Revolutionary+War


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CAUSES**

Great Britain's Parliament was taxing the Americans using Acts and Tariffs. They said it was unfair taxation because the colonies were not represented in Parliament. The start of the war was triggered by the Intolerable Acts.


 * ACTS**

The British taxed the Americans with The Quebec Act, the Tea Act, the Quartering Act, the Townshend Act, the Sugar and Stamp Act, and the Intolerable Acts.

The Sugar Act- April 5, 1764 This placed a tax on sugar, coffee, indigo, and some wines.

The Stamp Act- March 22, 1765 Any public and legal document had to have a British seal on it which cost money.

The Townshend Act- June 29, 1767 This Act placed taxes on glass, paper, lead, paints, and tea.

The Tea Act- 1773 Americans could only buy tea from the East India Trading Company, which would give that company a monopoly. This Act led to the Boston Tea Party which, in turn, also led to the Intolerable Acts.

The Intolerable Acts- 1774 These Acts were a series of laws passed by Great Britain: Impartial Administration of Justice Act: The British governor could move a court trial to other colonies, or even Great Britain, if he thought the juries weren't judging fairly. Massachusettes Bay Regulating Act: Officers and town meetings were under British control. Boston Port Act: The Boston Port was closed until the dumped tea was paid for, and the capitol of Massachusettes was moved to Salem. Quartering Act: British troops could stay anywhere they wanted, which included being housed by Americans. Quebec Act: Gave Catholics in Quebec religious freedom and civil government.


 * BRITISH STRATEGY**

The British strategy was to invade the Hudson River and cut off the New England colonies. If the British could divide the colonies in two and control the Hudson River they would have the war won (or so they thought!). Click [|here] to see pictures of both the Redcoats and the Americans.


 * AMERICAN STRATEGY**

The most important American strategy was to annoy the British. If the Americans could prove to the British that it was not worth their while to mantain control over the colonies, they might gain independence.


 * BRITISH ADVANTAGES**

The British had a well trained army and navy. They were well supplied with uniforms and weapons and also had a wealthy government. The British army was very advanced for this time and they had won a lot of wars before the Revolutionary War because they had the most powerful militia in the world.


 * BRITISH DISADVANTAGES**

There was a lack of support for the war back in England. The British did not know the land as well as the Americans. The British did not adapt to the American's fighting style well either. They had red coats that could be easily seen and fought in lines that were always accompanied by a drum line. This made it very easy for the Americans to find them and shoot them down.


 * AMERICAN ADVANTAGES**

The Americans were fighting for high rights and principles. They were fighting on home land, had support for the war, and fought unfairly by the British standards. Since the Americans had lived there for a while, they knew their way around. They were able to hide in certain places and shoot down the British with surprise attacks.


 * AMERICAN DISADVANTAGES**

They had a lack of money and an unorganized government. They also did not have a trained military and virtually no navy. They had to depend on their militia.


 * KEY EVENTS**

Some key events in the [|Revolutionary War] were the battles of [|Concord], [|Bunker Hill], [|Saratoga], [|Yorktown], the [|Winter at Valley Forge], and [|Fort Ticonderoga].


 * THE BATTLE OF YORKTOWN**

The last major battle of the [|Revolutionary War] was the battle at Yorktown. General Washington commanded the Americans, Lieutenant General de Rochambeau commanded the French and Major General Lord Cornwallis commanded the British.

(Note: The following is a paraphrased re-make of this site's: [|click here] edition of the Battle of Yorktown)

When General Rochambeau met General Washington in 1781 to determine their next move against the British, Washington wanted to attack New York City. Rochambeau convinced him that it was wiser to move South. Word had come from General Lafayette in Virginia that Cornwallis had taken up a defensive position at Yorktown. Cornwallis was situated next to the York River. If they could surround the city by land and cut off Cornwallis' escape route on the river, Washington and Rochambeau would strike a critical hit to the British forces. Planning for the complex plan began immediately. French Admiral de Grasse, stationed in the West Indies, would sail with his fleet to the Chesapeake Bay and secure the mouth of the York River. Meanwhile, Washington and Rochambeau would march south to Yorktown and form a semicircle around the city. The plan was simple in concept, but it would take great military skill to execute. First, Washington and Rochambeau started to march towards New York City. They stationed approximately 2500 men at the American forts near the city to fool the British into believing that Washington's entire force was still there. Then the combined French and the American army raced south to Virginia. As they went South, Admiral de Grasse's fleet arrived at the Chesapeake Bay. They defeated the British fleet of Admiral Thomas Graves and won control of the entire bay -This meant that they controlled the mouth of the York River and could prevent both Cornwallis' escape and any British communication with Cornwallis. On September 28, 1781, Washington and Rochambeau, along with Lafayette's troops and 3,000 of de Grasse's men, arrived at Yorktown. In all, there were approximately 17,000 men converging on Cornwallis' camp. The combined forces approached Yorktown from the South. The French, formed the left flank of the attack, while the American troops, approached from the right. The city was soon surrounded and under heavy fire. On October 14, our forces captured 2 major British redoubts. Cornwallis' options were running out. He even tried sending blacks infected with smallpox over enemy lines in an attempt to infect the American and French troops. After a futile counterattack, Cornwallis offered to surrender on October 17. On the 19th of October, the papers were signed and he officially surrendered. This would be the final major battle of the Revolutionary War.


 * END OF THE WAR**

Immediately after the battle of Yorktown, Lord North, the British Prime Minister, resigned. His successors decided that it was no longer in Britain's best interest to continue the war, and by November of 1782, the Treaty of Paris, in which Britain recognized the United states freedom and promised to remove all its troops from the country, had been written.It had taken just over 8 years after the Declaration of Independence, the United States of America was fully established as an independent nation.


 * TREATY OF PARIS -- 1783**

Positive Outcome:
 * 1) The colonies gained their independence
 * 2) The western border of the colonies was set at the Mississippi River
 * 3) Great Britian was expected to withdraw troops and give up forts in the region east of the Mississippi
 * 4) The colonies gained fishing rights off of Nova Scotia