8.4 The Colonies at War (pt. 2) pp. 227-230

Objectives: Explain how the American victory at Saratoga was a turning point. Describe the American ordeal at Valley Forge.

Review 1. List three advantages of the Continental Army. 2. List three disadvantages of the Continental Army. 3. List three advantages of the British Army. 4. Define Hessians— 5. List three disadvantages of the British Army. 6. Who was the leader of the Green Mountain Boys? 7. Where did Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys capture a valuable supply of ammunition and 50 cannons? 8. What famous order did an American officer at Bunker Hill give his soldiers and why? 9. On what hill was the Battle of Bunker Hill actually fought?

Review: 10. Who wrote the pamphlet Common Sense? 11. Who introduced a resolution on June 7, 1776, to declare independence from Great Britain? 12. Who was the chief author of the Declaration of Independence? 13. On what day did the Continental Congress officially approve the Declaration of Independence? 14. Who signed the document in large, bold letters? 15. What 3 basic rights are listed in the second section of the Declaration? 16. Define Loyalists— 17. Define Patriots—

Review: 18. Define blockade— 19. Who was Nathan Hale and what were his famous last words? 20. In his pamphlet The American Crisis, Thomas Paine wrote “These are the times that ___________ __________ ___________.” 21. What is the subject of this famous image (see page 213)? 22. Where did Washington’s troops defeat an army of Hessians on December 26, 1776?

A. The Battle of Saratoga (pp. 227-228) In 1777 the British planned to capture Albany (New York) and split New England from the rest of the colonies. But the British failed to execute their battle plan properly and lost the Battle of Saratoga. The American victory at Saratoga was a turning point in the war because it encouraged the French to sign the Treaty of Alliance and enter the war on America’s side.

B. Valley Forge (p. 228) Before French aid reached America, Washington’s army had to endure the brutal winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Shoeless and dressed in rags, many soldiers also suffered from the lack of shelter. By the spring of 1778, as many as 2,500 American soldiers had died from diseases, exposure to the cold, and lack of food.

Washington’s Army at Valley Forge

C. Help from Europe (pp. 228-229) A Prussian soldier named Baron von Steuben spent the winter at Valley Forge helping Washington train his soldiers. The Marquis de Lafayette, a French soldier, received no payment for his military service, but fought out of love for America. Both Thaddeus Kosciusko, an expert at military engineering, and Casimir Pulaski, a cavalry instructor, came from Poland.

D. The War in the West (pp. 229-230) Fighting broke out in the Ohio Valley as British and Native American forces began their invasion of frontier settlements. In 1778 George Rogers Clark led volunteers on a raid against the British in the Ohio Valley. In February 1779, after marching more than 100 miles through rain and icy weather, Clark’s forces captured the British fort at Vincennes.

E. The War at Sea (p. 230) Congress established the Continental Navy in 1775. To protect their ports, the colonists were forced to rely on armed private ships called privateers. A student at Yale invented the Turtle, a one-man submarine, the first ever to attack a ship.

F. John Paul Jones (p. 230) In 1779 an American warship, the Bonhomme Richard, won a surprising victory over the British ship Serapis in the North Sea. When called upon to surrender early in the battle, the American captain, John Paul Jones, replied defiantly, “I have not yet begun to fight!” John Paul Jones is considered the “Father of the American Navy.”

Review: 23. What 1777 battle is generally considered the turning point of the Revolutionary War? 24. Which European nation pledged to provide military assistance to America with the signing of the Treaty of Alliance in 1778? 25. Where did Washington’s army spend the harsh winter of 1777-1778? 26. Identify four foreign officers who helped train American forces. 27. Who led an American force to victory at Vincennes in 1779? 28. Define privateers-- 29. Who became known as the “Father of the American Navy?”