The American Revolution

Chapter 6 Notes

The First Blow for Liberty

May 1774

• May 17, 1774British Thomas Gage takes command of His Majesty’s troop and becomes the governor of Massachusetts

• Gage was in Boston to enforce the Coercive Acts

• Militias in New England began to drill

March 23, 1775Patrick Henry’s Virginia House of Burgesses

Speech

“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

April 19, 1775Battle of Lexington and Concord

• In early April General Thomas Gage received orders from Britain to crush the rebellion before it got out of hand and to arrest its leaders.

• The “shot heard ‘round the world”

June 16, 1775Battle of Bunker Hill

Battle of Bunker (& Breed’s) Hill

• 1,200 militiamen under Colonel William Prescott– “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes.”

• Costly British victory – more than 1,000 dead and wounded.– “A dear bought victory, another such would have

ruined us.” –British Officer

May 10- July 1775Second Continental Congress meets and issues

the Olive Branch Petition

August 1775George Washington takes command

As word of Lexington and Concord reached Virginia, Washington prepared to leave for the meeting of the Second Continental Congress.Unsure of what would happen next the 43 year old planter packed his old red and blue uniform he had worn fighting under General Braddock in the French and Indian War.Is was a wise decision!Congress elected Washington to lead the new Continental Army as Commander-in-Chief.

January 10, 1776Thomas Paine’s Common Sense

July 4, 1776Declaration of Independence

The committee of five presented the Declaration of Independence to the second Continental Congress on July 2nd.

The Second Continental Congress voted to accept the Declaration of Independence on July 4th

Training of the Army

When Washington arrived in Massachusetts to take command of the army he found 14,500 men camping like hobos around Boston.He stated they “regarded an officer as no more than a broomstick”

Washington had to attack the discipline problem with his troops first!

The British vs. the Patriots

British Advantages•Most powerful Army and

Navy in the World•Military Supplies

•Wealth

Disadvantages•Slow and cost to move

supplies and troops•Hessians - mercenaries

•Size of territory to conquer

Patriot Advantages•Will to Fight

•Fighting on home ground•Washington and others

Disadvantages•Began war with no navy

or army•Shortage of weapons,

money, supplies and men

March 4, 1776

The city of Boston is surrounded by Patriots so the British soldiers rather than risk a bombardment decide to evacuate the two.

Two weeks later the entire British army along with 1,000 loyalists leave for Canada.

Patriots now turned against anyone suspected of siding with Britain: pelted with eggs, tar and feathered, and forced on their knees

Summer of 1776Battle of Long Island

British landed 32,000 soldiers on Staten Island led by General William Howe

Washington’s 19,000 ill-trained soldiers were no match for the British and the Hessians

Teacher Nathan Hale was captured and hung as a spy – “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”

The Continental Army was driven through New Jersey and into Pennsylvania

As the weather turned cold and early hopes faded, the Army melted away to only 3,000

Why was the number of Continental troops dwindling?

Heroes of the RevolutionPeter Salem & Lemuel Hayes

Why was there a reluctance to enlist African Americans? Who was reluctant?

December 24, 1776George Washington reads Thomas Paine’s Common

Sense to troops

Washington knew that he had to do something quickly or the revolution would fall apart.

On December 23, 1776, he gathered his remaining troops together for a reading of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense

The words inspired the troops and Washington revealed a plan to attack the British and Hessians at their winter camp

December 25, 1776 George Washington leads troops across the

Delaware River While the Hessians were celebrating Christmas with drinking and eating Washington led his troops during the late night across the Delaware in small boats and then by foot on icy dark roads toward Trenton

December 26, 1776The Battle of Trenton

The Hessians awoke to find themselves under attack and after a brief and confused battle surrendered

Washington stated “This is a glorious day for our country!”

Washington pushed the British troops out of Princeton.

Early 1777Britain plan to win the war

The British would take Albany, New York and gain control of the Hudson River to cut the New England colonies off from the Middle Colonies

General William Howe would lead his troops upriver from New York City

General John Burgoyne would lead 8,000 troops south from CanadaTo capture the upper part of the Hudson River

Colonel Barry St. Leger would move west from Lake Ontario

September 1777General Howe Captures the Continental Capital at

Philadelphia

• Howe did not know about the plan until it was to late.

• Howe captured the city and forced the Continental Congress to flee

October 1777Battle of Saratoga

• By the time General Burgoyne reached the Hudson River the British were outnumbered three to one

• On October 17th he surrendered to the Patriots

• The effects of the American Victory were enormous

The Patriots Gain AlliesNovember 1777

• Until the victory at Saratoga France had remained officially neutral

• Because they hated the British and to stop them from being powerful, France (1777) and Spain (1779) became allies with the colonies

December 1777Washington’s troops suffer cold and starvation at Valley Forge

After trying to dislodge Howe from Philadelphia,The capital Washington retired with his army for the winter to Valley Forge, PA

Men lacked food, shelter, clothing and shoes due to profiteering

But even with a large amount of deserts the army made it through the winter

Washington’s Valley Forge Prayer

Contributions of minorities in the war

• Women: served as soldiers, nurses, spies, and cooks

• African Americans fought for American independence with the hope of ending slavery

• Native American groups choose in most cases to side with the British

Early 1779General Cornwallis controlled most of

Georgia and the Carolinas

1779-1781Patriot warfare in the south

• General Nathanael Greene was sent by Washington to slow the British advance in the south

• Rather than risk losing his outnumbered force in large battles, he harassed the British in a series of hit and run attacks

• Guerrilla Warfare

Summer of 1781

• Cornwallis moves his army to Yorktown, Virginia• Washington waits for French war ships outside of

New York City• British General Clinton controls New York City

July- August 1781

• Washington learns that the French navy is headed toward Chesapeake Bay instead of New York

• Washington changed his plan to advance on the British at Yorktown

• Washington and Rochambeau join armies and move in secret

• Washington marched 200 miles in 15 days

• They would trap Cornwallis army

September-October 1781

• Washington’s plan worked• 14,000 American and French troops had trapped Cornwallis’s

7,500 British and Hessian troops while De Grasse’s fleet kept him from escaping

• On October 9th the Americans began to bombard the British.• The British ran low on supplies while many were sick or

wounded.• Cornwallis realized his situation and surrendered on October

19th

September 3, 1783Treaty of Paris

•The battle of Yorktown did not end the war, there were a few more clashes on land and sea.•But the British realized the war was to costly to continue.•Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay represented the colonies at the writing of the Treaty of Paris.•The Treaty was ratified on September 3, 1783 and the United States was independent of Britain!•The U.S. received all land east of the Mississippi River between Florida and Canada. •The United States in turn, agreed to return property confiscated from loyalists during the war and allow British merchants to collect their debts.

Washington’s Farewell

• The Newburgh Conspiracy: Payment to soldiers

• December 4th Washington says his farewells and returns home to Mt. Vernon in time for Christmas

• But he would not stay in retirement!

Why the Americans won!

• They fought on their own ground!

• The Battle of Yorktown

• Ambushes and guerrilla warfare

• Help from France and Spain

• Most Important: Spirit of the Patriots and the Revolution!