Performance Objectives
• PO 2. Describe the significance of
key events of the Revolutionary
War:
• major battles (e.g., Lexington,
Saratoga, Trenton)
• aid from France
• surrender at Yorktown
More Performance Objectives
• PO 3. Describe the impact of the
following key individuals on the
Revolutionary War:
– Benjamin Franklin
– Thomas Jefferson
– George Washington
– Patrick Henry
– Thomas Paine
• King George III
Causes of the War
• British defeat French in French/Indian War
– Defeat of Indians removes colonists’ perceived
need for British protection
– War costly for Brits and need add’l income
• Stamp, Navigation, and Revenue Act force
colonists to pay for protection
• 1770 Boston Massacre – 5 dead after protesting
taxation w/o representation
Causes of the War (cont.)
• Quartering Act
– Colonists forced to house British troops
– 3rd Amendment of the Constitution
• Real Causes
– Colonists had intellectual differences
with British government
– Spirit of independence brought about
by frontier life
– Belief in democracy over oligarchy
On the Eve of the
Revolution ?
Britain
Americans
Advantages
?
?
Disadvantages
?
?
Military Strategies
The Americans
Attrition [the British
had a long supply
line].
Guerilla tactics
[fight an insurgent
war  you don’t
have to win a battle,
just wear the British
down]
Make an alliance
with one of Britain’s
enemies.
Rely on love of home
to keep men fighting
The British
Break the
colonies in half
by getting
between the
North & the
South.
Blockade the
ports to prevent
the flow of
goods and
supplies from an
ally.
“Divide and
Conquer”  use
the Loyalists.
Loyalist
Strongholds
Washington’s Headaches
Only 1/3 of the colonists were in
favor of a war for independence [the
other third were Loyalists, and the
final third were neutral].
State/colony loyalties.
Congress couldn’t tax to raise money
for the Continental
Army.
Poor training [until
the arrival of
Baron von Steuben].
Phase I: The Northern Campaign
[1775-1776]
Fort Ticonderoga
• Ethan Allen, a
blacksmith, leads the
Green Mountain boys of
Vermont against the fort
which had many cannon.
• There was one guard
and the officers were
sleeping.
• The commander had to
turn over 100 cannon
and gunpowder.
Second Continental Congress
• 13 colonies send delegates to
Philadelphia.
• Many do not want a war.
• The Olive Branch Petition is sent to
King George asking him to repeal the
Intolerable Acts.
• The Continental Army is created with
George Washington as Commanderin-Chief.
Bunker (Breed’s) Hill
Jun 1775
• New “Continental Army” takes position
on Breed’s Hill
• They are told, “Don’t shoot until you
see the whites of their eyes!” because
they have only a small amount of
gunpowder
• British conduct frontal assault
– Poor judgement – flanks/rear exposed
– 40% casualties for Brits (1,100 dead)
• Colonials repel two assaults but run
out of ammunition.
Bunker Hill (June, 1775)
The British suffered over 40% casualties.
Results of Bunker Hill
• Colonists convinced standing army
was unnecessary
• Showed colonial determination
• Gen Howe forever failed to press
victories
• New colonial tactics:
– Simple defensive
– Hold at the Hudson
Brits Leave Boston
• By January 1776, the Continental
Army surrounded Boston.
• The cannon captured at Ticonderoga
were placed on a hill overlooking
Boston and its harbor.
• Seeing that they were trapped,
General Howe ordered his troops to
go to Halifax, Canada.
Common Sense
• Many colonists remained loyal to Britain,
even while patriots were fighting for
freedom.
• Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet called
Common Sense.
• This pamphlet asked anyone to “show
single advantage this continent can reap by
being connected with Britain.
• Hundreds of thousands of copies were sold.
• Many loyalists changed their thinking
because of Paine’s arguments.
Declaring Independence
• Delegates to the Continental Congress
came to believe that declaring
independence was necessary.
• Richard Henry Lee of Virginia offers a
resolution that “these United Colonies
are, and of right ought to be, free and
independent States.”
• From that moment, delegates were
considered traitors to their country. A
traitor is one who betrays his or her own
country.
• A committee is formed to write the
declaration.
• John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert
Livingston, Roger Sherman and Thomas
Jefferson undertake this task.
• Jefferson is asked to write the document
explaining to the world why the colonies
were taking such a drastic step.
• On July 4th, 1776, the Congress voted
that the 13 colonies were “free and
independent States.
• Fireworks were invented later 
The Declaration
• The first part explains the basic rights
on which the nation is founded. Finish
this phrase, “We hold these truths to
be self-evident…………………
• The second part list the wrongs
committed by Britain
• The last section declares that the
colonies had become “the United
States of America.”
Phase II:
NY & PA
[1777-1778]
New York
• Gen. Howe (Brit) heads to New York City.
• Washington takes the Continental Army to
defend the city.
• Howe has 34,000 troops, 10,000 sailors, 30
warships and 400 smaller boats.
• Washington has 20,000 men and no navy.
• Losing the battles for New York, the
Continentals retreat to New Jersey.
• Nathan Hale, a young Connecticut spy is
captured behind British lines.
• “I only regret that I have but one life to lose
for my country” were his last words…
New York City in Flames
(1776)
Trenton and the Crossing
• Discouraged with losing, the Continentals are
cold, hungry, deserting and many are due for
re-enlistment
• A victory is badly needed.
• Washington plans a surprise attack on
Hessian troops (German mercenaries) in
Trenton , New Jersey.
• He gets his troops across the frozen Delaware
River in the dead of night on Christmas.
• On Dec. 26, the Continental Army takes over
1400 Hessians prisoner without losing a
single soldier!
Washington Crossing the Delaware
Painted by Emanuel Leutze, 1851
Princeton
• After the Battle of Trenton, the British send
General Charles Cornwallis to retake the
city.
• Outside of Princeton, he sees the lights of
Washington’s campfires.
• “At last we have run down the old fox and we
will bag him in the morning.”
• Washington had fooled Cornwallis by leaving
the fires burning as he marched his troops
behind British lines, winning another surprise
victory.
• The army has new hope and confidence.
British Plan in Pennsylvania
• General Burgoyne (British) convinces King
George that if New England is cut off from the
other colonies the war will end.
• 3 British armies march on Albany, N.Y. from
different directions.
• General Howe must take Philadelphia before
going to Albany. He takes too much time
• General St. Leger (British) moves slowly due
to baggage carts.
• Burgoyne is surrounded in the village of
Saratoga.
• The 3 armies never reached Albany…
The Battle of Saratoga
• The battle of Saratoga is an interesting
one.
• This was when 6,000 British troops
were in upstate New York, traveling
southbound.
• The American troops cut or burned
down all of the bridges in their path.
• This made the British an easy target for
the American soldiers.
Follies at Saratoga
• Burgoyne sets off with an
overbundance of supplies/equipment
– Movement extremely slow (1 mile/day)
– Guerillas could easily stay ahead and
slow further
• Delays allow colonials to reinforce and
win.
Significance of Saratoga
• Turning point of Revolution
• French enter war, aligning with
colonists
• British now move their focus to the
South
• Spain and Holland soon join war
– British forced to protect its own
borders from aggressors
– British concerned about about long
ocean supply lines
Saratoga:
“Turning Point”
of the War…
A modern-day re-enactment
Southern Campaign
Late 1778
• More Loyalists live in the South
• Southern resources more valuable
• British win small victories but unable to pacify
countryside
• Nat Greene vs. Cornwallis
– Greene sacrificed mass for manuever
– Smaller forces more easily could live off land
– Provided rally points for local militia
– Tempted Cornwallis to split his forces
Phase III: The Southern
Strategy [1780-1781]
The Swamp Fox
• In the southern battles, Americans began to
employ hit and run, or guerrilla, tactics.
• Francis Marion of South Carolina led a small
band of men who slept by day and traveled
by night.
• He was known as the Swamp Fox because
he appeared suddenly out of the swamps,
attacked the British, and then retreated back
to the swamps.
• His actions kept the British off balance 
John Paul Jones
• Although the American navy remained small,
Americans attacked and captured British
ships at sea.
• John Paul Jones, in command of the
Bonhomme Richard, finds a British warship,
the Serapis, guarding 39 merchant ships in
the North Sea off the coast of Britain.
• He attacks, even though the Serapis is larger.
• When told to surrender, Jones states, “I have
not yet begun to fight!”
• His men board the warship and defeat the
men in hand-to-hand fighting.
Tale of a Traitor
• By 1780, one of Washington’s most talented
and successful generals, Benedict Arnold,
was in command of the American fort at
West Point.
• He was angry at what he felt was a lack of
credit given to him for his victories.
• He offered to turn the fort over to the British!
• His plot almost succeeded but soldiers
caught the messenger taking the offer to the
British.
• Arnold escaped and joined the British and, to
this day, a synonym for traitor is a “Benedict
Arnold.”
Yorktown
• Cornwallis consolidates forces
• French defeat British ships at
Battle of Capes
• Americans to front; French to
rear
• British surrender 17 Oct 1781
The Battle of Yorktown (1781)
Count de
Rochambeau
Admiral
De Grasse
Impact of French
• Anxious to regain international
position
• French repeatedly help American
cause:
– Loans of money
– Use of French ports by American
privateers
– Protected American vessels near
French waters
• Made English uneasy at home
• French Navy critical at Yorktown
Cornwallis’ Surrender at Yorktown:
“The World Turned Upside Down!”
Painted by John Trumbull, 1797
North America After the
Treaty of Paris, 1783