BR: 1/24/17 Which battle did you choose for your project? Explain why!

U.S. History I Ch. 6.4 The War is Won!

The Beginning of the End The war was at a crucial point. Both sides were desperate for a victory, and Gen. Washington made plans to meet the British under Gen. Clinton at New York. July, 1780: French Warships arrive off Newport, Rhode Island. They brought more than 5000 troops, and Gen. Jean Rachambeau. However, the British navy soon surrounded the port, and kept the soldiers trapped there, unable to really do much good for the patriots. Another French fleet was on its way, Washington waited. He planned to attack Gen. Clinton’s army at NY as soon as the French arrived to help, and waited during the fall of 1780.

Change in Plans However, Washington heard news that Gen. Cornwallis and his large army was trapped on the Peninsula of Yorktown, and a plan began to form in his head. Admiral Francois de Grasse, the French Naval commander, arrived in August and headed towards the Chesapeake Bay. This was what Washington needed! He abandoned his plans to attack New York and Gen. Clinton (though he made it look like he hadn’t), and now, joined by Gen. Rochambeau’s troops, who had made the long march by foot to meet him, he headed off to Yorktown. Meanwhile, Anthony Wayne, a commander over the Patriot troops in the Western territories, was ordered to join them. Thus, all three of these groups were set to meet at Yorktown.

Plan to Perfection! The plan worked perfectly! The British were surrounded by the Americans (7,500 British and Hessian troops), and De Grasse’s fleet (14,000 American and French troops) kept them from sailing away, or getting supplies. Gen. Clinton, meanwhile, was still in NY, oblivious to what was going on. Oct. 11th, 1781: The Americans and French allies begin a ferocious attack. They bombard the British, and many are killed. Cornwallis realized it was hopeless, and they surrendered Oct. 19th. VID The war wasn’t completely over, however. There were several more clashes, and the British still held New York, Savannah, and Charleston. However, the British government was convinced by the Battle of Yorktown that the war was simply too expensive: VID The two sides met in Paris, and eventually agreed to peace. The final treaty was signed September 3, 1783, the Treaty of Paris. The Americans are represented by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay. The war with Spain and France is finalized as well.

Independence The Treaty of Paris was a huge accomplishment. The U.S. was recognized as a new, independent nation, which laid claim west to the Mississippi, and south to Florida. The British withdrew their troops from all American lands, and the Americans were also given rights to fish off of Canada’s shores. America agreed to pay off its debts to the British and others, and loyalists were to be given back their property. Before the treaty was finalized however, trouble brewed at home, known as the Newburgh Conspiracy: VID British troops left by Nov. 1783, and by then Washington could give up his command, which he did on Dec. 4th, in a letter to his officers, and then formally two weeks later at a meeting of the 2nd Continental Congress. He returned home for Christmas.

Why We Won, & Its Effect: The Americans had many advantages: they were fighting for their liberty, on their own land, with local supplies. The British had to ship in from 1000s of miles away, and depended heavily on their ships, as Yorktown had proven. The British never really controlled the countryside, where the Americans fought guerilla-style warfare and defeated them. Also, the traditional enemies of Britain, Spain and France, helped the Americans in many important ways. The ideas of the American Revolution spread far and wide. It influenced the French Revolution in 1789, and to many other nations, like Haiti in 1791, a former French colony. Ever since then, many revolutions have quoted or borrowed from the American Revolution, and it continues to inspire Americans of all stripes.