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Control of Charleston, South Carolina, figured prominently in American and British strategy after the American victory at Saratoga in late 1777. British control of Charleston would starve the insurgents of funds and supplies, and shore up security Caribbean holdings threatened by the French entry into the war. Maj. Gen. Benjamin Lincoln, commander of the Continental Southern Department, vacillated between efforts to keep his army intact–as instructed by commander in chief George Washington– and pressure from South Carolina officials to defend their capital city from an attack by 12,500 British and Hessian troops under Lt. Gen. Sir Henry Clinton. Lincoln ultimately committed to a static defense of Charleston, resulting in the longest siege of the American Revolution. Lincoln surrendered the city and its garrison of 5,600 troops on 12 May 1780–the largest surrender of American arms during the Revolutionary War.
