m; the rest,
with Simcoe's dragoons, remained as a rear-guard in a skirt of woods.
A skirmish ensued, gallantly sustained on each side, but the
superiority of Tarleton's horses gave him the advantage. General
Choisy hastened up with a corps of cavalry and infantry to support the
hussars. In the medley fight, a dragoon's horse, wounded by a lance,
plunged, and overthrew both Tarleton and his steed. The rear-guard
rushed from their covert to rescue their commander. They came
galloping up in such disorder, that they were roughly received by
Lauzun's hussars, who were drawn up on the plain. In the meantime
Tarleton scrambled out of the melee, mounted another horse, and
ordered a retreat, to enable his men to recover from their confusion.
Dismounting forty infantry, he placed them in a thicket. Their fire
checked the hussars in their pursuit. The British dragoons rallied,
and were about to charge, when the hussars retired behind their
infantry, and a fire was opened upon the British by some militia from
behind a fence. Tarleton again ordered a retreat to be sounded, and
the conflict came to an end. This was the last affair of Tarleton and
his legion in the revolutionary war. The next day General Choisy,
being reinforced by a detachment of marines from the fleet of De
Grasse, cut off all communication by land between Gloucester and the
country.

At this momentous time, when the first parallel before the besieged
city was about to be opened, Washington received dispatches from his
faithful coadjutor, General Greene, giving him important intelligence
of his co-operations in the South; to consider which we will suspend
for a moment our narrative of affairs before Yorktown.

For some weeks in the months of July and August, General Greene had
remained encamped with his main force on the high hills of Santee,
refreshing and disciplining his men, and awaiting the arrival of
promised reinforcements. In the meantime, Marion with his light
troops, aided by Colonel Washington with his dragoons, held control
over the lower Santee. Lee was detached to operate with Sumter's
brigade on the Congaree, and Colonel Harden with his mounted militia
was scouring the country about the Edisto.

Greene was disappointed as to reinforcements. All that he had received
were two hundred North Carolina levies and five hundred South Carolina
militia; still he prepared for a bold effort to drive the enemy from
their remaining posts. For that purpose, on