The Road to Guilford Courthouse: The American Revolution in the Carolinas

by John Buchanan

A brilliant account of the proud and ferocious American fighters who stood up to the British forces in savage battles crucial in deciding both the fate of the Carolina colonies and the outcome of the war.

"A tense, exciting historical account of a little known chapter of the Revolution, displaying history writing at its best."--Kirkus Reviews

"His compelling narrative brings readers closer than ever before to the reality of Revolutionary warfare in the Carolinas."--Raleigh News & Observer.

"Buchanan makes the subject come alive like few others I have seen." --Dennis Conrad, Editor, The Nathanael Greene Papers.

"John Buchanan offers us a lively, accurate account of a critical period in the War of Independence in the South. Based on numerous printed primary and secondary sources, it deserves a large reading audience." --Don Higginbotham, Professor of History, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Genres: History, American Revolution, Nonfiction, American Revolutionary War, American History, Military History, War

452 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This past summer, my wife and I, along with our then seven-month-old baby girl, decided to take a road trip down to the Carolinas. It was an attempt, I suppose, to prove to ourselves and others that our old way of life – long, spontaneous road trips – was not dead. What we learned, of course, is that old way of life is dead. By the way, here’s a baby fact for you: Babies don’t like the ferry trip to Fort Sumter, they don’t like Fort Sumter, and they don’t like the ferry ride back to Fort Sumter. (But she did like to tear up the take-out menus in our hotel room).

Anyhow, on the road from Charleston to Asheville, North Carolina, where we were headed for a wedding, I fortuitously saw a sign for Cowpens National Battlefield. Having learned nothing of the previous five days of baby-encumbered travel, I turned the wheel, taking us from the interstate to a two-lane highway upon which we were the only vehicle. The baby was crying. My wife was drawing up divorce papers on a Wendy’s napkin. And I was focused on getting to the place where the only double envelopment of the Revolutionary War took place.

Hey, when else am I going to get to Cowpens?

I pulled into the empty parking lot. It was a hundred degrees, as it tends to be in July in the Carolinas. I promised my wife that I’d run into the Ranger Station, get a pamphlet, and then we’d do the auto loop. None of us would have to leave the car.

Well, when I got into the Ranger Station, I was distracted by the museum. However, I’d barely looked at my second or third Continental musket when a Ranger sidled up beside me and informed me that my wife was in the bathroom and needed my help with a rapidly-dissolving diaper situation.

And Banastre Tarleton thought he had it bad when he stumbled into Daniel Morgan’s devious trap on the fields of Cowpens!

Eventually, things got sorted out, and the baby was suddenly happy, which usually happens once she is no longer sitting in her own poo. That, and the fact the Ranger Station was gloriously air conditioned, bought me some extra time at the battlefield. Indeed, my wife allowed me to take the walking tour, instead of the auto tour (we ended up doing the auto tour, too, just to make sure I didn't miss anything).

Since I didn't want to stretch my luck, I jogged most of the battlefield loop. Since it was 100 degrees and I am grossly out of shape, I was essentially staggering from one informational sign to the next. I took a bunch of pictures, so that I could absorb everything later. Thirty minutes after I started, I returned to the Ranger Station, covered in sweat and reeking of knowledge.

I needn’t have hurried. My wife sitting in a chair, talking on the phone. The baby was on the floor, her attention captured by a stuffed cow emblazoned with the words “Cowpens National Battlefield.” (She was actually nucking on its snout). The cow was a gift from one of the Rangers.

You can say what you want about various governmental institutions and programs. But our system of National Parks and Battlefields and Wilderness Areas are an unalloyed success. They preserve our past, our heritage, and our natural beauty. I have been continually gratified by the quality of even out-of-the-way National Battlefields, and consistently pleased with the helpfulness and disposition of the Park Rangers.

Thus, I always feel obligated to purchase something from the gift shop. Even though I buy mostly everything online, at a discount. Short story long, that’s how I came to own John Buchanan’s The Road to Guilford Courthouse. What was I talking about again?

Oh yeah. This book.

The Revolutionary War is not high on my list of favorite historical time periods. Still, Buchanan offers a fresh approach. It is not another paean to our “founding fathers” whose infinite wisdom can allegedly guide us today. It is not Chicken Soup for the Tea Party Soul. Rather, it focuses on an aspect of the Revolution that I venture most people – at least those fortunate enough to have missed Mel Gibson’s The Patriot – don’t know a lot about: the Revolution in the South.

Buchanan’s book covers the time period from 1780-81, when the British Army under Lord Cornwallis attempted to wrest control of the Carolinas from the Rebellious colonials. It begins with the siege of Charleston, where the spongy, near-mythological palmetto logs were not enough to save Benjamin Lincoln’s army, and ends with Cornwallis’ men marching to a place called Yorktown. Spoiler alert: something important happens at Yorktown.

In between is one of the Continental Army’s worst defeats – the calamity at Camden – one of its most ingenious victories – Dan Morgan at Cowpens – and its bloodiest draw – the slaughter at Guilford Courthouse. The war in the South also gives us sneering villains, such as the British cavalier Banastre Tarleton, and doughty heroes, chief among them Francis Marion, the famed Swamp Fox who waged a successful partisan war against the British.

(And it should be noted, for those entirely unfamiliar with the Revolution, that Buchanan shows remarkable discipline in staying on topic. He does not spare time or space discussing the overall framework of the war, only referring to events in the North when directly applicable to the goings-on in the South).


The Revolution in the South was a nasty, internecine struggle, pitting neighbor against neighbor, Loyalist verses Rebel. As we all know from the American Civil War of 1861-1865 – indeed, as we know from our own lives – the most brutal fights occur between people who know each other well. Readers with a passing interest in the Revolution have probably heard of the more infamous massacres, usually those perpetrated by the British/Loyalists, especially by Bloody Ban Tarleton. At the battle of Waxhaws, for instance, Tarleton’s men were notoriously disinclined to take prisoners, so much so that killing prisoners became known as “Tarleton’s quarter.” Buchanan reminds us, though, that both sides were in a killing mood. Continental cavalryman Light Horse Harry Lee (the man who’s sperm helped create Robert E. Lee) stole a play out of Tarleton’s handbook when he presented himself to Tory militia as Loyalists, and then turned on them with sabers in what became known as Pyle’s Massacre.

Buchanan intended this to be a work of popular history, accessible to those with little grounding in the subject. Certainly, he has achieved that. It is eminently readable and seldom confusing; its opening chapters do a good job presenting the military/economic/social context of the Carolinas when the British invaded, sparing you the necessity of reading any precursor histories of the war in the South. The characters are given life. Battles are viscerally described:

Under the onslaught of Howard’s Continentals, the [British] Guards wavered, bent, seemed to be on the verge of breaking. Incredibly, the flower of Cornwallis’s army was in grave danger of being driven from the field…Cornwallis emerged from the woods and surveyed what was happening before him. Then he did what he had to do…Lieutenant John McLeod was at hand with his six-pounders. Young McLeod spent the better part of his life at war, became a general himself, commanded the artillery at Waterloo. But surely what he was commanded to do at Guilford Courthouse was one of the searing experiences of his life. Cornwallis ordered McLeod to fire grapeshot into the mass of struggling men, into friend and foe alike. Charles O’Hara lying painfully wounded on the ground beside the cannon begged him not to do it. Lieutenant McLeod hesitated. Cornwallis sternly repeated the order. The cannons roared, spewing grape into the flesh of Britons and Americans. The melee dissolved as soldiers of both sides scattered…

Even though he’s targeting general audiences, I found The Road to Guilford Courthouse to have a gratifying level of sophistication. It doesn’t dumb anything down. Moreover, Buchanan has schooled himself enough in this subject to make some acute judgments. He is equable towards the much-maligned Lord Cornwallis (made into something of a buffoon in The Patriot) and surprisingly kind to the Continental’s General Horatio Gates, who rode the coattails of Dan Morgan and Benedict Arnold to victory at Saratoga (in upstate New York) and then rode away from his disaster at Camden on the fastest horse.

In contrast, Buchanan is unsparing in his dislike for guerilla leader Thomas “the Gamecock” Sumter, even though Cornwallis himself thought Sumter a tremendous thorn in his side. Buchanan also takes the unusual position of savaging the reputation of Patrick Ferguson, the British Light Infantryman who was killed by the Overmountain Men at the battle of King’s Mountain. In most books, even those with a pro-Rebel slant, Ferguson is feted as an honorable opponent, a courageous and bright (he is given credit for a breech loading rifle) soldier who stands in contrast to Tarleton’s treachery. For some reason, though, Buchanan just doesn’t like him, and parses the record with that attitude.

The hero of this story is General Nathanael Greene, perhaps the greatest American commander to never win a battle. After some early disasters in the North, specifically his ill-judged decision to defend Forth Washington, he grew into a dependable officer. He came South at Washington’s behest following the defeats of Generals Lincoln and Gates. His chief accomplishment was a masterfully-executed strategic defeat across North Carolina, with Lord Cornwallis and his strung-out army following in his wake. Following the bloody stalemate at Guildford Courthouse, Cornwallis left the Carolinas in Colonial hands.

My chief complaint with this book is the number and quality of the maps. The number is low. The quality is poor. They seem to have been taken from another book and pasted into this one. This is unacceptable. If you are going to describe troop movements and explain orders of battle, you need an accompanying map that is created in response to the text. If you don’t do this, it’s barely worth the effort presenting this information in the first place.

Other than this criticism, which devolves, I’m sure, on the publisher rather than the author, this is a sound and sturdy book about a bloody and complex struggle. Sometimes forgotten in the shadow of Trenton and Valley Forge, the war for the Carolinas finally tipped the scales of the American Revolution.

[Breck Baumann · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptional military history of the Revolutionary War's southern theatre, full of brilliant character studies, eighteenth-century battlefield tactics and operations, as well as a wealth of primary and secondary sourced references. Buchanan leaves no stone unturned with his effortless way of introducing each and every player in the Carolinas—giving full yet concise backgrounds of militiamen, aide-de-camp, and acting general alike. He relates to the reader their lives before, during, and after the war, such as Charles O'Hara's brief military career in Africa, until his role as second-in-command to Cornwallis during the War for Independence. By delivering this unique approach, chapters are not just monotonous minute-by-minute accounts of specific conflicts, but rather engaging material that follows neighboring partisans, fathers, sons, brothers, and mothers in their struggling commitment to either crown or independence.

The book is full of generous detail for the student of military history and Revolutionary War-buff alike, and fortunately has subchapters littered throughout to help discern such minor battles as Blackstock's Farm and Pyle's Massacre. Buchanan sets apart myths and embellishments from prior works and certain first-hand accounts of engagements with a careful eye, and never ceases to enlighten his audience with new facts and revelations from both before and after battles:

One, Private William Moore of Campbell’s Virginians, had his leg amputated on the field, probably by the British surgeon Dr. Uzal Johnson of Newark, New Jersey. Moore was left in a friendly home nearby. When his wife in far-off Washington County, Virginia, finally received the news, she saddled a horse and rode alone through the mountains in November to his sanctuary to nurse him. When Moore was able to travel, she took him home, and it may well be due to her faithfulness that William Moore lived to collect an invalid’s pension until 1826.

Famous battles such as Sullivan’s Island, Camden, the Siege of Charleston, King’s Mountain, and Cowpens are each given their own preferential treatment and expert analysis as well—with the title-driving Guilford Courthouse taking the mainstage spotlight at the end of this captivating account of the war in the Carolinas. A page-turner from beginning to end, Buchanan hits the target and then goes even further with a final section that follows “The Major Characters (in Order of Appearance) and What Happened to Them.” This provides rich support to an already masterfully-detailed and well-researched history of characters and campaigns in the Southern colonies.

[Jayna Baas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging, detailed, and comprehensive overview of the American Revolution in the South. I return to this book time and again—it’s my go-to research for my historical novel writing. I appreciate Buchanan’s honest, balanced approach, refreshing in a culture that tends to either idolize or vilify our founding fathers and their deeds. It’s always good to balance resources with other writers’ views (the section on Kings Mountain and its aftermath comes to mind; older histories take a different perspective on the character and judicial action of the victors) but the extensive notes in this book make that easy. A great read for anyone who loves history and doesn’t know what the war looked like south of Philadelphia.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading the Road to Guilford Courthouse was like piecing together a giant jigsaw puzzle composed of the battles in the Carolinas during the Revolutionary War. Since the victories were highly important to the success of the Revolution and there were many scholarly nuggets contained in the book I was expecting more, instead it was a disappointing read because the book could have used some serious rearrangement.

Although quite lengthy at over 400 pages, this volume lacked any legible maps and offered scant dates. A larger problem is that the author could not quite decide if the book should be a series of thin biographies of the generals or a description of a series of battles. In chapters describing battles the text would digress for many pages on Horatio Gates and others regarding their service 30 years earlier in the French and Indian War. Particularly bad was when Harry Whitehorse Lee’s post-Revolutionary life in the 1800s was outlined before the upcoming battle in 1780. And the little mini-biographical aside wasn’t even that insightful.

Since there isn’t much of a retail market for historical books about military conflicts from 200 years ago, some leeway should be given for such editing transgressions. To be fair there are some remarkable and very balanced insights provided by the author. The atrocities committed by the Rebels against the Tories after the victory at Kings Mountain was particularly intriguing.

This book is extensively quoted by Wikipedia as it is considered the primary text for the Carolina campaigns during the Revolutionary War. Aside from the personal stories however, you could piece together the timelines of the War in the Carolinas much better by using online sources rather than using any from this book.

Earlier this year, I spent a few days touring the Revolutionary battlefields of the Carolinas which are all covered in this book. I would say that the book’s coverage of Moore’s Creek was poor, the coverage of the Battle of Kings Mountain was excellent and the coverage of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse was pretty good. The Battle of Cowpens was disappointing.

So yes this history is worth reading if you are really into the Revolutionary War. I simply wish a first rate biographer like David McCullough would have written it instead.

[Manray9 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite popular mythology about Lexington and Concord and Washington crossing the Delaware, most of the hard campaigning of the Revolution took place in the South. Buchanan gives a solid account of the set-piece battles and the merciless partisan warfare from Charleston through North Carolina and into Virginia. Ewtaw Springs, Camden, Cowpens and Guilford Courthouse were battles that deserve to be remembered alongside Saratoga and Shiloh for their importance to the American Experiment. To this day I remain awestruck at the bravery of Virginia farmboys and Baltimore shopkeepers standing toe-to-toe against the Royal Welch Fusiliers. Americans owe honor to John Eager Howard, Nathaniel Greene, Dan Morgan, "Light Horse Harry" Lee, Mordecai Gist, William Washington and Baron DeKalb.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well-written, thorough book about the Revolutionary War in the Southern colonies, primarily from 1779 - 1781. John Buchanan, a former archivist and popular historian, is able to write with depth about the conflict in the Carolinas and Georgia, but never loses sight of the changing strategies of the rebellion and the British military. In many ways, this is a story of civil war, as the book is narrowly focused on the conflict in the South.

The war in the southern American colonies is probably the least known or understood part of the American founding. The military action involved naval bombardment, amphibious assaults, and militia insurgency, traditional set piece warfare on battlefields, and strategic offensives and withdrawals. Virtually every type of 18th century warfare and some that became increasingly popular in the years to come is present.

The leaders of the opposing sides, General Greene for the Americans and General Cornwallis for the British, are the two pegs on which either side rises or falls. The American setbacks in Savannah and Charleston, leading to the surrender of the southern army, are told in brutal efficiency. The rise of Greene, and the back country insurgency, led by militia leaders like Marion, Pickens, and Sumter is told by showing how seemingly random encounters affected the grand strategy for both sides.

This is a military history, with good, plentiful maps, excellent uses of letters and primary sources and solid explanations for why armies and military conflicts happened they way they did in the Carolina back country. The highlight of the book is the description of the strategic retreat of Greene from Charlotte to the Virginia border, in the winter of 1781, and the furious chase of Cornwallis's stripped down British army. Though the book perhaps could have been slimmed down some, it is a good, solid comprehensive account of the military operations in the South.

[Dee Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audible sale 22 hours 6 min. Narrated by Pete Cross (B)
Subtitle: The American Revolution in the Carolinas

After the abysmal failure of General Horatio Gates at the Battle of Camden and his hasty retreat to safety, George Washington needed a general to replace Gates upon whom he could rely. Nathaniel Green was that man. During the early years of the war, there was basically a savaage civil war being fought by colonists in North and South Carolina by two groups: those who were loyal to King George " the King's friends" also known as loyalists or Tories and the rebels who wanted freedom who called themselves Whigs. This war was as divisive as was the later Civil War, turning neighbors and family members against each other. Groups from within each of those two set up informal bands of soldiers called militia and elected their own leaders.

Some of the bloodiest fighting of the Revolutionary War 1780-81 took place between these local bands with intense antipathy felt on both sides. This was the arena into which Gen. Greene was called to combine the forces of the Whigs after British General Charles Cornwallis took control of Charleston, SC. This book deals with the much overlooked southern campaign and the men who served and sacrificed their lives there. The author gives readers much needed background of both the leaders of the British troops and those of the Whigs, the major battles fought, the obstacles of the terrain and the weather, the lack of food for both men and horses, the importance of scouting and finding reliable local contacts, and overall misery felt by all who were living in the backwaters of the colonies.

The reader soon becomes acquainted with the names "Lighthorse" Harry Lee, "Swamp Fox" Francis Marion, "Wagoneer"" Daniel Morgan, and "Gamecock" Thomas Sumpter. But less recognizable nemes also soon stand out as stalwarts. Robert Kirkland, John Eager Howard, Andrew Pickens, and William Richardson Davis. I highly recommend this book to those interested in the Revolutionary War.

[Mac McCormick III · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to read Road to Guilford Courthouse: The American Revolution in the Carolinas by John Buchanan as preparation for a vacation trip to visit the Ninety Six, Musgrove Mill, Kings Mountain, and Cowpens battlefields in South Carolina (due to the government shutdown, it seems I won't be visiting three of the four since they are federal parks).

Road to Guilford Courthouse covers the American Revolution in the Carolinas from the beginning of the war through the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. Buchanan tells the story by not just describing battles and troop movements but also by developing the personalities of the men guiding and leading those battles and movements. Through the use of primary sources, diaries, and autobiographies, he gives both the leaders' view of the war and the line officers' and soldier/militiamen's view as well. One of the focuses of the book is on the use of militia, by both the Americans and the British, with a concentration on how they were properly used and who properly used them. Another focus is the analysis of both Regular and Militia leaders' performance (including a chapter at the end of the book on what happened to many of them after the war).

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Road to Guilford Courthouse. It is a fascinating, captivating book that I often found hard to put down. The concentration on both actions and personalities give you a comprehensive look at that period of the Revolution in the south. It's well researched and documented with extensive endnotes and a bibliography at the end of the book. The reason I haven't given it a five-star review is its lack of maps. This campaign was very much a war of movement and maps showing the movements of the British and Americans would help the reader better visualize the relation of the two armies to each other. Maps of the battle would also help the reader visualize the positions of the units described in the text and the movements of the units during the Seige of Charleston and at battles such as Kings Mountain, Cowpens, and Guilford Courthouse.

Reading this book made me reflect on other conflicts. As I read, I kept coming back to the thought that the US military's failures in Vietnam and Iraq are partly due to the failure to remember lessons from our own Revolutionary War. The southern war is rife with lessons on partisan/guerrilla warfare, particularly from the British on what not to do when fighting them and from the Americans on how to utilize your partisan/militia allies. As I read more about Greene and the war in the south, I couldn't help but draw parallels to Spruance at the Battle of Midway in World War II. Greene had to fight Cornwallis yet he couldn't allow himself to be defeated in detail. Spruance had to fight Yamamoto yet he couldn't allow himself to lose significant numbers of ships and men. If either had allowed themselves to lose their army or fleet, it would have been calamitous; arguably their decisions to be not as aggressive in battle were the correct ones.

[Jeffrey Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent follow-up to my recent listen to Oller's "The Swamp Fox," with Buchanan expanding on Francis Marion's role in So. Carolina, to encompass both Carolina's and the full array of combatants from the Brits Cornwallis, Tarleton, Clinton and others, to the American's Gates, Green, Marion, Sumpter and Morgan, and the major battles of the siege of Charleston, King's Mountain, Cowpens and of course Guiford Courthouse. I really liked the author's style of writing, as well as the narration of Pete Cross.

[Josh Liller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book as been sitting on my To Read list for a long time as well, but after visiting Kings Mountain and Cowpens I decided to buy a copy from their gift shop to support these two free national parks.

"The Road to Guilford Courthouse" principally covers events in South and North Carolina from the Charleston Campaign of 1780 through the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in 1781. However, there is a prologue about the Battle of Sullivan's Island earlier in the war and a great deal of background provided on South Carolina politics and Rebel-Tory divisions, as well as the lives of key figures.

This book is almost devoid of maps and what few it has are poor. The book ends rather abruptly with Cornwallis leaving Wilmington for Virginia while Greene heads back into South Carolina. While Guilford is an appropriate climax for the book, relegating subsequent events in South Carolina to a very brief epilogue makes the subtitle "The American Revolution in the Carolinas" a bit of a misnomer. Buchanan sometimes gets a little repetitive and/or uses many words when less would have done just as well or better. He also addresses repeatedly addresses the reader and acknowledges a narrative, which worked out okay for me but was certainly unusual.

My criticisms aside, the writing in this book is for the most part amazing. Buchanan has a wry sense of humor. He pulls no punches in his criticism, but also deals evenhanded. Many characters lambasted for their weaknesses are also praised for their strengths. The book delves into not only a campaign often neglected by history (because Washington wasn't involved), but delves into the guerrilla actions that a more campaign-focused book would skim over if not skip entirely. It manages to go into a lot of depth while also moving along briskly. It's hard to score high in both content and readability, but this book does it in spades.

A few observations I made that surprised me: the ineffectiveness of most Tory units and that Camden, if it had been fought properly by Gates, could have easily been another Cowpens or at least another Guilford Courthouse. Having seen "The Patriot" it's also interesting to keep that movie in mind while reading this book and see how actual events were melded together to form the basis of that movie.

Highly recommended to anyone interested in the American Revolution, although it probably shouldn't be one's first book on the subject.

[John Matthew IV · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book on the American Revolution in the Carolinas desperately in need of some maps. Detailed paragraphs were spent on describing things a simple map would quickly reveal. The maps in the book are few and from long ago and hard to understand. For example, I could not find the Guilford Courthouse on the map given for exactly that.

p. 5: The rallying cry at Moore's Bridge: "King George and Broad Swords."
p. 26: "The British strategy had in common with other well-laid plans a cold, clear logic unencumbered by evidence."
p. 41: "Anyone who has encountered Low Country mosquitoes will testify that they are without exaggeration bigger, faster, and meaner than northern mosquitoes: in the words of a British officer: 'a greater plague than there can be in hell itself.'"
p. 60: Battle of Monck's Corner, April 13-14, 1780
p. 62: "Monck's Corner was Banastre Tarleton's first notable victory in the South, and it established a pattern he would maintain to the end: swift approach, sudden appearance, immediate assault with British officers' weapons of choice -- sabers and bayonets."
p . 63: "Banastre Tarleton, however, it is not unfair to state that in time and with reason he became the most hated man in the South."
p. 71: The siege of Charleston: "It was the greatest British victory of the war"
p. 82: Battle of Waxhaws
p. 90: "Rice Kings believed in self-government by the rich and the well born, that is, by themselves."
p. 106: Battle of Ramsour's Mill
p. 158: British army: "Football fans disciplined by sergeants and led by aristocrats."
p. 171: Gates: "I say retreat! Let the dead bury their dead."
p. 173: Fishing Creek
p. 185: "Wemyss had a gibbet erected beside the road." | m-w.com: "an upright post with a projecting arm for hanging the bodies of executed criminals as a warning"
p. 192: "The irony of the Revolution in South Carolina is that it was started by the Rice Kings and saved by the Back Country militia, which was overwhelmingly composed of men the Rice Kings held in contempt."
p. 197: Chaumette rifle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlADv...
p. 198: Patrick Ferguson may have had a chance to shoot George Washington
p. 228: "Fresh prime your guns, and every man go into battle firmly resolving to fight till he dies."
p. 241: "Some 200 years ago Sir Henry Clinton admitted that the American victory at King's Mountain 'unhappily proved the first link in a chain of evils that followed each other in regular succession until they ...."
p. 251: Battle of Blackstocks
p. 260: "Nathanael Greene has long been regarded by students of the War of the Revolution as second only to Washington, and the great Virginian considered him his successor if he should be struck down."
p. 276: Daniel Morgan: "If one were to judge him by all who have led Americans into battle, he would have no superiors and few peers."
p. 292: "The Napoleon Principle: An army divides to live and unites to fight."
p. 310: Remagen Bridge
p. 315: Scottish Brigade of the Dutch Army
p. 316: Daniel Morgan had a significant original tactical thought about how to use militia
p. 364: "Pyle's Massacre has been compared to Tarleton's massacre of Buford's men."
p. 390: Cornwallis: "If not a man of startling genius, he was clear-sighted statesman and an able general, as well as an upright English gentleman."

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellently written and researched. A great analysis of the Southern Campaign, perhaps the best ever put together. The book takes the reader throughout the events of 1780-1781 in an easy-to-read, yet still detailed enough manner.

[Susan in NC · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars - Excellent and extremely thorough (I admit, I skimmed some bits rather than get mired in military strategy) of the American Revolutionary War in the Carolinas. The Battle of Guilford Courthouse took place in modern Greensboro, North Carolina, and the site is now a U.S. Military Park. My family and I have enjoyed this beautiful green space for years, and attended the annual reenactment of the battle. I bought this book at the gift shop to learn more about this place that has come to mean so much to me.

The author writes in his preface that when he told an educated and well-read friend the subject of this book, he was told the person knew nothing of any Revolutionary War history outside of New England. I think that’s fairly common, and it’s unfortunate, as the difficulties of fighting and surviving in the “back country” of the Carolinas, where this campaign was fought, played a vital role in weakening the British forces and making the powers that be realize the cost of holding this wayward colony was too high.

Technically the British won this battle, but as General Nathanael Greene wrote, it was “long, obstinate and bloody”. Walking this wooded, green, hilly park, we often see herds of deer peacefully grazing the meadows. It’s a favorite spot for dog walkers, joggers and families with strollers. There are monuments, grave markers and signage explaining vital incidents in the battle, and there are tours by park rangers explaining the battle. But it’s so peaceful and beautiful it’s hard to imagine what happened here. General Cornwallis is reported to have said, “I never saw such fighting since God made me. The Americans fought like demons.”

As the author explains, Greene “was neither a first rate tactician nor a charismatic battle commander. He was a cool strategist of the first order and always had uppermost in mind that he could not, he must not, lose the army…Tactically, by a narrow margin, Lord Cornwallis had won the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. Strategically, by a wide margin, Nathanael Greene had set up Cornwallis for an even worse disaster, and laid the firm foundation on which he would proceed to win the campaign for the Carolinas.”

As always in my nonfiction reads, I post interesting quotes from the book in my reading progress.

[existential cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this. Listened to it while walking, so maybe missed some details, but with war books, there's so much unavoidable marching: these people are marching and now those people are marching, and now they're both marching, all the marching, so I'm not beating myself up about it.

Very helpful for extra context on the history. Very very entertaining. Plan to listen to again, and looking forward to it. Really sad that the follow-up is not on audio, nor is the Valley Forge one. I do wish that non-white men ppl featured "more," bit I guess that would fall under what the author's website quotes as a review of another of his books, as "refreshingly, does not attempt to impose modern-day sensibilities on the events." But it's not so bad as that would imply. And Buchanan does not avoid the idiocy of the newly-rich (due wholly to slave labor) southern whites, which is really nice. But also would be worth knowing that other ppl (besides those burly, manly-men mountain men) played a major part.

That said, would recommend. If for nothing other than his descriptions of Tarleton.

Also, timely reading. There was so much I didn't know - like I don't think of this was as a civil war, but it was. I also stopped the audio and wrote down direct quotes (ie, first-person sources) often (including about the mountain men lol - and how aghast the English were, to be in "the wild," no hospitals or hotels, just more of that marching and no respite). It's a really good book, possibly great, mostly b/c it honors that history is stories.

[Marc Pressley · Rating 4 out of 5]

One initial caveat: if you're looking for a primarily military overview of the southern campaign, you may not enjoy this book as much. I say as much because Buchanan has a gift for bringing the major personalities of this phase of the American Revolution to life like few others. The book is biographical for long stretches, and focuses more on the human element (and failings) that shaped the war in the south.

I've always viewed Greene as the unsung hero of the Revolutionary War. Buchanan brought me a more nuanced view of him. Still unsung, perhaps less of a tactician, but more of a strategist. The criticisms of both sides, regular and militia, are evenhanded and well supported. And I thoroughly enjoyed Buchanan's wry style along the way.

You can get a better understanding of the actual battles from other books. But it might be hard to find a better portrait of the men who fought them.

[Gregory Knapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely wonderful book. I've read several books about specific battles or individuals involved in the Southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War, and they were all great. In this book Buchanan tackles the entire Southern Campaign and gets into the background and character of each of the key characters of that war, like Corwallis, Tarleton, Gates, Green, Morgan, Sumter and Marion among a few. That depth provides tremendous context for how the Campaign was prosecuted and insights into why the results were what they were. To close the book, Buchanan took each major character and wrote about how they lived the rest of their respective lives to bring closure to the individuals we grew close to in his story. Buchanan cemented the Southern Campaign in my mind and whet my appetite for additional reading from his detailed bibliography.

[David Hack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably a little more than I really wanted to know about the Revolution in the Carolinas but still interesting and I did learn new things.

I found the personal information about the many officers and their personalities gleaned from letters and other original sources added a lot to the narrative and helped to appreciate their motivations and strengths and weaknesses.

Would have given it at least another star or two if it only had maps. There are about three or four tiny maps in the entire book and, despite good eyesight, I got out a magnifying glass just to read them. It would have been so much more understandable and enjoyable if there were some decent maps. So, unless you really know where all the rivers are in the Carolinas and know where towns were that no longer exist, get ready to use Google maps to figure out what is going on where.

[William Guerrant · Rating 5 out of 5]

On a five star scale I want to give this book six stars. The author combines impressive scholarship and research with a powerful, accessible and gripping writing style. His informality is sometimes offputting and his preference for "Rebels" and "Tories" rather than "Patriots" and "Loyalists" is annoying (although carefully explained and justified at the beginning of the book), but those are mere quibbles. The writing is exceptional and the author brings this vital history to life. This is an indispensable book for anyone with an interest in the campaigns culminating in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, which should be anyone who cares to understand how the United States won their independence.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book that provides a wide-ranging overview of the Southern theater in the Revolutionary War - one that has been largely overshadowed by the battles waged north of the Mason-Dixon line. Buchanan can be quite opinionated about all the major players involved. For example, he's very anti-Sumter. I found it difficult to not come to the same conclusion as Buchanan, but I would like to get another viewpoint of Sumter to better understand the man, which will likely lead me to Andrew Waters' recent books on the Revolutionary South.

Hopefully some day this will receive an updated edition with better maps, as the current one falls woefully short in that department. I also hope I'll be able to visit Kings Mountain, Cowpens, and other battlefields down the road!

[Jwt Jan50 · Rating 5 out of 5]

My brother in law and I were talking books with one of our clients prior to my retirement from the second career. I was reading Drums of Autumn at the time and I launched into extolling Nathaniel Greene as well as how decisive the southern campaign was re our independence. I'd read a good biography fall of 1978 when I was touring the south with a furniture rep who'd forgotten more about the south then I'll ever be able to read. Anyway, the client gave me this book. It filled in the gaps and helped me with the Gabaldon series. Not great perhaps, but pretty close.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dense, detailed, and very in-depth. Buchanan does a good job of just focusing on his topic, and not being led astray, even when interesting tangents come up. He does take the time to give context, including ending the book with a rundown on what happened to the various major players. This is definitely not history 101, and probably is not an ideal book for someone who doesn't already know the American Revolution very well, but for those who do, it is a well-written and interesting book.

[Elaine A. Bozek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a six star book!

Instead of boring the reader with detail let me say if Mr Buchanan decides to write a book on knitting I'll sign up. This is the best history and storytelling I've yet to read. Guilford CH is the American Revolution with everything you always wanted to know about generals, heroes, villains, battles, skirmishes, marches, etc. It's wonderful history I had a hard time putting down. Just great stuff!

[Clinton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent writing style that keeps the reader engaged. This was my first book of this campaign, so I have no basis of comparison, but I thought that it was very well done, although lacking as much battle detail as I would want. I took off one star because the maps are absolutely terrible. Buchanan reproduces maps from Greene's papers, but they are generally illegible. Get yourself some decent maps of this campaign before reading.

[Doug & Trish Crew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining History

I enjoyed reading about the colorful characters in the Revolution in the South. I found it hard to follow when the author described battles in detail. I would recommend this book to those who don't know the history of the men and battles of the War of independence in the South.

[Todd Neustifter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different writing style

I enjoyed the author's style, he painted more dramatic pictures of the battles than most historians have. He also expressed his own opinions often, but it was clear they were his thoughts and he did not try to pass them off as fact. This added to the writing and allowed the reader to agree or disagree as they saw fit. A good read, and worth your time.

[Steve Bender · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engrossong account of the Revolutionary War in the Carolinas up to the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. Intriguing mini biographies of the characters, bot Rebel and Tory. Keeps your interest. Recommended.

[MILTON D MARSHE JR · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't miss this one.

This is the book that you cannot miss if you want to understand how the war proceeded step by step. Better than that it is truly exciting. Excellent author. Well written. Five stars.

[John Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written history of the southern campaign. Looking forward to reading the second volume.

[Tre Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book by a great writer/historian. I can't wait to read/learn more about the Southern Campaign(s) in The American Revolution.

[Wesley F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Road to Guilford Courthouse is fascinating and gives you a pretty clear understanding of the American tradition of guerilla warfare. The importance of the war in the Carolinas is often underestimated with the exception of a couple movies and TV shows. Mel Gibson's The Patriot was historically inaccurate and more of his own hero's tale. The book is rich with detail but the descriptions were not always clear. There is a shortage of maps, which would've helped a lot with the complicated maneuvering that took place among the two armies. This is still an excellent book for those interested in this part of the American Revolutionary War.

A myth is taught to elementary and middle school students in America regarding the Revolutionary War. It is taught that the Continental Army fought an irregular type of war, behind trees, using ambushes, and violating every observed law of war. In the northern region, this was rarely true. General Washington and others fought in the traditional European method. There were exceptions of course but for that part of the war, it was largely a myth. In the south, it was more reality than myth. A large number of battles in the Carolinas were fought by small bands of fighters armed with rifles, hiding behind trees, setting ambushes, and utilizing hit-and-run tactics. One of the fighters became immortalized as the Swamp Fox. There were others as well including Andrew Pickens, William Richardson Davie, and Thomas Sumter.

The book is rich in detail with plenty of collected accounts from officers and regular soldiers on both sides. It clearly demonstrated the dangers of hubris. Generals Cornwallis and Clinton dismissed the American southerners as untrained and cowardly, incapable of going head-to-head with the British regulars. They believed the sight of the red line would bring the southern colonies into line. There was also the belief that the southern colonies were much more pro-British or Tory. Both of these assumptions turned out to be false.

While most southern soldiers did not fair well in open battle, they usually rejoined the fight at a later date. Comprised primarily of militia or part-time soldiers, they would fight, return home, then come back and fight again. The militia were fast, knowledgeable of the territory, self-armed, accurate shooters, and extraordinarily resilient people. Imagine going to the toughest neighborhood you know and yelling insults with a loudspeaker. Perhaps walk into a popular local bar and lob insults and see what happens.

Carolinians were tough and had long memories. Nearly every British crime and injustice wrought on the people was unforgivable. The Americans would've continued fighting for twenty years if the war had lasted that long.

The book also portrays the genius and heroism of Generals Daniel Morgan and Nathanael Greene. They fought toe-to-toe with the British and won. Both are heroes of the Revolution.

In terms of criticism, more maps would've been helpful. The Carolinas of 1780 and 1781 was largely rural with only rivers, creeks, and hills as landmarks. Buchanan's descriptions of troop movements were difficult to follow without a frame of reference. His descriptions were also difficult to follow at times, using odd terms for what side of a river an army camped on or what direction they traveled. I think Buchanan's desire to give a comprehensive and detailed account resulted in information overload. Some discretion at certain points would've helped with clarity. He names hundreds of officers and units, which I had some trouble following.

The battles were narrated well for the most part yet there were times when he would describe the action and I was left asking "wait when did they get into the fight? I thought they were still getting ready."

Patience and maybe access to some maps of your own are needed but otherwise this is a great read. It is also a good lesson to not mess with mountain or swamp folk.