Benedict Arnold was initially a hero of the American Revolution but later committed treason by offering to hand over the key fort of West Point to the British. The British occupied Savannah, Georgia in 1778 and Charleston, South Carolina in 1780, where over 5,000 American troops were captured in the worst defeat of the war. Later battles including Cowpens and Guilford Courthouse involved clashes between American generals like Nathaniel Greene and Daniel Morgan against British commander Charles Cornwallis, ultimately resulting in Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown in 1781 after being surrounded by American and French forces, effectively ending the Revolutionary War.

3. The Southern Campaign Savannah, Georgia - the British occupied the city in December of 1778 - reinstated the British Royal Governor

4. CharlesTown, South Carolina - Captured by the British in May of 1780 - Over 5,000 American troops were captured - The worst defeat of the War for the Americans

6. Battle of King’s Mountain , October 1780 - British attacked on the frontier, backcountry colonists - enraged ‘overmountain men’ raised a militia and ambushed & defeated a British cavalry unit - rural southerners began organizing Patriot militias

7. Nathaniel Greene – Washington’s best remaining general was made American commander in the South. Daniel Morgan – sent by Greene into South Carolina to wear down the British by attacking supplies & small units Francis Marion – “ The Swamp Fox” most successful leader of hit-and-run raids against the British in South Carolina

8. Battle of Cowpens (S.C.), January 1781 - A small force under Daniel Morgan defeated part of Cornwallis’ British Army Guilford Courthouse (N.C.), March 1781 - Cornwallis & the British won the battle & forced Greene to retreat, but he continued to fight: "We fight, get beat, rise, and fight again.” - British casualties were so high, however, that Cornwallis retreated to the coast and then decided to invade north into Virginia - Greene moved south and began reconquest of South Carolina

9. Battle of the Capes September 1781 - French Fleet defeated the British off the American coast and the French controlled the waters off Virginia’s coast

10. Battle of Yorktown (VA), September- October 1781 - Cornwallis positioned the British Army on the York-James Peninsula, expecting British naval support - Washington moved south, blocked Cornwallis onto the peninsula and began bombarding the British Army - The French fleet blocked Cornwallis by sea and began shelling his army as well. - October 17, 1781 – The largest part of the British Army, led by Cornwallis, surrendered to Washington and the fighting of the Revolutionary War was essentially over