By 1778, British leaders began shifting military focus toward the southern colonies.

After years of difficult fighting in the North, British commanders believed the South offered their best remaining opportunity to defeat the Revolution.

Many British officials assumed Loyalist support remained far stronger in the southern colonies than in New England. If Britain could restore royal authority in Georgia and the Carolinas, they hoped large numbers of Loyalists would rally to the Crown and help crush Patriot resistance.

At first, the strategy appeared successful.

British forces captured Savannah, Georgia, in 1778 and later launched major operations against South Carolina. In May 1780, British troops captured Charleston after a lengthy siege.

The fall of Charleston became one of the worst American defeats of the entire war.

Thousands of Continental soldiers were captured, military supplies were lost, and British commanders believed the southern colonies might soon return to British control entirely.

For a time, the Revolution in the South seemed close to collapse.

But British expectations about Loyalist support quickly proved overly optimistic.

Although many Loyalists did support the British cause, large portions of the southern population continued backing the Patriots or resisted British rule altogether.

The war soon became increasingly brutal.

Rather than large formal battles alone, much of the fighting turned into violent partisan warfare carried out across farms, forests, swamps, and small communities.

Patriot and Loyalist militias raided settlements, attacked supply lines, carried out ambushes, and sometimes executed prisoners or suspected enemies.

In many areas, the Revolution resembled a civil war between neighbors.

Families divided over political loyalties, and violence spread across the countryside in cycles of retaliation and revenge.

Several American commanders emerged as important leaders during the Southern Campaign.

Among the most famous was Francis Marion, later known as the "Swamp Fox."

Using small mobile forces, Marion carried out guerrilla-style attacks against British troops and supply lines throughout South Carolina. His knowledge of local terrain allowed Patriot forces to strike quickly and disappear into swamps and forests before British troops could respond effectively.

Another key leader was General Nathanael Greene.

Washington selected Greene to command American forces in the South after a series of earlier defeats. Greene understood that destroying the British army in a single decisive battle would be difficult.

Instead, he adopted a strategy of endurance and attrition.

Greene repeatedly maneuvered against British forces, avoiding catastrophic defeat while forcing the British to exhaust men, supplies, and energy across vast distances.

Although Greene sometimes retreated, each campaign gradually weakened British control.

One of the most important Patriot victories occurred at Cowpens in January 1781.

American forces under Daniel Morgan used careful planning and disciplined militia tactics to defeat a British force led by Banastre Tarleton.

The victory boosted American morale and disrupted British momentum throughout the South.

British commander Charles Cornwallis grew increasingly frustrated.

Determined to destroy Greene's army, Cornwallis pursued the Americans across the Carolinas in a long and exhausting campaign.

The British won some battlefield victories, but each success came at heavy cost.

The farther Cornwallis marched, the more difficult supply and communication problems became. Patriot resistance remained active throughout the countryside, and British forces struggled to maintain stable control over the region.

Eventually, Cornwallis moved northward into Virginia.

Hoping to maintain contact with British naval support along the coast, he established positions near the Chesapeake Bay.

The decision would prove fateful.

The Southern Campaign had drained British strength while keeping the revolutionary cause alive in the South.

Now the war was moving toward its final major confrontation — one that would unfold at a small Virginia town called Yorktown.