Chapter 6- The American Revolution (1776-1783) Lesson 1- The War for Independence The Two Armies Face Off
Both sides expected to win quickly
British Advantages
Strongest navy in the world
Well-trained army
Wealth of a worldwide empire
Larger population
Patriots had no regular army and a weak navy
Lack of military experience and weapons
Militia groups fought for a short time and then went home
Some colonists were neutral or loyal to Britain
Loyalists in the Colonies
At least 20% of the population were Loyalists or Tories
Many Loyalists in the Carolinas and Georgia
Not many Loyalists in New England
Loyalists’ reasons
Depended on the British for jobs
Feared chaos
Didn’t understand why the colonies wanted independence
British wanted slaves to fight for them
Royal governor of Virginia promised freedom to slaves who fought for the British
Friends and families divided
Benjamin Franklin’s son had been royal governor of New Jersey
Advantages of the Patriots
Fighting on their own ground
It took time and money for the British to ship soldiers and supplies across the Atlantic Ocean
Greater motivation- fighting for freedom
British relied on Hessian mercenaries (hired soldiers)
Washington’s courage and determination
The Continental Army
Continental Congress served as the national government
No power to raise money through taxes
James Madison of Virginia called for a stronger government
Some Americans were unwilling to transfer power to the Continental Congress
Hard for Congress to get soldiers and raise money
Depended on the states to recruit soldiers for the Continental Army
Soldiers signed up for one year at first
Washington wanted longer terms
Eventually enlistments were offered for three years or the length of the war
Most still signed up for one year
Lack of qualified military commanders
Women in the war:
Margaret Corbin took the place of her husband after he died in battle
Mary Ludwig Hays McCauly (Molly Pitcher) carried water to the soldiers
Deborah Sampson dressed as a man and joined the army
Early Campaigns
Britain sent 32,000 troops to New York in the summer of 1776
General William Howe hoped the size of his army would convince the Patriots to give up
Patriot Defeat on Long Island
Battle of Long Island was late August 1776
Fewer than 20,000 troops for the Patriots
British outnumbered the Patriots and won
Nathan Hale spied on British troops
Caught by the British and hanged
Americans lacked shoes, socks, jackets, and blankets
Washington retreated to Pennsylvania
A Low Point for the Patriots
Many soldiers left the army by the winter
Washington begged Congress for more troops
Wanted free African Americans, but Southern states did not want to give them guns
African Americans in Battle
Some states started enlisting African Americans
Every state except for South Carolina by the end of the war
As many as 5,000 joined the Patriots
Peter Salem fought at Concord and Bunker Hill
The Battles of Trenton and Princeton
Washington crossed the Delaware River and surprised the Hessian mercenaries on Christmas night 1776 and attacked the next day
Washington defeated the British at Princeton
British Strategy
British planned to take Albany and gain control of the Hudson River
Wanted to separate New England from the Middle Colonies
Three-pronged plan:
General John Burgoyne would go south from Canada
Lieutenant Colonel Barry St. Leger would move east from Lake Ontario
General Howe would move north up the Hudson
The British Capture Philadelphia
Howe wanted to take Philadelphia before going to Albany
Won battles near the city and then captured Philadelphia
The Continental Congress fled
Howe decided to spend the winter in Philadelphia instead of going to Albany
The Battle of Saratoga
Benedict Arnold’s troops stopped St. Leger at Fort Stanwix
Burgoyne captured Fort Ticonderoga, but then had to retreat to Saratoga
General Horatio Gates blocked and surrounded Burgoyne’s army
Burgoyne surrendered on October 17, 1777
British plan to separate New England from the Middle Colonies had failed
Changed the course of the war
Lesson 2- The War Continues Gaining Allies
Benjamin Franklin had been in Paris trying to get an alliance with France
France had been secretly providing money to the Americans
Battle of Saratoga was a turning point in the war
Other nations realized that the US had a chance to win the war
France declared war on Britain in February 1778
Sent money, equipment, and troops to aid the Americans
Spain declared war on Britain in 1779
Fought the British in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida
Winter at Valley Forge
British spent the winter in Philadelphia
Washington set up camp at Valley Forge
Lacked food, clothing, shoes, shelter, and medicine
Troops built huts and gathered supplies
Volunteers made clothes and took care of the sick
Many soldiers got sick and died
Some deserted (left without permission)
Continental Army survived the winter
New soldiers joined
Washington told the troops about France’s help in April
Foreigners Help on the Battlefield
Marquis de Lafayette came from France to help the Americans
Became a trusted aide to Washington
Thaddeus Kosciusko and Casimir Pulaski came from Poland to help
Friedrich von Steuben came from Prussia
Trained the Patriot troops at Valley Forge
Juan de Miralles came from Spain and helped raise money
The Continental Army still needed lots of money
Life on the Home Front
Women took over the responsibilities of their husbands at home
Problems in the Economy
Congress had no power to raise money through taxes
Got some money from the states and foreign countries (not enough)
Lots of paper money printed
Lost its value
Inflation- when it takes more and more money to buy the same amount of goods
Congress stopped printing paper money
New Ways of Thinking
Women questioned their place in society
Abigail Adams told her husband arguing for more rights for women
Questioning Slavery
Some people started questioning slavery
Governor William Livingston of New Jersey asked his government to free all slaves in the state
African Americans asked the legislature of New Hampshire for freedom
African Americans fought in many battles for the Americans
Pennsylvania legislature adopted a plan to gradually free slaves in 1780
Other northern states followed
Treatment of Loyalists
Thousands of Loyalists fought on the side of the British
Some spied on the Patriots
Many fled to England or Florida
Loyalists who stayed faced violence and could be arrested and possibly executed
Lesson 3- Battlegrounds Shift Fighting in the West
Most Native Americans sided with the British
British presented less of a threat than Americans
Mohawk chief Joseph Brant led attacks on American settlements in southwestern New York and northern Pennsylvania
Henry Hamilton commanded Detroit, the main British base in the West
Paid Native Americans for settlers’ scalps
George Rogers Clark led the Patriots in capturing the British post at Kaskaskia and the town of Vincennes in 1778
Vincennes retaken for the British by Henry Hamilton
Taken back by Clark in February 1779
American position in the West strengthened
The War at Sea
British blockade (measure that keeps ships from entering or leaving a harbor) prevented supplies and troops from reaching the Continental Army
Privateers
Continental Congress ordered the construction of 13 warships
Only two sailed to sea
Others captured by the British
American navy too weak to operate effectively
About 2,000 privateers (privately owned merchants ships with weapons) captured many British ships
An American Naval Hero
John Paul Jones raided British ports
Sailed on the Bonhomme Richard
Defeated the Serapis in 1779
“I have not yet begun to fight.”
Fighting in the South
Americans won the Battle of Moore’s Creek (North Carolina) and saved Charles Town from the British
British realized winning the war would not be easy by 1778
New British plan:
Focused on the South (many Loyalists)
British sea power and support of Loyalists would help them win in the South
Worked at first
Early British Success
British took Savannah, Georgia, in 1778
Took control of most of the state
Henry Clinton attacked Charles Town, South Carolina, in 1780
Worst American defeat of the war
Clinton went to New York
General Charles Cornwallis left in command in the South
Fought General Horatio Gates at Camden, South Carolina
British won, but Cornwallis could not control the area he had conquered
Hit-and-Run Tactics
British didn’t get much help from Loyalists in the South
Small forces of Patriots attacked suddenly and then disappeared to catch the British off guard
Francis Marion (Swamp Fox) operated out of swamps in South Carolina
Spain’s Help
Spanish Governor of Louisiana Bernardo de Gálvez had supplies and ammunition shipped up the Mississippi River to American troops
Helped George Rogers Clark capture Kaskaskia and Vincennes
Gálvez raised an army to fight the British
Drove them out of the Gulf of Mexico region
American Successes
British warned people in the Carolinas to give up the fight for independence and join the British
Americans won at Kings Mountain
More support for independence from Southerners
Nathanael Greene replaced Gates as commander of the Continental forces in the South in 1780
Split his army in two
One section defeated the British at Cowpens, South Carolina
Another section joined Francis Marion’s raids
Green combined his forces and fought Cornwallis’s army at Guilford Courthouse in North Carolina
British won, but suffered great losses
Cornwallis abandoned the Carolina campaign
Cornwallis Retreats
Cornwallis went north to Virginia in April 1781
Carried out raids throughout the region
Washington sent Lafayette and General Anthony Wayne to fight Cornwallis
Cornwallis took shelter at Yorktown
Lesson 4- The Final Years Victory at Yorktown
French warships arrived off Newport, Rhode Island in July 1780
Thousands of soldiers commanded by Comte de Rochambeau
Joined Washington North of New York City
Washington waited for a second fleet of French ships before he would attack the British in New York
Second fleet never arrived in the North
Washington Leaves for Virginia
Washington sent Lafayette and Anthony Wayne to Virginia to stop Cornwallis
Trapped Cornwallis at Yorktown (a peninsula)
Washington found out that the French fleet was heading toward Chesapeake Bay
Washington decided to attack the British at Yorktown instead of New York
Kept his new strategy secret so that Clinton couldn’t help Cornwallis
Three groups met at Yorktown
Lafayette’s troops
Washington’s/Rochambeau’s army
French fleet
A Trap at Yorktown
14,000 American and French troops vs. 8,000 British and Hessian troops at Yorktown
French fleet kept Cornwallis from escaping by sea
American and British forces began a siege (an attempt to force surrender by blocking the movement of people or goods into or out of a place)
Victory Over Cornwallis
British supplies were low
Many soldiers wounded or sick
Alexander Hamilton led an attack that captured key British defenses
Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781
Independence Achieved
Some fighting after Yorktown, but the British were convinced that the war was too costly
Treaty of Paris signed on September 3, 1783
Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay represented the US
Already ratified (approved officially) by Congress
Great Britain recognized the US as an independent nation
British promised to withdraw all troops from American territory and gave Americans the right to fish off the coast of Canada
US agreed that Americans would pay to British merchants what they owed and that Congress would advise the states to return property taken from loyalists
A Conspiracy Against Congress
Washington kept his army in Newburgh, New York
Soldiers were upset about not being paid by Congress
Some officers wanted to use force against Congress if their demands weren’t met
Washington worried that a revolt could destroy the new nation
Asked the soldiers to be patient and urged Congress to meet their demands
Congress agreed
Washington Returns Home
British troops left in November 1783
Washington went to Congress to resign
Returned home to Mount Vernon
Planned to live quietly with his family
Why the Americans Won
American advantages:
Fought on their own land
British troops and supplies had to cross an ocean
Americans knew the land and where to ambush (surprise attack)
Experts at wilderness fighting
British couldn't control the countryside
Help from other countries
Determination and spirit of the Patriots
Ideas of the American Revolution inspired people in other parts of the world
French rebels fought in defense of “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity” in 1789
Slave revolution led by Toussaint L’Ouverture in Saint Domingue (Haiti) in 1791
Second nation in the Americas to achieve independence (1804)