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The American Revolution

Chapter 13

Moving Towards Independence

Americans began to be divided into three groups over the question of independence.

About 1/3 favored breaking with England and were known as Patriots.

About 1/3 favored staying with England and were known as Loyalists or Tories.

About 1/3 were neutral or did not choose a side.

The War Begins- Lexington and Concord

The Patriot militia, also known as Minutemen, were citizen soldiers ready to respond “at a minute’s warning.” Each colony had its own militia.

On the night of April 18, 1775, Paul Revere was ready to give a warning to the people of Boston if the British soldiers started marching towards Lexington and Concord. The signal was to be one lantern in the Old North Church spire if the English were marching overland and two lanterns if they were sailing across the Charles River before marching to Lexington.

British soldiers sailed across the Charles River and marched through the dark night towards Concord to capture a storehouse of Patriots’ weapons. They also hoped to arrest the American leaders, Sam Adams and John Hancock, who were staying in Lexington.

Revere placed two lanterns in the church tower when he saw British soldiers start to cross the Charles River, and set out for the nearby towns of Lexington and Concord. Along the way he rode past the houses of the Minutemen shouting, “The Regulars are coming!”

Lexington and Concord

About 240 British soldiers reached Lexington at dawn. Thanks to Revere, 70 Minutemen were waiting on Lexington green. The English commander ordered the Americans to lay down their guns and leave. The captain of the Minutemen ordered his men to return home. Before they could do so, shots were fired. English soldiers killed 8 Patriots and 10 more were injured.

The British soldiers marched on to Concord in search of weapons, but the Patriots had moved most of them already. The British started burning wooden carts that had once held cannon. When the minutemen saw the smoke, they thought Concord was burning.

A brief battle took place on the Old North Bridge in Concord.

The British soldiers turned around and started marching back to Boston. But Patriot soldiers hid behind stone walls and fences and shot at the British. During the battles of Lexington and Concord, 73 British soldiers were killed and over 200 were wounded. The Americans lost 49 soldiers and 39 wounded.

Battle on Lexington Green

Sharpshooting Minutemen

The Battle of Bunker Hill (really Breed’s Hill)

Two months later, another battle took place near Boston.

The Minutemen were camped north of the city in what is now Charlestown. They had built earthworks, or walls of dirt and stone, at the top of Breed’s Hill. A British force set out to attack them.

The Americans had an advantage because they were on high ground. But they were badly outnumbered and had little ammunition.

The Patriots let the British get close and then they opened fired. Twice the British retreated but the third time the British advanced, the Patriots ran out of ammunition. They had to retreat.

The English won the battle but they lost many men. The Patriots had shown that they could hold their own against one of the most powerful armies in the world.

The British had 226 soldiers killed during the battle and another 828 were wounded. 145 American Patriots died and 274 were wounded with 30 captured.

Battle at Bunker Hill

Battle at Bunker Hill

Preparing for War

Patriot representatives met in Philadelphia for the Second Continental Congress.

At John Adams’ urging, the Congress appointed George Washington Commander in Chief of the Continental Army (the American Army).

Washington was brave to the point of recklessness,. He respected his men, which won him their undying loyalty and admiration. His early wartime experiences had taught him how the British fought. Finally, he understood that the colonists did not need to win every battle in the war. He believed that he simply had to outlast the British to win.

The Declaration of Independence

In 1776, most Americans still hoped for peace with England.

That changed with the publication of Common Sense by Thomas Paine. Paine argued that liberty could only be had through independence. Common Sense changed how most Americans felt in just a few months.

On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of the Declaration of Independence. This document was primarily written by Thomas Jefferson.

The Declaration of Independence was printed and sent to every colony. Those who spoke out against independence were often beaten and chased out of town by Patriot neighbors. Many Loyalists moved to Canada.

Paine, Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, and Washington

Officially at War

At the beginning of the war, the chances of an American victory seemed small. England was very powerful. And if the English won the war, the Patriot leaders would all be killed for treason.

Strengths and Weaknesses

England America

Strengths:• More soldiers• Best trained army in the world• Experienced officers• Strongest navy in the world• More supplies• 30,000 mercenaries from

Germany

Strengths:• Fighting on home soil• Fighting for a cause• Leadership of Washington and

other officers• Fine marksmanship

Weaknesses:• Fighting far from home• Soldiers less committed to

victory

Weaknesses:• Unprofessional, poorly trained

army of mostly volunteers who lacked discipline

• Lack of supplies (food, uniforms, shoes)

• Small navy

English Plan for Victory

In 1777, the English put together a plan that would have won the war if it had been successful.

General William Howe would march up the Hudson River Valley towards Albany, New York. General John Burgoyne would march south from Montreal, Canada. And Colonial Barry St. Leger would march east from Lake Ontario. The three armies would meet in Albany. The goal was to cut New England off from the rest of the colonies.

The plan didn’t work because General Howe received misinformation from England. Instead of marching north to Albany, he turned south and marched to Philadelphia. Colonial St. Leger made it about halfway across New York. Then he was defeated by American soldiers and had to turn back.

The Turning Point- Victory at Saratoga

In mid-1777, General John Burgoyne led 9,000 British soldiers from Canada across the border to New York. About 2,000 Vermont and New Hampshire solders attacked them. Other Continental troops rushed to help.

That October, with his army trapped at Saratoga, New York, General Burgoyne surrendered.

The battle was a turning point. France now sent troops and ships to help the colonists. From Europe came soldiers who could help train the colonial troops. France and other European nations realized that the Americans might actually win.

Gen. Burgoyne Surrendering at Saratoga

A Hard Winter at Valley Forge, PA

The winter of 1777-1778 was one of the hardest times of the war. Washington’s soldiers were low on food and supplies. The Continental Congress had a hard time raising money.

In the 1700’s, armies didn’t fight in the wintertime. Washington decided to take his army to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, for the winter. That way, he could keep an eye on Howe’s English army in Philadelphia.

The winter was bitterly cold and the conditions at Valley Forge were worse for the men than any battle. Of the ten thousand men who marched into Valley Forge that winter, more than two thousand died.

Washington tried to spend the winter getting his army ready to fight. Baron von Steuben was a German general who came to America to help in the fight for freedom. Washington put him in charge of training the army all winter.

Valley Forge

Fighting On/Yorktown, VA

In 1779, the English turned their attention to the Southern colonies. They captured Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina.

The English commander, General Cornwallis, decided to move his army to Yorktown on the Virginia coast. He expected the English navy to bring troops and supplies by ship to Yorktown.

George Washington came up with a plan! He would involve the French troops and warships that had arrived to help the Americans.

Yorktown, Virginia

Washington’s army and the French forces joined American troops led by the French General Marquis de Lafayette.

The French fleet of warships sailed to Yorktown.

The land forces surrounded the British troops, making escape by land impossible. The French fleet stopped English ships from transporting more troops and supplies, and prevented soldiers in Yorktown from escaping by sea.

The English tried to fight their way out, but they were surrounded and outnumbered. British General Cornwallis surrendered his army to Washington.

African Americans in the Revolution

The British invited slaves to desert their masters and join the English forces. They promised freedom to those who would fight. Many joined the English and fought against the Patriots. When the British left at the end of the war, thousands of African Americans went back to England with them.

Many African Americans fought with the Patriots. At first Washington did not allow them to serve in the army. Patriots doubted their loyalty to a country that had enslaved them, and feared to arm them.

But Washington needed soldiers badly and so he changed his mind. By the end of the war, at least 5,000 African Americans had served in the American army. Many fought bravely and won their freedom through service.

Women in the Revolution

Many Patriot soldiers brought their wives and families along.

Women served as nurses, cooks, and people to sew and repair uniforms.

A few women actually fought alongside soldiers.

Most women stayed at home. They ran the family farms and businesses while the men were away.

Treaty of Paris

England and America signed the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

The war was over, and the 13 English colonies had become the United States of America, an independent nation.

The 8 years of fighting had taken a terrible toll: Over 25,000 Americans died in the war. Many returning soldiers had no money. Thousands of Loyalists had lost their property. Many left the United States, most going to Canada.

But the Patriot victory changed human history. In the years since the Revolutionary War, people in many places have been inspired to seek to win their own independence.