U.S. History Chapter 8

“The American Revolution”

1776 - 1783

Washington’s Army

•      Had trouble recruiting men.

•      Army lacked discipline and training

•      Men enlisted for several years, faced irregular pay, and food and clothing shortages.

•      Army at its largest was 15,000 to 20,000 troops

•      Advantages:

•     Knew the countryside & could live in the wilderness

•     Believed in their cause for freedom

•     Had a great leader in Washington 

British Army

•      50,000 soldiers & most powerful navy on earth

•      Well trained and disciplined

•      Hired professional German soldiers called Hessians

•      Disadvantages

•    Unfamiliar Territory

•    Had to travel 3,000 miles to fight

•    Enemy fought while hiding in the wilderness

Fighting Begins

•      Before the army came together, many militia groups attacked British outposts

•      Ethan Allen led the Green Mountain Boys.

•      Allen teamed with Benedict Arnold and his troops on May 10, 1775 to capture Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain.

Battle of Bunker Hill

•      June 17, 1775 2,000 British troops attacked American occupied Breed’s Hill and Bunker Hill.

•      American soldiers, limited on ammunition, were told “don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes”

•      British failed to take the hills twice.  Third try was successful b/c the Americans ran out of ammunition.

•      1,000 British casualties and 400 American.

•      Claimed as a victory by both sides.

Declaring Independence

•      June 2, 1776 Richard Henry Lee petitioned the 2^nd Continental Congress to declare independence from Great Britain

•    Those supporting Lee’s Resolution formed a committee to create this declaration.

•    Thomas Jefferson was chosen to write the document.

Declaration of Independence

•      July 2, 1776 Congress accepted Lee’s Resolution

•      July 4, 1776 Congress approved the Declaration of Independence.

•      The members of the Congress signed the document with John Hancock, president of the 2^nd Continental Congress, signing in large bold letters.

Loyalists and Patriots

•      Americans had to choose sides

•      Those that supported staying with Great Britain were called Loyalists

•      Those that supported separation were called Patriots

War In the North

•      March 4, 1776 Gen. Washington placed cannons on Dorchester Heights (Bunker Hill) and pointed them towards Boston

•      British Army retreated from Boston and moved to Halifax, Canada

•      Americans took Boston

•      King George III put a blockade around the colonies

New York Campaign

•      June 1776, British Gen. Howe decided to move his troops into New York City

•      Gen. Washington moved 19,000 troops to Long Island to defend New York

•      Aug. 1776 Howe landed at Long Island

•      Battle of Long Island saw 1,500 American dead, injured, or captured

•      Washington was forced to retreat

•      Britain held New York until the war ended.

Trenton & Princeton

•      After Long Island Washington’s troops were in poor shape

•      He planned a surprise attack.

•      Dec. 25, 1776 Washington and 2,400 soldiers crossed the Delaware River under cover of dark.

•      Next morning they attacked the British troops (mainly Hessians) in their sleep.

•      British surrendered in 1 ½ hours

•      British Gen. Cornwallis was ordered to pursue Washington, but Washington gained another victory at Princeton on Jan. 3, 1777.

•      These two victories heavily boosted American hopes

Battle of Saratoga

•      Britain wanted to separate New England from the other colonies.

•      Attack was planned by British  Gen. John Burgoyne

•      Plan was to attack Albany, New York with 3 different armies from 3 directions

•      Burgoyne from north, Howe from the east, and St. Leger from the west.

•      Plan failed b/c only Burgoyne’s army stayed on track.

•      Americans attacked him at Saratoga

•      British lost hundreds of soldiers and surrendered on Oct. 17, 1777

•      6,000 British troops were captured

•      This was the first major British defeat

•      This was a turning point in the war. 

Treaty of Alliance

•      The victory at Saratoga showed France & other European countries that America could win.

•      Feb. 1778, French King Louis XVI signed the Treaty of Alliance assuring French support of America.

Valley Forge

•      Winter of 1777-1778 was brutal

•      Washington & his troops spent it at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

•      Temperatures were freezing and men had little protection.

•      2,500 men died from starvation, frostbite, & disease

European Help

•      Many European nations began helping America.

•      French & Spanish helped the most.

•      Spain conquered British West Florida in 1779.

•         Marquis de Lafayette, a young French soldier, became an American General at age 19 and help to come up with the plan to end the war.

•         Baron Friedrich von Steuben, a Prussian soldier, spent the winter at Valley Forge helping Washington train his troops.

The War at Sea

•         In 1779 John Paul Jones, sailing the warship the Bonhomme Richard, sailed to the coast of Great Britain and attacked the British warship Serapis in the North Sea.

•         After his ship sustained heavy damaged, Jones was asked to surrender by the captain of the British ship, Serapis.

•         Jones’ reply was, “I have not yet begun to fight”, and then he and his men boarded the Serapis and took the ship.

•         John Paul Jones is known as “the father of the American Navy.”

War Moves South

•      In 1778 British turned attentions to the South b/c they felt they had more support here.

•      The British easily won battles for three years in the south

•      At the same time, Benedict Arnold was found to be a spy for the British Army.

•      These events disheartened Washington

Swamp Fox

•      Patriots had some small victories in the South by small bands of troops

•      Frances Marion, the Swamp Fox, was one of the best.

•      He led a small group of men on surprise hit and run attacks throughout the south and was very successful.

Battle of Cowpens

•      Jan. 17, 1781 American Gen. Daniel Morgan defeated the British at the Battle of Cowpens in S.C.

•      He and Gen. Nathaniel Greene tried to defeat Gen. Cornwallis’s army at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse on March 15, 1781

•      The Patriots were driven off the battlefield, but they greatly hurt Cornwallis’s army

African Americans

•      In Nov. 1775 all blacks were discharged from the Continental Army

•      The British offered blacks freedom if they served in their army.

•      Americans later offered the same promise to raise their numbers.

•      Over 5,000 blacks served in the Continental Army

•      Many southern blacks were not given their freedom after the war.

Women & the War

•      Women took care of the home, farm, businesses, etc. while the men were gone.

•      Some served with their husbands in whatever duties they could. (Molly Pitcher)

•      Some actually served in battle. (Deborah Samson dressed as a man and joined the army)

Battle of Yorktown

•      Patriot hit & run attacks pushed British Gen. Cornwallis back to Yorktown, Virginia

•      Yorktown was a peninsula bordered by Chesapeake Bay and the James River

•      Aug. 29, 1781 29 French warships surrounded Yorktown and cut off supplies and escape routes.

•      At the same time Gen. Washington’s army and 7,000 French troops under Gen. Jean de Rochambeau marched to Yorktown.

•      Arrived Sept. 14, 1781 and surrounded Cornwallis

•      Oct. 17, 1781 Cornwallis requested a cease fire

•      Oct. 19, 1781 Cornwallis’s army surrendered.

•      7,000 British troops gave up their weapons

Treaty of Paris

•      British and Americans met in Paris, France to negotiate peace.

•      Process took two years.

•      Sept. 7, 1783 Treaty of Paris was signed.

•     Great Britain recognized the independence of the colonies and removed the British Army.

•     United States boundaries were established.  Stretched from Atlantic Ocean to the MS River.  From Canada south to Florida.