1. Unit 5: The American Revolution
Lesson 8: The End of the Revolutionary War

2. When spring came, Washington & his troops continued to fight in the East
In the West, the British troops recruited
Native Americans to fight on their side

3. keep colonists from trying to take their land
At first, the Natives didn’t want to take sides
When they did choose a side, why do you think they chose the British?
Thought an alliance with them would help
keep colonists from trying to take their land

4. Was anything going on in the South?
The British didn’t really focus on the South until 1778, when the French teamed up with the Americans
The British believed they would have more support in the South than they found in the North

5. They marched through the South for almost 3 years without suffering any major defeats
In late 1778 they captured the port city of Savannah, GA
They captured Charleston, SC in May, 1780

6. Poor Washington was caught spying for the British
As if those 2 major losses in the South weren’t enough to upset Washington,
Benedict Arnold, one of his most trusted generals,
was caught spying for the British

7. Traitor!
In 1780, Arnold tried to help the British take over the American fort at West Point
He then became a general in the British army

8. What else was going on in the South?
Patriots in all different parts of the South conducted
random hit-and-run raids on British camps
Because these raiders were skilled hunters who’d been well trained at using rifles, the raids worked out pretty well for them

9. African Americans in the War
When the Revolution began, about 1/5 of the American population were African Americans
Slaveholders were afraid to give guns to both enslaved & free African Americans

10. Maybe not the best idea
In Nov. 1775, the Continental Army was ordered to
discharge all African American soldiers
Unfortunately, the British found a way to use this to their advantage

11. They offered enslaved people their freedom in return for joining the British army
Nearly 1,000 enslaved African Americans joined the British & gained their freedom

12. This left the Americans wanting to gain more soldiers, so they changed their policy to encourage free & enslaved African Americans to enlist
Altogether about 5,000 African Americans served in the Continental Army in some way, shape, or form

13. attempted to end slavery in their states
As a result of the African Americans’ war efforts, Northern states
attempted to end slavery in their states
Those who returned to the South after serving in the army were supposed to be freed as well,
but most slaveholders did not let them go

14. Following the Patriots’ hit-&-run attacks in the South, British General Charles Cornwallis (a leading commander of the British Army) led his 7,500 troops north to Yorktown, Virginia

15. Cornwallis thought Yorktown would be a good location because
it was on a peninsula
From there, he could receive supplies from British ships,
while the James River would serve as a barrier between them & American troops
The “What” River?

16. Something Cornwallis wasn’t prepared for
On 8/29, 1781, the commander of the French fleet anchored 29 warships in Chesapeake Bay
Why would that be a problem for the British?
The warships were like a blockade, so Cornwallis couldn’t get supplies from British ships

17. Meanwhile,
Washington’s army, & 7,000 French troops hurried from New York to Virginia
When they arrived, they blocked every route of escape by land & sea & trapped Cornwallis

18. Surrender at Yorktown
On Oct. 17, 1781, Cornwallis wrote to Washington requesting a cease-fire

19. 2 days later, the British & American troops met outside of Yorktown
Cornwallis was to hand his sword over to Washington as a symbol of surrender

20. Interestingly though, to turn over their weapons to the Americans
Neither Cornwallis nor Washington was there
Each had appointed another General to act in his place
When the Americans accepted the British sword, the British General directed his troops
to turn over their weapons to the Americans

21. Although the war wasn’t officially over,
the Battle of Yorktown was such a huge victory for the Americans that they knew they had won

22. The Official End of the War
Delegates from America & England met in Paris to create a peace treaty
It took them almost 2 years to reach a compromise, & the 2 sides
signed the Treaty of Paris on September 3, 1783
"The Shot Heard 'Round the World"

23. What did the Treaty say?
That England would acknowledge the colonists’ independence & remove its troops from America immediately

24. Also, it set new boundaries for the United States
The U.S. would include all land west of the Appalachians to the Mississippi River,
and it would extend from Canada in the north to Florida in the south

25. Also, it set new boundaries for the United States
The U.S. would include all land from the East Coast to the Mississippi River,
and it would extend from Canada in the north to Florida in the south