Charles Town in the American Revolution

Charles Town in the American Revolution. . , British and American forces struggled for control of this strategic city throughout America’s quest for independence. The Revolution in South Carolina began in 1775 when Patriot leaders overthrew the British colonial government in Charles Town. The following year, a large British force attacked to regain control of the seaport, rally Loyalist support, and eventually restore British rule. On June 28, 1776, Patriots here on Sullivan’s Island repelled the attacks to win one of America’s first great victories of the war., Charles Town was relatively calm for the next three years while the British concentrated their war effort in the Northern states. After General Washington’s army fought the British to a stalemate in the North, South Carolina became the main battleground of the American Revolution. British troops threatened Charles Town again in 1779, before Generals Clinton and Cornwallis captured the city with an overwhelming force in 1780. The surrender of Charles Town and nearly 6,000 soldiers was the American’s greatest single loss of manpower during the war., While patriots in Charles Town suffered under British military occupation, the British army and Loyalists under Lord Cornwallis fought their way through the Carolinas in hundreds of battles, skirmishes, and guerilla actions. Men, women, and children on both sides endured terrible hardships and brutality. After a year of relentless resistance, Cornwallis moved into Virginia and was defeated at Yorktown., Meanwhile, American troops led by General Nathanael Greene gradually drove British forces remaining in South Carolina back to their last refuge in the occupied city of Charles Town. The long and grueling struggle ended in December 1782 when the British evacuated, sailing past Sullivan’s Island and leaving the Americans in control. With the successful conclusion of the war in 1783, the new nation was free to pursue its revolutionary ideals., “ We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” . , United States Declaration of Independence , Adopted July 4th, 1776 , Six days after the American victory , on Sullivan’s Island. , ( Sidebar : ) , Beautiful sophisticated Charles Town was one of the largest and wealthiest cities in British North America. It was the capital of South Carolina and the cultural and commercial hub of the Southern colonies. Controlling the city and its vital seaport was essential to winning the war., “ . . . in grandeur, splendor of buildings, decorations, equipages, numbers, commerce, shipping, and indeed in almost every thing, it far surpasses all I ever saw, or ever expect to see, in America.”Josiah Quincy, a visitor from New England in 1773.