You're listening to an Airwave Media Podcast. Hello, and thank you for joining the American Revolution. This week episode 274,

Green takes command.

Over the last couple of episodes, we saw the effectiveness of relatively disorganized groups of militia fighting all over South Carolina in the fall of 1780.

These forces were never large enough to defeat the British occupation,

but they did keep alive to the disputed control of the state

and disrupted supply lines and resources for the British.

That forced British General Charles Gornwalis to pay attention to them rather than think

about invading North Carolina. Back in North Carolina,

Continental General Horatio Gates remained in command, but was mostly just

waiting for his successor to arrive. Gates had effectively ended his career at

Camden back in August. The Continental Congress knew it was time for a new Southern commander.

In the meantime, Gates tried to support the efforts of

militia led by men like Francis Marion, Thomas Sumter, and Elijah Clark. But Gates

had no desire to enter the fight himself, and even if he did, he lacked the resources to launch any campaign of his own.

A Congress had been the body that selected General Horatio Gates to lead the Southern Army earlier that year.

General Washington was never eager to pick a fight with Congress and always wanted to show deference to its decisions.

That was especially the case with Gates since Washington did not want to be perceived

as undercutting Gates out of Personal Peak.

Of course a few years earlier leaders had discussed replacing

Washington with Gates as commander of the Continental Army. So Washington did not

want to be perceived as denying a great officer a deserved command because of some personal rivalry.

Washington let it be known indirectly that he had considered General Nathaniel Green to be the best person for the job.

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