The Revolutionary War. Continental Army General George Washington goal/strategy: protect by retreat...
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Transcript of The Revolutionary War. Continental Army General George Washington goal/strategy: protect by retreat...
Continental Continental ArmyArmy
• General George Washington
• goal/strategy: protect by retreat and counterattack when they have the advantage
• Strengths- manpower ?- fighting on own soil- guerilla warfare- resourceful leaders- fighting for home
and family
Continental Continental ArmyArmy
• Weaknesses- raising and organizing army
bribery: land and Freedom- supplies and equipment- $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
need foreign support- dealing with state govt.
the real center of authority
Washington• indispensable
- held army and country together
• lacked military genius
• gained respect of most of patriots
• faced mutiny from men
• faced removal from Congress
BritishBritish Army Army
• The Regulars• Led by General
William Howe • Strategy: confront
and defeat Continental Army and isolate radical Patriots of New England
• advantages- superior
military- financial- most powerful
navy
BritishBritish Army Army
• weaknesses- traditional fighting- govt. is far away- fighting for a pay check
Bunker Hill
• Breed’s Hill June 17,1775
• Place: On the Charlestown Peninsula on the North side of Boston Harbor.
• Combatants: British troops of the Boston garrison against troops of the American Continental Army.
• Generals: Major General Howe against General Artemas Ward and General Israel Putnam
• Size of the armies: 2,400 British troops against 1,500 Americans.
The death of the American General Warren at the climax of the Battle of Bunker Hill by John
Trumbull
Battle Results
• Americans Retreat- 450 killed or
wounded• British Win! ???????
- 1,150 killed or wounded (1/2)
heavy loss!- hold hill until
retreat from Boston March 1776
• What did the Battle of Bunker Hill demonstrate?
- determination to fight- can stand up to a
professional army- retreat when it is
needed
Dunmore ProclamationNov. 7, 1775
• martial law• freedom to patriot
slaves who joined the British Army
• plan backfired = Angry Virginia slave owners
• estimated 100,000 tried escape but only 800-1000 joined British
First Phase • Patriots surround Boston- British leave March
1776• British do not gain huge loyalist support in South• Patriots lose Canada
- siege of Canada fails- Montgomery and Benedict Arnold- Benjamin Franklin fails as civilian commission
Death of General Wolf at the Battle
of Quebec
Second Phase 1776-1778
• Conventional war- British in position to win but
foul it up• British drive Americans from NY
into Penn
Western Rifleman
Farmers from PA and NJ: blanket coats and wide brimmed hats
A woman?
Delaware Regiment
George Washington
GW rode up and down the column urging his men forward. Suddenly the general’s horse slipped and started to fall on a steep and icy slope. “While passing a slanting slippery bank,” Lieutenant Bostwick remembered, “his excellency’s horse’s hind feet both slip’d from under him.” The animal began to go down. Elisha Bostwick watched in fascination as Washington locked his fingers in the animals mane and hauled up its heavy head by brute force. He shifted his balance backward just enough to allow the horse to regain its hind footing on the treacherous road. Bostwick wrote that the general “seiz’d his horses mane and the horse recovered.” It was an extraordinary feat of strength, skill, and timing; and another reason why his soldiers stood in awe of this man. Source: Washington’s Crossing
by: David Hackett Fischer
Trenton• 1,400 Hessian Troops• 2,400 American Troops• Fighting lasts approximately
90 minutes• 2-7 American casualties
- James Monroe• 100 Hessian/British
casualties ( approx. 20 dead)• Approximately 1000 POW
What happened to the Hessian Troops?
GB’s Mistakes
• plan to cut US in 2• Burgoyne pursues and Howe
changes plan• Howe take Philadelphia• Burgoyne suffers several defeats
British General John Burgoyne surrendered to American General Horatio Gates at Saratoga, New York
France decides to help the American
s
Lack of Supplies
• “If the war is continued thro the winter, the British troops will be scared at the sight of our men, for they had never fought with naked men.”
- a “peaceable man” as he watched the troops march by
Source: Washington’s Crossing by: David Hackett Fischer
Location is close enough to apply pressure far enough away to avoid a sneak attack2,000 huts builtMiles of trenches dugFortifications built
Naked and Starving as
they areWe Cannot
enough admire the
incomparable patience and fidelity of the
soldiery
• What did the Winter at Valley Forge Demonstrate?- Resourceful Leadership- Determination- Motivation to Win
Patriots Recruit Slaves• In 1775 Washington
rejected the idea• By winter of Valley Forge
he has changed his mind• Washington convinced by
lack of soldiers- disease and desertion
• An estimated 5,000 served in the Patriot army
• 20,000 for British/loyalists
Final Phase
• Characterized by guerilla warfare• British look for loyalist aid
- find more patriots than thought- lose loyalist sympathy due to slavery
• stalemate in N. • Battles in W. won by Patriot George Rogers
Clark• British win some in S. but hounded by
guerillas
• Washington & French v. Cornwallis• Washington joins with Lafayette in march by land French circle by sea• October 17, 1781 Cornwallis surrounded- surrenders• Treaty of Paris Signed September 3, 1783