Struggles In The Middle States Coach Kuntz United States History

The Battle of Long Island -In August 1776, British General Howe sailed his army to Long Island, New York in what would become known as the Battle of Long Island. -George Washington wanted to prevent Howe from taking the city, so he led his forces south from Boston to New York City to meet him. -Howe had about 34,000 troops and 10,000 sailors. Washington had fewer than 20,000 poorly trained troops. -Outcomes: Washington was easily defeated. 1,400 Americans were killed and Washington was forced to retreat North.

Battle of Trenton -On Christmas night 1776, General George Washington led his soldiers across the Delaware River in a surprise attack on Trenton, New Jersey. -December 26, 1776- the Americans surprised the Hessian troops guarding Trenton and took most of them prisoner. -Hessians were soldier’s from Germany. -Hessians: 22 dead, 83 wounded; Americans: 2 dead, 5 wounded

Battle of Trenton (Cont.) -British General Charles Cornwallis attempted to retake Trenton from George Washington. -On January 2, 1776, Cornwallis saw the lights of Washington’s campfires, but it was a trap. -Washington had left the fires lit as a distraction. His army snuck up behind Cornwallis’s army, and attacked British forces marching towards Princeton -Outcomes: Washington fooled Cornwallis and the Hessians; The battle gave the U.S. hope that they could win the war.

The Burgoyne Plan The Burgoyne Plan- A British military plan created by General John Burgoyne. Burgoyne would use British troops to cut off New England from the other colonies. He believed this would end the war. -The purpose of the plan was to stop the flow of soldiers and supplies from New England to Washington’s army. -General Burgoyne took his army south from Canada towards Albany, New York to cut off New England.