General Greene seemed eager to learn what he could from the militia commanders, since his overall tactics would be the same as theirs. His men would be quite mobile, seldom camping twice in the same place, and mostly moving at sundown and traveling through the night. Greene soon found that he had to depend upon the local militia, who, often on their own, continued to harass the Tories in the Carolinas and Georgia. So many deserters shifted from one side to the other that Greene said, “We fight the enemy with British soldiers and they fight us with those of America.” He decided to remain in the upper reaches of the rivers, where the water was shallow enough to ford, and to send the experienced General Daniel Morgan with most of his troops southwestward across the Broad River and toward Ninety Six and Augusta. Morgan’s instructions were to give spirit to the Whigs, to harass the British, and to minimize his own losses, which Greene had adopted as his general strategy. General Francis Sumter was pouting because he had been bypassed for command, and Morgan decided to operate without him. The winter of 1780 to 1781 were dark days for the revolutionaries.

•  •  •

Ethan Pratt was only dimly aware of these developments, but he tried to learn all he could about the progress of the revolution, and to understand his small role in the effort. He was somewhat surprised at how much he enjoyed his service in the militia. He cared well for his mare and his weapons, and learned how to use them to the fullest. The relatively idle physical life was combined with a sense that he was doing everything possible to achieve his current goals and without any responsibilities for a farm, a family, or earning a living. The camaraderie among the troops was gratifying, and he found that he was respected by his superior officers and also the men who served under him. There were moments of danger, times to travel rapidly and secretly, and a much greater number of days of relative idleness.

With Clarke still partially incapacitated with his wounds, unable to lift his right arm, no overall leadership had existed among the Georgians since the battle at King’s Mountain. Desiring to continue fighting against the British, Ethan volunteered to serve under Major James Jackson. His new commander was only twenty-three years old, but he was ambitious and cool under pressure. He had already proven himself to be a fervent patriot and courageous warrior in the first military action in Savannah involving the rice barges, and later in the southern swamps of Georgia.

Along with other Georgia military leaders, Jackson received a message in January 1781 from General Daniel Morgan, who was encamped at Cowpens:

To the Refugees of Georgia