THE REVOLUTION

The Early Years of War
Deciding on loyalties
 Strategies of war


The War Expands
Help from Abroad
 Fighting on Different Fronts


The Path to Victory


The South and the Backcountry
The Legacy of War

Americans Divided – which side to support

Loyalists, Patriots, and Neutrals
 No one knew how a war with England would
end
 No one could know what would result after
the war
 Patriots
– New England & Virginia
 Loyalists – cities such as New York & in the
South
 Split families because some members took
side of Britain, while others were patriots
 Others
 Native
Americans – took sides
 Some to save their land; others
because interacted w/ colonists
 African Americans – generally not
allowed to enlist
 Some chose to fight for the British
 Neutrals – people who thought the
war was a bad idea
 Chose to not take sides

Creating an Army (How to face the British)
 George Washington – Commander-inChief
 Challenges
 Small
army – 17,000 men or fewer
 Limited-time enlistment
 Lack of previous training/experience
 Lack of supplies – shoes, food, guns &
ammunition
 Benefits
(Advantages for the Colonists)
 Fighting
for own land/nation
 British/Hessian soldiers on foreign soil
 Help from other quarters – women, locals,
etc.
 Women cooked & cleaned for soldiers &
tended the sick
 Molly Pitcher
Deborah Sampson
 Over-confidence of the British

Struggle for the Middle States
 Control of Boston assured by March 1776
 British Strategy
 William Howe (Commander-in-chief
of British forces)
 Along with his brother Admiral
Richard Howe (navy) he hoped to
defeat the Patriots
 Blockade of American ports
 Mercenaries from Germany
 Focus
on Middle Colonies
 Washington thought that’s what the
British would do
 Why?
 To cut off northern colonies from
southern ones
 Divide and conquer
 July 1776 – British arrive with
30,000 soldiers in New York
 Struggle
for the Middle Colonies
 British march against Colonial forces –
colonists panicked, fled
 Washington frustrated but refused to give
up; chose to retreat and regroup
 Howe spent a month setting up his camp &
solidifying his troops’ position
 Gave Washington time to retreat to
Pennsylvania
 Troops
were lacking basic supplies
 Morale was low
 Most would go back home on 31 December
 Winter
Quarters & Winter Victories
 Washington needed to make the most of
the training he had given to the troops
before they departed for home
 Knew that there was a garrison of Hessian
Troops in Trenton, New Jersey
 Wouldn’t be expecting an attack so soon
after Christmas celebrations
 Late on 25 December 1776 – crossed the
Delaware River
 Americans captured 900 prisoners (900
less people to fight against) and a good
amount of supplies
 Half
the troops stayed on in January & won
another victory at Princeton, NJ
 Helped
to attract new recruits to the colonial
army
The war was affecting everyone within the
colonial society
as a bloody struggle on their doorstep
 in terrible inflation that upset normal trade patterns
 in a general scarcity of goods


Benjamin Franklin sent to France in December 1776
 To
ask for help from French government
 Charmed the French & got them to
eventually become allies with the Americans

British Strategy of Divide & Conquer
 Burgoyne’s

New York Campaign (Summer 1777)
Three-Pronged attack
1. Burgoyne south from Canada
2. St. Leger east from
Lake Ontario
3. Howe north from
New York City
All to meet up in
Albany, having
defeated colonial
forces on the way
 Problems
with the plan
British didn’t know the terrain
 Misjudged Native American support
 Did not really tell Howe about
the plan

 Burgoyne’s
part of the plan
Marched from Montreal to Ft. Ticonderoga
 Able to easily take the fort
 American forces were concentrated elsewhere
 As soon as he turned southward, word went out
among the patriots that he was coming
 Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys
“Now let all New England turn out and crush
Burgoyne”

Burgoyne probably should have turned back, but he
refused to give up
 Plus he thrown parties for each of his earlier victories,
slowing down his army’s progress

 St.
Leger’s part of the plan
To march from Lake Ontario eastward to Albany
 Found it difficult to get full support from Native
Americans in spite of the efforts of Joseph Brant
 General Benedict Arnold was able to spread rumors that
the American force was very large
 St. Leger believed he would be
outnumbered, so he decided to
retreat rather than face defeat
 Left tents and other supplies behind

 General
Howe’s part of the plan
Was supposed to march north from NYC
 Instead he marched south to try to capture George
Washington and then to Philadelphia
 Commander of Colonial forces
 Continental Congress
 Unable to capture Washington, but did take control
of Philadelphia
 Never attempted to march to
Albany, meaning Burgoyne was
going to have to attack Albany and
then defend his position alone

 Meanwhile,
back with Burgoyne … (Aug. 1777)
Burgoyne’s forces were running out supplies
 Sent a raiding party into Vermont
 Defeated by colonial troops at Bennington
 He probably should have given up, but he refused
 Continued to try to reach Albany
 Found himself facing the Colonial Army under
command of Horatio Gates near Saratoga
 British suffered many losses, and finally had to
retreat (role of Benedict Arnold)
 Battle of Saratoga (October 1777)
 Complete defeat of the British forces
 Burgoyne forced to surrender

 Turning
point in the war
Great boost in colonial troops’ morale
 Showed the colonists that they could win major
victories against the British
 Troops could have gone home for the winter, but
chose to stay with Washington at his winter quarters
 Harsh weather conditions
 Very low on supplies (blankets, food, clothing,
fuel for heat, tents)
 Washington had to convince the Continental
Congress that the wasn’t over, that he needed them
to send more troops and more supplies
 Spring 1778 will bring positive changes for the
patriots
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