The War 1775-6

When was the Battle of Bunker Hill?

17 June 1775

What happened May 1775?

British generals Howe, Clinton and Burgoyne arrive in Boston with reinforcements. Gage consequently has a force of 6500 men.

What happened on 17 June 1775?

• American forces set to occupy Bunker Hill, which commanded Boston from the Charlestown Peninsula

• Rebel force of 1500 men occupied neighbouring Breed’s Hill by mistake, General Howe launched a frontal attack on the rebel defences

• Howe dislodged Americans but suffered heavy casualties

Casualties Bunker Hill

• British lost over 1000 of their 2500 men

• Americans lost less than half that number

• 1/8 of British officers killed in entire conflict died at Bunker Hill

When did Washington assume control of the Continental Army?

July 1775

Why was Washington not impressed with the Continental Army?

• 15,000 poorly trained, disciplined, and equipped troops

• Less than 50 cannons

• Hardly any powder

• Few trained gunners

• Army lacked military order - officers failed to inspect troops or supervise food and quarters

Washington had to transform what was essentially a militia force into a professional army - what did he intend to do?

• Improve officer corps

• Distinctions of rank - curb democratic excesses

• Incompetent officers and those guilty of misconduct removed/ distinguished via special insignia

• Discipline - punishment - flogging

When was the Boston Siege?

April 1775 - March 17 1776

Why was Washington originally restrained by politicians/own strength of army over besieging Boston?

• Politicians feared town’s destruction

• Strength of British fortifications

• His own shortage of munitions

• Many of his men had gone home to families

• Mid-winter his army suffering from dysentery, typhus and typhoid fever had fallen in numbers so much that the reinforced British outnumbered their besiegers

Boston siege did happen - why, and events

• Howe, who replaced Gage in October 1775, did nothing

• 9000 men i.e. main British Army 'bottled up’ in Boston

• No effective action

• Time for rebels to consolidate hold elsewhere

• British left Boston after 11 months and went to Nova Scotia

1775 what did Congress decide to do and why?

Invade Canada - hoped French would join the rebellion

Initial events of invasion of Canada - Montgomery and Arnold

• Richard Montgomery, with 1200 men, advanced up Champlain Waterway

• Second force under Benedict Arnold marched through Maine - intended to combine with Montgomery in attack on Quebec

Montgomery initial actions

• Wasted valuable time besieging Fort St John

• Captured Montreal on 13 November

When did Montgomery join Arnold?

• December 1775

• Arnold had reached Quebec with 700 hungry and sickly men a few weeks before

Why did action have to be made quickly?

Most American enlistments expired at the end of the year

Number of men on British side

General Carleton, British Commander, had 1800 men - French Canadian militia, seamen and marines from British ships and about 100 regular soldiers - to defend Quebec

When was American assault on Quebec made?

31 December 1775

What happened in American assault on Quebec?

Failed, made in a snowstorm, Montgomery killed and Arnold wounded

Consequences of American assault on Quebec

• Suffered from low supplies, smallpox

• Many soldiers deserted

• Montreal abandoned (arrival of British reinforcements in spring ended siege)

• Americans retreated from Canada in disorder

Lord Dunmore actions in the South

• Lord Dunmore - the last Royal Governor of Virginia

• Had 500 loyalist supporters and the assistance of several warships

• Launched raids on Virginian coastal towns

• November 1775 proclamation - freedom to all enslaved people who joined British war effort

• Consequently white southerners supported the Americans

What did 1775 intelligence from the royal governors suggest about rebellion in the Carolinas and Georgia?

That coordinated operations by loyalists and British forces could put an end to the rebellion in the Carolinas and Georgia

Events in Carolinas and Georgia

• North Carolina chosen as starting point

• British recruit backcountry settler-colonists (had supported Regulator movement, resented tidewater elite)

• Carolinian loyalists acted too quickly - defeated at Moores Creek February 1776

General Clinton in the Carolinas

• Had 1500 troops

• Did not sail south from Boston until February 1776

• Little support from North Carolina

• Went to South Carolina but failed at taking Charleston

• Went north again

Henry Knox’s efforts regarding artillery in Boston

Artillery from Ticonderoga transported to Boston and arrived by February 1776

What happened 4th March 1776?

17,000 rebels captured Dorchester Heights (overlooking Boston)

British position unable to be defended

What happened 17th March 1776?

Howe’s army and over 1000 loyalists began evacuating Boston

Sailed to Halifax, Nova Scotia → Britain’s main naval base