Greene succeeded General Horatio Gates as commander in chief of the southern army in October 1778. The soldiers he inherited were a divided and broken force composed of defeated Continental troops, militia and independent guerrilla bands. Using his hard-won quartermaster and political skills he created an army able to harass and disable the British forces led by Lord Cornwallis.
Greene had a stroke of luck when General Daniel Morgan, hero of the Battle of Saratoga, decided to rejoin the army. Greene divided his small army giving half to Morgan who went on with this army to defeat British forces under Banastre Tarleton at the Battle of Cowpens, SC. Cornwallis, enraged by this defeat, marched his army towards the battlefield. Greene and Morgan reunited and together they forced a "race to the Dan River" with Cornwallis following, trying to cut them off and bring them to battle. Instead Greene and Morgan wore down the unprepared British troops and crossed the river leaving Cornwallis behind, unable to cross because of flooding. Cornwallis returned to North Carolina and Greene and his army moved to Virginia where they continued to rebuild. By March 14, 1781 Greene’s soldiers had returned to North Carolina and were camped around Guilford Courthouse.
On March 15, 1781, some 1,900 British soldiers under Cornwallis went on the offensive against Greene’s 4,400 to 4,500 Continental troops and militia. The battle raged for around two hours before Greene ordered his troops to retreat, giving the British a tactical victory but enabling Greene’s army to remain mostly intact. More than 25 percent of Cornwallis’s men were killed, wounded or captured during the battle. One British statesman, Charles James Fox (1749-1806), said of this result: “Another such victory would ruin the British army.” Cornwallis did not pursue Greene’s army. Instead, the British commander abandoned his campaign for the Carolinas and eventually led his troops into Virginia.
Taking the offensive, by the end of June Greene had forced the British back to the South Carolina coast. On September 8 Greene engaged the British under Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Stewart at Eutaw Springs, where the British were so weakened that they withdrew to Charleston. He held them there for the remainder of the war.
Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, VA on October 19, 1781, virtually ending the Revolutionary War.
Taking the offensive, by the end of June Greene had forced the British back to the South Carolina coast. On September 8 Greene engaged the British under Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Stewart at Eutaw Springs, where the British were so weakened that they withdrew to Charleston. He held them there for the remainder of the war.
Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, VA on October 19, 1781, virtually ending the Revolutionary War.