Revolutionary War In The Southern Back Country The

Through government documents, autobiographies, correspondence, this book presents a look at the Southern backcountry that engendered its role in the Revolutionary War; with attention to political, social, and military history.

A description of the events that led to the climax and eventual demise of the British campaigns in the Southern theater during the Revolutionary War. The introductory chapter presents the British and Hessian employment of the eighteenth century European method of warfare and the ways it contrasted with the colonial army's diverse and constantly changing fighting styles. The subsequent nine chapters detail the principal military efforts of the British in the South, their capture of seaports, movement in the backcountry, and the critical winter campaign of 1780-81. This almost forgotten campaign and its trilogy of intense clashes at Guilford Court House, Cowpens, and Kings Mountain proved pivotal to American independence. The leadership of the armies isolated in the backcountry and left to their own resources for survival is addressed. The British profiles include the admirably courageous direction of Lord Charles Cornwallis, his morally questionable but valorous cavalry commander Banastre Tarleton, as well as a cadre of impressive young officers such as Webster, Stuart, O'Hara, Hall, and Ewall. Swisher's profiles of the Southern colonial army details the genius strategies of Maj.Gen. Nathaneal Greene and the astute backwoods tactical abilities of Daniel Morgan at Cowpens.

Biography of Col. James Williams, 1740-1780, the highest ranking officer who died from wounds suffered at the Battle of Kings Mountain (October 7, 1780) during the American Revolutionary War.

Essays originally presented at a symposium in Washington, D.C., Mar. 18-19, 1982 under the sponsorship of the United States Capitol Historical Society and the Institute of Early American History and Culture.

Small armies of men waged a ferocious series of battles in the southern theater, changing the outcome of the Revolutionary War. When the British effort to subdue the Colonies moved to the southern provinces, the men of Appalachia sought to protect their homes and families. In the winter of 1780-81, the turning point of the southern war occurred in the Carolina back country. A trio of battles occurred at Kings Mountain, Cowpens, and Guilford Court House. These clashes proved pivotal to American independence, destroying British army capability in the south and facilitating the American victory at Yorktown.

This work documents the impact that the Great Awakening had on the inhabitants of colonial America’s Southern Backcountry. Special emphasis is placed on how this religious revival furrowed the ground on which the seeds of the American Revolution would sprout. The investigation shows how the Great Awakening can be traced to the Europe’s Age of Enlightenment. This effort also demonstrates how and why this revival spread so rapidly throughout the colonies. Special focus is placed on how the Great Awakening impacted the mindset of colonists of the Southern Backcountry. Most significantly, this research demonstrates how this 18thcentury revival not only cultivated a sense of American national identity, but how it also fostered a colonial mindset against established authority which, in turn, facilitated the success of the American Revolution. Additionally, this investigation will document (from a cross-cultural perspective) how religious revivals have fueled other revolutionary movements around the world. Such analysis will include the Celtic Druid Revolt, the Maji-Maji Rebellion of East Africa along with the Mad Man’s War in Southeast Asia. Lastly, the ethical ramifications of minimizing (or denying) the role that religion played in political and social transformations around the world will be addressed. This final point is of paramount importance given current trend in academia to minimize the role that religion played in spurring revolutions while emphasizing material (i.e. economic) causal factors. This attempt at divorcing religion from history is misguided and unethical because it is not only misleading but it also fails to fully acknowledge the beliefs and values that motivated individuals to take certain actions in the first place.

Ten years before the start of the American Revolution, backcountry settlers in the North Carolina Piedmont launched their own defiant bid for economic independence and political liberty. The Regulator Rebellion of 1766-71 pitted thousands of farmers, many of them religious radicals inspired by the Great Awakening, against political and economic elites who opposed the Regulators' proposed reforms. The conflict culminated on May 16, 1771, when a colonial militia defeated more than 2,000 armed farmers in a pitched battle near Hillsborough. At least 6,000 Regulators and sympathizers were forced to swear their allegiance to the government as the victorious troops undertook a punitive march through Regulator settlements. Seven farmers were hanged. Using sources that include diaries, church minutes, legal papers, and the richly detailed accounts of the Regulators themselves, Marjoleine Kars delves deeply into the world and ideology of free rural colonists. She examines the rebellion's economic, religious, and political roots and explores its legacy in North Carolina and beyond. The compelling story of the Regulator Rebellion reveals just how sharply elite and popular notions of independence differed on the eve of the Revolution.