Battle+of+Charleston+period+5

=Battle of Charleston =

Bianca DeVirgilio
The Battle of Charleston was a major battle toward the end of the American Revolutionary War, when the British began to focus on the southern American colonies. **Date:** April 1-May 12, 1780 **Location:** Charleston, South Carolina **Leaders, Armies and Navy:** __Great Britain-__ British Army and Navy Sir Henry Clinton- Officer British Army Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot- Commander of Royal Navy American Station Charles Cornwallis- Officer British Army  __America-__ American Continental Army Benjamin Lincoln- Continental Army Major General **Facts:** British Strength: 13,500 Soldiers American Strength: 5,460 Soldiers <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">76 British Wounded, 182 Killed <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">92 Americans killed, 148 wounded, 5266 captured <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">British Commanders sailed from New York, to take control of the south. After winning the Battle of Savannah, the British moved to Charleston, South Carolina. George Washington sent more troops to support Benjamin Lincoln at Charleston, but the American army was still too disadvantaged, and eventually surrendered. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Outcome:** <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After about six weeks of battle, Benjamin Lincoln surrendered. The senior American officers were exchanged for British and the other members of the Continental Army spent time on prison boats in the Charleston Harbor, exposed to sickness and disease. About a month later, General Clinton returned to New York, leaving officer Cornwallis in command with instructions to reduce North Carolina. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Significance to War:** <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Battle of Charleston was the greatest loss of manpower and equipment of the war for the Americans. The defeat left no Continental Army in the South, and also gave the British nearly full control of the Southern Colonies.

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