Unit 2 part 2 American Revolution “The End of the War”

The Battle of Monmouth 1779 In 1779, Washington and the Continental Army had the British on the run and chased them across New Jersey. They caught up with the British near the town of Monmouth and attacked. General Charles Lee, Washington’s second-in-command, was in charge of leading the assault on the British rear guard. When British reinforcements arrived, Lee ordered a retreat. Washington charged forward to halt the retreat. By the end of the day, the British were pulling back.

Battle of Monmouth, NJ 1779

Washington at Monmouth

The War Moves South Having failed in the Northern states, Britain moved the war to the South. The patriot cause was kept alive by guerilla fighters like Francis Marion, the famous “swamp fox”. Marion’s guerillas repeatedly attacked the British, then faded like ghosts into tidewater swamps. They terrorized Loyalist militia and kept the British busy protecting supply lines. Guerillas: soldiers who are not part of the regular army who make hit and run attacks.

Francis Marion aka “Swamp Fox”

Questions Why did the War move south? What are guerillas? How did they use their surroundings to their advantage? Give examples

1780 Washington sent his best commander, General Nathaniel Greene, to the South to slow the British advance. The troops, under General Greene, exhausted General Cornwallis and the British army.

War in the South 1780 General Nathaniel Greene General Cornwallis

Question What strategy did General Greene use to exhaust the British? Did it work? How do you know?

War in the West Americans led by George Rogers Clark seized control of the Ohio Valley. Clark planned to drive the British out of the Ohio River Valley and the Great Lakes region. By 1779 Americans controlled the Ohio River Valley.

George Rogers Clark

Help from Spain In 1779, Bernardo de Galvez, the Gov. of Spanish Louisiana pulled together a force from Spain, Mexico, and the Caribbean. This force drove British troops from their forts along the Mississippi River. 1781; Galvez organized a much larger army and attacked the British in Pensacola, Florida. 2,500 British soldiers were trapped. They could not come to the aid of Cornwallis.

Bernardo de Galvez

Question How did Bernardo de Galvez help the American cause against the British? What did he do?

The War Ends October 1781: American and French troops trapped Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. The British surrendered. The war was over.

Battle of Yorktown Map

Battle of Yorktown Map

Cornwallis’s Surrender at Yorktown

Battle of Yorktown

Question How did American and French troops trap Cornwallis and the British at Yorktown?

Treaty of Paris Early in 1783, the British and Americans signed a peace treaty in Paris, France. Britain recognized the United States as an independent nation. Granted the U.S. all lands from the Atlantic Coast to the Mississippi River, and from Florida to Canada.

United States 1783

United States 1783