Following the loss of Savannah, American forces withdrew to Charleston, South Carolina. On May 12, 1780, after both a battle and a siege, Henry Clinton secured the city. He quickly took Augusta and set up a semi-circle of forts between Augusta and Charleston to protect his position. Georgians began to leave the state because of the British rule. Among those who depart is Lyman Hall, signer of the Declaration of Independence. A wanted man by the British in the state of Georgia, he flees to Connecticut, where he is not well known. The British destroy his property in both Savannah and Sunbury.

Georgians began a resistance movement aimed at disrupting the British presence and got pretty good at it. On the Ogeechee, rice boats were frequent targets as was British shipping along Georgia's coast. Upcountry farmers who did not accept Clinton's offer of amnesty continued to bedevil the British and the Georgia government-in-exile met at Fort Heard. Elijah Clarke briefly suspended his military activities so that he could lead a group of 400 women and children to safety in the mountains of East Tennessee.

On his return, Clarke became determined to rid upcountry Georgia of the British invaders. In September, 1780 he launched an attack against Augusta only to fail when the British re-enforced the city from Fort Ninety-Six. Georgia prisoners suffered horribly at the hands of Colonel James Grierson. With his forces depleted and a crop in the field, Clarke was forced to withdraw.

Georgia under the control of the British

Next: End of the Revolution

Introduction to the American Revolution in Georgia
Acts of War
End of the French and Indian War
Sugar Act; Stamp Act
Liberty Boys; Virginia Resolves
Radical Georgia Unites
Tea Act and Tea Party
Movement towards Independence
Battle of the Rice Boats
On to Independence
Declaration of Independence
Problems in East Florida
British Take Savannah and Augusta
Battle of Kettle Creek
Battle of Brier Creek
Battle of Savannah
Dark days for Georgia
End of the Revolution
Chronology of Georgia events

American Revolution In Georgia
Georgia's role in the American Revolution

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Acts of War
Battle of Brier Creek
Battle of Kettle Creek
Battle of Savannah
Battle of the Rice Boats
British Take Savannah and Augusta
Dark days for Georgia
Declaration of Independence
End of the French and Indian War
End of the Revolution
Introduction to the American Revolution in Georgia
Liberty Boys; Virginia Resolves
Lyman Hall
Movement towards Independence
On to Independence
Problems in East Florida
Radical Georgia Unites
Sugar Act; Stamp Act
Tea Act and Tea Party

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