For these Continental Congress Representatives, the most crucial point was that independence in America would conflict with the interests of the natives.
That was something all high-ranking figures could see; they absolutely could not agree to cooperation with the natives.
Regardless of whether it was employment or cooperation, everyone was unwilling. Even without considering racial discrimination, merely worrying that if they became friends with the natives now, it would be difficult to handle bilateral relations in the future, many people still disagreed with cooperating with the natives.
When Charles made this proposal, everyone was unable to decide for a long time.
Now, after much calculation, the only available nearby source of troops seemed to be the natives. Was it for the victory of the current war to use the natives, or for long-term interests to continue the animosity with the natives?
This was truly a question that tested the minds of the Representatives.
Charles observed with a cold eye, no longer offering explanations. His previous words were merely an opinion and would not bring him any negative impact, but if he spoke again, it would seem as though he was speaking favorably of the natives.
"If it's just natives fighting natives, then our soldiers shouldn't mind, but having natives fight alongside us, that is indeed a bit difficult," General Sullivan, representing the military, said fairly.
"I can understand that. Actually, if it's just a few native tribes raiding other pro-British native tribes, we don't even need to show up; a bounty would suffice. It's just that such an effect is too small, and it takes too long to be effective," Charles nodded.
"Let them raid other native tribal strongholds first. Many pro-British natives are now leaving their tribes in large numbers to join the British army. This is especially true for the natives participating in the war in the north, totaling no less than three thousand. If we attack their strongholds now, it will certainly attract a portion of the tribal soldiers to return, which will reduce the pressure on our army on the battlefield. Although we cannot have natives directly participate in our battle with the British army, this indeed alleviates a lot of our pressure. The war in the north can be eased for a while," General Sullivan chose another compromise.
Influenced by the times, the colonist's discrimination against indigenous people and the concept of white supremacy were, to varying degrees, present in everyone in the United States at that time. Even with the situation being so critical, these Representatives were still unwilling to seek help from the natives.
Now, allowing the natives to open up an independent battlefield could both avoid mixed operations between the colonist's army and the natives, and gain this assistance to relieve pressure on the main battlefield. In the eyes of these Representatives, it was already a very cost-effective approach.
"Then can the war in the north be eased for a while?" a Virginia Representative asked.
As soon as this was said, the northern Representatives naturally immediately prepared to object, but Jefferson suddenly interjected, speaking directly to Charles:
"Charles, where to send troops, and how many to send, you should still make that decision. This is originally the duty and authority of you, the Chairman of the Military and Ordnance Committee. For us Continental Congress Representatives to discuss this is actually a bit beyond our authority. And I feel that even if we make a decision, it will never be as accurate as the decision you make."
The Representatives suddenly realized this after hearing Jefferson's words.
Indeed, this relief effort was too significant as it concerned the future of their hometowns, making them forget that such matters should actually be handled by Charles, the Chairman of the Military and Ordnance Committee. Even if they wanted to give orders, they would have to go through Charles, and Charles was not someone without influence who could be arbitrarily ordered around.
"Yes! Your Excellency, the wise and just Councilor Charles, we are completely at ease with you handling this matter. Our original worries were indeed superfluous," Gerry of Massachusetts immediately stated his support.
The other Representatives, after a period of discussion, also felt that it should indeed be handed over to Charles to handle.
Unfortunately, Charles himself actually did not want to be the bad guy to handle this matter. However, since Jefferson had already said so, to maintain his authority, he certainly still had to make a statement.
"Gentlemen, I know that the war in both the north and south is very critical right now. If we win both of these battles, then I think His Majesty king George across the ocean will have no choice but to give up that shining pearl on his crown that represents our America. But if either battle is lost, we will not have the ability to launch another war and reclaim that territory in the short term. I understand everyone's concern for their hometowns, but for relief, we can indeed only choose one, and my decision is undoubtedly to choose the south," Charles said his decision with a sense of helplessness.
The northern faction Councilors below, and even many people from Pennsylvania, were in an uproar. However, the words expressing trust in his decision were still fresh in their ears, so it was naturally not good to immediately object. After a hum of voices, they did not directly question Charles but merely looked at him, waiting for his next explanation.
"The reason for choosing the south is that concentrating our forces to fight Cornwallis first makes it easier for us to win in a short period and gain the conditions to force the British government into peace talks. The siege of Albany in the north will take at least several months, and even if Benedict is captured alive, it is not certain that the British king would make any concessions for it. In the south, however, as soon as the balance of the war is broken, the war can end quickly. Even if we just capture Cornwallis, after two consecutive commanders-in-chief have been defeated by us Americans, can the British king still not acknowledge our strength for this?" Charles indeed did not consider personal feelings, purely considering the choice of combat support from the perspective of interests.
"There is another advantage to choosing the south, which is that we can eliminate those brutal Hessian army earlier. This mercenary army, which burns, kills, loots, and commits all sorts of evil, really should be cleared from the land of America as soon as possible. I also support acting against the south first," President of the Continental Congress Hancock also suddenly stated his support for Charles' decision.
The Representatives from the north had previously stated their support for Charles' decision, and now with a President of the Continental Congress added,
it was not good to directly oppose. Although they felt uncomfortable internally, they still nodded on the surface, only hoping that the army from Philadelphia, after resolving the war in the south, could quickly move north to liberate the states occupied by the British army.
Charles smiled without speaking. In fact, unless Cornwallis could be forced to surrender proactively, after the southern campaign, the damaged troops would simply not have the strength to go north for support.
The Continental Congress quickly made the decision to first support General Greene in the south within a day.
Then it was city-wide action. Horses were requisitioned and gathered, and by the morning of the second day, over two thousand three hundred ordinary riding horses had been gathered. Charles no longer continued to requisition, directly ordering these two thousand three hundred cavalry to rush to Richmond.
The distance from Richmond to Philadelphia was relatively far, but relatively speaking, because it was a large city with long-standing mutual exchanges, the roads were not difficult to travel. With fast horses and whips, it only took a few days for these Philadelphia reinforcements to arrive near Richmond.
The first to see this force was General Arnold of Richmond.
Because General Greene disagreed with fighting Cornwallis' British army head-on, he could only sit idly in the watchtower every day, observing the situation in the various military camps. One day, he accidentally turned his telescope in another direction and saw a large cloud of dust rolling in from the north, with a Stars and Stripes flag leading the way.
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"Cavalry! Our cavalry!" General Arnold shouted, overjoyed.
Although these were not true cavalry, anyone who saw a group of warriors arriving on horseback would first call them cavalry.
"Take up arms! Soldiers. Take up arms and prepare for battle!" General Arnold gave the order without hesitation.
At this time, General Arnold had not yet harbored thoughts of betrayal due to marrying a pro-British wife. He was still a wise, courageous, loyal, and brave commander. The battle order he issued laid the foundation for the swift victory of this Richmond war.
The vibrations of these two thousand-plus horses galloping naturally immediately alerted the commanders of the other three forces. Unlike Arnold, who quickly understood the situation, they still had to send out scouts or observers for reconnaissance.
And Cornwallis' force, unaware of the situation, had just begun to gather troops and prepare when they discovered that General Arnold, who had already finished gathering his troops, personally led his force in a surprise attack.
General Arnold was certainly a fierce general. He personally operated the artillery on the front line, shelling Cornwallis' camp's trench fortifications. At the same time, all Continental army soldiers in Richmond, nearly five thousand men, were dispatched to attack Cornwallis' army.
This charge quickly yielded results. Just as the first wave of Continental army soldiers approaching the British army's positions was nearly wiped out by the hastily organized British army, the Philadelphia reinforcements led by General Sullivan had also arrived on the flank of the Richmond army.
General Sullivan was certainly not one of those incompetent generals.
Upon hearing the gunfire, he did not make the soldiers stop their horses but directly ordered them to charge the British army's positions.
"God bless the United States, soldiers, let us charge with the brave men of Richmond!"
"God bless!" Those unprofessional cavalry immediately swung their sabers and charged directly at the British army's positions.
When these reinforcements came, there was a plan to use them as disposable cavalry. Each soldier, in addition to their original smoothbore musket, also had a light saber produced by Coal Steel Alliance. Even the most incompetent soldier could swing a saber once or twice without issue. After breaking through the British army's formation, they could choose to dismount and use their firearms again.
This was unavoidable; infantry were not cavalry, and horses were not warhorses. In fact, as soon as combat began, many soldiers were thrown from their horses due to improper use of their sabers, and even more soldiers, because their horses were unaccustomed to the gunfire, ran wildly in all directions, making it impossible to concentrate their attack.
However, with General Sullivan's order, most soldiers still utilized the speed advantage of their horses, immediately breaking through the gap in the British army's positions, which had been damaged by artillery fire, and quickly turned this physical gap into a manpower gap.
Perhaps God felt that too many jokes had been played on the Richmond front, so this attack unfolded unexpectedly smoothly, as if it had been rehearsed beforehand.
General Arnold on the side was overjoyed, shouting, "For victory, charge, all troops! Capture Cornwallis alive!"
He himself jumped onto a warhorse and followed the Philadelphia reinforcements who had broken through, charging towards the British army camp.
Five thousand of the most elite infantry, plus two thousand three hundred fresh reinforcements—such a force was absolutely not something Cornwallis' seven thousand ill-fed, exhausted British army could withstand.
When the Philadelphia reinforcements broke into Cornwallis' camp, the British army had already lost its fighting spirit. They either surrendered on the spot or threw down their weapons and fled in all directions.
The proud British army, after a month of being besieged with insufficient food and clothing, coupled with fighting in a foreign land, had long lost its sharp edge. They now only wanted to ensure their safety, only wanted to find a place where they could eat a good meal and get some sleep. As for everything else, that could wait until after the battle.
Here, General Greene's contribution must also be mentioned.
This equally cunning general, when General Sullivan and General Arnold launched their attack on Cornwallis, did not launch a coordinated attack as the two generals might have expected.
He merely had a thousand infantry stand with weapons outside the range of Cornwallis' troops, monitoring their defensive strength, but without firing a single shot or cannon.
However, by not firing a single shot or cannon, he successfully tied down at least a thousand British army, preventing them from abandoning their positions here to resist the forces of General Sullivan and General Arnold.
But on the other side, that is, facing the Hessian army, General Greene, apart from a small mobile force, deployed all of his full ten thousand troops in multiple layers of defense, strictly prohibiting the Hessian army from taking the opportunity to raid his rear, or from bypassing to attack the ongoing Cornwallis battlefield.