Reactions and Recriminations

News of the battle brought acclaim among the British and despair among Americans, leading European nations to doubt the United States' ability to win the war. Lord Germain declared the battle had guaranteed Britain's hold on Georgia and South Carolina, while George III said Cornwallis's defeat of a significantly larger army "distinguished this victory from all that have been achieved since the commencement of the rebellion." William Dobein James called it the most calamitous event yet; Washington wrote "the stroke is severe," and Congressman James Duane lamented "so deplorable a catastrophe." Gates's rapid advance, route choice, and militia deployment were widely condemned. William Smallwood, the southern army's highest-ranking officer after the battle, expected to succeed Gates, but no American troops recalled seeing him after he ordered his brigade to advance, ending his prospects.