Southern Strategy

This book presents a reexamination of major Southern battles and tactics in the war for independence. A finalist for the 2005 Distinguished Writing Award of the Army Historical Foundation and the 2005 Thomas Fleming Book Award of the American Revolution Round Table of Philadelphia, ""The Southern Strategy"" shifts the traditional vantage point of the American Revolution from the Northern colonies to the South in this study of the critical period from 1775 to the spring of 1780. David K. Wilson suggests that the paradox of the British defeat in 1781 - after Crown armies had crushed all organized resistance in South Carolina and Georgia - makes sense only if one understands the fundamental flaws in what modern historians label Britain's 'Southern Strategy.'In his assessment, he closely examines battles and skirmishes to construct a comprehensive military history of the Revolution in the South through May 1780. A cartographer and student of battlefield geography, Wilson includes detailed, original battle maps and orders of battle for each engagement. Appraising the strategy and tactics of the most significant conflicts, he tests the thesis that the British could raise the manpower they needed to win in the South by tapping a vast reservoir of Southern Loyalists and finds their policy flawed in both conception and execution.

Wilson's survey of operations is grounded in an impressive mass of data, which allows him not only to question the fine detail of previous accounts but also to challenge broader interpretations of the war itself.... His book displays deep local knowledge, a strength apparent in his own excellent maps. - Journal of Southern History

David K. Wilson is an independent scholar who lives in Plano, Texas, and works in the advertising industry. He holds an M.A. degree in history from the University of Texas at Arlington.