A Civil War Among Colonists to The Revolutionary War in the West

A Civil War Among Colonists

• colonists divided   * a/b 15-20% actively loyalist   * many more undecided
• local communities tended to lean one direction   * loyalism strongest in areas under british occupation   * local patriot committees and militias pressured wavering and sympathizers
• brutal partisan civil war, especially in…   * new jersey   * new york   * carolinas   * western frontier areas

Surrender at Yorktown, 1781

• continental army with french allies cuts off british forces on peninsula
• french navy blocks escape
• surrender October 19, 1781 effectively ends war in the east

The Revolutionary War in the West

• ongoing regional warfare, 1754-1790s   * revolutionary war further split western communities, both native and colonial   * bloodiest theater per capita
• many native nations divided on best course   * ex: haudenosauness (iroquois league):     * large factions among seneca, mohawk, cayuga, onondaga backed the british     * oneida and tuscarora leaned towards patriots
• british and allies had the advantage in the west   * haudenosaunee factions   * Ohio confederacy (shawnee, Delaware, Miami, mingo)   * catawba, chickasaws, choctaws, Cherokees

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