>> the book "the road to >> nathanael greene and the american revolution" describes how general greene reversed a series of losses and eventually defeated the british in the southern theater of the war for independence. next, author and historian john buchanan discusses his new book at the american revolution institute of the society of the cincinnati in washington, d.c.

>> good evening and welcome. i am kelsey atwood, public program manager for the american revolution institute for the society of the cincinnati and i welcome you to anderson house. the american revolution institution of the society of the cincinnati promotes knowledge and appreciation of the achievement of a american independence by providing resources for advanced studies, exhibitions, and public programs, preservation and providing resources to classrooms. since 1938, the society of the cincinnati has done this work from its headquarters anderson house, an historic landmark finish in 1905 as a winter resident of lars and isabel anderson. tonight's talk brings the dramatic story of the south to its conclusion. nathanael greene's southern campaign was the most difficult

of the war. with supply line stretching hundreds of miles northward, it revealed much about the crucial military art of provision and transport. insufficient manpower, constant problem, greene intended to incorporate black regiments into his army, a plan rejected by the south carolina legislature. a bloody civil war between rebels and tories was working havoc on the south, forcing greene to address a vigilante terror and restore civilian government. between greene and thomas jefferson during the campaign showed that he was the devil by conflict between war and the rights of people on the question of how to -- under which a free society wages war. from the -- when the british evacuated charleston in the spring of 1792. greene and h is continental army entered the city in triumph. let me tell you about our speaker this evening. john buchanan is a native of

new york, who grew up in new york, michigan and ohio. following his service in the army, mr. b cannon graduated from st. lawrence university with highest honors in history and was elected to phi beta kappa. he would go on to serve at the high school teacher in elliott new york and leader and archivist at cornell university. in 1966, he joined the staff of the metropolitan museum of art first as archivist of the museum and for 22 years, chief registrar in charge of worldwide art movements. in that capacity, he traveled widely in the u.s., canada, mexico and europe and the former ussr, the middle east, india, china, japan and australia. upon retirement he resumed a writing career that had begun in the 1960's. john buchanan is the author of "the road to valley forge."

"the road to guilford courthouse." and our book this evening. please join me in welcoming john buchanan. [applause] >> i should start really by thanking the society for letting me speak in this historic venue. and kelsey atwood for her impeccable arrangements. thank you, kelsey. [applause] so, what to do about the south? the last major engagement in

the north was the battle of monm outh courthouse new jersey 28th of june 1778. after that, stalemate in the north. but the british had been taken of a southern campaign since 1776 and for various reasons decided to turn south. now, at the tail end of 1778, the british assault force went ashore in between sun up and sundown became masters of savannah. in the new year, they marched about 1000 british and provincial regulars marched up country all the way to augustine. 178 miles. now, the british commander-in-chief in east florida and georgia, major general augustine prebo wrote that the object of the expedition was to open the back

country to put otto the test the professions of loyalty of its inhabitants. those loyal tory inhabitants failed the test. of the promise 6000 fighters, only 1100 showed, and their zeal disappointed and expected indian allies, not one of. . for those and other reasons, the british withdrew to savannah and the low countries. the following year, may, 1780, the richest city in america, charleston, south carolina, and inside the city the only american army and the south surrendered to a strong british expeditionary force. and from there, from the british regulars and provincial regulars marched up the santee river and

established bases of communication and supply. also a major base of camden in the backcountry. down here in orangeburg and all the way out to the far back country and 96 where they established a very strong base and across the savannah river and augusta. where at least 2/3 of the white population lived. the key to success was control of the backcountry, where at least two thirds of the white population looked. lord cornwallis it took over the command of the south after the fall of charleston put pen to p aper on this issue. "keeping possession of the backcountry is of the utmost importance. indeed, the success of the war in the south depends totally upon it.

in london, however, the king and his ministers labored under the delusion that the loyalist comprise the majority of the backcountry in georgia. on the contrary, the rebels were in the majority. there are two caveats to that statement. rebels and tories were about even in the 96 district. tories may have been in the majority right here in the mid back country in what was called the orangeburg district, but overall, the rebels comprise the majority throughout south carolina. which was the main theater of the war. we have, who have lived through one misleading after another by government that does not understand should not be surprised by this. 18th century misreading by the british government.

as brigadier general charles o'hara, a british general serving in america, put it. "fatal infatuation." of course, we have to realize, too, there were also people like solomon, described by his neighbors as -- half wig, half tory, as occasion required. now, following the british occupation of the backcountry, and an expected triumphant sweep northward, the unexpected happened. the majority rebels in the backcountry rose in revolt and mounted their horses and waged as sweeping guerilla war of movement and stymied the british classification. the lord, commanding british forces in the field, wrote of the rebel militia "their mobility was the reason we were never able to bring them to a decisive action." the rising

was fundamental. it change the course of the war. had the pack of beggars -- that is what they call the crackers of the backcountry -- had those pack of beggars accepted the british occupation, had they not risen -- under a brilliant commander, the southern campaign indeed, the war itself, would've taken on an entirely different hue. the british failed to put down the rising, but the backcountry rebels could not the drive the british from the carolinas in georgia. the result? stalemate in the south. the four continental generals had commanded the seven department. one left early before his abilities and theater of command were seriously tested. the other three failed in spectacular fashion. so, what to do about the south? the precocious 25 year old

alexander hamilton had the answer. forgot sake sam green. his instructions to general greene. " uninformed as i am of the enemies force, or of the resources which will be in our power to command for carrying on the war, i can give you no particular instructions, but must leave to you to govern yourself according to your own prudence and judgment and the circumstances in which you find yourself." washington gave greene carte blanche. e. good luck, nathaniel, you are on your own. 38-year-old nathanael greene. i got the wrong card here. here we go. there he is.

nathanael greene of rhode island, a novice in 1775 when he reported to george washington outside boston. now, however, educated on the job, hardened by five years of war he had distinct himself and combat command and in a staff position he hated. quartermaster general. charged with supplying the army with the wherewithal of war. yet, there is work in the latter washington wrote he found the quartermaster department "in a most confused state but he has given the most general satisfaction in his affairs carry much the face of method and system." method and system, yes, but green, the most cerebral of washington's lieutenants was one of the hard men, the type necessary to win wars. forrage the country naked, he ordered one of his officers at valley forge. to washington he wrote, the

inhabitants beset me from all quarters. but like pharaoh i harden my heart." greene took command of the southern department on 3 december 1780 at charlotte, north carolina. now, if nathanael greene had proved himself a master of supplying transport or logistics, why during his command in the south, with his army chronically short of supplies to the point toward the end of the campaign his soldiers were so ill-supplied with clothing many use blankets to cover their nakendnesdness. the answer lies in the divisive between the regions. the north had a larger population. with well-established artisans and manufacturers. green had been close to his sources of supply, as well as

the indispensable french supplies. most of the southern supplies have to come from the north. in the 18th means and time. supplies on wagons drawn by horses at a walk. greene center request to the board of war in april 4 april 1781 for clothing from william washington's third continental drug routes as various was in a state of decay. the clothing arrived five months later, 31 august at charlotte and by 10 september still had not reached colonel washington's dragoons. it was the ever present problem of supplies being hijacked on the way by local officials and militia leaders throughout the campaign, greene struggled mightily to supply his soldiers and spent an inordinate amount of time on that problem with enough success to keep the army in the field.

the importance of logistics is driven home by the fifth century spartan mercenary commander who wrote " without supplies, neither a general nor a soldier is good for anything. 2500 years later general omar bradley, general eisenhower's ground commander in world war ii, famously said " amatrice discuss tactics. professionals discuss logistics. in addition to the terrible political situation there was turmoil and the nightmare of civil war. the revolutionary -- the war in the revolution war was a civil war between americans. terror always a part of revolutions reign was especially vicious of the south. the germans call civil war " brothers war" for not only friends and neighbors but

family split. in the spring of 1780, a 16-year-old rebel witnessed a tragic event. he was serving under a captain love who attacked a party of tories. mrs. stallions was the captain sister. thomas young wrote that she begged her brother not to fire upon the house. he said it was too late. their only chance for safety was to run a way back to the house. the house was attacked in the rear by other rebels. and a ball shot to the opposite door killed her. soon after thomas run should that her brother captain love and her husband shed bitter tears. greene's lovely and faithful wife catherine littlefield

greene begged to join her husband just as she had found him tent to tent at valley forge but he refused to elaborate a trouble self writing " nothing but blood and slaughter prevails here. the wilderness for a delicate woman." she persisted. he wrote again., "my dear, you can have no idea of the horrors of the southern war." now, although they probably never met, greene had in mind men like charlton brown who left us in his journal a vivid description of his reaction when hearing the british tories and indians had murdered our father and 116 of his neighbors burning to ashes his house and all within it, our mothers and

sisters escaping to the woods little to depend upon. my blood boiled within my veins. my soul thirsted for vengeance. now brown's journal doesn't reveal if he caught up with his father's killers. crossing the river, we fell in with a man who was assisted. we gave him his due. we left his body at the disposal of the birds and beasts. normal accelrys french restricted--normal acts of revenge restricted to the rebels of the backcountry. he was also a captain of british provincial regulars. william johnson married a

beautiful 15-year-old savanna girl. elizabeth. there we go. there is elizabeth. williams favorite brother jack was taken by rebels and hanged. many decades after the war a widow in exile in nova scotia, elizabeth johnson wrote, " recollections of a georgia loyalist." after jack was hanged williams was absent. upon returning he said to her, i expect some friends tonight and would like supper at 11:00. tell the negroes to have food for their horses. elizabeth wrote, some of them were friends of your grandfather, but others were hard looking men, not gentleman." after supper as the

men were leaving, she asked william when he would be back. "i will be back in 24 hours." i slept little and spent the next day and anxious prayer for her safe return. william rode in at 2 p.m. that afternoon and embrace elizabeth. and threw his sort of pistol upon the table. " where have you been? " "never asked me where i've been are what i have done. we don't owe the rebels anything for jack." two examples of what greene called private murders. in may, -june 1781, following greene's order, the combined operation of light horse harry continentals and the part militia and took the british

base of augustine and its garrison as prisoner. after the surrender, the the rebel militia shot and murdered in cold blood a rebel militia in front of his children. the reason was, it was said, for the illl treatment of alexander's father by the british. alexander rode away. greene was furious and offered 100 guineas to anyone who could discover and secure the perpetrator of this horrid crime. but the backwards version of omerta settled like a thick haze over the affair. the reward was never claimed in the murderer never brought to justice. there was a term then used for such cold-blooded murders.

a contemporary -- it was nicknamed giving the georgia parole. when a community of tories in south carolina begged greene for relief from the savage conduct of men belonging to the militia regiment, greene wrote to that outstanding militia commander pickens. "the idea of exterminating the tories is not less barbarous than impolitic and will keep the country in the greatest confusion and distress and he challenged pickens, to share the responsibility for putting an end to barbarism in the backcountry. "the eyes of the people are much upon you. the disaffected cry for mercy. and i hope you will exert yourself to bring over the tories to our interests and check the and normandy's that prevail among the whigs of punishing and plundering is private avarice." greens

attempts to bring long in order to a rebel as land were e largely unsuccessful. andrew pickens expressed in terms of standalone stark relief and labeled the conflict within the regular war a bitter civil war. "it's impossible for us and them to inhabit one country and live together in peace." the impact of this civil war made the lives of noncombatants a horror and had a greater impact on society. a contemporary historian wrote that there were 1400 widows and orphans in the 96th district alone. i showed you where the 96 district is. you know where that is. late in the war, thomas sumter engaged in the orangeburg

district i down and dirty work of what we call counterinsurgency. wrote to greene "the number of the women and children cannot be conceived. utterly out of the power of many to move, to subsist much longer where they are." in his memoirs the general wrote "the civil war destroyed more property and shed more american blood than the whole british army." meanwhile, the regular war went on. to fast a little, in march 1781 at the battle of guilford courthouse in northern north carolina, greene lost the tactical battle but won a strategic victory when lord cornwallis recklessly abandoned the carolinas for the siren song of virginia.

a little more on that later. greene and his army of continentals would fight three major battles and he lost all fo ur. but, as with, differed courthouse in each case, tactical defeat strategic victory. hobkirk's hill. let's see. it is right up here. just north of here. just north of that british base of camden. on 25 april 1781, he faced the anglo irishman lieutenant colonel francis lord -- whom cornwallis had left in command. he attacked and surprised the rebel army. greene denied surprise in an official report but what general is going to admit he was caught flat-footed? but the rebel army retired from

the field in good order. greene's famous comment on his second defeat in battle is in a ltteetter. "we fight, rise and fight again." greene then marched his army southwesterly, across the river into rugged hill country, right across -- right in here. he wanted to fight again but greene's defensive position on commanding heights was true strong -- too strong. now, lord warden, the tactical victor, now found a beaten but unbowed in front of him and behind them in the countryside and revolt. he wrote to lord cornwallis "the revolt was universal." two

days before hobkirk's hill in a combined operation with harry lee and his continental region and the part of the brigade francis marion fought watson in the santee river. had fallen. this was part of greens general plan of operations in which, you find that phrase throughout his writings in which his regular army would operate in tandem with the partisan religion. militia concentration on random raids and plunder would in the best of all possible worlds -- francis marion and andrew picks cooperated. he wrote to cornwallis "the situation of affairs in this province has made me judge it necessary to withdraw my force from the backcountry and to assemble what troops i can collect this point.

they are now followed a sad affair that you and i will recognize." we who watched similar toy first century scenes of people far away. civilians of actuating hearth and home, refugees in their own land. "marching for the low country with his troops, we brought off not only the militia -- fought off not only the militia and camden but all of our well affected neighbors with wives and children, negros all of them. and those tories who joined the column left because they had good reason to fear what the rebel militias would do to them." in europe, at the end of world war ii refugees were concentrated in dp camps, displaced persons camps. the american tories would end

up just outside charleston in the 18th century version. the general described their fate. " after their arrival in charlestown, they built huts without the lines. in many of the unfortunate women and children who lived comfortable in their own homes near camden died for wont in those miserable huts." meanwhile, the regular war continued. as greene did come off his defeat at guilford courthouse to reveal he remained a fighting general by marching for south carolina and seeking battle. it persuaded greene to go on the offensive. he told his head of commissary william richardson davie, a fascinating character. we don't have time to go into. he became the founder of one of our great state universities, the university of north

carolina. "camden was the key to the enemy's line. they will all soon be evacuated." he was right. he evacuated camden on 10 may. the following day thomas sumter took the british post at orange burg. 15 may, lee took fort granby. all of those british bases on the rivers, guarding the lines of communication and supply, gone. greene then sent light horse harry lee and his legion to georgia to command -- need my glasses here. to command, along with andrew pickens, in the siege of augusta. greene march west. four days later, beseeched the last british post in south carolina's backcountry, 96th. right here. we call that, it was supposed

to be 96 miles from 96 to the first cherokee village, which is right near the camps and of clemson university now. it actually was 78 m iles. but anyway. [laughter] >> then, oh, and 96 was commanded by that tough and able new yorker john harris kruger. 96 was greene's only siege and he and his chief military engineer a polish volunteer -- let's see here. there we go. 96/. here you have the trenches. the star fort.

communication trench to the town. and another vbbase right over here. this is the key to taking 96. the water supply, the spring branch. but greene and his aide believes that they had to dig within their works to find water and yet when the garrison went down 25 feet inside the fort they came up empty. spring branch was the key. meanwhile in charleston, they'd receive reinforcement from british regiments sationed in ireland. 7 june began his march of country, 175 miles to relieve 96. he had about 1800 infantry. almost 750 of greene's regulars. greene ordered thomas sumter

and francis marion to hary broaden's advance. he marched onward in the heat of the carolina summer. his reinforcements dressed and willing uniforms. -- woolen uniforms. fort cornwallis surrendered to pickens on 5 june. lee joined greene outside 96, aware that broden was drawing nye, greene decided on an assa ult. fixed bayonets and attacked the star fort. it was met by delancey's new your brigade and the new jersey volunteers in savage hand-to-hand combat. the assault failed, an all

american fight. one example -- we don't have time for that, i'm sorry. anyway, greene and his army defeated once more, marched away the day after the failed attack. two days later to the cheers of the townspeople, lord broaden marched in. greene the tactical loser was the strategic winner. he road to cornwallis that 96 was almost out of provisions and he thought impossible to furnish it with the necessary supplies. i, therefore resolved, to disso lve the garrison. if they would unite in defendant's are, he would leave a small party to assist them and send attachments now and then if greene moved forces into the district. families he chose to leave to take up residence on abandoned plantations of the low country. on20 june, he marched off with part of his force. in the marched down country, 50 of his soldiers in those woolen uniforms collapsed and died.

broaden left the tories to make up their minds, but their morale had bottomed out, despite the temporary deliverance over many months, rebel partisan militia had proven superior to the total militia--tory militia. they chose to leave not long after escorted by colonel kruger who made their own sad treck down country. the last british post in the backcountry. the rebels are in control. greene and his army would fight one more major battle. but not against the lord roden. there he is. colonel francis lord rawden. this had been a bravura performance. he suffered with malaria throughout the events described. took leave of america.

later first marquess of hastings. a player in the loss of the first british empire in the early 19th century in india as governor general and commander-in-chief. became one of the builders of the second british empire. and, while the fighting and dying went on, greene never lost sight of the political side of the struggle. he urged governor john rutledge in philadelphia to return to south carolina and rutledge did and the two work closer together to restore government. greene also wrote to the governor thomas burke of north carolina. "while the war lasts, civil and military are usually dependent on each other and the most perfectly understanding is essential to both and i beg your excellently to be persuaded that it will be my constant endeavor to to serve the confidence and good opinion of those in power." those final

words bear repeating. "the confidence and good opinion of those in power." they placed as greene as one with his chief george washington in supporting the primacy of the civil power, a critical concept of governance, to expand the new nation the ambitions of military adventures. georgia has personal representative joseph clay and urging them to convene an assembly which they did. he also revealed a gift for a droit maneuvering and political affairs. in 1781, the georgia delegation to congress nathan bronson, to the rank of brigadier general in command of the georgia militia.

greene must have been appalled. what would be the reaction of veteran militia leaders who had proven their dedication and their leadership, their courage? colonel elijah clark and james jackson. how to do deal with this delicate situation. greene wrote to the delegates "i am apprehensive that the military characters in that state will not readily subscribe to the propriety of the doctor's appointment." he then wrote to the georgia colonels and handled the problem. who this ought to be? your own feelings was determined and we can be sure that greene new with their families were any he had the letter delivered to the colonels by dr. nathan bronson. he wrote to joseph clay mr

brosnson is coming to georgia with an appointment of brigadier's which would be likely to produce discontent. i would oppose it would be laid aside." a. compromise was reached john twiggs was appointed brigadier general. and the assembly elected as governor, dr. nathan bronson. it would not be the last time that bronson gave greene trouble. anyway. meanwhile, the war went on. let's see. the british have been driven from the backcountry. now is time to drive them from the mid backcountry, close to the seacoast. it was vitally important to establish civil government in south carolina and georgia and confined british forces to charleston and savannah showing the world that the rebels were

in civil as well as military control and avoiding the threat on the horizon. european mediation of the conflict, which carried with it the danger of the application of the principle of international law. latin for "as you possess, " meaning if european mediation occurred, cease-fire agreed upon, a truce established, each side would remain where they were in peace negotiations. and this could mean that each side could end up with the territory possessed when the cease-fire went into effect. the american side was dead set against any such proposal. against mediation itself. strove mightily to prevent if not expelling the british, at least at driving them to the coast. greene and his ragged, unpaid, long-suffering continentals once more prepared for battle. the battle of utah springs, 8

september 1781. right here. see how close we are to charleston. now they're this close to charleston. 8 september 1781, the bloodiest battle of the campaign. it ended as greene's other set piece battle had he directed an orderly withdrawal from the field, leaving lieutenant colonel alexander stewart who succeeded in field command the technical victor. greene took 23% casualty but stewart suffered 38%. the day after the battle,

stewart began to withdraw back in the months following, eventually ended inside the british lines of charleston. the army unfit to remain in the field for major combat, nevermore to reappear except as seeking food and forage. the british were backward they had started. about 15 months before, pinned to the coast. some 233 years ago, colonel williams who commanded the continentals at eutaw springs summed it up. the best criterion of victory is to be found in the consequences. the following month, 19 october, 1781, a world shaking event occurred in the. tobacco port in virginia called yorktown. it was the carolina campaign. first waged solely by backcountry cracker militia, then taken over by greene who led cornwallis on the merry chase to north carolina. his victory at guilford courthouse had drove cornwallis from the carolinas to virginia and the end of his american adventure.

the debilitating march and the savage battle crippled cornwallis's army. the hetian regimen summed up their lordship's dilemma in a few well chosen words. "the situation was now very bad for us. we had won. but we had no foodstuffs. no shoes, no shirts on our bodies. it was decided to begin the return march to the sea." cornwallis wrote to colonel william phillips. i'm quite tired of marching about the country in search of inventors. he decided the clear of it--the key of victory late in virginia. we have a state to fight for and if a successful battle may give us america. well, as we all know his lordship found his battle against a franco-american force

and lost his army and with it america. cornwallis's surrender at yorktown marked the will of the british establishment to continue the war. five months later, 20 march 1782, in london, the ruling ministry fell. and three days later the opposition formed a new ministry whose policy was to conduct no offensive operations in america and to withdraw the army from the mainland. this took a while, because of the extreme shortage of shipping to not only withdraw troops but some 60,000 to 70,000 loyalist refugees in savannah, charleston, new york. americans all who wanted no part of life among the rebels and though politically the war was over for several months -- the british rating parties sought food and forage.

greene did not trust the british. did not believe until the late summer of 1782 that they really meant to leave. he wrote " distrust is the mother of security in war." but he finally came around. by late that year, negotiations produced a peaceful withdrawal from charleston. what a grand day. 14 december, 1782, when the final contingents of british shoulders embarked on long boats and rode out to a waiting shoot transport and trust in harbor. 200 yards behind them, the american advance of malaria ridden continentals. marched to the citadel of the rice -- behind the events nathanael greene -- behind the advance escorting the new

governor john maxwell and other dignitaries. governor maxwell and his fellow dignitaries were there because of greene. nathanael greene was the mae stro, little-known today for he died three years after the war. war and revolution bring to the fore men and women who otherwise in alexander hamilton in his eulogy of greene might have language in of security -- in obscurity. such a man was nathanael greene. called upon, hamilton added, to act the part on a more splendid and ample theater. of all washington's lieutenants, greene was the only one who possessed the skill, the judgment, and the character to undergo the extreme this is a tooth of the southern campaign and emerge triumphant he rests

now in the pantheon of heroes of the revolution. and a founder of a new nation. thank you so much for listening. [applause] thank you. we have time for a few questions. >> we have a mic to ask them. >> yes, sir? >> with regard to mel gibson's

movie "the patriot, " disregarding the story, history or fiction but just the atmosphere of the civil war, do you think that is a good betrayal, a good understanding of what it was like? >> no. [applause] i thought it was a terrible movie and i was told that the producer of that movie gave gibson a copy of my first book on the southern campaign. i do not think anybody read it. [laughter] anybody else? yes, sir? >> could you comment on carlton? >> yes. charlton, in a, i don't think i ever mentioned in this book, but he was prominent in the first war. when he was in hot pursuit of

an enemy he was at his best. and this was especially shown in the waxsaws when he caught up with giffords continentals early in the war after the fall of charleston and was sent upcountry. to very good effect. but, when he, and he was ruthless, there is no doubt about it. i think the late and much revered don said he was probably more, probably by the standards of warfare in his day more ruthless than most men. but, of course, he met a master in daniel morgan. and proved himself -- and i think, really that was his only set piece battle. am i right? yeah. i think so. his only set piece battle and he absolutely failed. he took a tired, hungry force

into major combat after a night long march. and was defeated by a master, daniel morgan. he was not a very nice man at all. and he also proved that after the war in england when he betrayed the man who had made him, lord cornwallis, in his memoir. if had written that book, he could've gone to india with cornwallis. of course, cornwallis succeeded mightily in india as governor general. charlton probably could have gone with a. but not after he wrote that book criticizing cornwallis. >> of those who lived, what

became of the tories of georgia and south carolina? >> well, except for the ones who left, thousand stayed. i don't think we really have an accurate count of how many stayed, but i have some figures back here. some the british lieutenant general of east florida wrote that he, he estimated about 5000. went over the mountains to the states. and thousand stayed. and james potter collins who wrote the autobiography of a revolutionary soldier. he divided tories into pep torie s who they did not bother too much after the war. it was the rabid tories, that they went after and drove away. and told them to leave and never come back.

a lot of people on the backcountry, they did not get to the coast. so, they went over the mountains into what became tennessee, kentucky and alabama and some down to the spanish lines, thousands of them. >> they went to great britain and how many went to canada? >> ok, here we go. 30,000 white and black loyalists, including 3000 free black servants to the maritimes. new brunswick and nova scotia where elizabeth johnson ended up. 6000, and i take these figures from a wonderful book, " liberties exiles, americans abroad and the revolutionary world." i think it is just excellent. 6000, including 500 mohawks to quebec. 5000 to ease florida who

eventually had to leave when the spanish, when the spanish got florida back. about 8000 mostly white loyalists and 5000 free black loyalists to britain. 2500 white loyalists to the bahamas, bringing with them some 4000 slaves. jamaica, 3000 white loyalists and up to 8000 slaves. and she believes the total immigration was 60,000 with the caveat it could probably be increased by 10%. it's also, she believes, safe to conclude the white loyalists took some 15,000 slaves with them. >> thank you. >> yes, sir? >> ok, then. we have time for one more. here we go. >> mr. buchanan: >> you've barely mention native americans. >> beg your pardon? >> y ou barely mentioned native

americans. could you say more? >> the american indians in the southeast didn't play important a role as the air corps dids in -- as the iroquois did. early in the war, 1776, the cherokee, powerful militia columns marched over the mountains. there was no major battles, mostly skirmishes. cherokee could not withstand them. their towns were ravaged, their fields destroyed. they were in agricultural people. fields destroyed and they were left to face -- they had warehouses where they would store food for the winter. those those were destroyed,

what food the rebels didn't take with them to go home with. so that knocked the cherokee out of the war for the next five years. it also discouraged those to the south of them. later, the cherokees rose again and were quickly defeated by andrew pickens. and i do cover that in the book. >> thank you so much for coming this evening. [applause] >> please join us for refreshments in the garden. thank you. [indistinct conversation] >> you're watching american history tv, all weekend, every weekend, on c-span 3.

>> from the american revolutionary institute, a discussion examining the experiences of u.s. veterans since the revolutionary war era. veterans affairs secretary robert wilkie delivers the opening remarks. >> good evening. and welcome to the