Siege of Charleston
Part of theAmerican Revolutionary War
An illustration of the siege byAlonzo Chappel
Date March 29 – May 12, 1780 (1 month, 1 week and 6 days) Location Charles Town, South Carolina, U.S. 32°47′39″N79°56′31″W / 32.79417°N 79.94194°W /32.79417; -79.94194 Result British victory
Belligerents
Great Britain Hesse-Kassel	United States  France
Commanders and leaders
Sir Henry Clinton Charles Cornwallis Alexander Leslie Mariot Arbuthnot	Benjamin Lincoln  William Moultrie William Woodford Abraham Whipple
Strength
12,847 regulars and militia 4,500 sailors 6 ships of the line 8 frigates 4 armed galleys 90 transports[1]	6,577 regulars, sailors and militia 3 frigates 5 sloops 1 schooner 1 brig 3 armed galleys[1]
Casualties and losses
Land: 76 killed 89 wounded[2]: 70  Sea: 23 killed 28 wounded[3]	89 killed 138 wounded 5,466 captured[4][5][a]

Thesiege of Charleston was a major engagement and majorBritish victory in theAmerican Revolutionary War, fought in the environs ofCharles Town (today Charleston), between March 29 and May 12, 1780. The British, following thecollapse of their northern strategy in late 1777 and theirwithdrawal from Philadelphia in 1778, shifted their focus to the North AmericanSouthern Colonies. After approximately six weeks of siege, Major GeneralBenjamin Lincoln, commanding the Charleston garrison, surrendered his forces to the British. It was one of the worst American defeats of the war.

By late 1779, two major British strategic efforts had failed. An army invading fromQuebec underJohn Burgoyne had surrendered to the Americans underHoratio Gates at theBattles of Saratoga, which inspired both theKingdom of France andSpain to declare war onGreat Britain in support of the Americans. Meanwhile, a strategic effort led bySir William Howe to capture the Revolutionaries' capital ofPhiladelphia had met with limited success. Having replaced his superior as Commander-in-Chief of the American Station,Sir Henry Clinton withdrew all his forces back toNew York City to reinforce the city against a possible Franco-U.S. attack.^[2]

Stymied by theFabian strategy adopted by Continental generalGeorge Washington and, under increasing political pressure to deliver victory, the British turned to launching their"Southern Strategy" to force a capitulation of the Americans. The British were persuaded that there was a strongLoyalist sentiment in the South, where major planters and merchants had a variety of economic and familial ties with Great Britain. It was expected that these Loyalists would rise against the AmericanPatriots in large numbers. The opening British action was theCapture of Savannah,Georgia in December 1778. After repulsing anassault on Savannah by a combined Franco-American force in October 1779, the British planned to captureCharleston, South Carolina, intending to use the city as a base for further operations in the southern colonies.^[2]

Clinton evacuatedNewport, Rhode Island in October 1779, and left the substantial garrison ofNew York City under the command ofWilhelm von Knyphausen. In December, the day after Christmas 1779, Clinton and hissecond-in-command,Charles Cornwallis, sailed southward with 8,500 troops and 5,000 sailors on 90 troopships and 14 warships. After a very stormy voyage, the fleet anchored in the Savannah River on 1 February 1780. By 12 February, Clinton had landed his army 30 miles south of Charleston onSimmons Island. By 24 February, the British had crossed theStono River ontoJames Island, and by 10 March, Lord Cornwallis had made it to the mainland. By 22 March, they had advanced toMiddleton Place andDrayton Hall, and on 29 March 1780, crossed theAshley River.^{[2]: 39–40, 42, 44}

Clinton had issued thePhilipsburg Proclamation in 1779, promising freedom forslaves owned by Patriots who escaped to British lines and aided their cause. Slaves left both the city and countryside around Charleston to join the British around the city. Among those former slaves, known asBlack Loyalists, evacuated by the British after the war wasJohn Kizell, who had been captured as a child from the area ofSierra Leone and transported to South Carolina. He eventually returned toSierra Leone and aided theAmerican Colonization Society.^{[citation needed]}

Cutting the city off from relief, Clinton began a siege on 1 April, 800 yards from the American fortifications located at today'sMarion Square. Whipple, deciding thebar was indefensible,scuttled his fleet at the mouth of theCooper River. Then Arbuthnot, on 8 April, brought his 14 vessels safely into the harbor, past the roaring guns ofFort Moultrie, the same day Woodford arrived with 750Virginia Continentals.^{[2]: 46, 52–53, 55–57}

In order to consolidate British control of the immediate area, Clinton dispatchedBanastre Tarleton andPatrick Ferguson to captureMonck's Corner on 14 April. On 18 April,Lt. Col. Lord Rawdon arrived with 2,500 men, including the 42nd Highlanders, the Hessian von Ditfurth Regiment, the Queen's Rangers,Prince of Wales American Volunteers, and the Volunteers of Ireland. Charleston was completely surrounded by the British.^{[2]: 60–64}

GovernorJohn Rutledge escaped on 13 April. On 21 April, Continental leader Benjamin Lincoln requested a surrender with "honours of war", which was rejected by Clinton.^{[citation needed]} On 23 April, Lord Cornwallis crossed the Cooper River with theVolunteers of Ireland and CarolinaTorymilitia, joiningLt. Col. James Webster's33rd Foot and64th Foot, blocking further escape from the left bank. On 25 April, civilians led byChristopher Gadsden prevented any action on Lincoln's part in withdrawing the Continental regiments. On 6 May, Tarleton won another engagement in theBattle of Lenud's Ferry, while the British siege works had advanced far enough towards the Charleston fortifications to drain the canal in front.^{[2]: 61, 66–69 [6][7][8][9]}

On 7 May, Fort Moultrie surrendered without a fight. On May 8, Clinton called for Lincoln's unconditional surrender, but Lincoln attempted to negotiate for the honours of war. On May 11, Gadsden and other citizens asked Lincoln to surrender. On the same day, the British firedheated shot into the city, burning several homes, and Lincoln felt forced to call for a parlay to negotiate terms for surrender. On May 12, Lincoln formally surrendered 3,371 men to the British.^{[2]: 69–70}

When word reached the backcountry, the American troops holdingNinety-Six, South Carolina andCamden, South Carolina also surrendered to the British.^[1]

• 
  Charleston map showing the distribution of British forces during the siege
• 
  Siege of Charleston map 1780
• 
  A sketch of the operations before Charlestown, the capital of South Carolina 1780 Siege

The British captured some 5,266 prisoners, 311 artillery pieces, 9,178 artillery rounds, 5,916 muskets, 33,000 rounds of ammunition, 15 regimental colours, 49 ships and 120 boats, plus 376 barrels of flour, and large magazines of rum, rice and indigo.^[1] Following the surrender, the captured ordnance was brought to a powder magazine. A Hessian officer warned that some of the guns might still be loaded, but he was ignored. One prematurely fired, detonating 180 barrels of powder, further discharging 5,000 muskets in the magazine. The accident killed approximately 200 people and destroyed six houses.^[1]

The prisoners of the siege were diverted to multiple locations, including prison ships, the old barracks where theCollege of Charleston is today (two barracks buildings are shown on early maps of the campus^[10]), and theOld Exchange and Provost "Dungeon".Prison hulks awaited the majority of the 2,571 Continental prisoners, whileparole was granted to the militia and civilians who promised not to take up arms. This ended the power of an American army in the South.^[2]: 70 The defeat was a serious blow to the American cause.^[11] It was the largest surrender of an American force under arms until the 1862 surrender ofUnion troops atHarper's Ferry during theAntietam Campaign. The surrender left no substantial army in the South, and the colonies were wide open for a British advance. The British troops consolidated their hold, and had driven the remaining Continental Army troops from South Carolina consequent to the May 29Battle of Waxhaws.

During their surrender the American forces were deniedhonors of war, leading GeneralGeorge Washington to deny the same to Cornwallis' army during its surrender at thesiege of Yorktown, stating that "The same Honors will be granted to the Surrendering Army as were granted to the Garrison of Charles Town."^[9] On June 5, Clinton sailed back to New York City, believing his presence necessary to defend against a potential Franco-American attack, leaving command of the southern theater to Cornwallis, with orders to reduce opposition inNorth Carolina. Though the effects of the surrender at Charleston were substantial, the British error in strategy soon became apparent. As no popular uprising of Loyalists took place, control of the countryside was difficult. Instead, resistance in South Carolina degenerated into a period of chaoticguerrilla warfare in the outlying areas.

The joint British naval-army forces were led overall bySir Henry Clinton, with his subordinate,Lord Cornwallis as his second-in-command. The British regular troops were led by Brigadier GeneralAlexander Leslie.

The ground and naval forces were composed thus:

The Franco-American garrison of Charleston was overall led byBenjamin Lincoln. TheContinental Army troops were nominally led by Brigadier GeneralWilliam Moultrie.

The ground and naval forces were composed thus:

TheAmerican Battlefield Trust and its partners have acquired and preserved 88 acres (0.36 km²) of battlefield land in Charleston related to the siege as of mid-2023.^[14]

• List of American Revolutionary War battles
• American Revolutionary War § War in the South. Places ' Siege of Charleston ' in overall sequence and strategic context.

• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911)."Charleston" .Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 9 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 944.

• Original papers relating to the siege of Charleston, 1780 By Benjamin Lincoln 1898

• Sieges of the American Revolutionary War involving France
• History of Charleston, South Carolina
• Battles of the American Revolutionary War in South Carolina
• 1780 in South Carolina
• Conflicts in 1780
• Sieges of the Anglo-French War (1778–1783)
• Sieges of the American Revolutionary War involving Great Britain
• Battles in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War 1780–1783
• 18th century in Charleston, South Carolina

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