American Revolutionary War

1. American Revolutionary War

2. Opposing Sides • Britain • Beginning: had greater advantages • Manufacturing: more ships and weapons • Established government • Well trained soldiers • Well supplied

3. Opposing Sides • Colonies/America: • Beginning: fewer advantages • No established government • Little manufacturing • Struggled to pay for war/small economy • Inflation from printing money • Soldiers: hungry and cold • Odds were not in their favor

4. British Mistakes • Did not view the Patriots as a real threat/enemy. • Repeated their mistake at Concord again at the Battle of Bunker Hill • Patriots fortified hills overlooking Boston, hoped to drive British from the seaport • Lord William Howe, new British commander, ordered a frontal assault by soldiers in the middle of the day to retake the hills. • Carried heavy packs, wore bright uniforms, marched right into gunfire. Why?

6. Howe’s Reasoning • He wanted to prove that “trained troops are invincible against any numbers or any position of untrained rabble.” • Complete bloodbath, point was not made/proven. • First 2 charges for the hills were unsuccessful, third was successful only because the Patriots ran out of ammunition. • British technically won, but suffered 2x the causalities that the Patriots suffered • Psychological victory for the Patriots

7. January 1776: 6 months after the Battle of Bunker Hill • Colonel Henry Knox arrives with cannons to reinforce the Patriots outside Boston. • Cannons were captured from Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York and were hauled to Boston by Knox’s men. • British abandoned the city in March

8. British Misunderstanding • Assumed they were fighting a European war • Thought that if they defeated the Continental Army, captured major seaports, and the Patriot capital, the Patriots would surrender. • Didn’t understand that they were fighting a revolutionary war • British hired German mercenaries to fight • Hessians: soldiers who fought for hire • Very brutal

10. Patriot Strengths • Washington’s leadership • Encouraged persistence • Skillful retreats • Small, but committed army • Suppressed loyalists in the countryside

11. Colonial Hardships • Continental Army needed aid and support from the civilian population • Women’s work was crucial • Freed their husbands and sons for military service • Ran farms and shops for them • Made clothing, blankets, and shoes for soldiers

12. Colonial Hardships • British blockade of ports • Shortage of supplies • Colonists began selling “rare” supplies for lots of money • Inflation caused by issuing paper money • “Continentals”: would be worth nothing if the Patriots lost • Women followed their husbands into war • Maintained camps and washed clothing • Helped fire cannons or served as soldiers by disguising as men

13. $20 Continental

14. Deborah Sampson • For her service, she received a military pension from Congress after disguising as a man.

15. Mary Hays/Molly Pitcher • Delivered water to troops during the battle on Monmouth • Stepped in and took her husband’s place at the cannon after he died.

16. War Brought to the Middle States • British left Boston in early 1776 • Attack New York City & cut off New England from the rest of the colonies • Captured NYC Sept 15, nearly crushed the Continental Army • Washington retreated across New Jersey to save his army

17. Battle of Trenton • Washington led a surprise attack on a garrison after crossing the Delaware River in the middle of the night on Christmas night • Attacked Dec. 26 • Modest victory, raised the spirits of the Continental troops and Patriot supporters

18. Washington Crossing the Delaware

19. Military Turning Points • January 1777: • Another Washington victory: Battle of Princeton • Moved his troops during the night and attacked General Charles Cornwallis’s troops • More Washington defeats throughout 1777 • Fall of Philadelphia to Howe’s army in the fall • Saratoga: British army falls into Patriot trap • British surrender of General John Burgoyne in October • Greatest Patriot victory yet, might just win the war

20. Battle of Princeton

21. Saratoga

22. European Allies • Victory at Saratoga encouraged France to recognize American independence and enter the war • Welcomed the opportunity to fight Britain • Prior to Saratoga: doubted the ability of the Patriots to win • Secret alliance rather than open alliance • Secret shipments of arms and ammunition • Marquis de Lafayette: French aristocrat and Patriot general provided military expertise

23. Marquis de Lafayette

24. French Alliance • Open alliance after Saratoga • February 1778: alliance drafted that reflected the brilliance of Benjamin Franklin • Leading negotiator in Paris • Alliance would produce the biggest victory of the war in 1781

25. Spain as an Ally • Spain entered the war as an ally to the French in 1779 • Also wanted to weaken Britain • Feared American independence would inspire their own colonists to rebel • Provided money and supplies to the Patriots • Prevented British ships from entering the Mississippi River.

26. Continental Army at Valley Forge • Washington’s Army spent the winter of 1777-78 at Valley Forge, just outside of Philadelphia • Harsh winter, very hungry • Lack of supplies and food • Nearly a third of Washington’s 10,000 person army had no shoes or coats • Received drilling from German volunteer: Baron Van Steuben

27. Valley Forge

28. Valley Forge

29. June 1778 • British evacuated Philadelphia, retreated across New Jersey to New York City • Fought Washington’s army at Monmouth in New Jersey • Demonstrated improved discipline • British turned their attention to the South

30. Frontier War • Colonists defied the Proclamation of 1763 and settled west of the Appalachian Mountains in the early 1770s • Native Americans supported the British • Increased attacks on colonial settlements in 1777 • White settlers increased their attacks on neutral Native Americans