The importance of the object, the perseverance with which it was pursued, the talents of the generals, the courage, activity, and sufferings of the armies, and the accumulated miseries of the inhabitants, gave to the contest for these states, a degree of interest seldom bestowed on military transactions, in which greater numbers have not been employed.
When Lord Cornwallis entered North Carolina, the military operations in the more southern states were committed to Lord Rawdon.

For the preservation of his power, a line of posts slightly fortified had been continued from Charleston, by the way of Camden and Ninety Six, to Augusta, in Georgia.

The spirit of resistance was still kept up in the north-western and north-eastern parts of the state, by Generals Sumpter and Marion, who respectively commanded a corps of militia.
Their exertions, though great, seem not to have been successful; and they excited no alarm, because no addition to their strength was apprehended.
Such was the situation of the country when General Greene formed the bold resolution of endeavouring to reannex it to the American union.
His army consisted of about eighteen hundred men.

The prospect of procuring subsistence was unpromising, and the chance of reinforcements precarious.

He was apprized of the dangers to be encountered, but believed it to be for the public interest to meet them.