HIS315K Part IV: 03 The War for Independence

What do the british do in response to the Declaration of Independence

they deploy ~32,000 British and German troops

Who led the forces deployed by the british?

Brothers

General William Howe (army)

Admiral Richard Howe (Royal Navy)

What was the Staten Island Peace Conference? Its result?

What: Continental Congress representatives discuss possible peace terms with Admiral Howe (navy).

Result: Talks fail because british refuse to recognize american independence

The New York campaign, chronologically. And its result

• (Sp. 1776) Washington and Congress anticipate a British attack on New York

• (Aug 27) Battle of Long Island (32k british against 20k americans)

  • Americans lost lots (2k killed, wounded, or captured)

• (Aug 29-30) Washington evacuates 9k troops secretly at night

The British capture New York, and it serves as their headquarters for much of the war.

How does the New York campaign collapse?

• (Sept 15 1776) British troops land at manhattan

• Sept 16 Battle of Harlem Heights

  • americans succeed and push back british, morale boost)

• Nov 16 British capture fort washington.

  • Huge colonial losses, 2800 soldiers taken

• Nov 20 George Washington orders abandonment of Fort Lee.

  • Hasty, leaving many supplies behind.

• Continental Army retreats across New Jersey

Now, it looks like its about over for the americans

What is the condition of the revolution by Winter 1776?

• Continental Army near collapse (3000-5000 effective soldiers left)

• Many enlistments expire december 31

• British have established winter positions in outposts around the colonies

• Congress flees philadelphia and relocates for safety

• Washington plans an offensive to restore morale

What was washington’s winter offensive?

The Trenton Campaign is planned to boost morale

Timeline of the Trenton Campaign and its results

All this happens in like a week, starting on Christmas 1776

• Washington and troops cross the delaware under the cover of christmas night

• Dec 26: Battle of trenton: 1000 british troops captured

• Jan 2: Second battle of trenton: british try to counterattack, americans repel them successfully

• Jan 3: Battle of Princeton; 1200 british troops defeated

Campaign succeeds in restoring morale and encourages reenlistments

Memory tip: fighting rarely happened in the winter because of how cold it was, so british were surprised by the battle of trenton. They especially didnt expect the americans to come back and do it again a week later at the battle of princeton

What was the british strategy throughout this war?

To control the Hudson River, cutting off New England from the other colonies. British believed correctly that was where the rebellion was centered

Timeline of the Saratoga Campaign

The british, trying to take the Hudson, march south from Canada with ~7000 troops

• Sept 19 1777: Battle of Freemans Farm

  • Due to failure of communication, General Burgonye doesn’t recieve expected support, and fights with fewer than expected troops. British suffer casualties

• Oct 7: Battle of Bemis heights

  • Americans break british lines

• Oct 17: Burgonye surrenders at Saratoga

Impact of the successful Saratoga Campaign

French are now convinced that the Americans have a chance at victory. Leads directly to a French alliance, turning this war global.

The Philadelphia Campaign: timeline

Simultaneously with the Saratoga Campaign

British troops that were supposed to help the Saratoga troops decided to take Philadelphia instead

• Sept 11: battle of Brandywine (15k british vs 14.5k americans, brits win)

• Sept 26: British take philadelphia

• Oct 4: Washington attacks British at Germantown, it fails

• Continental army withdraws

Showed that even when evenly matched in number, british troops were just superior to colonial troops

What did the philadelphia campaign show?

Showed that even when evenly matched in number, british troops were just superior to colonial troops

After the failure at philadelphia, where does the continental army go? How are the british faring?

Continental army retreats to valley forge

British continue to hold philadelphia (and presumably, new york)

How are conditions at valley forge? What else happens?

• ~2000 continental army soldiers die due to supply shortages and disease at the camp

• Feb-March 1778: Prussian officer Baron von Steuben trains the continental army soldiers, making them a more effective group

• Now, the army is a more effective force, but still at a strategic disadvantage (british hold key cities)

How does France help america?

• Feb 6 1778: officially sign treaty of alliance

• Recognize US as an independent state

• Commits navy and military support

• Causes british to evacuate philadelphia (if the french do a blockade it becomes indefensible)

The war goes globaaalllll (who enters?)

3 european states enter

• 1778: France

• 1779: Spain

• 1780: Dutch

The war goes globaaalllll (what are the theaters now? What does this mean for Britain?)

Now the british have to fight in:

• Carribean

• Mediterrenean

• Atlantic

• India

Now the british are forced to fight a multi-front imperial war

What happens as the british leave philadelphia? What is the war looking like now?

Washington pursues them on their way to New Jersey, trying to force a conflict

• Conflict occurs at the Battle of Monmouth

  • 1000 soldiers do die from 100 degree heat

  • they do snatch a stalemate from the jaws of defeat

Now the british and americans are in a stalemate. The British start looking to the south…

The british are in a stalemate. What do they do?

They attempt to garner loyalist support in the south

• British capture savannah, georgia

• Charleston (south’s main port) is captured by brits (5000 troops captured, largest in the whole war)

What amount of colonists were loyalists? Where were they concentrated?

15-20% were loyalists

They were mainly in:

• New York

• Georgia

• Carolina backcountry

What is the result of british attempts to garner support in the south?

British raise 50 loyalist regiments, totally ~20,000 soldiers

Loyalists fight the other colonists along the countryside

At the end of the revolution, 60,000 loyalists leave america

idk just the slide The Southern War Turns

• 1780: Camden (major american defeat)

Militia war now spreads across the carolinas

• 1780: King’s Mountain (Loyalist force is defeated)

• 1781: Cowpens (major american victory)

• 1781: Guilford Courthouse (Brits win but suffer heavy casualties. Cornwallis marches to Virginia, leading to the final campaign of the war)

How is the final siege of yorktown set up?

• Cornwallis, after Guilford Courthouse, moves his army into yorktown virginia, expecting british naval aid

• Washington and Rochambeau march south from NY

• French fleet defeats british at sea (stopping cornwallis’ expected support)

British are now trapped at yorktown

Siege of yorktown:

How many troops?

Timeline?

Starts on Sept 28 1781

17,000 Americans/French vs 7,000 british

Night, Oct 14: Americans and french capture british redoubts 9 and 10, letting them close in further on the british

Oct 19: Cornwallis recognizes that he cannot win and opens negotiations

Ends with 7,000 british captured, biggest number for the british in the entire war

Did the American Revolution end at Yorktown?

No, fighting technically went on for 2 more years. However, the British had no capability to continue large-scale military operations after Yorktown, so the brunt of it was over.

What actually ended the war?

The fractured political situation in britain truly ended the war, not Yorktown alone.

Were all the british on board with the war?

No, there was an anti-war movement from the beginning.

Many saw that attempts to control the colonies was what led to this in the first place, and that trying to suppress them further would be costly and dangerous.

What caused the political fracture in britain that ended the war?

• Parliament was divided over the war since 1775

• Oct 1781: London receives news of the British defeat at Yorktown

• March 1782: Prime Minister Lord North’s government (who’d been directing the war) loses support in parliament and collapses

After that, parliament votes to end the war

Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation

Nov 1775

Promises freedom to enslaved men who joined British forces.

How many enslaved people fled during the war?

Tens of thousands

What was black involvement in the war like? And after the war?

• Black soldiers served on both sides (1st rhode island regiment had many black soldiers, especially)

• After the war, ~20,000 black loyalists left

What did women do during the war?

Many stayed behind to maintain farms, businesses, households

Some fought directly (ex. Mary Silliman)

Some supported the war effort (Supply production, nursing, camp labor)

What effect did the war have on women?

Expanded their economic responsibilities

5 main reasons Americans won the war?

1. French alliance (1778)

2. War goes global (France, Spain, Dutch join)

3. Continental army manages to survive early defeats

4. British fail to mobilize loyalists effectively

5. British political support back home collapses