Main Idea: The British and the Americans had advantages as they faced each other in war. P Main Idea: The British and the Americans had advantages as they faced each other in war. P

Neutral~ taking no side in a conflict Mercenary~ paid soldier who serves in the army of a foreign country Recruit~ to enlist soldiers in the army

In order for the colonies to actually gain their independence from Britain, they had to fight in a war. No one expected the war to last so long, but it did.

In the beginning both sides thought the war would be short and easily won. They each thought that they would win. The Patriots ran into problems when they realized not all the colonists were on their side.

The Patriots had advantages during the war. Some of these were that they were on their own land and they had determination. Another advantage they realized they had was that they weren’t fighting for money, the mercenaries were.

Like the colonists, the British also had advantages. One of them was that some of the colonists were still loyal to the king and were on Britain’s side. Some depended on the British for jobs. Other reasons were that they were better trained and that they greatly outnumbered the colonists.

Britain had a larger population Britain had a stronger navy Britain had a well trained army Raising an army was difficult. Congress had trouble enlisting soldiers and raising $ to pay them

Some African Americans were promised their freedom if they fought on the British side, so most African Americans were Loyalist.

Have you been paying attention? What was the one British advantage that was a disadvantage to the Americans?

The number of loyalists, Quakers, and neutrals differed from place to place. The British outnumbered the Patriots.

Men weren’t the only ones who fought in the war. Deborah Sampson, and Margret Corbin were all women who fought in the war.

Most of the Early battles involved few soldiers. At Bunker Hill, there were only about 2,000 British troops and only 1,200 Americans. At this point there was no real victory over the Americans for the British. They did realize though that more troops would be needed for the war to end sooner. During the summer of 1776 Britain sent 32,000 troops to aid them under the control of General William Howe. He hoped the size of his army alone would scare the Patriots into surrendering. He was wrong.

The Patriots had fewer than 20,000 soldiers but were determined to fight. In late August the two sides clashed in the Battle of Long Island. They were outnumbered and out outmaneuvered they lost miserably.

. The American army showed a lot of bravery but ran low on supplies. In the fall of 1776 a British soldier noted that the Americans killed on Long Island weren’t wearing socks, shoes, or jackets. He also noted that they really needed blankets for the harsh winter that was coming. After the Long Island defeat, Washington retreated to Manhattan followed by the British. By late November they had retreated all the way to Pennsylvania.

A man by the name of Nathaniel Hale, proved to be a true hero at this time. He was a Connecticut schoolteacher that volunteered as a spy. For his disguise he was a Dutch schoolteacher. When he was discovered the British executed him. His last words were “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”

During the winter of the Patriots were ready to give up. The ARMY’S SIZE HAD DRAMATICLY DECREASED. Some of the soldiers finished their term and went home. Others ran. Washington needed new recruits desperately. He wrote his brother saying “I think the game is pretty near up.” He never truly believed they would lose though.

The Patriot army was in great need of soldiers. They began to enlist free African Americans. This scared the Southerners. They thought they might start a revolt. They convinced the Continental Congress to ban them from fighting. General Washington pleaded with them but it didn’t help. The colonies ignored the ban and all of them continued to enlist them except for South Carolina.

There were an estimated 5,000 African American Patriot soldiers. Among them were Peter Salem and Lemuel Hayes who fought at Concord. African Americans fought for many of the same reasons. Some of them were because they were runaways, some fought for their freedom, of for money. Others fought simply because they believed in what the Patriots were fighting for.

While some fought for the Patriots others fought for the British. Some were loyalists. The main reason for them to fight for them was because the royal governor of Virginia, Lord Dunmore told them if they fought for the British they would be freed. After the war most of the surviving African Americans either relocated to Canada or to the British colony of Sierra Leone in Africa.

Main Idea: The British and the Americans had advantages as they faced each other in war. P

New Jersey Victories The British had settled in New York during the winter of They left but a few troops in New Jersey at Princeton and Trenton. The British didn’t expect to fight because armies usually halt their wars for the winter. Washington saw this as an opportunity to catch them off guard and took it on Christmas with 2,400 troops. They captured 900 Hessians that night. The British called for reinforcements but Washington led his men away from them back to Princeton Where they had driven out the British.

In 1777, the British worked out a battle plan, The plan was to take Albany, New York and gain control of the Hudson River in order to separate New England from the Middle Colonies. It was a three-part plan. First, General John Burgoyne would lead nearly 8,000 troops south from Canada. Second, Lieutenant Colonel Barry St. Leger would move east from Lake Ontario. Third, General Howe, would move north from New York City. The three would meet in Albany and take out the Patriot troops stationed there.

Howe planned to take Philadelphia, the American capital before marching into Albany. In 1777, the city itself was captured forcing out the Continental Congress. In early October, Washington attacked a nearby main British camp, camp Germantown. He was forced to withdraw though. Howe decided to postpone the Albany trip and spend the winter in Philadelphia.

Problems delayed the Albany attack. In August, the Americans stopped St. Leger’s advance at Fort Stanwix in New York. They were led by Benedict Arnold and forced the British to retreat.

General Burgoyne’s army wasn’t making much progress either. He was the type of person that enjoyed luxuries. This came back to haunt him while traveling with 30 wagons full of them. The extra baggage slowed him down as they attempted to move through the dense forests. Slowing them down further, the Patriots had blocked their path with chopped trees.

General Burgoyne’s army was in need of supplies. He sent 800 troops and Indians to capture an American supply base in Vermont. The bright uniforms made them easy targets in the forests. The Green Mountain Boys attacked and defeated them. Being desperately short of supplies, in October he retreated to Saratoga, New York.

Once in Saratoga, Burgoyne ran into trouble. Both of the armies he expected to be there had been stopped. Under the command of General Horatio Gates, the Americans blocked his path. He found himself surrounded by an army three times larger than his. His last, final, desperate attack was on October 7. The Americans held firm though. As the band played “Yankee Doodle” Gen. Burgoyne surrendered. Soon Gen. Howe resigned and was replaced by Gen. Clinton.

Applause please.