Men who make such decisions may be estimable in many respects, but they neither win nor defeat revolutions.

From The Road to Guilford Courthouse by John Buchanan. Page 103.

“Revolutionaries—true revolutionaries—are aggressive, ruthless, and generally seize the main chance, as William Henry Drayton did when he saw that stump-speaking was getting him nowhere. But defenders of the status quo tend toward caution and legalisms and inaction until it is too late. Thomas Brown later proved himself an able and vigorous leader of King’s Rangers, but that was later, after South Carolina had been lost. Perhaps if he had rolled the dice he would have lost in 1775, but when men had gathered and were ready and willing to fight he and Robert Cunningham decided that only the Royal Governor of South Carolina, Lord Campbell, could make that decision and sent the men home. Brown later wrote to Campbell that without British regulars “we are of Opinion twould be an Experiment rather too hazardous.” Men who make such decisions may be estimable in many respects, but they neither win nor defeat revolutions.

We now return to the late spring of 1780. Charleston has fallen. The Rice Kings are cowed, imprisoned, or in exile. British and Tory regiments are moving westward into the Back Country. Crown commissioners are spreading the word that the King’s rule has been restored. Uncertainty and suspicion reign. A spirit of revenge is in the air. On both sides passions begin to boil over.