Major General Benjamin Lincoln was head of the Southern Department for the Continental army from September 25, 1778 to June 13, 1780. Lincoln commanded patriot forces in Charles Town during the British siege beginning on March 29 and the eventual surrender of the city on May 12, 1780. Lincoln was taken prisoner and later paroled. He returned to Philadelphia the following year.

In October, 1781 he commanded a division during the Siege of Yorktown, where he was second in command to General George Washington.