"American Revolution: Battle of Eutaw Springs" Topic

"Having won a bloody victory over American forces at the Battle of Guilford Court House on March 1781, Lieutenant General Lord Charles Cornwallis elected to turn east for Wilmington, NC as his army was short on supplies. Assessing the strategic situation, Cornwallis later decided to march north into Virginia as he believed the Carolinas could only be pacified after subjugating the more northern colony. Pursuing Cornwallis part of the way to Wilmington, Major General Nathanael Greene turned south on April 8 and moved back into South Carolina. Cornwallis was willing to let the American army go as he believed that Lord Francis Rawdon's forces in South Carolina and Georgia were sufficient to contain Greene.

Though Rawdon possessed around 8,000 men, they were scattered in small garrisons throughout the two colonies. Advancing into South Carolina, Greene sought to eliminate these posts and reassert American control over the backcountry. Working in conjunction with independent commanders such as Brigadier Generals Francis Marion and Thomas Sumter, American troops began capturing several minor garrisons. Though beaten by Rawdon at Hobkirk's Hill on April 25, Green continued his operations. Moving to attack the British base at Ninety-Six, he laid siege on May 22. In early June, Greene learned that Rawdon was approaching from Charleston with reinforcements. After an assault on Ninety-Six failed, he was compelled to abandon the siege…"
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Who enjoyed to wargame this battle…?

Armand

My friend. Terry; and I have hosted this game 6-8 times mainly using Guns of Liberty. It's a great game to play!!

Greene did not win battles but won the war strategically. He is, in some ways, an echo of Washington. He kept his army together depsite multiple set-backs and kept up the pressure on the British in the field. He tired them out and beat their commanders, but not their troops. I think in any other scenario, Greene would be been horribly beaten, but in the South, at this time, he was the exact man for the job.

Thanks

Armand

I wished that a book I had as a teenager that showed battles of the American Revolution in miniature would have included this battle in their book. I've seen various wargames that model this battle and most of them have portrayed the 'see saw' rhythm of the battle perfectly.

Greene was not a tactician, but a strategist-and an excellent one as his campaigns in the Carolinas clearly demonstrate. The three battles he fought, while not technically winning them, ruined the British armies he fought by inflicting prohibitive casualties on the British.

Cornwallis left the Carolinas and the British either abandoned or lost to the Americans the string of fortifications they had established. Even 96 was destroyed by the British themselves after Greene's siege failed. Guilford Courthouse led to Yorktown.

Greene drove the British out of the Carolinas and their only 'holding' at the end of the war was Charleston, and that was thanks to the Royal Navy.

Thanks Kevin.

Armand