The British “Experiment” to Use Loyalists in the Southern War

A hallmark of the Revolutionary War in the South was the drive by the British to use Loyalist militia to augment the British army, in combat with the American army and in keeping the peace behind the front lines. The army’s use of Loyalist militiamen in the south arose immediately after the fall of Charlestown in May 1780, and permeated British military efforts in the campaigns in the Carolinas over the next year. The Tories’ record of performance disappointed their British overlords. The fault for their record of poor achievement was complicated, but largely attributable to mismanagement by the British army.

Throughout the war, the British benefited from Loyalists mustered into regiments of Provincials. These formations, often commanded by a British officer, received training and discipline similar to British regulars. Banastre Tarleton, commander of the British Legion, was a tremendously successful leader of Provincials, as was Francis Rawdon, commander of the Volunteers of Ireland. The British army grew to accept the Provincials as members of the team fighting the war in America.

The Loyalist militia did not share in the benefits enjoyed by the Provincials. Like the Patriot militia, the Tories were part-time soldiers who did not receive the intense discipline and training of professional military men. They were commanded by their own officers. Nevertheless, in the early days of planning the southern campaign, the British government mandated that their generals make use of Loyalist militia to extend the strained manpower of the army.

The fountainhead of the plan to use the Loyalist militia lay in the orders given to Gen. Henry Clinton upon his assumption of the position of commander-in-chief of British forces in America. Lord George Germain, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, gave Clinton written instructions in a letter dated March 8, 1778. The orders were remarkably detailed in directing the course of the southern campaign. Germain told Clinton to open the fight with Georgia in the fall.[1] South Carolina would follow, with an attack on Charlestown. Clinton obeyed his orders, loading men for the invasion of Georgia in December. He followed the conquest of Georgia with an attack on Charlestown. He embarked men and equipment in December 1779, and concluded the mission with victory the following spring.