<P> Clinton returned to New York, leaving Charles Cornwallis in command in Charleston to oversee the southern war effort . Far fewer Loyalists than expected joined him . In the interim, the war was carried on by Patriot militias who effectively suppressed Loyalists by winning victories in Fairfield County, Lincolnton, Huck's Defeat, Stanly County, and Lancaster County . </P> <P> Congress appointed Horatio Gates, victor at Saratoga, to lead the American effort in the south . He suffered a major defeat at Camden on August 16, 1780, setting the stage for Cornwallis to invade North Carolina . The British attempted to subjugate the countryside, and Patriot militia continued to fight against them, so Cornwallis dispatched troops to raise Loyalist forces to cover his left flank as he moved north . This wing of Cornwallis' army was virtually destroyed on October 7, irreversibly breaking Loyalist support in the Carolinas . Cornwallis subsequently aborted his advance and retreated back into South Carolina . In the interim, Washington replaced Gates with his trusted subordinate, Nathanael Greene . </P> <P> Greene was unable to confront the British directly, so he dispatched a force under Daniel Morgan to recruit additional troops . Morgan then defeated the cream of the British army under Tarleton on January 17, 1781 at Cowpens . Cornwallis was criticized for having detached a substantial part of his army without adequate support, but he advanced into North Carolina despite the setbacks, gambling that he would receive substantial Loyalist support there . Greene evaded combat with Cornwallis, instead wearing his army down through a protracted war of attrition . </P> <P> By March, Greene's army had increased in size enough that he felt confident in facing Cornwallis . The two armies engaged at Guilford Courthouse on March 15; Greene was beaten, but Cornwallis' army suffered irreplaceable casualties . Compounding this, far fewer Loyalists were joining than the British had previously expected . Cornwallis' casualties were such that he was compelled to retreat to Wilmington for reinforcement, leaving the Patriots in control of the interior of the Carolinas and Georgia . </P>

Who helped the british during the american revolution