequence of events has come to be called the "Race to the Dan." There are quite a few books about it, and even though I know how it ends, I always enjoy reading about it. There are so many twists and turns to the sequence, and so many times that the results were close to going in a different direction, that it continues to fascinate Rev War historians. The most recent book I read on it, which I really enjoyed, was the 2020 book, To the End of the World: Nathanael Greene, Charles Cornwallis, and the Race to the Dan, by Andrew Waters.
After the battle, Cornwallis kind of dithered, and then Greene crossed over back into North Carolina. They did fight a big battle at Guilford Courthouse. The British technically won the battle, in that their forces remained on the field at the end of it, but they effectively lost it, as their injuries were more than they could sustain. Cornwallis ended up retreating to the coast of North Carolina to get supplies, and from there went on to Yorktown where the combined American and French forces defeated him in October of the year. Greene remained in the South, and his combination of Continental and militia forces proceeded to eliminate British forces from all areas of Georgia and South Carolina except for Savannah and Charleston, respectively. The British ended up abandoning both of those cities between their defeat at Yorktown and the signing of the Treaty of Paris.
The Southern Campaign by the British had been pretty successful in 1780 and 1781. Charleston had surrendered on May 12, 1780. Patriot commander Major General Benjamin Lincoln had wanted to abandon Charleston at some point after the British siege of the city started on April 2, 1780. However, the community leaders had implored him to defend the city. As a result, the entire Continental forces were forced to surrender when Charleston fell.
Gen. Horatio Gates was sent south by Congress (Washington was not in favor of this, but elected not to battle Congress over the assignment), to take over the defense of the South. Gates had a high opinion of himself after defeating the British of Saratoga, but made a number of dumb mistakes and was routed in his first battle in the South, at Camden, South Carolina, by Lieutenant General Charles, Lord Cornwallis.
Before their capture of Charleston, the British had overran Patriot forces in Savannah and Augusta, GA. This had enabled them to return the British appointed Governor of Georgia, and re-establish British rule in Georgia (the 1st colony/state where this took place after 1776, and the only colony/state where it took place during the American Revolution). With the defeats of Southern Continental forces at Charleston and at Camden, the British proceeded to set up a series of forts across South Carolina. While they did not return the Royal Governor, or the pre-1776 legislature, the British took effective control of South Carolina.
After the debacle at Camden, Congress appointed Gen. Nathanael Greene to take over the Southern Continental forces. He was one of Washington's most trusted advisors, and the individual that Washington had wanted appointed to head up the Southern forces when Gen. Gates got the appointment.
Gen. Greene was the antithesis of Gen. Gates. He paid attention to detail, and worked hard to establish relationships with the Governors of the Southern states. In addition, he didn't disdain the efforts of the local militia, and worked hard to establish relationships with militia leaders Francis Marion, Thomas Sumter, and Andrew Pickens in South Carolina and Elijah Clarke in Georgia. He also benefited from Gen. Daniel Morgan electing to return from his farm to join the America forces.
The Americans scored their first major victory in the Battle of Cowpens on Jan. 17, 1781. Morgan had command at that battle, and his combination of militia and Continentals had smashed British Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton's forces. After that, Cornwallis worked hard to recapture the British prisoners taken prisoner at Cowpens, and also to defeat Morgan and Greene's Continental and militia forces.
Cornwallis chased Greene and Morgan all across North Carolina. The British frequently got very close, and there were a number of skirmishes, but no big battles. Greene was very calculating. He had anticipated possibly retreating across North Carolina, and had had the rivers scouted to determine the best place to cross. When the retreat was on, he would also collect all the boats for several miles, so that the British could not easily cross at a different location. In addition, by moving through an area he would take most of the available food for his troops, and most of the hay and forage for his horses, which denied Cornwallis the same when he came through a day or two later. Greene also realized that the further Cornwallis was from Charleston, SC, the more difficult his supply lines were. Lastly, Greene concluded that his militia and Continental forces could not match up in a traditional battle against the British, so his retreat was one of survival.
Cornwallis kept doing everything he could to overtake Greene's forces before they got to Virginia. At one point, he had all the troops, including officers, discard pretty much everything that was not absolutely necessary, and burnt all of it in a big fire. The idea was to lighten the troops so they could move even faster.
About 2/3 of the way through the retreat, Gen. Morgan had had to abandon the field due to sciatica, which made it difficult for him to stand or to ride on a horse. He command was given to Col. Otho Williams.
About mid-day on Feb. 14, 1781, the first of Greene's forces arrived at Irvine's Ferry on the Dan River. They sent the wagons across first, and they were all across by 2 pm. Then abut 900 patriot forces crossed -- about 90% were Continentals, and 10% were militia, as the militia had tended to depart the farther they got from their home (Georgia or South Carolina), or the closer they got to their homes (North Carolina) so that they could protect their personal property. Otho Williams and his 100 troops had been faking that they were heading to Dix Ferry (about 25 miles from Irvine's Ferry), to lead the British away from the main crossing. Just after 5 pm, Williams got word from Gen. Greene that all of the troops had crossed the Dan. When word spread through the troops, they let out a cheer that was heard by the British that were close on their heels.
From that point, Williams and his troops hightailed it to Irvine's Ferry. Their rear was protected by the Continental calvary troops commanded by Lt. Col. "Light Horse" Harry Lee. If I recall correctly, Williams and his troops crossed at Irvine's Ferry and Lee's calvary forces crossed at Boyd's Ferry.
Collectively, this sequence of events has come to be called the "Race to the Dan." There are quite a few books about it, and even though I know how it ends, I always enjoy reading about it. There are so many twists and turns to the sequence, and so many times that the results were close to going in a different direction, that it continues to fascinate Rev War historians. The most recent book I read on it, which I really enjoyed, was the 2020 book, To the End of the World: Nathanael Greene, Charles Cornwallis, and the Race to the Dan, by Andrew Waters.
After the battle, Cornwallis kind of dithered, and then Greene crossed over back into North Carolina. They did fight a big battle at Guilford Courthouse. The British technically won the battle, in that their forces remained on the field at the end of it, but they effectively lost it, as their injuries were more than they could sustain. Cornwallis ended up retreating to the coast of North Carolina to get supplies, and from there went on to Yorktown where the combined American and French forces defeated him in October of the year. Greene remained in the South, and his combination of Continental and militia forces proceeded to eliminate British forces from all areas of Georgia and South Carolina except for Savannah and Charleston, respectively. The British ended up abandoning both of those cities between their defeat at Yorktown and the signing of the Treaty of Paris.
