war of independence 1776-1783 Flashcards
give 5 strengths of the British forces in the war of independence
Britain had 8 million supporting people but America only had 2-5 million
North Americans supported Britain
Hessians were hired to train troops (1776-18,000)
Royal Navy had 300 ships in 1775-1776
Lord Sandwich had drive and ability
give 5 weaknesses of the British forces in the war of independence
fighting a war 3000 miles away (it took 2-3 months for reinforcements to arrive)
coordinating land and sea operations were difficult as they didn’t know the land
arms were under-strength by 1775 with 1/4 of servicemen having a one year contract
Hessian troops had a reputation of violence this made neutral colonists join the patriot side
Lord North was not an inspiring leader couldn’t go from 15 miles from rivers or seas
give 3 strengths of the continental army in the war of independence
most committed to the glorious cause
militia turned out in large numbers, they intimidated people loyal to Britain (over 100,000)
Britain didn’t entirely take the sea, congress and states commissioned about 2000 pioneers with heavy supplies
give 5 weaknesses of the continental army in the war of independence
lacked unity (remained 13 states)
1775 America had to build an army from scratch (slow to fill quota, filling ranks was a constant problem- nearly exceeded 20,000 men)
state militas fighting was less impressive
The navy was not that good compared to Britain
economy was disrupted by war (less trade)
what was the demographic of the loyalists
they were recently people who had immigrated and minority groups (e.g. Dutch, German, Anglicans)
from southern and middle colonies
Black Americans supported as they hoped to get their freedom in return
what are the dates of the war of independence
1776-1777
who was in charge of the British troops (32,000 men) in August 1776
general Howe
what was Howe’s first plan after the evacuation of Boston and withdrawal to Halifax, and the reasons for it
an assault on NY, defeat Washington, negotiate an end to the rebellion
as it was easier to capture due to the navy (his brother Richard Howe was in charge of the navy in NY)
New Yorkers’ were more sympathetic to the British
why did the Battle of Long Island occur in 27th August 1776
and explain what happened
Washington only had 20,000 men and the place was indefensible due to Britain’s navy and congress insisted him to fight
Howe won and American had twice the number of casualties than the British
Washington managed to retreat due to the heavy fog on 29th August 1776
Howe wanted to negotiate peace with congress (Franklin and Adams) but he didn’t feel empowered to discuss heads with Britain and America
summarise and name the events on what occurred in New York from August 1776 to January 1777
Battle of Long Island (27th August-19th August)
Kipps Bay (September 1776)
Fort Washington (10th November)
New Port Rhode Island (December 1776)
Winter Quarters (December 1776)
Delaware River (25th December 1776)
Princeton and Morristown (3rd January 1777)
summarise Kipps Bay 1776
Howe landed in Manhattan between two halves of Washington’s army
Howe’s negotiation gave time for Washington to retreat
7 weeks of stalemate
Howe preferred to turn to America’s flank
Washington retreated to New Jersey
Fort Washington (10th November 1776)
Howe took 3000 prisoners and immense numbers of weapons, this was a massive failure for Washington and he retreated for 3 weeks straight, may men returned home (crossing the Delaware River to Pennsylvania)
New Port Rhode Island (December 1776)
Howe declared if people swore oath to the King they would get a pardon, Britain seized New Port in Rhode Island
what happened in the Winter Quarters in December 1776
Howe threw away another opportunity to destroy America morale instead of marching to Philedelphia, the respite gave Washington time to regroup
what happened at the Delaware River in December 1776
Washington regrouped and was reinforced by the militia
he crossed the Delaware River on the 25th December 1776 with 1600 men
attacked the Garrison at Trenton, New Jersey on 26th December and 1000 prisoners were captured and 4 wounded
(AMERICA WON)
what happened at Princeton on the 3rd Jan 1777
Washington performed a coup in Princeton causing Howe to give up land in New Jersey, Howe had to relinquish most of his gains in New Jersey, Washington had to recover in the Winter Quarters in Morristown
describe the situation in early 1777 for Washington
Washington had to adopt a more defensive strategy and have his ready at any chance that Howe attacked
describe the British plans in 1777
in 1777 there was a large number in New York (Howe) and Burgoyne leading the advancement in Canada
both aimed to capture Philedelphia on 2 campaigns
summarise the capture of Philedelphia
Howe commenced his way to Philiadelpia in July
he moved his 5,000 men army across the sea and landed in Chesapeake Bay
Howe defeated Washington at Brandywine Creek on the 11th September
Howe was victorious at Paoli on the 21st September
Howe captured Philedelphia on 26th September but Philadelphia has no strategic value and congress simply moved to Lancaster
describe what Washington’s counter attack was to Howe capturing Philadelphia and how was its impact unsuccessful
he launched a counter attack at Germantown (4th October)
however his plans were more complicated than planned and lost 1000 casualties
in November Howe forced the Americans to evacuate the forts on the Delaware river allowing British naval access to Philadelphia, Washington left the plateau of Valley forge to northwest of Philadelphia
instead of attacking Howe stayed in Philadelphia to recover troops over winter and missed an opportunity
describe Burgoyne’s campaign (June 1777)
after capturing Canada, Burgoyne’s 9000 strong army sailed down Lake Champlain recapturing Ticonderoga (5th July)
Burgoyne decided to go through unhospitable terrain to reach Fort Edward and he took a huge baggage train and his army found it difficult to move due to militia blockades, destroyed bridges and attacked stragglers. It took Burgoyne 3 weeks to cover 23 miles
he hoped that loyalists would flock to his army but instead he turned many loyalists neutral as his Native American allies attacked outlying farms and killed several families (e.g. Jane McCrea)
Burgoyne spent a month collecting supplies, 600 troops were captured and killed on a mission at Bennington (15-16 August)
1600 troops and Irqouis tribe under St. Leger had moved down St Lawrence intending to join Burgoyne but they were checked at Oriskany (16th August) by local militia and many Native Americans left leaving St Leger’s final resolution to return back to Canada
is Burgoyne American or British
British
describe what happened in Saratoga
Burgoyne determined to press on to Albany, the Americans were ready for him
in mid-August General Gates replaced the unpopular General Schuyler as commander of the northern forces and was supported by Arnold to have defensive positions in Albany and this encouraged New England militiamen to join
Burgoyne failed when Gates and Arnold clashed at Freeman’s farm (19th September), resulting in Burgoyne short of supplies far away from Canada and was glad to hear Clinton moving up to Albany
Clinton left New York with 3000 troops and captured a clutch of forts in the New York Highlands and Burgoyne attacked the American fort on Bemis Height but his attack failed
Burgoyne returned to Saratoga, Burgoyne had talks with Gates with the exception that he was to lay down arms, march to Boston and embark on British ships on the condition they don’t serve in America, but congress rejected Gates’ terms making them prisoners of war until 1783
are Gates and Arnold American or British
American
what were the reasons for British failure in Saratoga
Howe did little to help Burgoyne
Burgoyne underestimated the strength of the army and the terrain
what were the results of Saratoga
the rebels had defeated the British in a major campaign and this was a great morale booster
after Burgoyne’s surrender Howe wrote to Germaine offering his resignation
Clinton had to leave his new territory in the NY highlands to send reinforcement about the situations in Pennsylvania
Britain agreed to repeal the Coercive Acts and renounce the rights to tax Americans
who is Germaine
British Secretary of State for the Colonies throughout the revolutionary war
why did France enter the war and was an ally to America
offered an opportunity to avenge and humilating outcome of the 7 years war and weaken British power
they were willing to provide them with ammunition
treasury in France opposed Louis XVI from going to war due to lack of supplies and money
Saratoga relived France of losing the war fear
6th Feb 1778 France and America signed 2 treaties (commerical agreement and defensive alliance) war in June 1778
why did Spain enter the war
they joined as they were an ally to France
to regain possessions lost to Britain (e.g. Florida, Gibralta and Jamaica)
when did Spain enter the war
April 1779
why did Netherlands enter the war
Britain had declared war on them in 1780
why did Britain’s attention move away from America in 1780s
France was now a problem as they had a population of 25 million, had high naval supremacy and 150,000 troops
they had to defend territories such as Gibrillator, Monaco, India and Africa so they couldn’t just focus on America
had less value compared to other territories
what were Washington’s problems in 1777 (4)
his army lacked food, fuel and shelter
3000+ men died and many more deserted
believed there was organised conspiracy against him both in and out of congress there was an undercurrent of criticism
many questioned his military abilities compared to Gates
who did General Clinton replace in Feb 1778
General Howe
summarise the southern phase in 1778-1781
mid June 1778- Clinton had 10,000 soldiers and 12 mile luggage train
December 1778- Campbell (British) captured Savannah (500 American prisoners)
Cornwallis (British) besieged Charlestown (5000 American prisoners)
British moved into South Carolina (Clinton claimed that if men didn’t swear an oath to the King they would be classed as a rebel, causing no neutrality in the state)
Clinton left for NY
Cornwallis (British) had support from coastal towns in South Carolina
Gates entered South Carolina with a 3000 army but was defeated
Cornwallis went into North Carolina but was attacked by the local militia (e.g. loyalist militia was defeated at Kings Mountain)
why did Britain turn to the southern colonies in 1778-1881
they thought there was a large number of loyalists capturing Georgia and fighting northwards
was it an overall success for Britain or America in southern phase of 1778-1781
Britain but they were left vulnerable
why was York Town (April 1780-May 1781) a great triumph for the Americans? What mistakes did the British make?
Cornwallis (British) headed north to Virginia in May with 8000 men
many Virginians wanted to drive them out
Cornwallis moved to the sea wanting to construct a naval base in Yorktown
French navy landed in American waters led by Admiral Grasse and Britain didn’t send enough ships to deal with threats
May 1881- Rochambeau (french officer) suggested Cornwallis as a threat and wanted to fight in Yorktwon instead of New York
America-French troops had 16,000 men and Cornwallis had 8,000
Chesapeake Bay had French control
October 1881- Cornwallis’ 8000 men army surrendered due to short supplies and surrounded by American-French troops
summarise General Nathanael Green
took command of the army in the south
Greene rather than divide his forces had hit-and-run attacks with the help of local militas
example- some sent to probe British defences in the south Carolina backcountry and other troops cooperated with milita in attacks on British coastal positions
summarise the peace talks after Yorktown
Lord North (PM) wanted peace with John Jay and John Adams
Americans were suspicious of British motives but with the French ones supporting Spanish claims to Trans-Appalachian regions
summarise the Treaty of Paris
boundaries should extend to the Mississippi River, north to the Great Lakes and south to the boundary of Florida
liberty to fish in Newfoundland Banks
Britain ceded Florida to Spain
summarise the British failures of the war of independence (5 points)
Norths’ government made miscalculations and overestimated loyalists support
mistakes by the generals (e.g. Burgoyne and Clinton’s poor communication at Saratoga, and Clinton and Cornwallis poor naval communication at Yorktown)
employing Hessian troops alienated USA and had a bad reputation
Native Americans were unreliable and committed attacks which limited loyalist support
lack of UK diplomacy to stop foreign intervention
summarise the American successes of the war of independence (5 points)
Washington leadership
attack on Trenton and Yorktown showed efficiency and daring
USA diplomat Franklin helped bring European aid especially France
good relationship between militia and army
French navy and leaders (e.g. Grasse in Yorktown)
