After the fall of Charleston, the war explodes into the Carolina backcountry, touching off a brutal civil war, and Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton's dragoons spread terror throughout the region. The Americans, under General Horatio Gates, suffer a humiliating defeat at Camden forcing Congress to send Nathanael Greene to lead the southern forces.  In an unconventional strategy Greene and General Daniel Morgan split the army between them, leading British General Cornwallis on a harrowing chase, which culminates in the Battle of Guildford Courthouse.