So far as the southerners knew, the opposing forces in the north continued their stalemated confrontations, and neither the British nor American commander in chief seemed to have any plan to change this strategy. It seemed that almost all action had shifted to the south, and here was where the best Continental commanders were needed. Washington was faced with a dilemma: General Howe had yielded Savannah, General Lincoln had surrendered at Charles Town, and General Gates at Camden had now lost South Carolina.

It was a source of great pride to the militiamen that their own victory at King’s Mountain was the best military accomplishment in many months. Perhaps regular Continental troops could do something to match this success. Sevier said that what the commander in chief would want from the next southern commander was not a major victory, but just to keep Cornwallis occupied and discouraged from moving north to join Clinton’s forces, holding in New York.

Within a few weeks, the militiamen learned that Washington had surprised his own closest advisors by turning his attention to Nathanael Greene, who was a Quaker and former blacksmith and merchant from Rhode Island. In 1775, the state assembly had utilized its provincial authority and promoted Greene from an inexperienced private to brigadier general. He had quickly become a favorite of George Washington, and both the military leaders and their wives were close friends. During the repetitive American retreats from New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, Greene learned how to move troops rapidly and to salvage an army even though the battleground was lost. For two years he had served as quartermaster general, bringing order out of chaos in providing supplies for the Continental army. He had then requested duty as a field officer, and Washington approved and recommended him as commander of the southern army. Greene resigned his commission in protest when Congress insisted on the appointment of Gates to this active command. Now, instead of accepting Greene’s resignation, Washington ordered the thirty-eight-year-old general to proceed to Charlotte and replace Gates, and the Congress accepted this decision. The commander in chief told Greene, “There is an army to be created, the mass of which is at present without any formation at all.”