The American Revolution 177

11

MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW

The Early Years of the WarThe Early Years of the War

TERMS & NAMESGeorge Washington

mercenary

strategy

rendezvous

Battles of Saratoga

Americans DividedThe issue of separating from Great Britain divided American society. Opinion polls did not exist in the1700s, so we don’t know exactly how many people wereon each side. But historians estimate that roughly 20 to30 percent of Americans were Loyalists, roughly 40 to45 percent were Patriots, and the rest remained neutral.Most Americans did not support the Revolution.

Both Patriots and Loyalists came from all walks oflife and all parts of America. In general, New Englandand Virginia had high numbers of Patriots. Loyalistswere numerous in cities, in New York State, and in the

The American desire to gain rightsand liberties led them to fight forindependence from Britain.

Today those same rights and libertiesare protected by the U.S.Constitution.

ONE AMERICAN’S STORYIn search of liberty, Haym Salomon moved from eastern Europe

to America sometime between 1764 and 1775. He was a Jew

from Poland. Arriving in New York City, Salomon soon became

a successful merchant and banker. After the war broke out,

Salomon supported the Patriot cause.

When the British captured New York in 1776, many Patriots

fled but Salomon stayed. The British arrested him as a spy.

Salomon spoke many languages. The British thought he could

help their supply officers deal with foreign merchants, so they

let him out of prison. Salomon used this opportunity to help

other prisoners escape.

In 1778, the British wanted to arrest Salomon again, so he

fled to Philadelphia. His earlier time in the cold, damp prison

had permanently damaged his health. Even so, he continued to aid

the Patriots. He loaned the new government more than $600,000,

which was never repaid.

Like Salomon, many people made hard choices about which side

to support during the Revolutionary War. This section discusses those

choices and the obstacles Americans faced in the war’s early years.

Haym Salomon sacrificed hishealth and his fortune to help his new country.

20%

40%

40%

Patriots

Neutral

Loyalists

Source: Blackwell Encyclopediaof the American Revolution

Choosing Sides

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South. Many Loyalists worked for the British government or wereclergy in the Church of England. Some Quakers were Loyalists,although many wanted peace. (Their faith taught that war was wrong.)

The war divided Native Americans, too. For instance, someIroquois nations fought with the British and others with theAmericans. Those Native Americans who joined the British fearedthat if the Americans won, they would take Native American land.Some Native Americans who lived near colonists and interacted withthem sided with the Americans.

African Americans also fought on both sides. At first, slave ownersfeared that African Americans who had guns might lead slave revolts.Therefore, few states allowed African Americans to enlist, or sign upwith the army. Then a British governor offered freedom to any enslavedperson who joined the British army. Many slaves ran away to fight forthe British. In response, most states began to accept African-American

soldiers. In all, about 5,000 African Americans servedin the Continental Army. Many African Americanswho did so hoped that American independence wouldbring greater equality.

Differences over the war split families, too. Forexample, Benjamin Franklin’s son William tookBritain’s side. The father and son stopped speaking.

Creating an ArmyBecause not everyone supported the war, raising anarmy was difficult. The army also faced other prob-lems. In June 1775, George Washington became thecommander of the Continental Army. At first, thisnew national army was formed from state militias,made up of untrained and undisciplined volunteers.

After Congress created the Continental Army, menbegan to enlist, but most of them didn’t stay long. Atthe start of the war, Congress asked men to enlist onlyfor one year. Later Congress did lengthen the term ofservice. When the soldiers’ time was up, they wenthome. As a result, Washington’s army never num-bered more than 17,000 men.

Congress’s inability to supply the army also frus-trated Washington. The soldiers needed everything—blankets, shoes, food, and even guns and ammunition.Angrily, Washington wrote, “Could I have foreseenwhat I have, and am likely to experience, no consider-ation upon earth should have induced [persuaded] meto accept this command.”

Many women tried to help the army. MarthaWashington and other wives followed their husbands toarmy camps. The women cooked, did laundry, and

178 CHAPTER 7

GEORGE WASHINGTON

1732–1799

At the age of 16, GeorgeWashington worked as a sur-veyor, setting land boundaries inthe wilderness. He learned tohandle hardship by hunting forfood and sleeping outdoors.

In the French and Indian War,Washington had many brusheswith death. Yet he wrote, “Iheard the bullets whistle, and,believe me, there is somethingcharming in the sound.”

That war made him the mostfamous American officer. Peopleloved him for his courage. Ascommander of the ContinentalArmy, Washington’s popularityhelped unite Americans.

How did Washington’s earlylife prepare him to lead thearmy?

BackgroundThe IroquoisLeague had gen-erally kept peaceamong theIroquois nationsfor about 200years—until theAmericanRevolution.

A. AnalyzingCauses Whywould the lack ofagreement aboutthe war make ithard to raise anarmy?A. PossibleResponses OnlyPatriots wouldjoin the army, andthey were aminority. SomePatriots mighthesitate to join ifmost of theirneighbors wereLoyalists.

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nursed sick or wounded soldiers. A few women even helped fight.Mary Hays earned the nickname “Molly Pitcher” by carryingwater to tired soldiers during a battle. Deborah Sampson dressedas a man, enlisted, and fought in several engagements.

Building an army was crucial to Washington’s plan. To theBritish, the Americans were disorganized, inexperienced rebels.The British thought that if they won a decisive battle, theAmericans would give up. By contrast, Washington’s main goalwas to survive. To do so, he needed to keep an army in the field,win some battles—no matter how small—and avoid a crushingdefeat. He knew he could not hope to win a major battle until hehad a large, well-equipped army.

Struggle for the Middle StatesAs Chapter 6 explains, Washington had forced the British to retreatfrom Boston in March 1776. He then hurried his army to New YorkCity, where he expected the British to go next. One British goal was tooccupy coastal cities so that their navy could land troops and supplies inthose cities. From there, they could launch their military campaigns.

Washington’s hunch was correct. In July 1776, Britain’s GeneralWilliam Howe arrived in New York with a large army. Then in August,more soldiers arrived, including about 9,000 Hessian mercenaries. Amercenary is a professional soldierhired to fight for a foreign country.British soldiers usually signed up forlife—which discouraged enlistment.So Britain needed mercenaries, whomit hired from the German states.

For several months, the British andAmerican armies fought for NewYork State. Finally, the British forcedWashington to retreat through NewJersey. By December, when the Amer-ican army crossed the Delaware Riverinto Pennsylvania, it was in terriblecondition. Charles Willson Peale, aPhiladelphia painter who watched thecrossing, saw one muddy soldier who“had lost all his clothes. He was in anold, dirty blanket jacket, his beardlong, and his face so full of sores hecould not clean it.” To Peale’s shock,the soldier called his name. He wasPeale’s brother!

Political writer Thomas Paine alsowitnessed the hard conditions and thesoldiers’ low spirits on the retreat. To

BackgroundThe British-hiredmercenaries camefrom a part ofGermany calledHesse, which isthe origin of theterm Hessian.

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100 Miles

200 Kilometers

75°W

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Washington

Washington

Howe

Morristown

Philadelphia

Boston

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PrincetonGermantown

TrentonBrandywine

LakeChamplain

ChesapeakeBay

A T L A N T I CO C E A N

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DEL.

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VIRGINIA

R.I.

American forcesBritish forcesAmerican victoryBritish victory

War in the Middle States, 1776–1777

GEOGRAPHY SKILLBUILDER Interpreting Maps1. Place In what state did the American victories take place?

2. Movement How did the British general Howe travel

from New York to Brandywine?

B. SolvingProblems Howdid Washingtontry to solve theproblem of lead-ing a small, inex-perienced forceagainst a largeprofessionalarmy?B. Answer Hedecided theimportant thingwas to survive,even if he didn’twin any big bat-tles. He was buy-ing time until hecould build a bet-ter army.

SkillbuilderAnswers1. New Jersey2. He sailed fromNew York, downthe coast, and thenup Chesapeake Bay.

179

These Hessianboots weighedabout 12 poundsa pair.

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urge them to keep fighting, Paine published the first in a series of pam-phlets called The American Crisis.

A VOICE FROM THE PAST

These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshinepatriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he thatstands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.

Thomas Paine, The American Crisis

Washington hoped a victory would encourage his weary men. He alsoknew that he must attack the British quickly because most of his soldierswould leave once their enlistments ended on December 31.

Late on December 25, 1776, Washington’s troops rowed across the icyDelaware River to New Jersey. From there, they marched in bitter, early-morning cold to Trenton to surprise the Hessians, some of whom weresleeping after their Christmas celebration. The Americans captured orkilled more than 900 Hessians and gained needed supplies.Washington’s army won another victory at Princeton eight days later.These victories proved that the American general was better than theBritish had thought. The American army began to attract new recruits.

Britain’s StrategyMeanwhile, the British were pursuing a strategy—an overall plan ofaction—to seize the Hudson River Valley. If successful, they would cut offNew England from the other states. The strategy called for three armiesto meet at Albany, New York. General John Burgoyne would lead a forcesouth from Canada. Lieutenant Colonel Barry St. Leger would lead hisarmy from Lake Ontario down the Mohawk Valley. Burgoyne expectedGeneral Howe to follow the Hudson north from New York City.

180 CHAPTER 7

This famouspainting ofWashingtoncrossing theDelaware River is inaccurate.Instead of theboats shownhere, Washingtonused flat-bottomed boatsthat were 40 to60 feet long.

C. RecognizingPropaganda Howdoes this passagepromote theAmerican cause?C. PossibleResponse It saysthat those whoendure hardshipsdeserve to behonored.

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Burgoyne left Canada in June 1777with an army that included British,Hessians, and Iroquois. In July, theycaptured Fort Ticonderoga.

Called “Gentleman Johnny” by hissoldiers, Burgoyne enjoyed travelingslowly and throwing parties to cele-brate victories. After Ticonderoga, hisdelays gave the Americans time to cutdown trees to block his route. Theyalso burned crops and drove off cattle,leaving the countryside bare of sup-plies for the British troops.

Things grew rougher during thelast 25 miles of Burgoyne’s march toAlbany. On a map, the route lookedeasy, but it really crossed a swampywilderness. The army had to buildbridges and roads. Burgoyne tookfour weeks to reach the Hudson. Stillconfident, he looked forward to therendezvous, or meeting, with St.Leger and Howe in Albany.

On August 4, Burgoyne received amessage from Howe. He would notbe coming north, Howe wrote, because he had decided to invadePennsylvania to try to capture General Washington and Philadelphia—where the Continental Congress met. “Success be ever with you,” wroteHowe. Yet Burgoyne needed Howe’s soldiers, not his good wishes.

Howe did invade Pennsylvania. In September 1777, he defeated butdid not capture Washington at the Battle of Brandywine. Howe thenoccupied Philadelphia. In October, Washington attacked Howe atGermantown. Washington lost the battle, however, and retreated.

Battles Along the MohawkAs Burgoyne received Howe’s message, St. Leger faced his ownobstacle in reaching Albany. In the summer of 1777, he was try-ing to defeat a small American force at Fort Stanwix in theMohawk River valley of New York. St. Leger’s forces includedIroquois led by Mohawk chief Joseph Brant, also calledThayendanegea (THI-•ehn•DAHG•ee).

Brant and his sister, Molly, had strong ties to the British. Mollywas a British official’s wife, and Joseph was a convert to the Churchof England. Both Joseph and Molly tried to convince the Iroquois tofight for the British, who upheld Iroquois rights to their land.

During August 1777, American general Benedict Arnold led a smallarmy up the Mohawk River. He wanted to chase the British away from

The American Revolution 181

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Arnold

St. Leg

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oyne

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Montreal

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Ft. TiconderogaSaratoga

Ft. StanwixBennington

Oriskany

Ft. Ontario

St. Lawrence R.

LakeChamplain

ATLANTICOCEAN

Hud

son

R.

Mohawk R.

Delaware R.

LakeOntario

MAINE(part of Mass.)

N.H.

NEW YORK

MASS.

CONN.

PENNSYLVANIA R.I.

American forcesBritish forcesAmerican victoryBritish victory

War in the North, 1777

GEOGRAPHY SKILLBUILDER Interpreting Maps 1. Place From which two cities did the British invade the

United States?

2. Movement What did St. Leger want to capture by

taking the longer route by way of Lake Ontario?

D. EvaluatingReview Howe’stwo goals for his invasion ofPennsylvania. Washe successful?D. Answer No.He capturedPhiladelphia butdid not captureWashington.

Vocabularyconvert: a personwho changesreligions

SkillbuilderAnswers1. Quebec,Montreal2. Fort Ontario,Fort Stanwix

The Iroquois chiefJoseph Brant wasa British ally.

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Fort Stanwix. Arnold sent a captured Loyalist and some Iroquois whowere American allies to spread the rumor that he had a large army.

The trick worked. St. Leger’s troops were afraid they were about to beoutnumbered. The army retreated so fast that it left behind tents, can-non, and supplies. Because of St. Leger’s flight and Howe’s refusal tofollow the strategy, no one was left to rendezvous with Burgoyne.

Saratoga: A Turning PointBy this time, Burgoyne’s army was running out of supplies, and it neededhorses. The general sent a raiding party into Vermont to see what itcould find. The raiding party encountered New England troops, whobadly defeated it at the Battle of Bennington on August 16, 1777.

Despite this setback, Burgoyne’s army headed slowly toward Albany. Onthe way, it met a powerful Continental Army force led by General HoratioGates. Gates’s soldiers were waiting on a ridge called Bemis Heights, nearSaratoga, New York. There the Americans had created fortifications, orbuilt-up earthen walls, behind which to fight. The Polish engineer TadeuszKosciuszko (TAH•deh•oosh KAWSH•choosh•kaw) had helped theAmericans do this.

Burgoyne would have to break through the fortifications to proceedto Albany. On September 19, he attacked. While Gates commanded theAmericans on the ridge, Benedict Arnold led an attack on nearby

Exercising Free SpeechThe British could have charged Thomas Paine with a crime for writ-ing The American Crisis. The crime was sedition, or stirring up rebel-lion. By saying what he thought, Paine risked going to prison. TodayU.S. citizens have the right to speak freely without fear of jail.

Like Thomas Paine, some students have used free speech to urgepeople to take action. For example, the Sidney Lanier Middle Schoolin Houston, Texas, has published its school newspaper on theInternet. In October 1996, one writer urged other students to getinvolved in that year’s election, saying, “Even though you will notbe able to vote yet, you can still influence your parents to do so.”

How Do You ExerciseFree Speech?1. Working in a small group,

choose an issue that you careabout. Look throughnewsmagazines for ideas.

2. Use a cluster diagram to recordyour feelings and opinionsabout the issue.

3. As a group, decide what actionyou think people should takeon the issue.

4. Write an article expressing thegroup’s opinion. Each membershould read the article andsuggest changes. Revise thearticle.

5. Send the revised article to theeditorial page of your schoolor local newspaper.

See Citizenship Handbook,page 266.

For more about free speech . . .

RESEARCH LINKSCLASSZONE .COM

These students are workingtogether to produce aschool newspaper.

E. Reading a MapFind Saratoga onthe map on page181. Notice howclose it is toBurgoyne’s goalof Albany.

182

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Freeman’s Farm. His men repeatedly charged theBritish and inflicted heavy casualties. Still, the Britishheld their position.

On October 7, another battle broke out. AgainArnold led daring charges against the British. Althoughhundreds of muskets were firing at him, he gallopedthrough the battlefield “like a madman,” a sergeant latersaid. Frightened, Burgoyne’s Hessian mercenariesbegan to fall back. Eventually, a bullet tore intoArnold’s leg and stopped him. Even so, the Americansforced Burgoyne to retreat.

Burgoyne’s army moved slowly through heavy rain toa former army camp at Saratoga. By the time theyarrived, the men were exhausted. Some fell in the mudand slept in their wet uniforms. The Continental Armythen surrounded Burgoyne’s army and fired on it day and night withoutstopping. Burgoyne decided to surrender. The series of conflicts that ledto this surrender is known as the Battles of Saratoga.

The Battles of Saratoga had two very different consequences. AsBenedict Arnold was recovering from his wound, he married a womanwho was a Loyalist. Over time, Arnold came to feel that Congress hadnot rewarded him enough for his heroic actions at Saratoga and otherbattles. Influenced by his bitterness and his wife, he betrayed his army.In 1780, he agreed to turn over an American fort to the British.Although his plot was discovered before he could carry it out, heescaped. Even today, the name Benedict Arnold is used to mean traitor.

On the positive side, the victory at Saratoga was a turning point in theRevolution. It caused European nations to think that the Americansmight win their war for independence. As you will read in Section 2,several European nations decided to help America in its struggle.

The American Revolution 183

2

THE FIRST FLAG

June 14 is Flag Day in the UnitedStates. On June 14, 1777, theContinental Congress adoptedthe stars and stripes design forthe U.S. flag. According to leg-end, a Philadelphia seamstressnamed Betsy Ross designed thefirst flag, illustrated below.Historians have found no evi-dence to support this legend.However, Ross did make flagsfor the Pennsylvania navy.

2. Taking NotesUse a cluster diagram like theone shown to list the difficul-ties Americans faced in theearly years of the war.

Which difficulty do you thinkwas hardest to overcome?

3. Main Ideasa. How were Americansdivided over the issue of sep-arating from Great Britain?

b. Why was it difficult forGeorge Washington to formand keep a large army?

c. How did the Battles ofSaratoga mark a turningpoint in the war?

4. Critical ThinkingContrasting How did theBritish and American strate-gies differ during the earlyyears of the war?

THINK ABOUT• what the British expected

from the Americans• Washington’s main goals

for the American army• why Burgoyne invaded

from Canada

1. Terms & NamesExplain the

significance of:• George Washington• mercenary• strategy• rendezvous• Battles of Saratoga

Section Assessment

ACTIVITY OPTIONS

LANGUAGE ARTSART

Learn more about a Revolutionary War leader. Write a brief biography or create

a trading card with a picture on one side and important facts on the other.

AmericanDifficulties

1

F. PossibleResponseEuropean help forthe United States,because thatmade up forAmericanweaknesses

F. Forming andSupportingOpinions Whichof the two conse-quences of theBattles ofSaratoga wasmore significant?Why?

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