
Changes in British policies in North America caused
dissatisfaction among the colonists.

Hostilities break out between Patriot and British
forces.

The American Colonies fight the British government
for their independence.

The Declaration of Independence and Constitution are
conceived and written.

Chapter 5, Road to Independence, focuses on
events leading up to the American Revolution.

Chapter 6, The American Revolution,
describes the battles and strategies of the war.

Chapter 7, A More Perfect Union, examines the
steps Americans took after the war to build a
new nation.

Vocabulary
 Patriot forces
 Lemuel Hayes
 Friedrich von Steuben
 Privateers
 Guerrilla Warfare

What was another name given to Loyalists?

Where was Loyalist strength greatest at?

Where was Loyalist strength weakest at?

What Patriot disguised himself as a teacher in
order to spy on the British?

African Americans were enlisted in every state
but one. Which state?

What French nobleman became Washington's
trusted aide.

Who said, “I have not yet begun to fight.”?

Who were the Hessians and why were they
fighting?

What treaty ended the American Revolution?

What did George Washington do after the war
ended?
 What foreign countries helped the
Patriots win the war?
 What was George Washington’s secret
strategy for the siege of Yorktown?

Section Overview
This section highlights the initial
struggles of the Patriots.
The mighty British troops sailed to America, confident that
they would quickly and easily crush the rebellious colonies. A
British officer wrote to his friend, describing a military
skirmish:
September 3, 1776
We landed on Long-Island. It was a fine sight to see with
what eagerness they dispatched the Rebels with their
bayonets after we had surrounded them so that they could
not resist. The island is all ours, and we shall soon take New
York, for the Rebels dare not look us in the face. I expect the
affair will be over after this campaign.

Following years of disagreement and negotiation, the
tension between the colonies and Great Britain had
reached the breaking point. The war for independence
from England begun.

Both the British and Americans expected the war to be
short. The British planned to crush the rebellion by
force. Most Patriots believed the British would give up
after losing one or two major battles.
BRITISH ADVANTAGES




The strongest navy in the
world
An experienced and welltrained army
The wealth of a
worldwide empire
A much large population
COLONIAL DISADVANTAGES

No regular army or navy

Army lacked military
experience.

Short on weapons and
ammunition.

Not all colonists supported
the Revolution.

Those colonists that remained loyal to Britain and
opposed the war for independence were called
Loyalists or Tories.

At least one American in five was a Loyalists. Some
believe as many a 1/3 were Loyalist, 1/3 were Patriots,
and the other 1/3 were undecided.

Loyalist support varied by region but was strongest in
the Carolinas and Georgia. It was weakest in New
England.

Loyalists supported Britain for different reasons.
 Some where members of the Anglican Church, headed by the
British king.
 Some depended on Britain for their jobs.
 Some feared the disorder from war.
 Some simply didn’t understand what all the commotion was
about.

Some in the African American community also sided
with the Loyalists. At the start of the war, Britain
offered freedom to any slave that joined the British
side.
COLONIAL ADVANTAGES

They were fighting on their own ground and were
determined to protect it.

The British had to ship supplies and soldiers across
thousands of miles of ocean.

The British used mercenaries to fight. These soldiers did
not care as much about the outcome of the war. Using
these troops also helped the Patriot gain more support.

The Patriots also had Washington, who would prove to be
a great leader.

The American colonies placed great value on liberty
and personal freedom. After declaring their
independence they were unwilling to transfer their own
power to the Continental Congress.

In many ways the American Revolution was really 13
separate wars. Each colony fighting against Great
Britain.

This made it difficult for the Continental Congress to
enlist soldiers for the army and raise money. The
Congress had established the army but depended upon
each of the states to supply the soldiers.

Most soldier signed up for only one year enlistments.
This meant that soldiers would often leave and go
home once their enlistment time was up. Late in the
war men started to sign up for 3 year enlistments.

Women also fought in the war. Margaret Corbin
followed her husband when he joined the Continental
Army. When he died in battle, she took his place. Mary
Ludwig Hays McCauley carried water to soldiers and
became known as Molly Pitcher. Deborah Sampson
disguised herself as a boy and followed her brothers
and friends off to war.

Many of the early battles only involved a few soldiers. The British
commander, General William Howe, hoped that just the sight of
the size of his army would convince to colonies to give up.

In late August of 1776, Washington’s troops fought the British in
their first major battle. The Battle of Long Island was a serious
defeat for the Patriots. Washington and his army barely escaped
being captured.

One Patriot, Nathan Hale, volunteered to be a spy and disguised
himself as a Dutch School teacher. He was late caught and hung.
Before being hung he said, “I only regret that I have but one life to
lose for my country.”

The winter of 1776-1777 saw the near collapse of the Revolution.
Many soldiers left the army after their enlistments were up.
Others simply deserted.

Washington begged the Continental Congress for more troops.
He even asked to be allowed to enlist free African Americans.
Because the southern colonies feared giving guns to slaves, there
was a ban on the enlistment of African Americans.

However, some colonies ignored the ban and started enlisting
African Americans. By the end of the war, all the colonies except
South Carolina had African Americans fighting in their militias.

Among those African Americans who fought during the American
Revolution were Lemuel Hayes and Peter Salem.

During winter of 1776-1777 most of the British troops settled in
New York while a few remained in New Jersey near the cities of
Trenton and Princeton.

During this period in history, armies usually halted their wars in
winter. The British did not expect to have to fight.

Washington saw this as an opportunity to catch the British off
guard. On Christmas night, 1776, he crossed the Delaware river
and attacked Hessian troops at Trenton. His army captured 900
Hessian soldiers. He later attacked and captured Princeton and
was able to drive off British reinforcements.

The British battle plan for 1777 was to gain control of the Hudson
River by taking the cities of Albany and New York.

This would in involve a three-pronged attack. General John
Burgoyne would lead a force of 8,000 troops south from Canada.
The second prong would come east from Lake Ontario. The third
prong under General Howe, would move north up the Hudson
River valley from New York. The three force planned to trap and
destroy Patriot troops near Albany.

Before moving north, Howe planned to capture Philadelphia. He
was able to do this by winning battles at Brandywine and Paoli.
After capturing Philadelphia, Howe decided to spend the winter
of 1777 there.

While Howe was able to capture Philadelphia,
other parts of the British plan were not going
well. In August 1777, an American force under
Benedict Arnold was able to stop the British army
moving east from Lake Ontario.

General Burgoyne’s army was not making
progress toward Albany either. He was able to
capture Fort Ticonderoga but was slow in moving
on southward. (Page 168).

In October 1777 General Burgoyne came up
against a larger American force at Saratoga.
American troops under the command of General
Horatio Gates block his path to the south. The
Americans were able to defeat Burgoyne’s army
and force 5,700 British troops to surrender.

Soon after this defeat British general Howe was
forced to resign as commander of the British
troops in America. He was replaced by General
Henry Clinton.

Section Overview
This section describes the Patriot’s
hardships at war and at home and
who Europeans helped the
Patriots.
The Continental Congress sent Jonathan Austin of Boston
to France to deliver the news of the American victory at
Saratoga. Benjamin Franklin was already in France trying
to get that country to help the Americans against the
British.
As soon as Austin arrived, Franklin nervously inquired, “Is
Philadelphia taken? “ Austin answered, “It is, sir. But, sir, I
have greater news than that. General Burgoyne and his
whole army are prisoners of war.”

The victory at Saratoga boosted American spirits. Even more
important was that it marked a turning point in the war.
Europeans nation, especially France, realized that the United
States might actually win.

Benjamin Franklin had been in Paris for a year trying to get the
support of the French government. The French gave some
money to the Americans to show their support.

When news of the American victory at Saratoga reached France
the French changed their policy toward the Americans. In
February 1778, the French and the Americans worked out a
trade agreement and an alliance. France declared war on
Britain and sent money, equipment, and troops to the Patriots.

Other European nations also helped the American cause. Spain
also declared war on Great Britain in 1779. The Spanish
governor of Louisiana raised an army and captured British forts
at Baton Rouge, Natchez, Mobile, and Pensacola.

Word of the new alliance with France did not reach America
until the spring of 1778. British general Howe and his army
spent the winter in comfort in Philadelphia. Washington set up
camp at Valley Forge, about 20 miles to the west of the British.

The winter of 1778 was very hard on the American troops. The
troops endured a winter of terrible suffering because of the lack
of decent food, clothing, and shelter. Washington’s greatest
challenge was keeping the Continental Army together.

During the time at Valley Forge, many of the men in
the Continental Army deserted. Some officers also
resigned.

With strong determination, the Continental Army
survived and conditions gradually improved. The
troops built huts for shelter and volunteers help gather
supplies and made clothes for the troops and cared for
the sick. In April 1778, Washington was able to tell his
troops of the alliance with France. This greatly
improved everyone’s sprits.

Among the soldiers at Valley Forge was a
French nobleman named the Marquis de
Lafayette. Other Europeans also volunteered
to help.

Friedrich von Steuben was a former army officer
from Germany. Von Steuben drilled the Patriot
troops and taught them military discipline and
fighting techniques. He turned the ragged
Continental Army into a more effective fighting
force.

Getting money to finance the war was a big problem
for the Continental Congress. It had no power to raise
money through taxes.

To pay of the war, the Congress and states printed
hundreds of millions of dollars worth of paper money.
This money quickly lost value because there was not
enough gold and silver backing it up. This caused
inflation, which means it took more and more money
to buy the same amount of goods.

Eventually the Congress stopped issuing money
because no one would use it.

The ideas of liberty and freedom that inspired the
Revolution caused some women to question their role
in society. Women like Abigail Adams championed
women’s rights.

As the war continued, many Loyalists started fleeing
the country. Most went back to England, but some
went to Florida, Canada, and the western territories.

The American Revolution also caused some people in
the colonies to begin questioning slavery. In 1778
Governor William Livingston of New Jersey asked the
legislature to free all enslaved people in the state.

Section Overview
This section examines the
Revolutionary War battles fought
in the West and South.
Francis Marion organized a small but expert fighting force
in South Carolina. Living off the land, Marion’s soldiers
harassed British troops by staging daring surprise attacks,
sabotaging communication and supply lines, and rescuing
American prisoners.
After these attacks, Marion withdrew his men to swamps
and forests. His habit of disappearing into the swamps to
get away from the British earned him his nickname, The
Swamp Fox.

At same time that Francis Marion was staging his raids in the
South, there were many small battles going on along the
western frontier.

Many of these battle involved Native Americans that had sided
with the British. Many Native American tribes felt that the
British were less of a threat than the Americans.

Mohawk chief Joseph Brant, led a number of brutal attacks in
southwestern New York and Pennsylvania.

George Rodgers Clark, was ordered to end British attacks on
settlers. Clark captured, later lost, and then recaptured the
important British stronghold in Vincennes (Indiana).

As the fighting continued along the western frontier, there were
more battles being waged at sea.

Great Britain had sent its powerful navy to patrol the American
coast and keep supplies from reaching the colonies from their
allies through the use of a blockade.

To break the blockade, the Continental Congress order the
construction of 13 American warships. This didn’t work out too
well and all 13 ships ended up being destroyed by the British.

American privateers were more successful. Privateers are
privately owned merchant ships equipped with weapons.
Around 2,000 ships sailed as privateers and attacked the enemy.

One successful American naval officer was John Paul Jones.
Instead of trying to fight the British in American waters, Jones
went across the Atlantic and attacked British ports.

In his most daring battle, John Paul Jones maneuvered his ship,
the Bonhomme Richard in close to the British ship Serapis. In a
battle that lasted for three hours, Jones’s ship was badly
damaged. The British captain asked Jones if he wanted to
surrender. He replied, “Sir, I have not yet begun to fight.”

Although his own ship later sunk, John Paul Jones was able to
capture the Serapis. Today Jones is considered the father of the
U.S. Navy.

The Patriots had some initial success in fighting against Loyalist
forces in the southern colonies. The southern colonies had a
large number of loyalist and the British decided to concentrate
their efforts in those colonies.

The British hoped to use British sea power and the support of
the Loyalists to win decisive victories in the Southern states.
Initially the strategy worked.

In late 1778, General Henry Clinton sent 3,500 British troops
from New York to take Savannah, Georgia. He easily captured
the city and the entire state. From there he marched to Charles
Town, South Carolina and in 1780 he also captured that city in
what was the worst American defeat of the war.

After the capture of Charles Town, Clinton returned to New York
and left General Charles Cornwallis in charge of the southern
campaign.

The Continental Congress sent an army under the command of
General Horatio Gates to face Cornwallis. The two armies
fought in a battle at Camden, South Carolina. Although
Cornwallis won the battle, he found that he could not keep
control of the area.

The British receive less help from loyalist in the area than they
expected. Instead, as the British moved through the area they
were attacked by small groups of Patriots who would disappear
as quickly as they had appeared. The type of warfare is called?

After British victory at Camden, South Carolina, the British
moved northward through the Carolinas. At Kings Mountain,
Patriot sharpshooters defeated a group of loyalist being lead by
a British officer.

In October, 1780, Nathanael Green replaced Gates as
commander of the Continental forces in the South. Rather than
trying to fight the British in one large battle, Green split his army.

In January 1781, part of the Continental army led by General
Daniel Morgan defeated the British at Cowpens, South Carolina.

After reuniting his army, Green faced Cornwallis at Guilford
Courthouse. Although the British won the battle, they suffered
heavy losses.

After the battle of Guilford Courthouse, the British under
General Cornwallis march north to Virginia. There they carried
out raids throughout the state and nearly captured Governor
Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia legislature.

By May 1781, Cornwallis had reached Yorktown, Virginia and
decided to make that his camp and await further orders from
General Clinton.

After learning that Cornwallis was in Yorktown, General
Washington order his armies commanded by Lafayette and
General Anthony Wayne south to fight Cornwallis.

Section Overview
This section highlights the events
that led to the end of the
Revolution, and identifies the
reasons why the Patriots won.
A popular children’s tune in eighteenth-century Britain went like
this:
“If ponies rode men and if grass ate cows,
And cats should be chased into holes by the mouse…
If summer were spring and the other way ‘round,
Then all the world would be upside down.
This song would hold special meaning for the British troops in
America as the Revolution reached its peak.

The war reaching a critical point. Both sides were looking for a
major victory that would end the war. As Washington was
making plans to attack the British at Yorktown, Virginia he was
hoping for help from the French.

In July 1780, French warships carrying 5,000 troop under the
command of Comte de Rochambeau arrived off the coast of
Newport, RI. The French army unload but the French fleet
was trapped in Newport by the arrival of a British fleet.

Washington remained camped near New York were he could
keep a close eye on the forces lead by British General Clinton.
He was also awaiting the arrival of a second French fleet.

A year went by with Washington following reports of the war in the
South. He knew that a British army led by Cornwallis was bottled up
on the Yorktown peninsula by Patriot forces under the Marquis de
Lafayette.

In August 1781, Washington learned that French Admiral Francois de
Grasse and the second French fleet was heading toward the
Chesapeake Bay instead of New York.

At this point Washington decided he would attack the British at
Yorktown instead of New York.

Washington took steps to keep the new American strategy secret.
He wanted Clinton to think the Patriots still planned to attack New
York. This, he hoped, would keep Clinton from sending aid to
Cornwallis.

General Rochambeau had marched his army from Newport to
join Washington. Washington and Rochambeau now marched
their armies south. The secrecy was so strict that most of the
soldiers did not know where they were going.

Washington was able to move his army 200 miles south in 15
days. During the entire time, British General Clinton in New
York did not know that the American forces had left.

Now three groups – Lafayette’s troops, Washington’s and
Rochambeau’s main American-French army, and the French
fleet under Admiral De Grasse – would meet at Yorktown.

The plan worked perfectly, and the British were thoroughly
confused. By the end of September, 14,000 American and
French troops had trapped Cornwallis’s 7,500 British and
Hessian troops at Yorktown.

Meanwhile, De Grasse’s fleet kept Cornwallis from escaping by
sea. General Clinton and the rest of the British army waited in
New York, unable to help Cornwallis.

On October 9th the Americans and French began a tremendous
bombardment. Soon British supplies began running low and
many soldiers were sick and wounded. Cornwallis made one
attempt to escape across the York River but was unable to
gather enough boats to take his army across.

By October 19th Cornwallis realized that his situation was
hopeless and he surrendered.

While going to a nearby field to hand over their weapons, the
British troops had to march between rows of French and
American troops. A French band played “Yankee Doodle, “ and
a British band responded with a children’s tune called “The
World Turned Upside Down.”

The fight did not end with the British defeat at Yorktown. The
British still held the cities of Savannah, Charles Town, and New
York. The Patriot victory did convince the British that
continuing the war would be too costly.

The two sides sent delegates to Paris to work out a treaty. The
United States were represented by Benjamin Franklin, John
Adams, and John Jay. The American Congress ratified the
preliminary treaty in April 1783.

The final Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783. By
that time Britain had also made peace with France and Spain.
Under the terms of the treaty Great Britain recognized the
Unites States as and independent nation. The new nation
claimed all land to the Mississippi River from Canada in the
North to Spanish Florida in the South. The British promised to
remove all troops from American territory and also agreed to
give Americans the right to fish in the waters off the coast of
Canada.

The United States that British merchants could collect all debts
owned them by Americans.

Even after the treaty was signed, it took some time for British to
leave. During that period, Washington kept the army ready at
Newburgh, New York.

While in Newburgh, the soldiers and officers became upset with
Congress because it was refusing to pay them or fund their pensions.
There was talk of the army refusing to disband and perhaps taking
over the new government.

Washington promised the men that he would take their complaints
to Congress and was able to prevent a crisis for the new nation.

Once British troops left New York in November 1783, the war was
truly over and Washington gave up command of the Continental
Army. He returned to his home at Mount Vernon.

The American Revolution was a people’s movement. Its outcome
was depended not some much on the outcome of a single battle but
on the determination and sprit of all the Patriots.

The ideas expressed by the Declaration of Independence bounced
back across the Atlantic and influenced the French Revolution in
1789. In 1791 the American and French revolutions inspired
revolution on the French-held colony of Saint Domingue. In 1804 it
became the second nation in the Americas to achieve independence
from colonial rule.
Chapter Summary
1776

Thomas Paine writes the inspiring
Common Sense.

The Continental Army is defeated
at the Battle of Long Island.

George Washington leads troops
across the Delaware River to
surprise the British at Trenton.
Chapter Summary
1777

The Patriots defeat the British at
Saratoga, New York.

The British capture Philadelphia.
Chapter Summary
1778

France provides money, troops,
and equipment to the Patriots.

The Continental Army suffers
from the lack of supplies at
Valley Forge.
Chapter Summary
1779
1780

John Paul Jones forces the
surrender of the British warship
Serapis.

The British capture Charles
Town and take thousands of
prisoners.
Chapter Summary
1781

The Americans win the Battle of
Yorktown.
1783

The Treaty of Paris is signed,
marking the end of the
Revolution.
Test Review
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