As the British refocused their war on the southern colonies in the hopes of triggering an outbreak of loyalism that would sweep the rebels aside, Lord Cornwallis found himself thinly spread and unable to guard the fifteen thousand square miles he was responsible for. So Cornwallis went on the offensive, invading North Carolina and using Camden as a launch pad. This new history reveals how Cornwallis was able to use his aggressive strategy to great effect and how the overconfidence of the American forces under Horatio Gates was to result in a shocking defeat on the night of August 15th--a defeat that would allow Cornwallis to push deep into North Carolina, where he would only be stopped by defeat at Yorktown.