T-W10/1-2/13; F10/7/11; F10/3/08

American Revolution: Course of the War

(Ch. 6.1 & 6.2; pp. ???)

Q: What strategy did each side (British & American colonists) use to fight the war? How did each fare?

I. War in NorthA. New England, 1775-76– heavy Patriot support– began in NE– Britain wants to punish & end war quickly– British strategy: traditional fighting; conquer cities• Lexington & Concord• Bunker Hill → Boston

– British leave Boston by summer 1776

I. War in North (cont.)

B. Middle, 1776-78 1. NYC - Long Island – Aug. 1776– traditional fighting – Br. wins– Continental Army: inexperienced, undisciplined– GW retreats

2. Princeton/Trenton – Dec. 1776; Jan. 1777– surprise attack • Christmas day• non-traditional

– guerilla warfare– morale boost

I. War in North (cont.)

B. Middle, 1776-78 3. Saratoga – Oct. 1777– traditional style–American victory• French support – financial, military, diplomatic

–Why important? – turning point of war

II. Major Issues 4. Foreign Help–Marquis de Lafayette – French–Baron Freidrich von Steuben – German (Prussian)• Feb. ’78 – discipline @ Valley Forge

– Thaddeus Kosciuszko & Casimir Pulaski – Polish–War on Continent• move troops from America to prevent attacks in Europe

II. War in West, 1776-79• NA’s vs. Amer. Colonists – Joseph Brant (NA)– George Rogers Clark (US)

• Vincennes• Frontier fighting – brutal– guerilla warfare

III. War in South, 1778-81A. Loyalists?–wealthy, urban–freed slaves • Br. promised freedom• later sent to Nova Scotia after war

B. Cornwallis–traditional fighting–won many battles

III. War in South (cont.)

C. Francis Marion– guerilla fighting– dominated rural areas– Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) in Patriot • loosely based

D. Yorktown– Cornwallis– Traditional battle–Amer. Victory w/ French support– Effectively ends war

IV. Peace of Paris - 1783• began in June 1782 • all land east of MS river–except FL & Canada –already 20,000 settlers west of Appalachian –beat NA’s in west during Rev.

• FL: Spain –border dispute until Pinckney’s Treaty 1795

• Canada remains British• Compensate Loyalists for lost property

V. Impact of Rev. WarA. Two big questions unresolved by war:– 1. freedom?

• What kind of society would America be? (slave, free?)

– 2. gov’t? • Where would power lie in gov’t? (central, states?)

B. Damage to US– 5% of adult white males (16-45 years old) died in

war – equivalent to 12.5M people in 2000 census!!!– Loyalists leave

• about 1 in 6 Loyalists left • approximately 65-70K plus several thousand black

Loyalists