20230223 Notes.docx

Revolutionary War - HIST 1050

• General John Burgoyne
  • Move from Montreal to Albany to meet General William Howe to cut off the north and south colonies
• General Barry St. Leger
  • Lake Ontario to meet up with General Burgoyne and the other generals to assist
• Battle of Bennington
  • The siege of a supply depot held by the Revolutionaries
• Lieutenant Colonel Friedrich Baum
  • Leader of the men for the charge of Bennington
  • Fatally wounded trying to escape
• Brigadier General John Stark
  • Leader of the militia defending Bennington
  • Sent spies into the British forts and helped with information, able to enshroud the red coats
  • Colonel Seth Warner & Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Safford were leaders for troops also surrounding the red coats of Burgoyne
• Lieutenant Colonel Heinrich von Breymann
  • Leader of the German reinforcements for the red coats
• Lieutenant General William Howe & Admiral Richard Howe were trying to enshroud General Washington since he couldn’t lure him out
• Lieutenant General Baron Wilhelm Knyphausen & Major General Charles Cornwallis
  • Lead the 2 Battalions of British troops, first Revolutionaries would distract the river and the other would ambush from behind
• Birmingham Hill
  • The ambush would be found out and would be caught, and the revolutionaries would be met at this hill
  • The revolutionaries would be forced to retreat
  • Nathanael Greene, leader of the retreating forces, held up in Brandywine
  • Later would be called the Battle of Brandywine
• General John Burgoyne
  • Ran into General Horatio Gates while retreating, leading to a win for the revolutionaries
  • Would be called the First Battle of Saratoga/Battle of Freeman’s Farm
  • Reinforcements he called for wouldn’t be seen for Gates and would later be caught up with
• Colonel Daniel Morgan
• Second Battle of Saratoga/Battle of Bemis Heights
  • Helped convince the French to join the revolutionaries’ sides after the British were forced to retreat
• Philadelphia
  • Owned by British at this time, and wanted by the colonists
• George Washington
  • Plan to take Germantown and cutoff supplies to Philadelphia to retake it over time
• Battle of Germantown
  • A resounding loss for the revolutionaries, through bad planning and weather, lead by many misfiring’s and unlucky interventions like the stone house filled with British troops
• Delaware River
  • Mode of transport to allow the British supplies in their recently taken Philadelphia, however this was known by the colonists
  • Fort Mifflin & Fort Mercer were made along the river to help stop the supplying of Philadelphia from the British navy
• Colonel Carl Von Donop
  • Leader of Hessian mercenaries to attack Fort Mercer
  • Called the Battle of Red Banks, which was a resounding revolutionaries win
• Major Simeon Thayer
  • Under besiege by around 100 cannons on many British Navy ships, he decided to leave the fort and burn it down while fleeing to Fort Mercer across the Delaware
• Articles of Confederation
  • Weak central govt, with most power held in the states
• Constitutional Convention
  • Replacing the articles with a stronger federal government, our constitution today
• General William Irvine
  • Ordered to skirmish with the advance parties of General Howe by Washington, and was caught shortly and the militia was forced to retreat
  • The skirmishes were called the Battle of White Marsh
• Valley Forge
  • Site of a minor skirmish, but made a good site in the winter according to Washington
  • 1500-2000 Log Huts that would house 12k soldiers and 400 women and children that accompanied the Army
• Friederich Wilhelm Von Steuben
  • Prussian Advisor arrived and Washington noted that he was a prime example of military strategy (what the continental army needed)
  • Appointed inspector general of the camp and moved latrines and increased sanitation
  • Also trained the troops into a more disciplined and well-trained army
  • Did all of this while speaking very little English, and introduced a blue book (idea of training and regulating the militia)
• Committee of Secret Correspondence
  • Quietly inquire with other countries to see if other countries would assist the Americans in the revolutionary war
  • French gave money and equipment
  • Later renamed Committee of Foreign Affairs
• Benjamin Franklin
  • Would be sent to France to help dissuade the French to join the Revolutionary War
  • He would later sign with the French the Treaty of Amity and Commerce & the Treaty of Alliance
  • Treaty of Amity and Commerce increased trading with the revolutionaries and announced America as its own country
  • Treaty of Alliance would do peace talks with France and America and mutual defense (basically declaring war on the British)
• General William Howe was replaced by Lieutenant General Henry Clinton
  • Clinton led the British out of Philadelphia into NY with the continental army in pursuit
• Charles Lee
  • Advanced guard engaged the remaining British troops left by Clinton in Monmouth
• Lord Charles Cornwallis fought them in the rear and eventually forced Lee to retreat
• Molly Pitcher/Mary Ludwig Hays McCauly comes from the Battle of Monmouth/ Battle of Monmouth Court House (the British and
  • Bringing water to drink and to cool off cannons, and eventually helped with cannons
• Brigadier General John Sullivan
  • Planned to recapture Rhode Island
  • Colonel John Laurens sent as a messenger to tell Marquis de Lafayette, a Frenchmen who sided with the Revolutionaries before the Treaties with France
• Comte d’Estaing
• General Sir Robert Pigot
  • Leader of the British in Rhode Island
• Admiral Sir Richard Howe
  • Leader of the British Fleet
• Siege or Battle of Newport/Battle of Quaker Hill
  • Before retreating, the colonists and British fought here
• 1st Rhode Island Infantry Regiment
  • Part of the continental army, which included African American components and European
  • Recruit slaves, and if they joined, they would be freed
• Lieutenant General Henry Clinton
  • British leader who targeted Savannah Georgia who would be backed up by Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell
• Major General Robert Howe
  • Revolutionary defender of Savanah Georgia
• Savannah, Georgia
  • Very swampy, hoped it would help prevent the British from coming, however a slave helped the British get through the Swamp and were able to take it
• Battle of Kettle Creek
  • Revolutionaries fought back for Savannah from the British, surrounding them and winning the battle, capturing many supplies and horses
  • Showed the British that there were more loyalists in the south, however they weren’t going to receive overall support in the region
  • Campbell pulled out because he felt it was a lost cause due to being outnumbered
• Battle of Brier Creek
  • British abandoned Augusta Georgia, but was able to keep Savannah by destroying a bridge during retreat
• Charleston, South Carolina
  • Next British target because it’s an important port
• Major General Benjamin Lincoln
  • Leader of the Colonial Army
• Brigadier General Augustine Prevost
  • Leader of the British
• Lieutenant Colonel John Maitland
  • In charge of the protection of the crossing of the Stono river
• King Charles of Spain
  • Declared war on England, because of persuasion from France
  • Didn’t support the American cause because of worries of upheaval in their own colonies
  • Wanted to reclaim Gibraltar, but regained Florida
• General George Washington sent General John Sullivan to battle
  • Goal was to destroy towns and camps of the Iroquois Confederacy, who were allied with the British
  • Became known as the Battle of Newtown, which was mostly a win for the Continental Army because it ruined morale for the Brits and Iroquois
• Siege of Savannah
  • French and American forces failed to retake Savannah