From Savannah to Yorktown: The American Revolution in the South [Paperback]

Henry Lumpkin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 31, 2000

Bloodshed in the American Revolution began in Massachusetts and ended in South Carolina. That the last major action of the war occurred in the South was no accident. The British regarded the South as their best chance of crushing the rebellion, and a southern strategy governed British military campaigning during the decisive years from 1778 to 1781. How that strategy failed in Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia is answered in this highly readable military history, which carries the reader from the early backcountry skirmishes to the climactic triumph at Yorktown. From Savannah to Yorktown sketches many of the colorful field commanders, discusses the weaponry and uniforms, and, above all, unfolds the battle events, strategy, and tactics. Well-illustrated with maps, portraits, battle scenes, and arms, this first comprehensive military history devoted to the American Revolution in the South will be welcomed by anyone interested in the southern battleground of freedom.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Henry Lumpkin was a military historian with the United States European Command and Naval Academy. He was Professor Emeritus of History at the University of South Carolina. He was also author and narrator of two television programs, And Then There Were Thirteen and Saints and Legions, broadcast by SCETV Network.

Product Details

• Paperback: 348 pages
• Publisher: IUniverse (March 31, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595000975
• ISBN-13: 978-0595000975
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,723,531 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Long Road Back, June 17, 2001

By 

Kevin F. Kiley - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Savannah to Yorktown: The American Revolution in the South (Paperback)

The southern campaigns of the Revolution, starting with the disastrous defeat at Camden in August 1780 and culminating in Greene's successful containment of the British in the seaports of Charleston and Savannah. Greene never won an engagement, but never lost a campaign. In many ways he was the American Turenne, relentlessly campaigning through the Carolinas, respected and feared by his enemies, diligently followed by his disciplined, intrepid, and indefatigable Continentals, and served by a talented, tough group of subordinates such as Robert Kirkwood, Otho Williams, William Washinton, John Howard, and Edward Carrington. It was there, in the humid south, that the Revolution was won. It was the mauling given the British at Guilford Couthouse in March 1781, so soon after Camden, that drove Cornwallis to the decision to go into Virginia and to Yorktown. In that alone, the campaign was decisive.

Lumpkin tells the story with wit, vigor, relentlessness, but not a few errors, which are minor. It is well-illustrated (I especially liked the picture of a member of Lee's Legion done by Clyde Risley-one of my favorite military artists), and the appendices are very helpful. In some areas of smaller detail, the book should be used with caution, but if used in conjunction with Wright's Continental Army and Ward's War of the Revolution, it is a reliable reference, a good story, and gives these long-forgotten campaigns a deserved look and the men who conducted the war in this theater long overdue recognition.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Personality of our Revolutionary War, December 30, 2000

By 

J. K. Upham "lavarsha" (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: From Savannah to Yorktown: The American Revolution in the South (Paperback)

Henry Lumpkin did a superb job detailing the battles leading to the close of the Revolutionary War. One of very few histories to mention/detail the massacre at the 1st Seige of Augusta (Sept 1780), his information clarified old family papers about my 6th great-grandfather's death there. This book is well-researched, easily read, very informative, descriptive, and cannot help but evoke emotion from its readers. Mr Lumpkin was quite successful in his discription of the viewpoints of the non-soldiers, the brother-against-brother, militiamen, Loyalists, Continental Army, the British, the trained officers, the untrained leaders, and the Native American's participation during their desparate fight for victory. This book is just different enough, it draws you into history as if it were happening now.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good overall account of the war in the South, May 23, 2002

By 

Scholar "18th century student" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Savannah to Yorktown: The American Revolution in the South (Paperback)

I recommend this book for those interested in a clear ande concise narrative account of the American Revolution in the South. Although not as dramatic as Buchanan's THE ROAD TO GUILFORD COURTHOUSE (which I do not recommend) Lumpkin's book is well worth reading and generally accurate. His analysis is solid, a description I would not give to THE ROAD TO GUILFORD COURTHOUSE.