Decis ive Southern victor ies

Cornwall is’s Surrender

The Treaty of Paris

Lesson 24:

1780-1783

The British were losing their grip on the colonies, and they decided to begin a new offensive in the South.

The British wanted to use their navy and Loyalist support in the

South to win victories.

The Americans were defeated and lost the cities of Savannah

and Charles Town.

Thousands of American soldiers were captured at Charles Town.

General Charles Cornwallis was left to command the British

troops in the South.

As the British tried to spread out to control the South, they

met small bands of soldiers who would ambush them.

The Patriots would attack and then disappear to regroup and

attack suddenly again.

This type of fighting, using hit-and-run tactics is known as

guerilla warfare.

Francis Marion was the leader of one of these groups. He

fought in the swamps of South Carolina and became known as

the “Swamp Fox.”

The Spanish governor of Louisiana loaned money and weapons to the

Patriots.

In 1779, Spain declared war on Britain. The Spanish formed an army and fought

the British on the lower Mississippi River.

Nathaniel Greene was the commander of American

troops in the South.

Greene divided his army in half, and won a victory at Cowpens, South Carolina.

After reassembling the army, Greene fought the British at

Guilford Courthouse in South Carolina.

The British won tactically, but the Americans won strategically. The British

suffered heavy losses.

Cornwallis knew if he didn’t do something soon, the French would

show up to help the Americans.

More troops and supplies were also headed South.

Cornwallis moved into Virginia, and almost managed to capture Thomas

Jefferson and the Virginia legislature.

Washington sent troops under Lafayette and General Anthony

Wayne to meet Cornwallis.

Cornwallis set up his army at Yorktown, Virginia, and waited for

new orders.

In July of 1780, French troops arrived under the command of

Comte de Rochambeau.

These troops were accompanied by a French fleet sent to help the

Americans.

The British Navy also sent more ships and trapped the French ships

in Rhode Island.

General Washington was watching General Clinton in New York City, and also kept an eye on General Cornwallis in Yorktown, Virginia.

Washington learned that another French fleet led by Francois de Grasse was headed to

Virginia.

Washington decided to leave General Clinton alone in New York City and instead attack

General Cornwallis in Virginia.

General Rochambeau had linked up his troops with Washington, and both would head to

Yorktown secretly.

Washington and Rochambeau, Lafayette, and de Grasse’s forces would all meet up at

Yorktown.

The allied American and French forces numbered 14,000.

They trapped Cornwallis and his 8,000 men inside of Yorktown.

The French fleet under de Grasse made sure the British did not escape by sea.

The French and the Americans fired cannons into Yorktown, bombing the city.

After holding out for about a week, Cornwallis was short on supplies and men,

and was forced to surrender.

The French band played “Yankee Doodle” at the surrender ceremony, while the

British band played “The World Turned Upside Down.”

After Yorktown, the British realized it would be too costly

to win the war.

Both the British and the Americans sent delegates to

Paris to discuss peace.

Ben Franklin, John Jay, and John Adams went to Paris to agree on the Treaty of Paris.

The Congress ratified the treaty on September 3, 1783,

officially ending the war.

The Treaty of Paris recognized the United

States as an independent nation.

The British agreed to remove their troops

from the U.S., and allow Americans to fish in the

waters of Canada.

The U.S. agreed to let the British collect debts

owed to them and to ensure Loyalists were

given back any property taken from them.

After the fighting stopped, General Washington had to turn his leadership toward keeping his men happy.

The men were upset about not being paid yet for fighting. They wanted to use force on the Congress, but General Washington managed to keep them calm.

Soon after he resigned from the army, and planned to return home.

The Americans had managed to defeat the most powerful military in the world.

They fought on their own land, which gave them a place to stay, supplies, and the strength to defend their homes.

Their knowledge of their lands allowed them to set up ambushes and choose the best places to fight.

The fact that other nations were willing to help the Americans led to their eventual victory.

The ideas of the Americans involving

liberty and the rights of man would

influence the French.

The French Revolution began in 1789. The French

believed in the same ideas as the

Americans.