THE EARLY YEARS OF THE WAR

WARM-UP (IN PAGE 138 TOP)• Describe the

weather and the men’s clothing & physical condition in the painting.

• How might physical hardship affect a soldier’s loyalty & ability to fight?

General Washington & his troops in their winter camp at Valley Forge

VOCABULARY (IN PAGE 139)Vocabulary

TermDefinition Illustration

MercenaryBayonetPrivateerGuerillas Pacifist Republicanism

SET-UP CORNELL NOTES (IN PAGES 140-141)

Title: The Early Years of the War

Essential Question: How well did the British & American war strategies work during the beginning of the war?

AMERICANS DIVIDED

Patriots• ‘Merica!!!

• New England & Virginia had lots of Patriots

Loyalists• Supported the King

• Large cities, New York & the South had lots of Loyalists

• Many worked for the British government or were clergy for the Church of England

NATIVE AMERICANS

• Some fought with the British and others with the Patriots

• Many feared they would lose their land if the British lost

AFRICAN AMERICANS• Slave owners initially feared

their slaves would revolt if they were given guns to fight so they were not allowed to enlist

• After the British offered freedom to any slave willing to fight, many ran away in hopes of gaining freedom

• Once the British began using African American soldiers, the Continental Army enlisted 5,000 African Americans

CREATING AN ARMY• The Continental Army

never numbered more than 17,000 men

• Men were inexperienced & the army was short on supplies

• Women followed their husbands into the battlefield and cooked, did laundry & nursed sick or wounded soldiers Deborah Sampson