The Southern Department was formally established on February 27, 1776. The department included Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia and the western frontiers of those colonies, from which were created the present states of West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. The field army associated with this department was known as the Southern Army. The Southern Department was the most independent of the commands due to geography and the need for year-round operations. Most of the territorial departments to the north of this department suspended offensive operations for the winter and early spring. The Southern Department was also the only one in which the troops assigned were destroyed twice. The first time was at the surrender of Charleston on May 12, 1780. The second was at the Battle of Camden on August 16, 1780. Despite these two catastrophic defeats, however, this department was the location of the Siege of Yorktown, in 1781, which effectively decided the outcome of the war. Important events in the Southern Department after Yorktown were the evacuation of Savannah and Charleston in July and December 1782. The Southern Department existed until the close of the war.