The Most Infamous Plunder

During the grueling British campaign across North Carolina in February 1781, Lord Cornwallis faced not only the challenge of pursuing Nathanael Greene’s Continental Army, but also the growing problem of discipline within his own ranks. As his troops marched through the countryside, reports of looting and pillaging of civilian homes became increasingly frequent. Cornwallis, keenly aware of the damage such behavior could inflict on British reputation and local support, issued repeated orders condemning these acts and demanding restraint from his soldiers.

Despite his efforts, the reality on the ground was often far different. British soldiers, exhausted and undersupplied, sometimes resorted to plundering for food and goods. Cornwallis’s own headquarters received numerous complaints from local inhabitants, and Moravian accounts from the period vividly describe the chaos and fear that swept through towns as troops, both British and Patriot, seized supplies, threatened residents, and took whatever they pleased.

Cornwallis singled out female camp followers as particularly problematic, echoing the observations of Moravian diarists who noted that these women, traveling with the army, were often at the center of scavenging and looting. He also consistently blamed African Americans, referred to in period documents as “negroes”, for straggling, violence, and theft. In response, Cornwallis imposed a series of increasingly strict measures: on January 11, he ordered that no African American was to follow the army unless wearing a badge indicating their assigned corps. By February 7, complaints about straggling and violence led him to forbid African Americans from carrying arms. On March 1, he mandated inspections of clothing and possessions, focusing especially on women camp followers, whom he described as “the source of the most infamous plunder”.

These orders were enforced with harsh discipline, including public floggings, as Cornwallis sought to restore order and maintain the army’s reputation. Yet, the persistent irregularities and the need for strict control highlight the difficulties of managing a diverse and desperate force on a long, punishing campaign. The struggle to balance military necessity, discipline, and the realities of war left a lasting mark on both the British army and the civilian population of North Carolina.