4.3

Explain the advantages the British held at the start of the war and the mistakes they made by underestimating the Patriots. Describe the frontier war. Evaluate the major military turning points of the war.

Opposing Sides The War Shifts to the Middle States The Frontier War

While reading be thinking about the British and Patriots strengths and weaknesses. Create a chart similar to the one seen on page 117. Complete one for the British and the Patriots.

In the beginning of the war the British had a great advantage with higher manufacturing rates of ships and weapons. The British also had a developed and long standing government. The Patriots had a hard time manufacturing goods and did not have much money at all to support the war effort. The Patriots ended up printing a bunch of paper money to pay off debts which in turn caused inflation.

In 1775 the arrogant British underestimate the abilities of the Patriots. Commander William Howe believes that well trained soldiers can defeat the Patriots no matter how well advantaged they are by position, number, or weapons. So on two separate occasions one at Concord and the other Bunker Hill the British take extremely high casualties. (British technically won Bunker Hill because the Patriots ran out of ammunition)

The continental Army owes most of its success to General George Washington. George knew that there was no way that he could win against the British in a heads up battle. He lost most of the Battles he fought in and was out maneuvered most of the time by the superior British tactics.

However, George Washington was a very smart man and tactician himself. He knew he couldn’t win so he would stage strategic retreats that would pull his men back and draw British soldiers in, and then he was able to take them out little by little. This would never make him win a battle but he was able to lower the number of British soldiers every time by a good amount and keep his army together to fight another day.

When the men and boys went off to war the women were required to run the farms and shops and make uniforms, clothing a shoes for the soldiers. Some women would follow the army and aid the soldiers by getting them water or bandaging wounds or even helping fire the cannons. Without the contributions the Patriots could not have sustained their army.

The British left Boston in early 1776, they decided to attack New York City and cut off New England From the rest of the colonies. Howe captured the city on September 15 with around 30,000 British and German troops, almost crushing the Continental Army and the Revolution.

Until Washington makes a very bold move on Christmas Night, he crossed the Delaware River with his small army and killed and captured more than 1,000 German mercenaries at the Battle of Trenton. This modest victory raised the morale of the soldiers and colonists at a critical moment.

In 1777 Washington gained another surprising victory in the night against Charles Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton. However, throughout the rest of 1777 Washington suffered more defeats. He lost Philadelphia to Howe’s army in the fall. In October Washington gained a victory in a trap at the Valley of Saratoga. This was the greatest Patriot Victory yet.

After the Battle of Saratoga and the cunning nature of Benjamin Franklin the French took interest in the fight for independence and chanced an open alliance with the United States. Also later Spain decided to become an ally of the French and they kept the British ships from entering the Missississippi River and New Orleans.

Defying the Proclamation of 1763, colonist had begun to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains in the early 1770s. This caused many quarrels between the Indians and the settlers. The Indians decided to side with the British because they promised to keep the settlers to the east. This caused a militia to unite.

Colonel George Rogers Clark led the Patriot militia in a fight against the British. They took the settlements of Kaskaskia and Cahokia in The British eventually took it back a couple months later until finally the militia rallied again and reclaimed the settlements again for good this time. Meanwhile in New York British and Native Americans attacked several frontier outposts, in return Patriot troops burned 40 Iroquois towns.