General Howe left the army, and returned to England; the command then devolved upon Sir Henry Clinton.
In June, the British army left Philadelphia, and marched for New York. On their march they were annoyed by the Americans; and at Monmouth, a very regular action took place, between part of the armies; the enemy were repulsed with great loss, and had General Lee obeyed his orders, a signal victory must have been obtained. General Lee, for his ill conduct that day, was suspended, and was never afterwards permitted to join the army.
General Lee's conduct, at several times before this, had been very suspicious. In December 1776, he lay at Chatham, about eleven miles from Elizabeth Town, with a brigade of troops, when a great quantity of baggage was stored at Elizabeth Town, under a guard of only five hundred Hessians. General Lee was apprised of this, and might have surprised the guard and taken the baggage. But he neglected the opportunity, and after several marches and counter marches between Troy, Chatham and Morristown, he took up his quarters at or near White's tavern, where he was surprised and taken prisoner by a party of the British horse. He was heard to say repeatedly, that General Washington would ruin a fine army. It was suspected that he had designs to supplant the General, and his friends attempted to place him at the head of the army. General Washington's prudent delays and cautious movements afforded General Lee's friends many opportunities to spread reports unfavorable to his character. It was insinuated, with some success, that General Washington wanted courage and abilities. Reports of this kind, at one time, rendered General Lee very popular, and it is supposed he wished to frustrate General Washington's plans, in order to increase the suspicions already entertained of his generalship, and turn the public clamor in his own favor. His conduct at Monmouth, must have proceeded from such a design; for he commanded the flower of the American army, and was not destitute of courage.
In August, General Sullivan, with a large body of troops, attempted to take possession of Rhode Island, but did not succeed. Soon after, the stores and shipping at Bedford in Massachusetts, were burnt by a party of the British troops. The same year, Savannah, then the capital of Georgia, was taken by the British, under the command of Colonel Campbell.
In the following year (1779) General Lincoln was appointed to the command of the southern army.
Governor Tryon and Sir George Collier made an incursion into Connecticut, and burnt, with wanton barbarity, the towns of Fairfield and Norwalk. But the American arms were crowned with success, in a bold attack upon Stoney Point, which was surprised and taken by General Wayne, in the night of the 15th of July. Five hundred men were made prisoners, with little loss on either side.
A party of British forces attempted this summer, to build a fort on Penobscot river, for the purpose of cutting timber in the neighboring forests. A plan was laid by Massachusetts, to dislodge them, and a considerable fleet collected for the purpose. But the plan failed of success, and the whole marine force fell into the hands of the British, except some vessels which were burnt by the Americans themselves.
In October, General Lincoln and Count de Estaing made an assault upon Savannah; but they were repulsed with considerable loss. In this action, the celebrated Polish Count Pulaski, who had acquired the reputation of a brave soldier, was mortally wounded.
In this summer, General Sullivan marched with a body of troops, into the Indians' country, and burnt and destroyed all their provisions and settlements that fell in their way.
On the opening of the campaign, the next year, (1780) the British troops left Rhode Island. An expedition under General Clinton and Lord Cornwallis, was undertaken against Charleston, South Carolina, where General Lincoln commanded. This town, after a close siege of about six weeks, was surrendered to the British commander; and General Lincoln, and the whole American garrison were made prisoners.