8.1 Declaring Independence (pt. 1)

pp. 214-216

Objective:

1. List some advantages and disadvantages of both the Continental and British armies.

A. The Continental Army (Tree Map)

Continental (American) Army

Advantages Disadvantages

They knew the countryside

Motivated by the cause of freedom

George Washington’s leadership

Lacked discipline and training

Low enlistment rates

Irregular pay

Shortages of food and clothingTextbook page 215

B. The British Army (Tree Map)

British Army

Advantages Disadvantages

50,000 well-trained soldiers

The world’s most powerful navy

Hessians—hired German soldiers

Far from home—long supply lines

Unfamiliar with the territory

Fighting an army hiding in the wilderness

Textbook page 215

The Opposing Armies

C. The Green Mountain Boys (pp. 215-216)1. The colonists besieging the

British redcoats in Boston had no true siege weapons like cannons.

2. In May 1775, Ethan Allen led the Green Mountain Boys in an attack on Fort Ticonderoga, a British outpost along New York’s Lake Champlain.

3. The victory gave the rebels a valuable supply of ammunition and 50 cannons.

4. They later tied the cannons to sleds and dragged them by oxen about 200 miles to Boston.

D. Preparing for Battle (p. 216)1. After the battles at Lexington

and Concord, militia from all parts of New England began to surround Boston.

2. British General Thomas Gage aimed to drive them away.

3. But before he could, colonial troops marched to Breed’s Hill and nearby Bunker Hill, where they dug trenches and prepared to defend their position.

E. The Battle of Bunker Hill (pp. 216-217)

1. To preserve their ammunition, American commanders gave the order, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!”

2. Americans soon ran out of gunpowder and were forced to retreat.

3. Although the misnamed Battle of Bunker Hill was a military victory for the British, it was a moral victory for the Americans because an untrained militia had stood up to the British army.

Review:1. List some advantages of the Continental

Army.2. List some disadvantages of the

Continental Army.3. List some advantages of the British army.4. List some disadvantages of the British

army.5. Explain how the Battle of Bunker Hill was

both a defeat and a victory for the American forces.