The war was now prosecuted with varied success. The whole province of Georgia was reduced by the English. Carolina was invaded, and Charleston, its principal city, had nearly fallen into the hands of the royalists. Several expeditions against the provinces in North America were likewise successful. On the other hand, the Spaniards, joining in the confederacy against Britain, made an irruption into Florida, and took pos session of that country without opposition. Not a few of the states of Europe contemplated the exertions of the Americans with a favourable eve. And the Indians who, at the instigation of the British, had molested the provinces by continual depredations, were effectually and completely subdued by general Sullivan ; their vil lages were burnt, and their plantations destroyed ; so that when the invading army had quitted the district occupied by the savages, "there was not a house, nor a field of corn, nor a fruit tree left upon the ground ;" nor was there an Indian to be seen throughout the whole tract.
During the whole of the American war, there appears to have been one capital and fatal error on the part of the British generals. They never collected their forces, and advanced against the enemy with their whole strength; a mode of conduct which would have brought the war to a point, and enabled their discipline and skill to operate with decisive and awful execution against the rude valour of the provincial troops. On the contrary, they divided their forces into small bodies ; invaded the colonies in separate detachments ; gave the Americans every opportunity of harassing them and cutting off their supplies ; and were finally constrained to yield to the per severance and boldness of men inferior to them in milita ry knowledge, and almost destitute of those advantages which influence the success of military operations. This error of the British commanders was perceived by Wash ington, and he availed himself of it. "From your ac counts," says he to Schuyler, in a letter written after the fall of Ticonderoga, "general Burgoyne appears to be pursuing that line of conduct, which, of all others, is most favourable to us; I mean, acting in detachment. This conduct will certainly give room for enterprize on our side, and expose his parties to great hazard. Could we be so happy as to cut one of them off, though it should not exceed four, five, or six hundred men, it would inspirit the people, and do away much of their anxiety."—Marshall's Life of Was.hington, vol. iii. p. 262.
In the year 1780, the war was effectually transferred to the southern provinces. On the 19th of February,
sir Henry Clinton, who, in conjunction with vice-admiral Arbuthnot, had left New York some time before, ap peared off Charleston ; on the 20th of March, the Eng lish squadron entered the harbour of that city ; and on the 29th of the same month, the troops effected a land ing at Charleston Neck. The British then summoned the town ; but Lincoln, who commanded there, under the authority of the United States, expressed his reso lution of defending the place. In framing his answer to the summons of the English general, he was influen ced considerably by the expectation of reinforcement and supplies from the neighbouring- provinces ; these, however, came in very slowly ; and a body of militia. which was proceeding to hi-; relief, was attacked and dispersed by the earl Cornwallis and colonel Tarieton. The city was now invested in every direction ; Fort Sul livan was in possession of the royalists ; and the prep rations for a general assault were nearly completed ; when Lincoln, disappointed in the hope of obtaining suc cour front without, and indifferently supported by tIn• troops under his command, agreed to the proposals of Clinton, and allowed the English, under general Leslie, to march into the place. The loss of Charleston was a severe blow to the American interests ; 2487 men Isere taken prisoners, besides 1000 sailors in arms; and the quantity of ordnance and military stores which fell into the hands of the king's troops, was not only great, but in the present state of the colonial all'airs, could with difficulty be spared. Such, however, was the disposi tion of the provinces, and such the aversion to the Eng lish which the Americans had long cherished in their breasts„that instead of being dispirited by their misfor tunes, they united with greater cordiality and firmness, and prompted each other to more vigorous exertions. It is true, that after the surrender of Charleston, the English general issued a proclamation, in which he ex horted the people to return to their allegiance, and threatened them with the utmost severity of punish ment, if they refused to comply ; and that sonic indi viduals were found who petitioned to be admitted into the number, and restored to the condition of British subjects. But these were regarded by the majority of their countrymen as the slaves of tyranny ; and looked upon as unworthy to be enrolled under the same banner, or to fight in the same cause, with the champions of freedom.