Both sides, Hildreth tells us, claimed the victory, but all the advantage accrued to the Americans. The British immediately retired to Monk’s Corner, and were thus restricted to the narrow tract between the rivers Ashley and Cooper. Congress, in acknowledgment of Greene’s service in this battle, voted him their thanks and presented him with a conquered standard and a medal struck for the occasion. He, however, was too much exhausted to continue active operations. His troops were barefoot and half naked; he had no hospital stores, hardly even salt, and his ammunition was very low. He retired again to the hills of the Santee. CHAPTER XII. CLOSE OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. We now return to Washington, who at length received the long-wished-for intelligence, that De Grasse, with the French fleet, was approaching the Chesapeake. Admiral Rodney, who had been busy in the West Indies, whither De Grasse had also sailed, apprehending that a part of the French fleet would proceed to the American coast, had sent Hood, with fourteen ships of the line, to reinforce Admiral Graves, who commanded on the American station. Hood arrived off the Chesapeake, August 25th, and not finding Graves there as he expected, proceeded to New York, where he learned that Du Barras, who commanded the French squadron at Newport, in Rhode Island, had put to sea three days before, evidently with the design of a junction with the French West India fleet. In the hope of intercepting this junction, Graves sailed with the united English fleet; but had the mortification of discovering on his arrival, September 5th, off the entrance of the Chesapeake, that De Grasse had arrived six days before, and now, with four-and-twenty ships of the line, lay safely at anchor inside Cape Henry. All the present operations of the combined American and French forces were evidently the result of a well-concerted plan, besides which an extraordinary coincidence occurred in their several movements by sea and land, which was beyond the reach of calculation. We have already seen that Du Barras sailed from Rhode Island on the 25th of August; on the 28th De Grasse arrived with his fleet at the Chesapeake. On the same day the French and American armies reached the Head of Elk, and an hour after their arrival received an express from De Grasse, with the welcome intelligence of his safe anchorage at Cape Henry. This is the more remarkable when we consider the distance of the parties from each other as well as the scene of action, and the difficulties and delays to which all were liable.[46] But the run of ill luck which had hitherto attended every combined attempt of the French and Americans appeared now to have changed. All went well with them, as in the rapid winding up of a long story, where the heroes are crowned with especial success as a compensation for past sorrows and sufferings.