Chasing an Elusive Foe.

After Cowpens, Gen. Charles Cornwallis chased Daniel Morgan and Nathanael Greene into Virginia, then made his headquarters at Hillsboro, North Carolina. Almost immediately Greene marched back and awaited Comwallis's attack at Guilford Courthouse. Cornwallis won the battle against superior numbers, but at an unacceptable price: while Greene was able to march off with most of his troops, Cornwallis had lost one-third of his soldiers. There was no option for Cornwallis but to leave the Carolinas and march into Virginia. As soon as he did so, Greene began pressing on to Charleston. It took months, and Greene lost engagements at Hobkirk's Hill, Fort Ninety-Six, and Eutaw Springs, but by September he had invested Charleston and had a free hand in the Carolinas and Georgia.

Yorktown Campaign.

Arriving in Virginia, Cornwallis added to his command those troops...