[Footnote: During this retreat, General Greene, after a hard day's ride in the rain, alighted at the door of Mrs. Elizabeth Steele, in Salisbury, N. C., announcing himself as, "fatigued, hungry, cold, and penniless." Quickly providing the honored guest with a warm supper before a cheerful fire, this patriotic woman brought forth two small bags of specie, her earnings for years. "Take these," she said; "you will want them, and I can do without them." "Never," says his biographer, "did relief come at a more needy moment; the hero resumed his dangerous journey that night with a lightened heart." Another story illustrative of the patriotism of the Southern women is told of Mrs. Motte. The British had taken possession of her house, fortified and garrisoned it. On Colonel Lee's advance, she furnished him a bow and arrows, by means of which fire was thrown upon the shingled roof. Her mansion was soon in flames. The occupants, to save their lives, surrendered.]
CAMPAIGN CLOSED.—Having rested his men, Greene again took the field, harassing the enemy by a fierce partisan warfare. At Guilford Court-House (March 15) he hazarded a battle. The militia fled again at the first fire, but the continental regulars fought as in the time of De Kalb. The Americans at last retired, but the British had bought their victory so dearly that Cornwallis also retreated. Greene again pursuing, Cornwallis shut himself up in Wilmington. Thereupon Greene turned his course to South Carolina, and with the aid of Marion, Sumter, Lee, and Pickens, nearly delivered this State and Georgia from the English. In the battle of Eutaw Springs (Sept. 8) the forces of the enemy were so crippled that they retired toward Charleston. Cornwallis, refusing to follow Greene into South Carolina, had already gone north into Virginia, and though a fierce partisan warfare still distracted the country, this engagement closed the long and fiercely fought contest at the South.
[Footnote: Congress voted the highest honors to General Greene, who, by his prudence, wisdom, and valor, had, with such insignificant forces and miserable equipments, achieved so much for the cause of liberty. He never gained a decided victory, yet his defeats bad all the effect of successes, and his very retreats strengthened the confidence of his men and weakened that of the enemy.]
[Footnote: At the battle of Eutaw, Manning, a noted soldier of Lee's legion, was in hot pursuit of the flying British, when he suddenly found himself surrounded by the enemy and not an American within forty rods. He did not hesitate, but seizing an officer by the collar, and wresting his sword from him by main force, kept his body as a shield while he rapidly backed off under a heavy fire from the perilous neighborhood. The frightened British officer when thus summarily captured, began immediately to enumerate his titles: "I am Sir Henry Barry, deputy adjutant-general, captain in 52d regiment," &c., &c. "Enough," interrupted his captor; "you are just the man I was looking for.">[
THE WAR AT THE NORTH.—The traitor Arnold, burning with hatred, led an expedition into Virginia. He conducted the war with great brutality, burning private as well as public property. La Fayette was sent to check him, but with his small force could accomplish little. Cornwallis, arriving from the South, now took Arnold's place, and continued this marauding tour through the country. Clinton, however, fearing Washington, who seemed to threaten New York, directed Cornwallis to keep near the sea-coast so as to be ready to help him. Cornwallis, accordingly, after having destroyed ten million dollars worth of property, fortified himself at Yorktown.
[Footnote: Many of La Fayette's men having deserted, he set forth the baseness of such conduct, and then offered to all who desired it, a permit to go home. Not a man accepted, nor was there after this a single case of desertion. One soldier, not being able to walk, hired a cart that he might keep up with his comrades. Shoes, linen, and many other necessaries were provided at La Fayette's expense. The generosity of this general and the devotion of his soldiery seemed to vie with each other.]
SIEGE OF YORKTOWN.—It was arranged to attack Cornwallis at this place by the combined American and French forces. Washington, by a feint on New York, kept Clinton in the dark regarding his plans until he was far on his way south with the continental army.
[Footnote: During the preceding winter Robert Morris sent to the starving army several thousand barrels of flour. He now furnished nearly everything required for this expedition, issuing his own notes to the amount of $1,400,000. It is sad to know that this patriot, so often the resource of Washington, lost his fortune in his old age, and was confined in prison for debt.]
[Footnote: Washington, at this time, visited Mount Vernon which he had not seen since he left it to attend the Continental Congress in 1775. Six years and a half had nearly elapsed, yet he remained only long enough to fulfill a military engagement.]
[Footnote: Clinton sent Arnold on a pillaging tour into Connecticut in order to force Washington to return. He, however, was not to be diverted from his great enterprise, and left New England to take care of herself. New London was pillaged and burned, Arnold watching the fire from a church steeple. At Fort Griswold, the commander and half the garrison were butchered. After this fort had been taken, a British officer entering asked, "Who commands here?" "I did," said Colonel Ledyard, as he advanced to surrender his sword, "but you do now." With fiendish malignity, the officer seized the weapon and thrust it into the bosom of the brave colonel.]