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00:00Previously on The Revolution, Mohawk Chief Joseph Brandt joined forces with the British and led violent Iroquois raids on the
00:07rebels.
00:08Joseph Brandt said, we have to join with somebody, because somebody's going to win.
00:12And revenge is demanded.
00:15If the idea was to destroy Indian resistance, it didn't work.
00:19The warriors had nothing left to live for other than to fight.
00:22General Benedict Arnold was named military governor of Philadelphia,
00:26but Congress recommended a court-martial when Arnold's integrity was called into question.
00:31He felt that he'd been given a very raw deal.
00:34He will soon take on a new role, that of traitor.
00:37Were it not for his treason, he would almost undoubtedly be one of the most celebrated American commanders of all
00:43of the American Revolution.
00:58December 1779, as the fourth year of the American Revolution comes to an end, the war is at a stalemate.
01:07Many battles have been won and lost, but neither side has taken the advantage.
01:17British General Henry Clinton has a firm grip on New York City, but the King's forces have been unable to
01:24crush the rebellion,
01:26as George Washington's army continues to hold them in check.
01:32Now, camped 30 miles to the west of New York City, the Americans are bracing themselves for another long winter.
01:4113,000 strong, they settle into their quarters at Morristown, New Jersey.
01:49It has been two years since the Continental Army survived the legendary conditions at Valley Forge.
01:55But this winter will surpass all others.
02:00The winter encampment in Morristown was a lot harder than the encampment in Valley Forge.
02:05Valley Forge seems to get all the press, but Morristown was really dire straits.
02:12Valley Forge was a disaster because of the lack of supplies and the bungling.
02:17Morristown was the elements.
02:19It was said to be the worst winter in the history of North America.
02:23There were 26 snowstorms, six of blizzard proportions.
02:30It was so cold that in the month of January, on all but two days, the temperature was below freezing.
02:37This is truly the winter that tries men's souls.
02:45At Valley Forge, it took four weeks to build the army's cabins.
02:49But at Morristown, blizzard conditions slow the progress, and the construction takes months.
02:57Many soldiers are forced to sleep under canvas tents or lie in the snow.
03:04Compounding the soldiers' suffering is the fact that once again, food is in critically short supply.
03:11The countryside is covered with snow, but really, the areas of Morristown just does not have enough food to supply
03:18the army.
03:20Soldiers fill their diaries with accounts of the cruel conditions.
03:25We were absolutely, literally starved.
03:29I do solemnly swear that I did not put a morsel in my mouth for four days and as many
03:34nights.
03:36I except a little black birch bark, which I gnawed off a stick of wood.
03:43I saw several of the men roast their old shoes and eat them.
03:48Private Joseph Plumbarton.
03:51It is yet another low point in Washington's career.
03:56His desk piles high with letters from generals pleading for supplies.
04:02Washington petitions Congress for aid, but to no avail.
04:08Inflation had soared to hundreds of percent.
04:13The American money was practically worthless.
04:18And they had a hard time with taxes on the states.
04:22Many people to pay their taxes.
04:24Congress was nearly bankrupt.
04:27So it's catch-as-catch can.
04:31With no food and few supplies,
04:33Washington faces the very real possibility
04:36of being forced to dissolve his army.
04:53Charleston, South Carolina.
04:56800 miles to the south,
04:59it is a very different winter.
05:03Four years into the war,
05:05the south is mostly untouched.
05:08Here in the bustling hub of commerce and trade,
05:12life goes on, undisturbed.
05:15The wealthy partake heartily in the pleasantries of social life.
05:19Dances and dinners fill the evenings,
05:21a far cry from the hardships faced by an army,
05:25fighting for their liberty.
05:30Charleston has been threatened only once by the British.
05:33A poorly executed attack in 1776
05:37that was easily fended off.
05:40From the looks of it,
05:43Charleston is hardly part of a nation at war.
05:50All that is about to change.
05:54Across the ocean in England,
05:56a new strategy for the war is about to be unleashed.
06:03In the halls of Parliament,
06:04it has been a year scarred by angry debate.
06:07The British national debt has soared to over 160 million pounds,
06:12due in large part to the prolonged war.
06:15And there is no end in sight.
06:17I don't think anyone is more surprised than the British
06:19that they haven't won yet.
06:21They're a very wealthy nation.
06:24They have the most professionally trained army.
06:27And they have the most powerful navy in the world.
06:30The question they're asking is,
06:32why isn't this thing over yet?
06:34This should have been an easy victory.
06:36And so there are questions about what to do next.
06:40The figureheads of British leadership,
06:42like Prime Minister Lord North,
06:44are frequent targets in the daily papers,
06:47held responsible for a costly
06:49and increasingly unpopular war.
06:53A war where the stakes have been raised
06:55by the entrance of their arch-enemy, France,
06:58into the fight on the American side.
07:02Surrendering American independence is one thing,
07:04and that's something that has to be dealt with.
07:07But allowing France to emerge from this conflict
07:10with the upper hand is wholly unacceptable
07:14to the entire political nation,
07:17to all of the governing elite.
07:22Under the gun now to turn the course of the fight,
07:25British policy makers unveil
07:27a dramatic new direction for the war.
07:30It becomes known as the Southern Strategy.
07:35The British look at the map of the colonies
07:39and they think, well, we know Boston
07:41is just a hotbed, forget them.
07:43That was the first place we lost.
07:44We have these centers in New York,
07:47temporarily in Philadelphia,
07:48but the countryside is too unpredictable.
07:53The British hoped in the South
07:55to establish a foothold in North America
08:00that could be a permanent foothold.
08:02Here is the wealthiest part of the 13 colonies, right?
08:07Here are the major source of export goods,
08:10tobacco and grain and rice and indigo
08:13in naval stores, right?
08:14All of these come from the Southern colonies.
08:17The key to the British Southern Strategy
08:19is the belief that their efforts
08:20will be supported by Loyalists,
08:22the Americans still loyal to the crown.
08:26The British believe they will be received
08:28as liberators
08:30and that thousands of Loyalist militia
08:33will pour out and join their cause.
08:37The assumption was
08:38that most colonists
08:39given the chance would be Loyalists.
08:41By moving south,
08:42they were moving to an area
08:44where they hoped that they could
08:45finally restore British authority
08:49and put the Loyalists in charge.
08:52All that remains now
08:54is putting their plan into action.
08:57December 26, 1779,
09:00British headquarters, New York City.
09:04With his orders from the British Ministry
09:06now in hand,
09:08Commander-in-Chief Henry Clinton
09:10makes preparations to carry them out.
09:13This is Clinton's first offensive action,
09:16one that is so important
09:18that he himself will lead the assault.
09:21But he is filled with a sense of foreboding.
09:24Clinton has watched
09:26two other British commanders
09:27fail at winning this war
09:29and doesn't want his name
09:31added to the list.
09:33If the seizure of the other southern states
09:36doesn't work,
09:37it's not clear what will work.
09:39Clinton is as concerned with
09:41how his actions will be interpreted,
09:43how he will be judged,
09:45that awareness of,
09:48if I don't handle this right,
09:50what's this going to mean
09:51for my reputation back at home?
09:53The general's neck
09:55is squarely on the line.
09:57His success, or failure,
09:59could determine the outcome of the war.
10:01and no one knows it better
10:03than Clinton himself.
10:05This is the most important hour
10:08Britain ever knew.
10:09If we lose it,
10:10we shall never see such another.
10:12British General Henry Clinton.
10:15The British leave New York City
10:17with more than 100 ships
10:18and a force of 8,700.
10:22Roughly one-third of the British army
10:24in America.
10:25Their destination,
10:27Charleston, South Carolina.
10:39News that the British fleet has set sail
10:41reaches Washington
10:42in Morristown, New Jersey.
10:46But the Commander-in-Chief is powerless.
10:51A cruel winter march south
10:53is no option for his starving army.
10:57He must let the British go.
11:01Charleston
11:02will have to fend for itself.
11:10January 1780.
11:12The British have launched an armada
11:14out of New York City.
11:168,700 soldiers
11:18heading for a southern offensive
11:19in Charleston, South Carolina.
11:24But Washington,
11:25with no navy
11:26and his army snowed in
11:28at Morristown
11:29by the worst winter
11:30the war has seen,
11:32cannot follow.
11:33Leaving Charleston
11:34and his southern army
11:36to fend for themselves.
11:45800 miles south
11:46of Washington's winter camp,
11:48Benjamin Lincoln,
11:50the new commander
11:51of the Continental Southern Army,
11:52is assuming his duties.
11:56The Major General
11:58was dispatched south
11:59three months earlier
12:00by Washington himself
12:01and is now in command
12:03of nearly 2,400 soldiers.
12:06But the Massachusetts Farmer
12:08is an unlikely choice
12:09for a commander.
12:12Benjamin Lincoln
12:13is one of the most
12:15interesting generals,
12:16perhaps,
12:17of the entire American Revolution.
12:19He's sort of a paradox,
12:21from the bloody earth.
12:23Lincoln is a rotund New England
12:24Continental Army officer.
12:26He suffers from sleep apnea,
12:28oftentimes falling asleep
12:30at the most inopportune moments,
12:32and he does not possess
12:33the kind of battlefield charisma
12:35that one would want
12:37in a combat commander.
12:40He is, however,
12:41a masterful compromiser.
12:44He is a great politician,
12:45and in large measure,
12:47this helps explain the reason
12:49that he assumes command
12:50of the Southern Department.
12:52Lincoln's task
12:53is first and foremost
12:55the defense of Charleston,
12:56South Carolina,
12:58the city known
12:59as the Jewel of the South.
13:04Clustered on a low,
13:05sandy spit of land,
13:07Charleston sits on a peninsula
13:08at the junction
13:09of the Ashley and Cooper Rivers.
13:11It is the fourth largest city
13:13in America,
13:13with 12,000 residents.
13:18Its deep water harbor
13:19makes Charleston
13:20the South's most important port.
13:23Rice, indigo,
13:24and naval stores
13:25leave daily,
13:26headed to Europe
13:27and the West Indies.
13:29You're looking at
13:30one of the richest sections
13:31of the colonies.
13:34Charleston,
13:34by value of its export,
13:38is the richest port
13:39in America at the time.
13:42And nature
13:43has endowed Charleston
13:44with a superior
13:45defensive position.
13:47Surrounded by impassable swamps
13:49teeming with malaria-ridden mosquitoes,
13:52the terrain is foreboding
13:54to any who dare take it.
14:00January 10th, 1780.
14:03Benjamin Lincoln
14:04receives a dispatch
14:05from spotters
14:06along the coast.
14:08A massive British force
14:09is approaching.
14:11With his command
14:13barely underway,
14:14Lincoln will have to face down
14:16England's army.
14:20Lincoln immediately petitioned
14:22South Carolina's government
14:23to recruit
14:23and raise more troops.
14:26But his request
14:28is denied.
14:30It is not the first time
14:31the South Carolinians
14:33have frustrated
14:33the patriot cause.
14:38Many view
14:39the colony's citizens
14:40as reluctant revolutionaries,
14:43voting for independence
14:44only under tremendous pressure
14:46from the other colonies.
14:49And on the floor
14:50of the Continental Congress,
14:52South Carolina's seeming
14:53unwillingness
14:54to raise troops
14:55has ignited heated debates.
14:59How can South Carolina
15:01expect us to send
15:02our men to their support
15:03when they will do
15:04nothing for themselves?
15:05The state of South Carolina
15:08may have thought
15:08we neglected them,
15:10but we know
15:10they neglected themselves.
15:14But in this case,
15:16losing the coastal port
15:17of Charleston
15:18to the British
15:18would be too great
15:19an economic blow.
15:22So, Congress promises
15:24General Lincoln
15:243,000 additional troops
15:26from Virginia
15:27and North Carolina.
15:29With a march
15:30of 500 miles
15:31ahead of them,
15:32it is unlikely
15:34the reinforcements
15:35will arrive in time.
15:39With his back
15:40against the wall,
15:41the New Englander
15:42proposes a last-ditch idea
15:43to South Carolina's
15:45government.
15:46Arm 1,500 black slaves
15:48and turn them
15:49into soldiers.
15:51If they refuse,
15:53Lincoln will leave
15:54Charleston
15:54to the British.
15:57South Carolina's response
15:59is immediate.
16:00The request is denied
16:02as totally impractical.
16:05Even though
16:06their backs
16:07were to the wall
16:08when the British army
16:09moved south,
16:10they could not
16:12bear the risk
16:13of putting weapons
16:14in the arms
16:16of black men.
16:18They were very concerned
16:19about what might happen
16:21should they start
16:22arming their slaves.
16:24I mean,
16:25to arm those people
16:26you have formerly
16:26held in captivity
16:27might be a suicidal
16:29thing to do
16:29and they understood this.
16:32With reinforcements
16:33hundreds of miles away
16:34and no black recruits,
16:37the defense of Charleston
16:39is looking more
16:40and more futile.
16:43At that point,
16:44Lincoln's choice
16:45was either
16:46to get the army
16:48out of the city
16:49and give it up
16:50or to stay in the city.
16:52In the best of all
16:53possible worlds,
16:54Lincoln should have
16:55left Charleston
16:56and gone to the countryside.
16:58But the general's
16:59sense of honor
17:00and duty
17:01prevents him
17:01from abandoning
17:02his post
17:03and retreat,
17:04however wise,
17:06would open him
17:07to accusations
17:08of cowardice.
17:11Undermanned,
17:12undersupplied
17:13and unsupported,
17:15Lincoln will make
17:16his stand
17:17at Charleston.
17:19He communicates
17:20his plight
17:21to his commander-in-chief,
17:22General Washington.
17:23We remain unsupported
17:25by troops,
17:26unsupplied,
17:27and what adds
17:28to the unhappiness
17:29is the little prospect
17:30that our affairs
17:31will speedily be
17:32in a better channel.
17:33General Benjamin Lincoln.
17:38But from New Jersey,
17:39there is little
17:40Washington can do.
17:43With his army
17:44half a country away
17:45and nearly starving,
17:47moving his sizable force
17:49south is out
17:50of the question.
17:52Washington wants
17:53to send men
17:54from Morristown.
17:55He can't send men
17:56because the men
17:57he wants to send
17:58have no shoes.
18:00They can't walk.
18:02So no army is sent.
18:17February 11, 1780.
18:21After a harrowing journey
18:22on the frigid,
18:23windswept seas
18:24of the Atlantic,
18:25British General
18:26Henry Clinton
18:27and his force
18:27of nearly 9,000 soldiers
18:29finally reach
18:30their destination,
18:32landing 20 miles
18:33south of Charleston.
18:35The army now unloads
18:37and begins
18:38its northward march.
18:41On February 16,
18:43the British cross
18:44the Stono River,
18:45taking control
18:46of James Island,
18:47which sits right
18:48across the harbor
18:49from Charleston.
18:50Then, finally,
18:52at the end of March,
18:53cross the Ashley River
18:54in force.
18:56The British southern
18:57campaign is underway
18:59and the city of Charleston
19:02is in their sights.
19:07The British army
19:08has set out
19:09on a new course
19:10in the war
19:10for independence,
19:11taking the fight
19:12to the southern colonies
19:13of America.
19:15now 8,700 soldiers,
19:18roughly one-third
19:19of the British army
19:20in America,
19:21have come ashore
19:22in South Carolina
19:25and, under the command
19:26of General Henry Clinton,
19:28have begun their push
19:30to close in
19:31on their goal,
19:32Charleston.
19:35At his headquarters
19:37within the city,
19:38General Benjamin Lincoln
19:39readies himself
19:40for the British assault.
19:42There is no sign
19:44of the 3,000 soldiers
19:45promised by Congress
19:46a month earlier,
19:48and his army
19:49is severely outnumbered.
19:52So, the general
19:53prepares for his defense
19:54the only way
19:55he knows how.
19:57Lincoln rolls up
19:59his sleeves
19:59and grabs a shuttle.
20:03The Massachusetts farmer
20:04throws his back
20:05into his command,
20:07working day and night
20:08right beside his men.
20:11The Americans
20:13build earthen walls,
20:14lay trenches,
20:16and create
20:16as many obstacles
20:17as possible,
20:18all designed
20:19to slow the progress
20:20of the British army.
20:23But Lincoln knows
20:24that unless there
20:25are reinforcements,
20:26the outcome of this fight
20:28is inevitable.
20:30With the soldiers' resolve,
20:33Lincoln writes once again
20:34to his commander-in-chief,
20:36George Washington.
20:37I can promise you
20:39nothing but a disposition
20:40to serve my country
20:41and to defend Charleston
20:43as long as opposition
20:44can be any avail.
20:46General Benjamin Lincoln.
20:52April 1st, 1780,
20:54day one.
20:56800 yards west
20:58of the American
20:59fortifications
20:59at Charleston,
21:00the British begin
21:01their offensive
21:02with a shovel
21:03rather than a cannon.
21:06General Clinton's goal
21:07is to take Charleston
21:09intact.
21:10If he destroys the town,
21:12he fears the citizens
21:14will refuse
21:14the crown's authority.
21:17Instead,
21:18he will surround Charleston
21:19and conduct
21:20a highly structured,
21:21formal assault
21:22on the city.
21:24A siege.
21:25A siege is a very
21:27methodical
21:28and time-consuming
21:29reduction
21:29of a strategic place.
21:31the engineers
21:32will begin
21:32to dig
21:33what is called
21:33the first parallel.
21:35Parallel trenches
21:36are essentially
21:37concentric circles
21:38dug around the post.
21:41The siege is
21:42rather similar
21:43to an incremental
21:44tightening
21:45of a noose.
21:49Helping to construct
21:50the first British parallel
21:51is a labor force
21:53that is seeking
21:54its own freedom
21:55in the War of Independence,
21:57slaves who have joined
21:58the British side.
22:00They have come
22:01from the countryside,
22:02enticed by the
22:03Phillipsburg Proclamation,
22:04a renewal
22:05of Lord Dunmore's
22:061775 edict.
22:09It offers freedom
22:10and land
22:11to any slave
22:13who joins
22:13the British cause.
22:15The British understood
22:16the colonies.
22:18They knew
22:19that South Carolina's
22:21population,
22:22the majority
22:22of its population,
22:24was African-American
22:25slaves.
22:26And they also knew
22:28that these African-American
22:29slaves were a potential
22:30fifth column.
22:32If you think about it
22:33for a moment,
22:33if you are an army
22:35opposing an enemy
22:36and you know
22:37that that enemy
22:38holds under its grip
22:41people who are enslaved
22:43and you know darn well
22:45that those people
22:45don't want to be enslaved
22:47and would do anything
22:48within their power
22:48to break that grip,
22:50it's only natural
22:52that you would use that
22:53to your advantage.
22:54and that's precisely
22:55what the British did.
22:57Slaves can't just
22:58walk off the plantation
22:59and enlist with the British.
23:01They have to escape.
23:03For the slave families,
23:05it is a difficult
23:06and dangerous decision.
23:08Some slaves
23:09are very likely
23:10to make the decision
23:11to run to the British
23:12while others
23:13will stay on the plantation
23:15and say,
23:15no, I'm not willing
23:17to take the chance.
23:19I'll probably end up
23:20getting shot anyway.
23:22Those are the kinds
23:23of calculations
23:24that have to be made
23:26plantation by plantation,
23:28family by family.
23:30Over time,
23:31thousands of slaves
23:33escape and go
23:34to the British lines
23:36to fight for their freedom.
23:39When you are presented
23:40with the choice
23:41of staying in slavery
23:43or the very real possibility
23:45of having the bonds
23:46of slavery broken,
23:47that's no choice.
23:48So that slaves
23:50were often ready
23:52to throw in their lot
23:53with the British,
23:54even if they didn't know
23:56precisely what might happen
23:57because, you know,
23:59it's not the choices
24:00that you want,
24:01but it's the choice
24:02that you have.
24:13The siege of Charleston
24:14enters its fifth day
24:15and the methodical work
24:17of the British assault
24:18continues.
24:20Nights are spent
24:21digging trenches
24:23and by sunrise,
24:25each side wakes up
24:27just a little bit
24:28closer to the other.
24:30From his barracks
24:31in Charleston,
24:32an anonymous American soldier
24:34is just beginning
24:35to feel the effects
24:36of the attack
24:37and charts
24:38the British progress.
24:40Last night,
24:41the enemy continued
24:41their approaches.
24:43They erected a battery
24:44for 12 cannon.
24:46The batteries have thrown
24:47several shots into town
24:48by which one of the inhabitants
24:50in King Street
24:51was killed.
25:00Day 7
25:02from the North
25:03comes the news
25:04American General
25:04Benjamin Lincoln
25:05has been waiting for.
25:07Relief is on the way.
25:10The Continental soldiers
25:11promised by Congress
25:12have arrived
25:13and are making their way
25:15into the city.
25:17Marching double time,
25:19they have made
25:19the 505-mile journey
25:21from Virginia
25:21in just 30 days.
25:25Charleston citizens
25:26greet the soldiers
25:27with cheers
25:28and the hourly
25:29pealing of bells.
25:32The celebration
25:33on the streets
25:34of Charleston
25:34stands in stark contrast
25:36to the somber mood
25:37of Benjamin Lincoln's
25:38headquarters.
25:40Rather than the
25:413,000 soldiers promised,
25:43the Virginians
25:44number just 750.
25:50These numbers
25:51fall far too short.
25:55bearing down on the city
25:56are 10,000 British
25:58redcoats.
26:06Day 8
26:07The British take their aim
26:09on Charleston harbor
26:10as a group of warships
26:12runs the narrow channel
26:13under cannon fire
26:14from Fort Moultrie,
26:16the American outpost
26:17protecting the inlet.
26:20A Hessian soldier
26:22fighting on the British
26:22side
26:23witnesses the scene
26:24from the shore.
26:26It was the most
26:28majestic
26:28and beautiful spectacle
26:30that one can imagine.
26:31The fort was veiled
26:32in fire and smoke
26:34and the roar
26:35of 43 heavy guns
26:36resembled
26:36a terrible thunderstorm.
26:39Despite all dangers
26:40threatening the fleet,
26:41it sailed quite slowly
26:42past the fort
26:43with colors flying proudly.
26:45Captain Johann Eberl.
26:47With his fleet
26:48now safely
26:49in Charleston harbor,
26:51Henry Clinton's forces
26:52encircle nearly
26:53all of the city.
26:59Day 10
27:02From their position
27:03of strength,
27:04the British now
27:05send the Americans
27:05an ultimatum.
27:07Give up the fight
27:08and surrender.
27:11General Lincoln's
27:12response is immediate.
27:14He will not
27:15yield his post.
27:16The protocol of war
27:18at that time
27:19mandated that
27:21the defending commander
27:22keep the fight up
27:25at least long enough
27:26to meet the minimal
27:28dictates of honor
27:29in that time.
27:30So the besieged commander
27:32would always routinely
27:34decline the first
27:36offer of surrender.
27:38British General Henry Clinton
27:40has gotten the response
27:41he expected.
27:43It strengthens his resolve.
27:46They will now
27:47defend the town
27:48and when we take it
27:49we shall take
27:50all in it.
27:51Sir Henry Clinton.
27:55Day 14
27:57The British parallels
27:59continue creeping
28:00closer and closer
28:01to Charleston.
28:04Shelling fills the days
28:06as hot lead
28:07rains on the town.
28:11just one escape path
28:12remains open
28:13to the Americans
28:15along the Cooper River
28:17to a crossroads
28:18called Monk's Corner.
28:21Running through
28:22a series of shallow
28:23crossings
28:23along the river's edge
28:25the route serves
28:26as the last
28:26communication link
28:27between Charleston
28:28and the South Carolina
28:30back country.
28:32a lone continental
28:34garrison
28:34is stationed
28:35at Monk's Corner.
28:36Their charge
28:38is a vital one
28:39keep the route
28:40open.
28:42For the British
28:43it is the last
28:45target needed
28:45to encircle the city.
28:48The man charged
28:50with taking the post
28:51is a brash
28:52young
28:52and vicious
28:53cavalryman
28:54Bannister Tarleton.
28:56The 24 year old
28:57Tarleton
28:58is as ambitious
28:59as they come.
29:00Described as
29:01full of enterprise
29:02and spirit
29:03and anxious
29:04of every opportunity
29:05of distinguishing
29:06himself
29:06he has risen
29:07quickly
29:08through the British ranks.
29:10Bannister Tarleton
29:11is one of Clinton's
29:12most capable
29:14subordinate commanders.
29:15He is a dashing
29:16young cavalry commander
29:17and he understands
29:18how to fight
29:19in this theater
29:20but his actions
29:21are all directed
29:22at the decisive
29:23destruction
29:24of enemy
29:25combat power.
29:26Tarleton
29:27is known
29:28for his daring
29:29for moving
29:30his cavalry
29:31quickly
29:32quick hits
29:33he is also
29:34known for
29:35no restraint.
29:41At Monk's corner
29:42Tarleton unleashes
29:43a daring plan
29:44on the Americans
29:47a surprise attack.
29:50Under the cover
29:51of night
29:52Tarleton
29:53and his men
29:53make their move.
29:54They strike fast
29:55hard
29:56and without mercy
30:00catching the
30:01Continental Garrison
30:02completely off guard
30:06in the thick
30:07of the attack
30:07an American
30:08officer's pleas
30:09for surrender
30:10are met
30:11with a saber.
30:19Monk's corner
30:20becomes Tarleton's
30:21calling card.
30:22It is not
30:23the last time
30:24the Americans
30:25will face
30:25the brash
30:26cavalry officer.
30:28The final road
30:30out of Charleston
30:31is now closed.
30:41April 1780
30:43The siege
30:44of Charleston,
30:45South Carolina
30:46enters its third week
30:47with the British
30:48painstakingly
30:49inching their way
30:50towards the city's
30:51continental defences.
30:53With the last road
30:55out now shut down
30:57British General
30:59Clinton begins
30:59tightening his noose
31:01around the city's
31:02very neck.
31:11Day 18
31:12Behind the defensive
31:14line there is
31:15the terrifying
31:15and constant
31:16barrage of cannon fire.
31:19For an anonymous
31:20continental soldier
31:22the strain
31:22of the siege
31:23is beginning
31:23to show.
31:25The enemy
31:26continued firing
31:27from their cannon
31:27mortars
31:28and small arms.
31:30A sentinel
31:31near the advanced
31:32readout
31:32had his arms
31:33shut off
31:33by one of our
31:33own cannon.
31:36The enemy
31:36continued to approach
31:38and we hear
31:39that our cavalry
31:40have been defeated
31:40and that we lost
31:41between 20 and 30
31:42killed and wounded
31:43among them.
31:44It's hard for us
31:45today to imagine
31:47what it's like
31:47to be inside
31:48a city
31:48that's being
31:49besieged.
31:50You're worrying
31:51about these
31:52incessant artillery
31:53shells coming in
31:55and you're probably
31:56worrying all the time
31:57about what eventually
31:58is going to happen.
31:59What's going to happen
32:00when the enemy
32:01gets in here?
32:08Day 21
32:11In the American
32:12headquarters
32:12General Benjamin
32:13Lincoln finds himself
32:14in the middle
32:15of an angry debate.
32:17Some of his officers
32:19want to take
32:19a desperate action
32:20a dangerous
32:21water retreat
32:22under cover
32:23of night.
32:25Lincoln knows
32:27really he should
32:27leave the city.
32:29It was heated
32:30a very heated
32:32confrontation.
32:36But with the British
32:37fleet sitting
32:38just off the city
32:40moving his force
32:42across a river
32:42would be suicide.
32:49So Lincoln
32:50sends out
32:50a flag of truce
32:51and a request
32:52for a six hour
32:53break from fighting.
32:56Having already
32:57rejected British
32:58General Clinton's
32:59offer of surrender
33:00Lincoln now proposes
33:02his own terms.
33:04He will give up
33:05Charleston
33:06and in return
33:07his forces
33:08will be allowed
33:09to retreat
33:09for ten days
33:10unmolested
33:12with its arms
33:13military stores
33:14and baggage.
33:16In addition
33:17he asks for
33:18the guaranteed
33:19protection
33:19of the residents
33:20property.
33:21Those who wanted
33:22could sell
33:23their goods off
33:24and leave the city.
33:26It would be
33:27a free evacuation
33:28with the honors
33:29of war
33:30the most lenient
33:31surrender
33:31in a formal siege.
33:34but British
33:35General Clinton
33:36will have none
33:36of it.
33:38His goal
33:39is complete
33:39capitulation
33:40by the Americans.
33:42He returns
33:43the note
33:43and includes
33:44his terms
33:46a total surrender.
33:48A total surrender
33:49or an unconditional
33:51surrender
33:52is perhaps
33:53one of the most
33:54humiliating defeats
33:55that an enemy
33:55can suffer.
33:56A commander
33:57will not make
33:58an offer
33:58or demand
33:59a total surrender
34:00or unconditional surrender
34:01unless he is confident
34:02in his ability
34:03to finish the job
34:05by force of arms.
34:07Lincoln refuses
34:08the offer.
34:09The terms
34:10unacceptable.
34:14It will be a fight
34:15to the end.
34:22day 30.
34:23The British parallels
34:25have closed
34:26to within 500 feet
34:27of the earthen defenses
34:28protecting Charleston.
34:30At this distance
34:31cannon can be fired
34:32with accuracy
34:33into the city.
34:38But even
34:39at this close range
34:40the British
34:40are still looking
34:41for some sign
34:42of the effect
34:43of their barrage.
34:44Some intelligence
34:45on the mood
34:46of their enemy.
34:50Clinton's men
34:50intercept a letter
34:51from an American
34:52militiaman
34:53to his wife.
34:54It confirms
34:55the state of mind
34:56in the besieged city.
34:59Our affairs
35:00are daily declining.
35:01Nothing prevents
35:03Lincoln's surrender
35:03but a point of honor
35:05in holding out
35:05to the last extremity.
35:07This is nearly at hand
35:09as our provisions
35:10will soon fail.
35:12The enemy
35:13have continued
35:14their approaches
35:14with vigor
35:15and in a short time
35:16will plant
35:17the British standard
35:18on our ramparts.
35:20This will give
35:20a rude shock
35:21to the independence
35:22of America.
35:24The 13 stripes
35:25will be leveled
35:26in the dust.
35:27And I will owe my life
35:29to the clemency
35:30of a conqueror.
35:31Benjamin Smith.
35:36Clinton publishes
35:37the letter
35:37for all his men
35:38to see
35:40and increases
35:42the cannon barrage.
35:49Day 38
35:52In the American headquarters
35:54Benjamin Lincoln
35:55is trying to salvage
35:56his defense
35:58to hold out
35:59in hope of additional
36:00reinforcement
36:01or come up
36:02with some plan
36:03that might turn
36:03the course
36:04of the siege.
36:07Now
36:07devastating news
36:08arrives from his lines.
36:10The South Carolinian militia
36:12has abandoned
36:13their posts
36:14within the city.
36:20And now
36:21the citizens
36:22of Charleston
36:23are saying
36:23that they have
36:24had enough.
36:30Major General
36:31Benjamin Lincoln
36:33commander
36:33of the Southern
36:34Department
36:34of the Continental Army
36:37has run out
36:38of options.
36:44The siege of Charleston
36:46has ground on
36:47for more than a month
36:49and the British
36:50rain a constant barrage
36:52of cannon and mortar fire
36:53down upon the town.
36:59With Charleston
37:00completely surrounded
37:02it is only a matter
37:03of time
37:03before British forces
37:04breach the defenses
37:05of the city
37:06and are able
37:07to overrun the town.
37:12Now
37:13General Clinton
37:13prepares a final offer
37:15for the Americans
37:15complete
37:16and total surrender.
37:25Day 41
37:28The terms of surrender
37:30reach General
37:30Benjamin Lincoln's desk
37:32and he now faces
37:34the reality
37:34of his situation.
37:41The time has come
37:42to give up the fight
37:46to yield his post.
37:50The British cannon
37:51finally fall silent.
38:19May 12th, 1780.
38:23surrender.
38:25America's Southern Army
38:27strikes the flag
38:28of its new nation
38:29and lays down
38:30its weapons.
38:35The entire Charleston
38:37garrison
38:39more than 5,000
38:41Continental soldiers
38:42and militia
38:43are now prisoners
38:45to the British.
38:48It is the heaviest loss
38:50the Americans
38:51have suffered
38:51in the revolution.
39:00General Benjamin
39:01Lincoln's war
39:02is over for now.
39:04He returns in defeat
39:06to his Massachusetts farm
39:07as a prisoner
39:08of the British
39:08on parole.
39:12Charleston,
39:14the jewel of the South
39:15belongs to the King.
39:22British General
39:23Henry Clinton
39:24savors his victory.
39:25He cannot hide
39:27his optimism
39:27about a smooth
39:28and easy road
39:29to capturing
39:30the other southern colonies.
39:31He sends word home
39:33home to England.
39:35I hope I am not
39:36too sanguine
39:37when I say
39:38that both
39:38the Carolinas
39:39are conquered
39:39in Charleston.
39:41British General
39:42Henry Clinton.
39:44In England,
39:45the news from America
39:46is cause
39:46for a much-overdue celebration.
39:49It has been
39:50three years
39:51since their army.
39:52The most powerful
39:53in the world
39:54has had such
39:54a decisive win.
39:58Finally,
39:59the tide of war
39:59is turning.
40:02The southern strategy
40:03is a seeming success.
40:10Back in the
40:11American headquarters
40:12at Morristown,
40:13celebration
40:13is the last thing
40:15on George Washington's mind.
40:18The final dispatch
40:19from Charleston
40:20has arrived.
40:22His southern army
40:23is now lost.
40:26It is another defeat
40:28for the Americans.
40:30one that the
40:31commander-in-chief
40:31had been powerless
40:33to stop.
40:36The brutal winter
40:38of 1780
40:39has taken a mighty
40:40toll on his army.
40:42It was a long winter.
40:43It snowed in May.
40:45Soldiers are starving.
40:48The dire conditions
40:49have pushed some
40:50to the very edge.
40:52Dissension is growing
40:53in the ranks.
40:55Insubordination
40:56runs rampant.
40:57Some soldiers
40:58even threaten
40:59to take matters
41:00into their own hands.
41:01To mutinate.
41:03It is a decisive
41:05and dangerous moment
41:06for the Continental Army.
41:10George Washington
41:11must step forward
41:12and restore order.
41:16The commander-in-chief
41:17carefully chooses
41:18his moment
41:19to take action.
41:26May 26, 1780.
41:30Eight nooses
41:31prepared for eight men.
41:35They are soldiers
41:37brought here
41:37on a variety
41:38of charges.
41:41Insubordination,
41:42forging documents,
41:43theft.
41:46All are sentenced
41:47to death.
41:51Washington orders
41:52the execution
41:53be held
41:54before the entire camp
41:55for all of his men
41:57to see.
41:58It is a carefully
41:59choreographed event.
42:02Washington
42:04wanted to use
42:05punishment,
42:06a capital punishment,
42:07particularly sparingly.
42:10But he also knew
42:11it was great theater.
42:15All eight were put
42:16on top of the gallows.
42:17Nooses were put
42:18around their heads.
42:20Their graves
42:21had been dug
42:22in front of the gallows
42:23and their coffins,
42:24which he ordered
42:25manufactured,
42:26placed next to the graves.
42:29The goal of
42:31a public execution
42:32is to instill
42:33awe in the audience,
42:35awe for the power
42:35of military authority.
42:37But you can make it
42:39into better theater
42:40by pardoning
42:41and offering
42:42a last-minute reprieve.
42:48As they were
42:49about to be hung,
42:50a soldier stepped
42:51forward from the crowd.
42:56Reprieve.
42:58Reprieve from
42:59the commander-in-chief.
43:02Seven of the eight
43:03were freed.
43:07So you have both
43:09awe in the punishment
43:11and then gratitude
43:13for the reprieve.
43:15And the audience
43:16experience all of these
43:17things at the same time.
43:20On this day,
43:21just one man
43:22will hang
43:23for his crimes.
43:26It is a warning
43:28to all in Washington's army
43:30of the consequence
43:31for insubordination.
43:35For Washington,
43:36these are some
43:37of the darkest days.
43:39The British southern
43:40strategy flourishes.
43:43While simultaneously,
43:44it looks as if
43:45the American army
43:46is coming undone
43:47at the seams.
43:49and without the army,
43:52there is no revolution.
43:57I find our prospects
43:59are infinitely worse
44:00than they have been
44:00at any other period
44:01of the war.
44:03I look forward
44:04to the consequences
44:05with an anxiety
44:06not to be described.
44:07George Washington.
44:10The commander-in-chief
44:12cannot help
44:12but question
44:13the future
44:14of the war
44:14he once called
44:15this glorious cause.
44:20next time on
44:21The Revolution.
44:22Daniel Morgan's
44:24cat-and-mouse
44:24guerrilla tactics
44:25will draw the British
44:26deep into unknown
44:28southern territory.
44:29He knows he can lead
44:30the British army
44:31into indecisive conflicts
44:33that's going to spread
44:34the British army thin.
44:35This was the way
44:36wars were fought
44:37in the southern backcountry.
44:39This was not the way
44:40warfare was supposed
44:41to be conducted.
44:42He really is
44:43a roughneck
44:44frontiersman.
44:45hard drinking
44:46hard fighting
44:47he really is
44:48the stuff of fiction.
45:15I don't know
45:16what was supposed
45:17to be done.
45:19I don't know
45:19to be done.
45:19the British army
45:19young
45:20I don't know
45:20you
45:20you
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