Chapter 4
Section 2

 
 Obj:
 Trace Progress of war through the turning point at
Saratoga
 Examine the colonial economy and civilian life during the Revolution
 HW:
 Active Read 4.4 and Critical Thinking #3

 Valley Forge
 Trenton
 Saratoga
 Inflation
 Profiteering



 March 1776 – British move troops out of Boston
 Want to move war to Middle States
 Attempt to end “rebellion” by isolating New
England
 British move to attack NYC…


British
 British Gen. William and
Admiral Richard Howe send
32,000 men into New York
Harbor
 Combine British soldiers and Hessian (German mercenaries)
 Largest British force EVER assembled!
American
 Washington has 23,000 men to defend NYC
 Vastly outnumbered
 Men untrained with poor equipment
 Americans retreat in August of 1776
 Washington left with 8,000 who’s enlistment was soon up….he needed a victory!!!


 Washington had been pushed back into PA
 Washington takes calculated risk and attacks
Trenton on Christmas day
 2,400 of his men in small row boats cross the
Delaware River into NJ
 Surprise Hessian troops; who were still drunk from the night before and capture 918 men and 6 cannons
 8 days later Americans defeat 1,200 British @ Princeton
 Moral victories that helped keep the “cause” going…


 Burgoyne’s Plan Against the Americans:
 Was to lead an army down a route of lakes from Canada to Albany, where he would meet
Howe’s troops as they arrived from NYC
 Joint forces would isolate
New England from the rest of the colonies
 However; Howe would never meet Burgoyne in
NYC….


 Under Burgoyne’s
Command:
 4,000 redcoats, 3,000 mercenaries, 1,000 Mohawk
 Bad Luck:
 Food supplies ran low
 Clashing with Americans caused Burgoyne to lose many men
 Howe was preoccupied with conquering and occupying Philadelphia that he wasn’t coming to meet him
 Surrender at Saratoga:
 Massed American troops surrounded Burgoyne
 Burgoyne surrendered his army to General
Gates
 Surrender dramatically changed Britain’s war strategy:
 British kept their troops along the coast
 Close to the big guns, and supply bases of their fleet


 The French were still bitter about the British defeating them in the French and Indian War
 Secretly sending weapons to the Patriots since the previous year
 Saratoga victory supported their trust in the
American Army
 French recognized the American independence and signed an alliance, or treaty of cooperation, in
February 1778


 Washington’s struggles:
 Awaiting the French aid
Washington and his men were struggling to stay alive during the cold winter with primitive conditions
 Soldiers suffered from frostbite
 Surgeons worked constantly to try to save arms and limbs from amputation
 2,000 men died


 What country were the Hessian mercenaries from?
 Germany
 What was the “turning point” in the American
Revolution?
 Battle of Saratoga
 What river did Washington cross to attack the British at Trenton?
 Delaware River