The American Revolution

1
The American Revolution

• 1776-1783

2
The Opposing Sides

• During the Revolutionary War, the Patriot army
  faced several obstacles
• Britain had a larger population (8 million vs 2.5
  million)
• Britain had the worlds best navy, and one of the
  best armies
• The Colonists did not have a regular army or
  navy, just militias, which were volunteer armies
• Not all colonists supported the war.
• Some were neutral, some were opposed to fighting,
  and some were loyal to Britain
• Loyalists, or Tories, supported Britain for many
  reasons
• Some were members of the Anglican Church
• Some were employed by the British
• Some feared the changes that a new government
  would bring
• Some slaves were promised their freedom if they
  fought for Britain

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The British Navy
4
The Opposing Sides

• Patriots had some advantages over the British
  troops
• They fought on their own ground, not 3,000 miles
  from home
• They had a personal stake in fighting to protect
  the freedom of their own land
• The British hired mercenaries, or soldiers for
  hire
• These troops had no stake in fighting, other than
  making money
• Loyalists, or colonists who remained loyal to
  Great Britain, either left the colonies, or were
  sent to Florida
• The South was home the most Loyalists, but many
  retreated to Canada or the Caribbean

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Revolutionary Propaganda
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Early Battles in New York

• The British thought that the war would not last
  long because they outnumbered the colonists
• The British sent 32,000 troops to fight in the
  colonies
• The British also employed Hessians, or German
  mercenaries, which deeply offended the colonists
• The British defeated the Continental Army at the
  Battle of Long Island
• A man named Nathan Hale who was living in Long
  Island disguised himself as a Dutch
  schoolteacher, and spied on the British
• He was discovered by the British and hanged
• The colonists ran out of supplies and the size of
  the army began to shrink.
• Many soldiers signed up for a one year term, and
  did not re-enlist after their term was up
• other soldiers would run away

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Patriot Armies in New York
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Battle Plans

• The Patriot armies were short of soldiers, so
  they started a plan to enlist Black soldiers
• By the year 1778 every state except South
  Carolina had Black soldiers
• Rhode Island had an entire regiment of Black
  soldiers
• George Washington led the Patriot army to
  victories against Hessian mercenaries at Trenton
  and Princeton New Jersey
• He won the Battle of Trenton by crossing the
  Delaware river at night, and attacking on the day
  after Christmas , when the attack was least
  expected
• The Battle of Trenton was a turning point in the
  war because Washington had defeated the Hessians
  so badly, people had confidence in the Patriot
  army again and joined again
• Other Americans helped in the war effort
• John Paul Jones was an American Naval Officer
• He led raids on British ports and shipping which
  damaged British Supplies
• George Rogers Clark was a lieutenant colonel from
  Virginia
• He captured the British fort of Kaskaskia in
  present day Illinois and the British town of
  Vincennes in present day Indiana

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Washington Crossing the Delaware River before
attacking Trenton
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Valley Forge

• By the winter of 1777, the Patriot army had lost
  the momentum of their early victories
• They had been defeated at Brandywine and
  Germantown, and the British Army had occupied the
  city of Philadelphia
• Washington decided that his army would camp at
  Valley Forge, PA through the winter and attack
  the British in the spring
• The conditions at Valley Forge were horrible the
  army did not have enough food, clothing or
  shelter
• Of the 10,000 men who marched into Valley Forge
  only 7,500 marched out alive

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Washington and his men at Valley Forge
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Revolutionary Allies

• Around the time of Valley Forge, the political
  scene in Europe was shifting
• Britain began a war with France and Spain, and
  both countries started to aid the Patriots, in
  order to embarrass the British
• France agreed to give much needed money, supplies
  and ammunition to the Patriot army
• A Frenchman named Marquis de Lafayette spent the
  winter at Valley Forge with Washington and the
  troops
• Other Europeans also assisted the Colonies
• A Polish man named Casimir Pulaski died fighting
  with the patriot army
• A Prussian man named Friedrich von Steuben helped
  Washington re-train his troops in Valley Forge
• A Spanish man named Juan de Miralles convinced
  the governments of Cuba, Spain and Mexico to lend
  money to the Colonists

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Lafayette, Pulaski and von Steuben
14
The Southern Front

• By 1778 the British had given up all hope for
  retaking the Northern and Middle colonies, and
  focused all their power on taking the South
• The British, led by General Charles Cornwallis,
  took Savannah, GA and Charlestown, SC
• This gave Britain a launching point for the
  invasion of North Carolina
• The British marched through North Carolina, and
  achieved victory, but at a large cost
• This was because the patriots practiced guerrilla
  warfare, or a hit and run technique which uses
  small bands of warriors and sudden ambushes
• Cornwallis eventually invaded Virginia, and
  nearly captured Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia
  Legislature
• Cornwallis camped his men at Yorktown, Virginia
  and awaited an attack from Washingtons army

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The Battle of Savannah
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Yorktown

• Washington and his army met up with a French Army
  near New York, and prepared to assault Cornwallis
  at Yorktown
• The French had cut off Cornwallis supply lines,
  which meant that the British could not survive a
  long battle
• Washingtons army and the French army attacked
  Cornwallis at Yorktown bombarding the city with
  cannon fire
• The fighting went on for eight days
• Cornwallis realized he could not win, or escape
  so he surrendered
• Cornwallis did not show up to the surrender
  ceremonies, and his men tried to surrender to the
  French, but the French commander forced them to
  surrender to Washington

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The Surrender at Yorktown
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Independence

• Yorktown was not the last battle of the
  Revolutionary War, but it ruined Britains hopes
  of ever winning
• Britain was also waging a war against France and
  Spain, and were fighting in India as well
• Public sentiment turned against the war, and
  Parliament voted to stop fighting the Americans
• The Treaty of Paris of 1783 was signed which did
  the following
• Britain recognized the United States as an
  independent nation and withdrew all troops
• The US territory extended from the Atlantic Ocean
  to the Mississippi River
• George Washington resigned as the commander of
  the army and retired to his home in Mount Vernon,
  VA

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Washingtons Home in Mount Vernon
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Did You Know

• The story of Washington cutting down the cherry
  tree was made up by an author named Parson Weems
• Washington did not have wooden teeth, as legend
  states, but he did use dentures.
• He owned dentures that were made out of lead, elk
  teeth, hippo teeth, and even human teeth
• Washington was a slave owner, but he did not
  treat his slaves harshly.
• He would not sell any of his slaves because he
  did not want to break up their families.
• He also included a provision in his will that
  when his wife died, all of his slaves were to be
  set free
• Some see this as proof that Washington was
  anti-slavery, however others argue that if he was
  anti-slavery he would have freed them earlier