cavalry was much less confiderable; but the two three-pounders fell into the hands of the Americans, together with the colours of the feventh regiment; and all the detachment of royal artillery were either killed or wounded in defence of their colours. Lieutenant-colonel Tarleton, then retreat d:0 Hamilton's ford, near the mouth of Bullock's creek, carrying with him part of his baggage, and destroying the remainder.

This defeat of the troops under Tarleton was a fevere ftroke to lord Cornwallis, as the lots of his light infantry was a great difadvantage to him. The day after that event, he employed in collecting the remains of Tarleton's corps, in endeavouring to form a junction with General Leslie, who had been ordered to march towards him with a body of British troops from Wynneborough. Confiderable exertions were then made by part of the army, without baggage, to retake the prisoners in the hands of the Americans, and to intercept General Morgan's corps on its retreat to the Catawba. But that officer, after defeating Tarleton, had made forced marches up into the country, and croffed the Catawba the evening before a great rain, which (welled the river to fuch a degree, as to prevent the Royal army from croibing for feveral days; during which time the British prisoners were got over the Yadkin; whence they proceeded to Dan River, which they allo passed, and on the fourteenth of February had reached the Court-house in the province of Virginia.

Lord Cornwallis employed a halt of two days in collecting fome flour, and in deftroying fuperfluous baggage in all his waggons, excepting those Laden with hospital flores, falt and ammunition, and four referved empty in readiness for hick or wounded. Being thus freed from all unneceffary incumbrances, he marched through North Carolina with great rapidity, and penetrated to the remoteft extremities of that province on the banks of the Dan. His progrefs was fometimes impeded by parties of the militia, and fome fkirmishes enfued, but he met with no very confiderable oppofition. On the first of February, the king's troops croffed the Catawba at M'Cowan's Ford, where General Davidson, with a party of American militia, was pofted, in order to oppofe their paffage; but he falling by the fir discharge, the Royal troops made good their landing, and the militia retreated. When lord Cornwallis arrived at Hillfoorough he erected the king's ftandard, and invited, by proclamation, all loyal fubjects to repair to it. He had been aught to believe that the king's friends were numerous in that part of the country: but the event did not confirm the truth of the repretentations that had been given.

Meanwhile General Greene was marching with great expedition with the troops under his command, in order to form a junction with other corps of American troops, that he might thereby be enabled to put fome effectual flop to the progress of lord Cornwallis.

In other places fome confiderable advantages were obtained by the royal arms. On the fourth of January, fome thips of war with a number of tranfports on board which was a large body of ireops under the command of Brigadier-general Arnold, arrived at Westover, about a hundred and forty miles from the Capes of Virginia, where the troops immediately landed and marched to Richmond; which they reached without oppofition, the militia. that was "collefted having retreated on their approach. Licionant-colonel Simcoe marched from hence with a detachment of the British troops to Westham, where they deftroyed one of the finest fourderies of cannon in America, and a large quantity of ftores and cannon. General Arnold, our VOL. IV.

P

his arrival at Richmond, found there large quantities of falt, rum, fail cloth, tobacco, and other merchandize, and part of these commodities which was public property he deflroyed. The British troops afterwards attacked and difperfed fome fmall parties of the Americans, took fome flores and a few pieces of cannon, and on the twentieth of the fame month marched into Portfmouth. On the twenty-fifth, captain Barclay, with several ships of war, and a body of troops under the command of Major Craig, arrived in Cape Fear river. The troops landed about nine miles from Wilmington, and on the twenty-eighth entered that town. It was underflood that their having poffeffion of that town, and being maflers of Cape Fear river, would be productive of very beneficial effects to lord Cornwalls's army.

General Greene having effected a junction about the tenth of March with a continental regiment of what were called eighteen months men, and two large bodies of militia belonging to Virginia and North Carolina, formed a resolution to attack the British troops under the command of lord Cornwallis. The American army marched from the High Rock Ford on the twelfth of the month, and on the fourteenth arrived at Guildford. Lord Cornwallis, from the information he had received of the motions of the American general, concluded what were his defigns. As they approached more nearly to each other, a few fkirmishes enfued between fome advanced parties, in which the king's troops had the advantage. On the morning of the fifteenth, lord Cornwallis marched with his troops at day-break in order to meet the Americans or to attack them in their encampment. About four miles from Guildford, the advanced guard of the British army, commanded by Lieutenant-colonel Tarleton, fell in with a corps of the Americans, confifting of Lientenant-colonel Lee's legion, fome Back Mountain men and Virginian militia, with whom he had a fevere skirmish, but whom he at length obliged

to retreat.

The greater part of the country in which the action happened is a wildernels with a few cleared fields intranfperfed. The American army, which was fuperior to the royal in point of numbers, was pofted on a rifing ground about a mile and a half from Guildford court-house. It was drawn up in three lines: the front line was compofed of the North Carolinian nilitia, under the command of the Generals Butler and Eaton; the fecond line of Virginian militia, commanded by Generl Huger and Colonel Williams. Lieutenant-colonel Washington, with the dragoons of the firft and third regiments, a detachment of light infantry compofed of continental troops, and a regiment of riflemen under Colonel Lynch, formed a corps of obfervation for the fecurity of their right flank. Lieutenant-colonel Lee, with his legion, a detachment of light infrntry, and a corps of riflemen under Colonel Campbell, formed a corps of cbfervation for the fecurity of their left flank. The attack of the American army was directed to be made by lord Cornwallis in the following order: on the right, the regiment of Bofe and the feventy-firft regiment, led by Major-general Leifle, and fupported by the first battalion of guards; on the left, the twenty-third and thirty-third regiments, led by Lieutenant-colonel Webster, and fupported by the grenadiers and fecond battalion of guards commanded by Brigadier-general O'Hara; the Yagers and light infantry of the guards remained in a wood on the left of the guns, and the cavalry in the road, ready to act as circumflances might require.

About half an hour after one in the afternoon, the action commenced by a cannonade, which lasted about twenty minutes; when the British troops

advanced in three columns and attacked the North Carolinian brigades with great vigour, and foon obliged part of these troops, to quit the field: but the Virginia militia gave them a warm reception, and kept up a heavy fire for a long time, till being beaten back the action became general almost every where. The American corps under the command of lieutenant-general Washington and Lee were alfo warmly engaged, and did confiderable execution. Lieutenant-colonel Tarleton had directions to kept his cavalry compaft, and not to charge without poffitive orders, excepting to protect any of the corps from the most evident danger of being defeated. The excellive thickness of the woods rendered the British bayonets of little ufe, and enabled the broken corps of Americans to make frequent flands with an irregu lar fire. The fecond battalion of the guards firft gained the clear ground near Guildford court-house, and found a corps of continental infantry, fupenor in number, formed in an open field on the left of the road. Defirous of fignalizing themselves, they immediately attacked and foon defeated them, taking two fix pounders: but as they purfued the Americans into the wood with too much ardour, they were thrown into confufion by a heavy fire, and inftantly charged and driven back into the field by lieutenant-colonel Wafhington's dragoons, with the loss of the fix-pounders they had taken. Bat the American cavalry were afterwards repulfed, and the two fix-pounders again fell into the hands of the British troops. The fpirited exertions of brigadiergeneral O'Hara and of lieutenant-colonel Tarleton, greatly contributed to bring the action to a termination. The British troops having at length broken the fecond Maryland regiment, and turned the left flank of the Americans, got into the rear of the Virginia brigade, and appeared to be gaining their right, which would have encircled the whole of the continental troops, when general Greene thought it prudent to order a retreat. Many of the American militia difperfed in the woods; but the continental troops retreated in good order to the Reedy Fork River, and croffed at the ford about three miles from the field of action, and their halted. When they had collefted their fragglers, they retreated to the iron-works, ten miles diftant from Guilford, where they encamped. They loft their artillery and two waggons laden with ammunition. It was a hard fought action, and falted an hour and an half. Of the British troops, the lofs, as ftated by lord Cornwallis, was 532 killed, wounded, and milling. General Greene, in his account of the action tranfinitted to the congrefs, ftated the lofs of the continental troops to amount to 329 killed, wounded and miffing; but he made no eltimate of lofs of the militia. Lieutenant-colonel Stuart was killed in the action; and Lieutenant-colonel Webfter, and the captains Schutz, Maynard, and Goods riche, died of the wounds that they received in it. Brigadier-general O'Hara, brigadier-general Howard, and lieutenant-colonel Tarleton, were also wounded. Of the Americans the principal officer killed was majot Anderson of the Maryland line, and the generals Stephens and Huger were wounded. The British troops underwent great hardfhips in the course of this campaign; and in a letter of Lord Cornwallis's to Lord George Germain, dated March 17th, he obferved, that "the foldiers had been two days without bread." His lordship quitted Guilford three days after the battle which was fought in that place; and on the 7th of April arrived in the neighbourhood of Wilmington. Soon after, general Greene, notwithflanding his late defeat, endeavoured to make fome vigorous attempts against the king's forces in South-Carolina. Lord Rawdon had been appointed to defend the Poft of Camden, with about 800 British and provincials; and on the 19th of April

General Greene appeared before that place with a large body of continentals and militia. He found it, however, impotlible to form the town with any profpect of fuccefs; and therefore endeavoured to take fuch a pofition as fould induce the British troops to fally from their works. He pofted the Americans about a mile from the town, on an eminence which was covered with woods, and flanked on the left by an impaffable fwamp. But on the morning of the 25th, Lord Rawdon marched out of Camden, and with great gallantry attacked General Greene in his camp. The Americans made a vigorous refiftance, but were at last compelled to give way; and the purs fuit is faid to have been continued three miles. For fome time after the action commenced, General Gates entertained great hopes of defeating the British troops; in which, as the Americans were fuperior in point of numbers, he would probably have fucceeded, had not fome capital military errors been committed by one or two of the officers who ferved under him. On the American fide Colonel Washington had behaved extremely well in this action, having made upwards of two hundred of the English prifoners, with ten or twelve officers, before he perceived that the Americans were abandoning the field of battle. The lofs of the English was about 100 killed and wounded. Upwards of 100 of the Americans were taken prifoners; and, according to the account published by General Greene, they had 126 killed and wounded. After this action, General Greene retreated to Rugeley's mills, twelve miles from Camden, in order to collect his troops and wait for reir forcements.

Notwithstanding the advantage which Lord Rawdon had obtained over General Greene at Camden, that nobleman foon after found it neceffary to quit that poft; and the Americans made themselves masters of feveral other pofts that were occupied by the king's troops, and the garrifons of which were obliged to furrender themfeives prifoners of war. These troops were afterwards exchanged under a cartel which took place between Lord Cornwallis and General Greene for the release of all prifoners of war in the fouthern diftri&t. After these events, General Greene laid clofe fiege to Ninety-Six, which was confidered as the most commanding and important of all the pofts in the back-country; and on the 18th of June he attempted to form the garrison, but was repulfed by the gallantry of the British troops, with the lofs, as it is faid, of 75 killed and 150 wounded. General Greene then raised the fiege, and retired with his army behind the Saluda, to a frong fituation, within 16 miles of Ninety-Six.

On the 18th of April a large body of British troops, under the command of Major-General Philips and brigadier-General Arnold, embarked at Portfmouth in Virginia, in order to proceed on an expedition for the purpose of deftroying fome of the American flores. A party of light-infantry were fent 10 or 12 miles up the Chickahomany; where they deftroyed feveral armed fhips, fundry warehouses, and the American flate hip-yards. At Petersburgh, the English destroyed 4000 hogfheads of \ tobacco, one fhip and a number of small veffels on the ftocks and in the river. At Chesterfield court-house, they burnt a range of barracks for 2000 men and 300 barrels of flour. At a place called Ofborn's, they made themfelves masters of feveral veffels loaded with cordage and flour, and deftroyed about 2000 hogsheads of tobacco and fundry veffels were funk and burnt. At Warwick, they burnt a magazine of 500 barrels of flour, fome fine mills belonging to Colonel Carey, a large range of public rope walks and flore-houses, tan and bark houfes full of hides and bark, and great i

quantities of tobacco. A like deftruction of ftores and goods was made in other parts of Virginia.

From the account already given of fome of the principal military operations of the prefent year in America, it appears, that though confiderable, advantages had been gained by the royal troops, yet no event had taken place from which it could rationally be expected that the final termination of the war would be favourable to Great Britain. It was alfo a disadvantageous circumflance, that there was a mifunderstanding between Admiral Arbuthnot and Sir Henry Clinton, and a mutual disapprobation of each other's conduct. This was manifeft from their difpatches to government, and cfpecially from thole of General Clinton, whole exprellions refpecting the conduct of the admiral war by no means equivocal.

On the 16th of March 1781, a partial action happened off the Capes of Virginia, between the fleet under Admiral Arbuthnot, confifting of feven fhips of the line and one fifty-gun fhip, and a French Squadron, confifling of the fame number of fhips of the line, and one forty-gun fhip. Some of the fhips in both fleets received confiderable damage in the action, and the lofs of the English was 30 killed and 73 wounded; but no fhip was taken on either fide. The British fleet bad, however, confiderably the advantage; as the French were obliged to retire, and were fuppofed to be prevented by this action from carrying troops upon the Chesapeak, in order to attack General Arnold and impede the progress of Lord Cornwallis. But it was an unfortunate circumflance, that fome time before this engagement the Romulus; a hip of 44 guns, was captured by the French off the Capes of Virginia.

Lord Cornwallis, after his victory over General Green at Guildford, proceeded, as we have feen, to Wilmington, where he arrived on the 7th of April. But before he reached that place, be publifhed a proclamation, calling upon all loyal fubjects to stand forth and take an active part in refioring good order and government; and declaring to all perfons who had engaged in the prefent rebellion against his majefty's authority, but who were now convinced of their error, and defirous of returning to their duty and allegiance, that if they would furrender themselves with their arms and ammunition at head-quarters, or to the officer commanding in the diftrict contiguous to their refpective places of refidence, on or before the 20th of that month, they would be permitted to return to their homes upon giving a military parole; they would be protected, in their perfons and properties, from all forts of violence from the British troops; and would be restored, as foon as poffible, to all the privileges of legal and conftitutional government. But it does not appear that any confiderable number of the Americans were allured by these promises to give any evidences of their attachment to the royal caufe.

On the 20th of May, his Lordship arrived at Petersburgh in Virginia where ho joined a body of British trrops that had been under the command of Major-general Philips: but the command of which, in confequence of the death of that officer, had devolved upon Brigadier-General Arnold. Before this junction he had encountered confiderable inconveniences from the difficulty of procuring provifions and forage; fo that in a letter to Sir Henry Clinton, he informed him, that his cavalry wanted every thing, and his infantry every thing but fhoes. He added, that he had experienced the distresses of marching hundreds of miles in a country chiefly hoftile,