Editing American Revolution (section)

===1778–1783: the British move south===
{{Further|Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War|Naval operations in the American Revolutionary War}}
The [[British Royal Navy]] blockaded ports and held [[New York City]] for the duration of the war, and other cities for brief periods, but failed in their effort to destroy Washington's forces. The British strategy now concentrated on a campaign in the [[Southern colonies|southern states]]. With fewer regular troops at their disposal, the British commanders saw the "southern strategy" as a more viable plan, as they perceived the south as strongly Loyalist with a large population of recent immigrants and large numbers of slaves who might be tempted to run away from their masters to join the British and gain their freedom.<ref>Crow and Tise, ''The Southern Experience in the American Revolution'' (1978) pp. 157–159</ref>

Beginning in late December 1778, the British captured [[Savannah, Georgia|Savannah]] and controlled the [[Province of Georgia|Georgia]] coastline. In 1780, they launched a fresh invasion and [[Siege of Charleston|took Charleston]]. A significant victory at the [[Battle of Camden]] meant that royal forces soon controlled most of Georgia and South Carolina. The British set up a network of forts inland, hoping that the Loyalists would rally to the flag.<ref name="Henry Lumpkin 2000">Henry Lumpkin, ''From Savannah to Yorktown: The American Revolution in the South'' (2000)</ref> Not enough Loyalists turned out, however, and the British had to fight their way north into North Carolina and Virginia with a severely weakened army. Behind them, much of the territory that they had already captured dissolved into a chaotic [[guerrilla war]], fought predominantly between bands of Loyalists and American militia, which negated many of the gains that the British had previously made.<ref name="Henry Lumpkin 2000"/>

====Surrender at Yorktown (1781)====
{{Main|Siege of Yorktown}}
[[File:John_Trumbull_-_The_Surrender_of_Lord_Cornwallis_at_Yorktown,_October_19,_1781_-_1832.4_-_Yale_University_Art_Gallery.jpg|thumb|The 1781 [[siege of Yorktown]] ended with the surrender of a second British army, marking effective British defeat.]]
The British army under Cornwallis marched to [[Yorktown, Virginia]], where they expected to be rescued by a British fleet.<ref>Brendan Morrissey, ''Yorktown 1781: The World Turned Upside Down'' (1997)</ref> The fleet did arrive, but so did a larger French fleet. The French were victorious in the [[Battle of the Chesapeake]], and the British fleet returned to New York for reinforcements, leaving Cornwallis trapped. In October 1781, the British surrendered their second invading army of the war under a siege by the combined French and Continental armies commanded by Washington.<ref>Harvey pp. 493–515</ref>