executive mansion. please enjoy american history tv now and also watch over the weekend on c-span3. the book "the road to charleston:nathaneal greene's southern campaign" 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'm kelsey atwood at the american revolution institute of the society of the cincinnati. and i'm delighted to welcome you to anderson house. the american revolution institute of the society of the cincinnati promotes knowledge

and appreciation of the achievement of american independence by providing resources for advanced study, 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, a national historic landmark finished in 1905 as winter residents of lars and isabelle anderson. tonight's talk brings the dramatic story of the south to its conclusion. nathanael greene was a difficult part of the war, it revealed much about the crucial military art of provision and transport. insufficient manpower, a constant problem, greene attempted to incorporate black regiments into his party, angrily reject bid the south carolina legislature. bloody civil war was wreaking

havoc on the south, forcing greene to address vigilante terror and restore civilian government. correspondence between greene and thomas jefferson during the campaign shows greene was also bedeviled between how to set constraints under which a free society wages war. when the british finally evacuated charleston in 1782, greene and his ragged malaria stricken faithful army entered the city in triumph, marking the end of one of the most punishing campaigns of the revolution, as well as one of its greatest victories. 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. buchanan graduated from st. lawrence university, magna cum laude and was elected to phi beta kappa, going on to

serve as a high school teacher in new york and later as an a h archivist. archivist of the museum and 22 years chief registrar in charge of worldwide art movements. in that capacity, he traveled widely in the u.s., canada, mexico, europe, the former ussr, the middle east, india, china, japan and australia. upon retirement, he resumed a writing career that had begun in the 1960s. john buchanan is the author of "the road to valley forge" "the american revolution in the carolina carolinas and our book this evening. please join me in welcoming john buchanan. [ applause ]

>> i should start by thanking the society for letting me speak in this historical venue and kelsey atwood for her impeccable arrangements. thank you, kelsey. so, what to do about the south. the last major engagement in the north was the battle of monmouth. monmouth courthouse, new jersey, 28 june 1778. after that, stalemate in the north. british had been thinking 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 and between sun up and

sun down, became masters of savann savannah. and in the new year they marched about 1,000 british and provencial regulars marched frontier, 178 miles. now, the british commander in chief in east florida and georgia major general augustine wrote that the object of the expedition was to open the back country, to put to the test the often-made professions of loyalty of its inhabitants. they failed the test of the promised 6,000 loyalist fighters only 1,100 to 1,400 showed and in the expected indian allies, not one appeared.

for those and other reasons, the british withdrew to savannah and the low country. but the following year, may 1780, the richest city in america, charleston, south carolina, and inside the city, the only american army in the south surrendered to a strong british expeditionary force and from there, from charleston, from there, british regulars and provencial regulars marched up the santee river and established bases of communication and supply. also a major base of camden here in the mid back country. now here in orangeburg and all the way out to far back country and 96 where they established a very strong base and across the savannah river in augusta.

now to understand the war in the south is to be aware of what both the americans and the british knew, the key to success was control of the back country where at least two-thirds, perhaps three-quarters of the white population lived. lord wallace who took over command of the south shortly after the fall of charleston put pen to paper on this issue. quote, keeping possession of the back country is of the utmost importance. indeed, the success of the war in the southern district depends totally upon it. in london, however, the can king and his ministers labored under the delusion that the loyalists comprised the majority of the carolinas and georgia. on the contrary, overall the rebels were in the majority. there are two caveats to that statement. rebel rebels and were about even in the 96th

torreys may have been in the majority in the back country in the orange grove district but overall the rebels comprised the majority throughout south carolina. which was the main theater of the war. now we who have lived through one misreading after another by government of reasons it does not understand should not be surprised by this 18th century misreading by the british government as brigadier general charles o'hara, serving in american put it. fatal infatuation. now, of course, we have to realize, too, there were also people like beesom described by his neighbors as half wig, half

torrey, as occasionally required. back country an expected triumphant sweep northward, the unexpected happen. the majority rebels in the back country rose, mounted their horses, waged a sweeping guerrilla war and stymied. commanding british forces in the field wrote of the partisan militia, quote, their mobility was the reason we were never able to bring them to a decisive action. the rising was fundamental. it changed the course of the war. had a pack of beggars, that's what they called the back country, had those pack of beggars accepted the british occupation, this he not risen and bought the time necessary for operations by refurbished continental army under a brilliant commander, the southern campaign, indeed the

war itself would have taken on an entirely different hue. the british failed to put down the rising, but the back country rebels could not bribe the british from the carolinas and georgia. the result? stalemate in the south. four continental generals had commanded the southern department. one left early before his abilities. 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, for god's sake, send greene, which george washington did, as he had intended. his instructions to general greene, uninformed as i am of the enemy's force of that quarter, of our own, 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. in other words, washington gave greene cart blanch. to put it in holier terms, good luck, nathanael. you're on your own. 38-year-old nathanael greene. i got the wrong clicker here. here we go. there it is. nathanael greene of rhode island, a novice in 1775 when he reported to george washington outside boston. now educated on the job, hardened by five years of a bitter war, he had distinguished himself in combat command and in a staff position he hated, quartermaster general, charged

with supplying the army with the wherewithal of war. yet his work in the latter washington wrote he found the quartermaster in a most confused state but has given the most general satisfaction and his fairs carry much the face of method and system. method and system, yes, but greene, the most cerebral of washington's lieutenants forged the country naked, he ordered one of his officers at valley forge, and to washington he wrote, the inhas been tants cry out and beset me from all quarters but like pharaoh, i harden my heart. greene took command on 3 december 1780 at charlotte, south carolina, north of the south carolina line. had he proved himself a master of supply and transport, as we

say today logistics, why during his command in the south waschr supplies? toward the end of the campaign, they were so short of supplies of clothing many used blankets to cover their nakedness. the answer lies between the two regions, north had a much loorgeer population, mostly rural and agriculture but large manufacturers and artisans and greene had been close to its sources of supply as well as indispensable french supplies. the southern army's -- most southern army's supplies had to come from the north. 18th century means and time, supplies on wagons, drawn by horses at a walk. one example, greene sent a request to the war in philadelphia, april 1781 for clothing for third continental

platoons as theirs was in a state of, quote, decay. the clothing arrived five months later, 31 august at charlotte and by 10 september still had not reached colonel washington, and there was the ever present problem of supplies being hijacked on the way by local officials and mill iitia leader throughout the campaign, greene struggled mightily to supply his soldiers, spent an inorder nate 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, generali eisenhower's

said professionals discuss logistics. in addition to the terrible logistical situation that was political turmoil and the nightmare of civil war. the war within the revolutionary war was a civil war between americans throughout the country. always part of revolution's reign was especially vicious in the south. the germans called civil war ludicry, brother's war. friends and neighbors, families split on the issue of independence from great britain. in the spring of 1780, the 16-year-old rebel militiaman witnessed a tragic event, serving under a captain love, who attacked a pack of torreys named stallions. mrs. stallions was the sister.

she begged her brother not to fire upon the house. he said it was too late now. their only chance for safety was to surrender. she sprang poon the doorstep which was pretty high. at that moment, the house was attacked in the rear by other rebels. shot through the opposite door killed mrs. stallions. soon after, the torreys surrendered. thomas young wrote captain love, mrs. stallion's brother, and her husband met and shed bitter tears. stallions was dismissed on parole to bury his wife. the greene's lovely andf0faithfl wife, katherine littlefield greene, known as kathy, begged to join her husband just as she had followed him camp to camp throughout the northern campaign, shared a hut with him at valley forge, but he refused to allow her to travel south, writing nothing but blood and slaughter prevails here, and the operations are in a country little short of a wilderness where a delicate woman is

scarcely known or seen, but kathy persisted. and he wrote again, my dear, you can have no idea of the horrors of the southern war. murders here are as frequent as petty disputes to the northward. now although they probably never met, greene had in mind men like brown, who left in his journal a vivid description of his reaction when hearing the british torreys and indians had murdered our father and 16 of his neighbors, burning to ashes his house and all within in it, our mothers and sisters escaping to the woods, little to depend upon, no male friend to help them. my blood boiled within my veins. my soul thirsted for vengeance. now brown's journal does not reveal whether he ever caught up with his father's killers but had other scores to settle.

south carolina and georgia partisans crossing the edestow river, we fell in with assisted of hanging the five great fellows at wiggins hill. we gave him his due, left his body at the disposal of the birds and beasts. no acts of revenge were restricted to of the back country. a gentleman in an age where status of gentleman raised one well above. he was also the captain of the british provencial regulars. he marry aid beautiful 15-year-old savannah girl, elizabeth lichtenstein. wrong way. there we go. there's elizabeth. william's favorite brother, jack, was taken by rebels and hanged. many decades after the war, widowed in exile in nova scotia,

elizabeth lichtenstein wrote recollections of the georgia loyalists. she told the following tale. after jack was hanged, william was absent for some days and upon returning said to her i expect some friends here tonight and would like supper for them at 11:00. tell the negroes to have food also for their horses. i expect about 20 men. the men appeared and elizabeth wrote some of them were gentlemen i knew, friends of your grandfather, but others were hard-looking men, not gentlemen. after supper, as the men were leaving, she asked william when he would be back. if i return at all, i will be back in 24 hours. i slept little that night, and spent the next day in anxious prayer for his safe return. william rode in about 2:00 that afternoon. he embraced elizabeth, then threw his sword and pistol upon the table, both of which i could see had been used and i said to him, william, where have you been? he replied, never ask me where i

have been or what i have done. but we don't owe the rebels anything for jack. two examples greene called them private murders, railed against them, called upon the partisan leaders to do all they could to stop them. too little avail. in may june 1781, following greene's orders, the combined operation of lighthorse harry lee's and andrew pickens' militia besieged and took the base of augusta and garrison as prisoners. rebel militia with james alexander shot and murdered in cold blood a torrey officer, some say in front of grearson's children. the reason was, it was said, for the ill treatment of alexander's father by the british. alexander then just rode away in

plain view of other rebels. greene was furious. offered 100 guinneys to anyone who could discover the perpetrator. backwoods version settled like a thick haze over the affair. the reward was never claimed, the murderer never brought to justice. there was a term then used for such cold-blooded murders, a contemporary wrote it was very prettily nicknamed giving georgia parole. when a community of torreys in south carolina begged greene relief from the great distress they were in from the savage conduct from the militia regiment, greene wrote to that commander, andrew pickens, the idea of exterminating the torreys is not less than in politic and of persistent end will keep this country in the greatest confusion and distress

and then in a finally wrought sentence he challenged pickens, an honorable man, to share the responsibility for putting an end to it. quote the eyes of the people are much upon you, disaffected cry for mercy, and i hope you will exert yourself to bring over the torreys to our interest and check the enormities which prevail among the wigs and punishing and plundering bloody disposition stimulates them. greene's attempts to bring law and order to a ravaged land were largely unsuccessful. hatred and bitterness were too deeply embedded for quick relief. andrew pickens expressed it in terms that stand alone in stark relief and once again 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 noncombatans s a horror, had a greater impact on society than the regular war. the contemporary south carolina historian david ramsey wrote that there were 1,400 widows and/or fand orphans in the 96 district alone. i showed you the 96th district. you know where that is. thomas sumter engaged in the down and dirty work of what we call counterinsurgency. wrote to greene, the wretchedness of the women and children cannot be conceived. utterly out of the power of many to move, but to subsist much longer where they are, and in his memoirs, general wrote the civil war, quote, destroyed more

property and shed more american blood than the whole british army. meanwhile, the regular war went on. to backtrack a little, in march 1781 at the battle of gilford courthouse in northern north carolina, greene lost the tactical battle but won the strategic victory when cornwall lass recklessly abandon ed. more on that later. greene and his small army of continentals would fight three major battles and conduct a siege, and he lost all four, but as with gilford courthouse in each case, tactical defeat, strategic victory. kirk's hill -- let's see.

kirk's hill is right up in here. hobkirk's hill there on 25 april 1781, he faced the angloirishman, who cornwall lass had left in command in the field. attacked and surprised the rebel army. greene denies surprise in the official report but what general is going to admit that he was caught flat footed? the rebel army retired from the field in good order. greene's famous comment on his second defeat in battle is in a letter to the french minister of the united states. we fight, yet we rise and fight again. greene then marched his army southwesterly, across the river into rugged hill country, right across -- right in here.

wanted to fight again but greene's defensive position on commanding heights was too strong and driven and examined that hill country. lord rodden, tactical victor, found a beaten in front of him, behind him a countryside in revolt. he wrote to lord cornwall lass, quote, it was universal. two days before hobkirk's hill in a combined operation by lieutenant colonel lee and his alegion ant horse, ft. watson and the santee river had fallen. this was part of greene's 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 militia. militia concentration on random raids and plunder would, in the best of all possible worlds, cease. frances marion and pickens cooperated. rodden wrote to cornwall lass. it has made me judge it necessary for a time to withdraw my force from the back country and to assemble what troops i can collect at this point. and now followed a sad affair that you and i will recognize. we who have watched similar 21st century scenes on our television sets of people far away, civilians evacuating hearth and home, refugees in their own land. let lord rodden explain it to us. marching for the low country with his troops, we brought off not only the militia with camden but the well-affected neighbors in our group together with

wives, children, negroes and baggage with almost all of them. those torreys left, for they had good reason to fear what bands would do to them if they stayed in their homes. in europe at the end of world war ii, refugees were concentrated in dp camps, displaced persons camps. general william described their fate. they built themselves huts. many of these unfortunate women and children who live comfortable in their own homes near camden died for want in those miserable huts. meanwhile the regular war continued.

he remained a fighting general marching for south carolina and seeking battle, rodden's decision persuaded greene to go on the offensive. he told his friend and head of commissary, fascinating character, by the way. don't have time to go into. became a founder of one of our great state universities, university of north carolina. camden, quote, was the key to the enemy's line of post. they would soon be evacuated. in general, he was right. rodden evacuated camden on 10 may. thomas sumter took the post and 12 may ft. mott surrendered, lee took ft. brandy. all those british bases on the santee rivers, guarding the lines of communication and

supply, gone. greene then sent lighthorse harry lee and his legion to georgia to command -- need my glasses. to command, along with pickens, andrew pickens in the siege of augusta. the rest of the army, green marched west. and four days later besieged the last british post in south carolina's back country, 96. right here. call that, by the way -- supposed to be 96 miles from 96 to the first cherokee village of kiawi, near the campus of clemson university now. it was actually 78 miles but.

96 was green's only siege and he and his chief military engineer, the polish volunteer. there we go. 96. here you have the siege trenches, star fort, communication trench to the town and another base right over here. this is the key to taking 96. the water supply. the spring branch. but greene believed that the besiege had merely to dig within their works to find water. yet when the garrison went down

25 feet inside the star fort, dry well. spring branch was the key. meanwhile in charleston, lord rodden had received reinforcements. 7 june began his march. almost 750 more. thomas sum techlt r, they failed. broaden marched steadily onward in the terrible heat of the carolina summer. reinforcements dressed in highly woollen uniforms suitable for the british aisles. surrendered to lee and pickens on 5 june, joining green outside 96, aware that rodden was

drawing nye, he decided on an assault. 18 june 1781, first maryland and first virginia fixed bayonets and attacked. it was met by bayonet wielding fellow americans by the brigade and savage in combat. the assault failed and all american fight. one example -- no, we don't have time for that, sorry. marched away the day after the failed attack. lord rodden and his force marched in. greene, the tactical loser, rodden wrote to cornwall lass 96 was almost out of stores and provisions and he thought it impossible to furnish it with the necessary supplies.

i, therefore, resolved to withdraw the garrison. he gave the torreys a choice if they would unite, he would lead a small party to assist them, send attachments now and then if greene moved forces into the district. families who chose to leave could take up residents on abandoned locations. on 20 june, he marched off with part of his force. by the way, in the march downed country, 50 of rodden's soldiers in heavy woollen uniforms collapsed and died. rodden left the torreys to make up their minds, but their morale bottomed out. despite their temporary deliverance over many months, rebel partisan militia had proven superior to the torrey mi militia. they chose to leave. not long after, escorted by colonel krueger and his battalions they made their own sad trek, last british post

abandoned, rebels in control. greene and his little army would fight one more major battle. but not against lord rodden. lieutenant colonel frances lord rodden. he was ill, had suffered with malaria throughout the events just described and took leave of america. frances lord rodden. second earl of mora. player in the loss of the first british empire in the early 19th century in india, 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 aside of the struggle. he urged governor john rut

ledge, then in philadelphia, to return to south carolina and rut ledge did, as the two worked closely together to restore simple government. green also wrote to thomas burke of north carolina, quote, while the war lasts, the civil and military are mutually dependent on each other, and in the most perfectly good understanding is essential to both, and i beg your excellency to be persuaded that it will be my constant endeavor to deserve the confidence and good opinion of those in power. those final words bear repeating, that confidence and good opinion of those in power. they place greene as one with his chief, george washington, in recognizing and supporting the privacy of the civil power. a critical concept of governance, spare the new nation the efficiency. throughout his command, greene

championed the establishment of civil government. for example, sending to georgia his personal representative joseph clay and rooting georgians to convene an assembly, which they did. he also revealed a gift for adroit maneuvering in political affairs. 1781, georgia delegates to congress appointed a physician, dr. 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, their leadership, their courage? colonel elijah clark, colonel john twigs, colonel james jackson. how to deal with this delicate situation. greene wrote to the delegates, i am a little apprehensive that the military characters in that state will not readily subscribe to the proprietary of dr.

bronson's appointment. that was putting it mildly. he then wrote to the georgia colonels, who this ought to be, your own feelings must determine and we can be sure greene knew exactly what their feelings were. he added an ironic touch by having the letter delivered to the colonels by dr. nathan bronson. he wrote to joseph clay, mr. bronson is coming to georgia with an appointment of brigadiers. should it be likely to produce discontent, i suppose it would be laid aside. it was, indeed, laid aside. and a compromise reached. john twigs was appointed brigadier general of the georgia militia and the assembly elected as governor you guessed it, dr. nathan bronson. it wouldn't be the last time bronson gave greene trouble.

meanwhile, the war went on. it was vitally important to establish civil government in south carolina and georgia and combine british forces to savg the world that the rebels would be civil as well as military control and thus avoiding a threat on the horizon. carried with with it the danger of application of principle of international law. a cease fire agreed upon, each

side would remain where they were in peace negotiations. when the cease fire went into effect. it was dead set against any set proposal. if not excelling the british, at least driving them to the coast. greene in his ragged, unpaid long-suffering continentals once more prepared for battle. the battle of utah springs. 8 september 1781. 8 september 1781. he directed an orderly

withdrawal from the field, leaving lieutenant colonel alexander stewart who succeeded in field command the technical victor. greene took 23% casualties but stewart suffered kribling losses of 38%. the day after the battle, stewart began a withdrawal that in the months following eventually ended inside british lines at charleston. seeking food and forage, back where they started about 15 months before, pinned to the coast. was to be found in the

consequences. the following month, 19 october 1781, a world shaking event occurred in a little tobacco port in environmental yain called yorktown. it was the carolina campaign, first waged solely by back country, cracker militia. then taken over by greene, lordship's victory at gilford courthouse drove cornwall lass from the carolinas to virginia and the end of his american adventure, the debilitating march of the savage battle crippled cornwall lass's army. sumed up his lordship's dilemma in a few homely but well-chosen words. the situation was bad for us.

we had no shoes on our feet, no shirts on our bodies. it was decided to begin the return march to the sea. cornwall lass wrote to general william phillips, i assure you, i am quite tired of marching about the country in search of adventures. he decided the key to victory lay in virginia, with the british should, quote, bring our whole force. we then have a state to fight for, a successful battle. give us america. as we all know, his lordship found his battle against a franco-american force, lost his army and with it, america. breaking the will of the british establishment to continue the war. five months later, 20 march 1782 in london, lord north's ruling ministry fell. three days later, the opposition formed a new ministry, whose policy was to conduct no

offensive operations in america and withdraw the army from the main land. this took a while because of the extreme shortage of shipping to not only withdraw the troops but some 60,000 to 70,000 loyalist r 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, skirmishing and killing in south carolina as british raiding parties sought food and forage. greene did not trust the brit h british, did not believe they really meant to leave. he wrote distrust is but he finally came around. producing orderly, peaceful withdrawal from charleston. what a grand day.

14 december 1782 when the final contingent of british soldiers embarked and rode out some 200 yards behind them the american advance of malaria ridden continentals marched into the citadel. behind the advance wrote major general nathanael greene, escorting the new governor, maxwell and other civilian dignitirie digniagra dignataries. myself maestro little known today because he died three years after the war. bring to the fore men and women who otherwise, said alexander hamilton in his eulogy of greene, might have languished an

obscurity, only shot forth a few scattered and wondering rays. such a man was nathanael greene. called upon to act a part on a most 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 of the southern campaign and emerge triumphant, plucked from the provencial neighborhood. rest now in the pantheon of the heroes of revolution and founder of a new nation. thank you so much for listening. [ applause ]

>> we have time for a few questions. >> and you have a mic to ask them. yes, sir? >> with regard to mel gibson's movie "the patriot," disregarding the story history or fiction, do you think that's a good portrayal, 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, the road to gilford courthouse. i don't think anybody read it.

anyone else? yes, sir. >> could you comment on bannister carlton? >> yes. i don't think i mentioned him in this book but when he was in hot pursuit he was at his best, best shown when he caught up with buford's continentals and was sent up country. to very good effect. but when he -- and he was ruthless. there was no doubt about it. i think that by the standards of

warfare in his day, he was more ruthless than most. 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. it was 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, andrew 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 cornwall lass in his memoir. if he hadn't written that book, he could have gone to india with cornwall lass and, of course, cornwall lass succeeded mightily in india as governor general and commander in chief. charlton probably could have gone with him but not after he wrote that book, criticizie ini corn wallace. >> of those who lived, what became of the torreys of georgia and south carolina? >> i don't think we have an accurate count of how many stayed but i have some figures back here. the british lieutenant general

wrote that he estimated about 5,000, as he said, went over the mountains to the states. and a thousand stayed. james potter kolins, who wrote a very valuable biography of the revolutionary soldier divided torreys into pet torreys who didn't bother much after the war. it was the rabid, hard-core torreys they went after and drove away, told them to leave and never come back. a lot of people in the back country, they didn't get to the coast. and so they went over the mountains into what became tennessee, kentucky, alabama, some down to the spanish lands. thousands of them. >> how many went to great britain and how many went to canada? >> okay. here we go. 30,000 white and black loyalists, including 3,000 free

black servants to the maritimes, new brunswick and nova scotia, where elizabeth lichtenstein johnston ended up. and i take these figures from wonderful book by maya jasinof "americans abroad about the revolutionary world." i think it's just excellent. 6,000, including 500 mohawks to quebec. 5,000 to east florida, who eventually had to leave when the spanish came to gain -- got florida back. 8,000 mostly white loyalists, 5,000 free black loyalists to britain. 2,500 white loyalists to the bahamas, bringing with them some 4,000 slaves. jamaica, 3,000 white loyalists and up to 8,000 slaves.

she believes total immigration was 60,000 with the caveat it could probably be increased by 10%. and it's also, she believes, safe to conclude that the white loyalists took some 15,000 slaves with them. yes, sir? >> we have time for one more if anyone has a burning question. here we go. >> barely mentioned native american. >> beg your pardon? >> you barely mentioned native americans. can you say more? >> yeah. the american indians in the southeast didn't play as important a role as the iroquois did on the new york frontier. early in the war, 1776, the cherokee rose powerful militia columns from the carolinas and

virginia, marched over the mountains. there was no major battle. it was mostly skirmishes. the cherokee could not withstand them. their towns were ravaged, their fields were destroyed. they were an agricultural people. fields destroyed and they were left to face -- oh, and they had warehouses where they would store food for the winter. those were destroyed, what food the rebels didn't take with them to go home. so, that failed. that knocked the cherokee out of the war for the next five years. and it also discouraged the creeks to the south of them. and later in 1781, the cherokees rose again and were quickly defeated by andrew pickens. so -- and i do cover that in the

boo book. >> thank you so much for coming this evening. >> thank you. [ applause ] please join us for book signing in the rear of the ballroom and refreshments in the winter garden. >> thank you. you're watching a special edition of american history tv, airing now during the week while americans are working in their districts because of the coronavirus pandemic. tonight at 8:00 eastern we talk with white house historians about their jobs and the mission to protect and preserve the

executive mansion. please enjoy american history tv now and also watch over the weekend on c-span3. every saturday night, american history tv takes you to college classrooms around the country for in history. >> why do you all know who lizzy boredon is? and raise your hand if you ever heard of this murder, the gene harris murder trial before this class. >> the deepest cause where we'll find the true meaning of the revolution was in the transformation that took place in the minds of the american people. >> so we're going to talk about both of these sides of the story here, right? the tools, techniques of slave owner power and we'll also talk about the tools and techniques of power that were practiced by e enslaved people. >> watch professors lead students on several topics. lectures in history on c-span3 every saturday at 8:00 p.m. eastern on american history tv.

and lectures in history is available on podcasts. >> next, from the american revolution institute of the society of the cincinnati, a discussion examines the experiences of u.s. veterans since the revolutionary war era. veterans asayer secretary robert wilky delivers the opening remarks. >> welcome to anderson house, the washington, d.c. headquarters of the american revolution institute of the society of the cincinnati. my name is press longer and i'm the general of the society, position first occupied by general george washington. he held his post from our founding and n. 1783 until his passing on december 14,