The American Revolution Unit 2, Lesson 3

A Tough Task for Patriots Loyalists: Remained loyal to Britain Almost 1/3 of colonists Location: Mostly New York and lower South Patriots: Favored independence from Britain About 40% of colonists Location: Mostly in New England and Virginia Patriots were NOT in the majority and victory was NOT likely

Patriots Advantages Fighting a defensive war Fighting for freedom Disadvantages Fewer soldiers Poorly trained soldiers Lack of supplies and equipment

British Advantages World's most powerful army and navy Best equipment and training Disadvantages Distance from Britain War was unpopular back hme

Britain’s Strategy to Win the War Initial British strategy: Cut New England off from the rest of the colonies Most colonists and Patriots that wanted independence lived here and would be isolated Troops under John Burgoyne in British-owned Canada would move south Troops under Howe in New York City would move north to meet Burgoyne They would meet in Albany and then invade New England

Fighting in the North Battle of New York: Washington’s army was defeated, forced to retreat British General William Howe captured NYC, but failed to crush Patriots; GW escapes to PA Revolution’s “D-Day” – British invaded America Shows British strength – overwhelming size, better training Shows British weakness – lack of aggressive leaders allowed Continental Army to survive

Washington Crosses the Delaware After months of defeats, Washington needed to give Americans hope On Christmas of 1776, Washington led troops secretly across the Delaware River into Trenton, New Jersey Surprised Hessians - captured supplies, cannons, and ammo with no casualties Boosted American morale and army recruitment

Boosted Morale Washington won victories in the Battles of Trenton and Princeton Washington’s victory and leadership kept morale up (for now) Surprised Hessians - captured supplies, cannons, and ammo with no casualties Boosted American morale and army recruitment

Britain Takes Philadelphia Howe’s troops moved to Philadelphia to capture the Congress; Congress escapes Howe occupied Philadelphia and took the winter off to enjoy the city Howe thought the revolution would fall apart without its government

Winter Sets In Valley Forge, PA: Americans endured the harsh winter outside Philadelphia in 1777-1778 During this time, Washington and other officers drilled and disciplined the soldiers to boost morale, training Lack of food, clothing, medicine, and shelter – miserable conditions 1/4 of 10,000 troops died during winter

Battle of Saratoga This battle was the turning point for the Americans Americans stopped British, ending their campaign to cut off New England This helped convince France to join America against Britain, providing vital help British plan to divide colonies failed And this is HUGE … Ben Franklin in France trying to win foreign assistance – victory convinced France and Spain to join American side 3. Saratoga was the TURNING POINT of the war

Fighting in the South Focus on controlling the South, where most loyalists were Britain wanted to at least keep the South and maybe use it to invade the North Britain only controlled a few major cities in the South but could not control the vast countryside in between The strategy depended upon the assumption that many southerners remained loyal to the British. American loyalist support never matched Germain’s expectations, however, and by 1781 the Southern Strategy failed to prevent British defeat in the war.

Charles Town (Charleston) After a six-week siege of Charleston by British land and naval forces, American General Benjamin Lincoln, outnumbered and outsmarted by British forces under generals Henry Clintonand Lord Charles Cornwallis, surrendered over five thousand troops and an ample amount of Continental supplies. Britain captured Charleston and invaded South Carolina British General George Cornwallis was put in charge of conquering the Carolinas’ countryside British troops freed many slaves, making the South unstable

Battle of Yorktown Cornwallis marched to Yorktown to wait for resupply from the British navy Cornwallis assumed Britain’s strong navy still controlled the ocean Washington rushed his army south to capture the land around Yorktown The French navy captured the coast at Yorktown, preventing Cornwallis’ resupply and escape In October, Cornwallis’s army fell under siege at Yorktown by American troops led by Washington and French troops led by the Comte de Rochambeau. The arrival of French ships on the York River pinned Cornwallis between the French Navy and the French and American troops, forcing him to surrender on October 19. With the surrender of the main British army operating in the South, the British Southern Strategy, as well as the major hostilities of the American Revolution, effectively ended.

Cornwallis Surrenders Surrounded, Cornwallis and his 8,000+ troops surrendered The Battle of Yorktown caused Britain to declare the war over

Treaty of Paris (1783) Ended the American Revolution Britain recognized the U.S. as a new nation The U.S. owned land all the way west to the Mississippi River Economic strain: British merchants were cut off from their supply of raw materials for seven years Treaty of Paris 1783 provided: British acknowledgement of American independence The Mississippi river was acknowledged as the US western boundary Americans would have fishing rights of the coast of Canada Americans would pay debts owed to British merchants