<P> In 1780, the British, stalemated in the north and facing pressure from home to end the war, embarked on a plan of action that would come to be known to historians as "The Southern Strategy ." They planned to trap George Washington's troops by pushing their troops up from the South while Washington defended himself in the North . The British landed a major expeditionary force south of Charleston, landing on John's Island, moving to James Island, and then besieging Charles Town . General Benjamin Lincoln defended the city during a two - month siege, but was forced to surrender almost all the Continental forces in the Carolinas to General Clinton . Henry Middleton, once president of the Continental Congress, was forced to take an oath of allegiance to the Crown as prisoner . </P> <P> General Washington begged Governor John Rutledge and the rest of the state's council to leave Charles Town while there was still time, and they did . Rutledge traveled around the state, printing proclamations and other state papers on a printing press he had with him, and sending numerous letters demanding that the Continental Congress send the Continental Army to relieve South Carolina . </P> <P> The British quickly established control over the coast, making posts at the other port cities of Beaufort and Georgetown . It was during this time that many enslaved African Americans managed to escape to their lines . The African Americans wanted freedom, and the British promised them that . Approximately 25,000 African Americans, one - quarter of the enslaved population, escaped to the British during the war to achieve freedom . </P> <P> The British followed their coastal occupation by establishing posts upcountry where they could establish control by coordinating with local Tories . </P>

Who saved the south carolina flag at charles town during the revolutionary war