Level 2
Turncoat: a traitor Vocabulary Loyalist: someone who was loyal to the King Terrain: landforms Guerrilla warfare: a type of military action using small mobile irregular forces to carry out surprise attacks against hostile regular forces Enlist: to join the military Hessian: hired mercenary used by Britain from the area of what is now Germany
Essential Questions What was the military course of the Revolutionary War? What role did leadership, commitment, and luck play in the American victory over the British?
Strategies of the Principal Military Engagements Washington s leadership George Washington was made commander and chief of the Continental Army Video Clip http://www.history.com/sho ws/america-the-story-ofus/videos/georgewashington?m=518971d79ac0 4
Strategies of the Principal Military Engagements Evolution of the war from the North to the South: Lexington, Concord and the Battle of Bunker Hill British sent troops to get military supplies that the colonial militia was storing. Paul Revere, William Dawes and Samuel Prescott and an outnumbered amount of minutemen were waiting at Lexington on April 19 th. British killed 5 colonists The British moved onto Concord and then retreated to Boston under heavy fire British had 250 casualties; 73 fatalities British occupied Boston for 11 months; surrounded by the militia June 17 British beat the colonists in the Battle of Bunker Hill (Breed s Hill)
Strategies of the Principal Military Engagements Evolution of the war from the North to the South: Trenton General George Washington vs. Colonel Rahl Trenton, NJ on the Delaware River 2,400 American troops, 18 guns vs. 1,400 Hessians, 6 guns Washington and 3 regiments crossed the Delaware River on Dec. 25 in a surprise attack American victory Who else was there? James Madison James Monroe John Marshall Aaron Burr Alexander Hamilton
Washington crossing the Delaware River
Battle in the Streets of Trenton
General Washington leading the Attack on Trenton
The surrender to General George Washington of the dying Hessian commander, Colonel Rahl, at the Battle of Trenton
Strategies of the Principal Military Engagements Evolution of the war from the North to the South: Battle of Saratoga The British Plan: End the war in 1777 General John Burgoyne was to march troops from Montreal down the Hudson River General St. Leger take troops from Lake Ontario to the Hudson River General Howe was to march from NYC What went wrong? St. Leger s troops retreated to Canada Howe took his troops to Philadelphia following Washington Burgoyne s army reached Saratoga, north of Albany, and were surrounded by the troops led by General Horatio Gates and was forced to surrender Effects: Turning point in the war Convinced French to enter the war as an ally to the United States. Video Clip http://www.history.com/topics/americanrevolution/american-revolution-history/videos/battle-ofsaratoga-turns-the-tide-of-the-american-revolution
General Burgoyne surrenders to General Gates
Strategies of the Principal Military Engagements Evolution of the war from the North to the South: Battle of Saratoga Benedict Arnold: Colonial General who won at Lake Champlain and helped Ethan Allen take Fort Ticonderoga. Hero of the Battle of Saratoga Turncoat who joined the British Plan and Failure: Give his own keys to West Point, site of the U.S. army, to Britain's Major John Andre and join the British Army. Result: Andre was captured and hanged. Arnold escaped and actually commanded British troops later in the war. He died in Britain, unrecognized and alone
Strategies of the Principal Military Engagements Evolution of the war from the North to the South Howe was replaced by Sir Henry Clinton British troops moved from Philadelphia to NJ and fought in a battle against Washington at Monmouth Britain attacked and took Savannah, Atlanta and Charleston and they captured 5,500 American troops The French Navy on the coast began to present a problem for the British Sir Henry Clinton
Strategies of the Principal Military Engagements Evolution of the war from the North to the South: Yorktown 1781 Americans began to win battles against the British in the South Britain only held NYC and a few Southern ports General Cornwallis took his troops to VA on the coast so that the British could support him between the York and James River Washington moved from NYC with 7,000 troops VA troops under Lafayette and 3,000 French regulars brought by the French fleet moved into VA Cornwallis couldn t retreat inland Admiral de Grasse and his French fleet arrived and brought more troops and prevented the British navy from helping Cornwallis with reinforcements, supplies or escape by the sea. Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781
Role of the Loyalists Colonists of Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Prince Edward Island did not join the Revolution Refuge for Loyalists: about 40,000 loyalists went North due to being chased out, fined, jailed and even from the threat of being killed Staging ground for attacks on New York s patriots as in the Battle of Saratoga
The Outcome of the War was Influenced by Many Factors Geography Importance of various physical features Colonist knew the territory 3,000 miles away from Britain so it was hard to supply them with enough military power to occupy key cities after they were won Colonists were defending their own towns, homes and families Terrain: rocky and cold in New England, buggy and humid in the South, impassable forests and mountain in the West
The Outcome of the War was Influenced by Many Factors Allocation of Resources and Advantages Britain Financial Trained and disciplined troops Control of the Seas Colonies Superior officers Aid and money, supplies, troops and naval support from France Defending their own homes and new terrain Marquis de Lafayette
The Outcome of the War was Influenced by Many Factors Disadvantages Britain Hard to supply troops Vast area to fight in Adjusting to guerilla-type warfare Fighting other enemies like France, Holland, and Spain Cutting off flow of aid from their allies Colonies Lack of central government authority No sound financial system No power to tax Tories supporting the British Raise and maintain the Continental Army
The Outcome of the War was Influenced by Many Factors Foreign Aid French sent Naval Power and troops as well as funding for the Revolutionary War Lafayette of France Von Steuben of Prussia: trained troops at Valley Forge Kosciusko and Pulaski of Poland Baron Von Steuben
The Outcome of the War was Influenced by Many Factors Role of Women, African Americans and Native American Indians Margaret Corbin: manned artillery during the attack on Fort Washington when her husband fell by her side. She took his place and performed his duties. In 1779 the Congress awarded her a pension for her heroism. Molly Pitcher: (possibly a myth) she brought water to soldiers on the battlefield Nancy Hart: (possibly a myth) patriot who killed British soldiers in her cabin in Georgia. Lydia Darragh: warned the colonists that the British were planning an attack at Whitemarsh, PA Peter Salem: African American slave who gained his freedom after he enlisted in the Continental Army. He fought at Concord and then in Bunker Hill where it is thought that he may have killed the first British soldier who happened to be a Major. Joseph Brant: Mohawk chief who rallied and led other Native Americans to join the British cause. Molly Pitcher
Margaret Corbin
Nancy Hart
Lydia Darragh
Peter Salem
Joseph Brant
The Outcome of the War Influenced by Many Factors Haphazard Occurrences of Events: the Human Factor Cornwallis Washington's decision to attack on the Hessians in Trenton, New Jersey on the night of December 25. This attack caught the Hessians off guard. Rahl chose not to build defenses, even though told to and chose to ignore reports that the Americans were coming. The note sent to him was found in his coat after death. The failed British attack on Albany because St. Leger was defeated at Fort Stanwix and General Howe didn t adhere to General Burgoyne's request for troops from NYC. Led to the American win at Saratoga. Cornwallis was defeated at Yorktown because he refused to send troops to New York as ordered by Sir Henry Clinton. Benedict Arnold's decision to join the British. St. Leger
The Outcome of the War was Influenced by Many Factors Clash between colonial authority and Second Continental Congress 2 nd Continental Congress had no given legal authority to govern but it still appointed ambassadors signed treaties raised armies appointed generals obtained loans from Europe issued paper money (called "Continentals") disbursed funds It had no right to levy taxes had to request money supplies, and troops from colonial states to support the war effort. Colonial states often ignored the requests because not everyone was represented and the delegates and state legislatures had no authority to give power to a national government.
The Outcome of the War was Influenced by Many Factors Clash Between Colonial Authority and Second Continental Congress Delegates did not have power to pass the Declaration of Independence so Congress passed a resolution recommending that any colony without a revolutionary government should form one, May 10, 1776. May 15 Congress adopted a more radical preamble to the resolution, drafted by John Adams. It advised throwing off oaths of allegiance to decrease the authority of Britain in any colonial government. May 15, Virginia Convention instructed its delegates to propose a resolution that called for a declaration of independence, the formation of foreign alliances, and a confederation of the states. The resolution of independence was delayed for several weeks as delegates had to get approval from their own colonial governments.
The Outcome of the War was Influenced by Many Factors Clash between colonial authority and Second Continental Congress Treaty of Paris: Continental Congress didn t want a separate peace with Britain because the agreement with France stated that the US would fight Britain until France stopped. The French had made an agreement with Spain not to stop fighting Britain until Spain stopped. John Jay, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin signed a treaty anyway in Sept. of 1782 with favorable terms for the US. Individual States ignored Federal recommendations to restore confiscated Loyalist property and they: confiscated Loyalist property for "unpaid debts" like VA, kept laws against payment of debts to British creditors
Essential Questions What was the military course of the Revolutionary War? What role did leadership, commitment, and luck play in the American victory over the British?