"The distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, and New Englanders are no more. I am not a Virginian, but an American,” said Patrick Henry. Americans put aside all of their differences and they worked together to fight for their freedom and independence. They were poor, young, landless, unorganized, and unskilled. They were American soldiers fighting against a world superpower. The British army consisted of 50,000 soldiers combined with 30,000 Hessian soldiers. In contrast, George Washington never had more than 20,000 soldiers fighting all at once. Almost all of the advantages went to the British. American victory seemed impossible and the British were so confident that they were going to defeat the Americans in the first …show more content…
First, George Washington was a skilled and experienced officer in the French and Indian War. At the Battle of Fort Duquesne, British troops were led by General Edward Braddock. The British were soon ambushed by Indians fighting on the French side. Washington displayed remarkable courage in the Battle. “He had two horses shot out from under him, his hat was shot off and bullets tore his coat” (Sheidley). Braddock was killed so Washington made the British troops withdraw. Americans admired Washington's courage and success when leading the retreat. Consequently, Washington also used his strategy of retreat in the Revolutionary War and it proved to be successful again. For example, the British defeated the Americans at the Battle of Long Island. That foggy night, Washington led a brilliant retreat of thousands of American soldiers by boat from Long Island to Manhattan. This prevented American soldiers from being wounded or killed and it gave them hope that they could still win. Lastly, George Washington had many important Revolutionary War victories. One of those victories was the Battle of Trenton. On Christmas Eve in 1776, Washington led his exhausted, hungry, and cold troops across the Delaware River. In a surprise attack two days later, the Americans defeated the Hessian soldiers. In addition, Americans won the Battle of Yorktown in which the Revolutionary War ended when British General Cornwallis surrendered on October 17, 1781. Washington had to go through countless hardships and defeats but he finally achieved
After Washington had taken his men to his winter quarters, groups of militia began swarming the countryside of New Jersey attacking Hessian and British soldiers basically at will which was later recognized as the "forage war". The British were quickly required overnight to redirect their forces, leaving large swaths of land under the regulation of the rebels. As the moral of the Colonials rose, the question is the war even winnable began to linger in the minds of the British. The massive reversal of the war was believed to be, because of the number of defeats the Americans went through, they were better able to adapt. Because they noticed they were hardly ever able to win fights against the much more disciplined, and well-trained British soldiers, they focused on what were, at the time, considered unconventional
McCullough describes washington as a leader of many qualities in which makes him successful. After making the British evacuate from Boston, washington is praised for being such a courageous and smart leader, therefore lifting morale around American troops. The war most likely would not have been won without George Washington's help most likely due to his incredible leadership skills. The colonies are virtually nothing without George Washington because he keeps them together by asking congress to support them and as McCullough describes, is relentless about doing so as we're Knox and Greene later on. George Washington was so important that even the loyalists plotted to assassinate him with hopes to derail the American rebellion. However, the colonies success wasn't just off George washington. Mccullough describes the average british soldier as strong and more fit compared to the colonial soldier, superior and overall well trained.The fact that the colonies were untrained made the British cocky, Making them think they didn't have to use their superior weaponry thinking the Americans would surrender out of free will. McCullough gives us an insight to how the Americans tried new things using their resources making great things with what little they
George Washington took control of the revolutionary army on 2 July 1775. He took over at outside of Boston, before this his experience was limited to wilderness travel and soldiering. His soldiering experiences had been mainly for his home state of Virginia. The first battle that was of significance in this book was the Battle of Long Island. At this battle Washington and the rebel army are soundly defeated by General Sir William Howe and the British army. After this battle was fought Howe did not follow-up the victory with quick action as the Americans retreated. It could be said that if Howe and the British would continued the attack this rebellion could have been put down right away. This will not be the first time that Howe fails to do this, and it will lead to him being replaced later in the war Sir Henry Clinton. Even though his army was thoroughly defeated Washington is able to get his troops off of Long Island back to Manhattan in the middle of the night, this will also not be the last time that Washington is able to get his
In 1776, David McCullough gives a vivid portrayal of the Continental Army from October 1775 through January 1777, with sharp focus on the leadership of America’s greatest hero, George Washington. McCullough’s thesis is that had not the right man (George Washington) been leading the Continental Army in 1776, the American Revolution would have resulted in a vastly different outcome. He supports his argument with a critical analysis of Washington’s leadership during the period from the Siege of Boston, through the disastrous defense of New York City, the desperate yet, well ordered retreat through New Jersey against overwhelming odds, and concludes with the inspiring victories of Trenton and Princeton. By keeping his army intact and persevering through 1776, Washington demonstrated to the British Army that the Continental Army was not simply a gang of rabble, but a viable fighting force. Additionally, Mr. McCullough supports his premise that the key to the survival of the American Revolution was not in the defense of Boston, New York City, or any other vital terrain, but rather the survival of the Continental Army itself. A masterful piece of history, 1776 is not a dry retelling of the Revolutionary War, but a compelling character study of George Washington, as well as his key lieutenants, and his British adversaries, the most powerful Army in the 18th Century world. When I read this book, I went from a casual understanding of the hero George Washington to a more specific understanding of why Washington was quite literally the exact right man at the exact right place and time to enable the birth of the United States.
George Washington Classical Sun Tzu Strategist and Master in the Art of War. The American defeat of the British during the Revolutionary War was a direct result of George Washington's incredible leadership and generalship, which epitomized the greatness of Sun Tzu's "Art of War." Introduction The key to the success of the American Revolution was the George Washington himself. Faced with a near impossible task of defeating a tremendously powerful enemy, Washington was required to defy the odds.
Washington's military experience started when he was selected by Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, to travel to the Ohio Valley to tell the French to leave. He was only twenty-two years old, inexperienced, and naive. When Washington got there, the French claimed that they owned the land and refused to give it up. Washington reported this to Governor Dinwiddie, and was ordered to go back and construct a fort so they could defend their territory if their was a war against the French. While constructing a fort, named Fort Necessity, Washington and his men shot a small group of French men, because they would not leave the area. It turned out that they had shot French spies. A few days later, the French attacked the unfinished fort which resulted in Washington losing a third of his army. He surrendered and was allowed to return back to Virginia. This foolish mistake made by Washington started the French and Indian War. This was one of the few mistakes George Washington made during his military career.
This conclusion seemed to contradict every presumption about Great Britain’s imperial power. In all other conflicts, the British seemed to win decisively but the problem in the American Revolution lies with Britain underestimating the colonists. The British were blind to America’s symbolic presence as an end to an imperial structure. France and Spain aided the colonists in hopes of defeating the tyrannical empire. Britain underestimated George Washington and the Continental Army. Over time, the colonial militias trained in the European fashion and transformed into a challenging force. Ultimately, the most distinctive miscalculation of the British was the perseverance of the colonists and their fight for freedom. While Britain was fighting for control over yet another revenue source, America was fighting for independence and principle. The difference between the motivations was the predominant factor in deciding the
...he surrender. Even if he would have arrived much sooner, a British defeat was inevitable. He left the colonies in 1782. The colonies had become the newest nation, and named itself the United States of America. The hero of the war, George Washington went on to become the first president of the United States. Many wanted him to become the king, but he refused because he didn’t want all the power just like their tyrant cousins.
Despite the low expectations for the American colonies, they amazed the world as they rose to the occasion by taking advantage of their military assets, even those they did not know they had. For instance, George Washington proved to be a valuable asset for the American colonies. Washington was already held in high esteem prior to the Revolution for his few, but impactful, military accomplishments prior to the Revolution and for his praise-worthy character. (Schweikart and Allen 74) Because of his lack of experience commanding, he learned to excel in familiarizing himself with new tactics and responsibilities very quickly. (Mount Vernon) He used strategy to make up for what he lacked in supplies or force. In 1776, he valiantly crossed the Delaware river for a successful surprise attack on Trenton and days later successfully took Princeton, two undertakings which contributed significantly to the American victory along with Washington defeating Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1...
“The annals of history do not exhibit a more important period than the present.It would be fair to say that America did not so much win the war as allow Britain to lose it. Facing an expensive conflict on a distant continent, the British wanted a short war that would not be yet another drain on national finances; however the tactics employed by Washington and other generals failed to create a situation where a decisive victory could be achieved by either side. As time dragged on and the
In 1774, Washington chaired a meeting convening of the Continental Congress to fight for it as a last resort. In 1775, he became a delegate to the First Continental Congress. April 1775, after the fight of Lexington, the political issue between Britain and the North American colonies got hotter and got into armed conflict. On June 15, He was selected to be Major General and Commander-in-Chief of the colonial army to fight against the British. Washington used only a small number of the army to fight on the frontier and he got successes on it. In March 1776, Washington and his soldiers placed the artillery north of the Boston and tasted the victory, and then he moved with his army to New York City. But in June, the new British commander, Sir William Howe, arrived with a large number of veteran forces. In August 1776, the British started to attack and quickly took New York City. Washington’s force was suffered a heavy loss. On Christmas night 1776, Washington led his remaining traps across the river and attacked the British without suspecting this. A few days later, the British totally lost this time. General Howe’s target was to capture colonial cities. In the summer of 1777, he led his soldiers to attack Philadelphia, but George Washington moved in with his army to fight against the British. This time Washington defeated them in battle; two days
During the French and Indian War, Lieutenant Colonel George Washington led part of the Virginia Militia to defend British territory in current day Pennsylvania (1754). They traveled where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers crossed. British soldiers were constructing a fort at that location. French soldiers were in the process of capturing the fort, and by April 17, the French captured the fort completely (Gedacht). Washington’s troops were too late. Furthermore, over the 8 year Revolutionary war, the colonial forces won very few battles but continuously defended against the British. In October 1781, with the aid of the French forces (who sided with the colonists because of their rivalry to the British), they were able to subdue the British troops who were under command of General Charles Cornwallis (1738-1805) at the Battle of Yorktown, Virginia. Because the British were trapped (Continental Army on land, and French at sea), the British were forced to surrender, putting an end to the long and harsh War (George Washington). After the War, Washington wished to return the subtle farming life at Mount Vernon. Because the war was over, the people of the Colonies decided to create a steady government, and suggested George Washington to attempt to become the Nation’s first Leader. At first Glance, Washington denied that he was most qualified candidate because he wanted to return to Mount Vernon. But public opinion was so strong; he eventually gave in and the first Presidential election was held on January 7, 1789, Washington won handily (George Washington). Washington supported the idea of a small central government, and more power to the states and the people. After two terms, he declined to serve a third term. Washington gave one last farewell address to congress, urging them to keep involvement in foreign powers to a
The Americans had an advantage over the British for a simple reason: they were fighting for something they wanted, rather than the British fighting to “play defense” and prevent American independence. Americans colonists wanted to become an independant nation, have a new system of self governance, claim equal rights for all citizens, and rid themselves from tyranny. The Patriots who fought in the Revolution were primarily fighting for independence from Britain, and it was that similar goal that boosted morale. As stated in the Declaration of Independence American colonists were subject to a “long train of abuses and usurpations” and it was also argued that the British tyranny forced colonists to “alter their former system of government”. Therefore, the Patriots were fighting for a cause that affected their everyday lives which inspired them even more to defeat Britain. The British was fed up with the casualties and heavy taxes to pay for the war they were fighting without cause, while the Americans would have done anything to defeat the British. The American colonists and their want to defeat the British for the rights they deserved was a crucial factor to American victory during the revolutionary
George Washington grew a huge reputation from his leadership in the war, he was the head of General of the Continental Army that fought in states like New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. He was the commander of his army, who so confidently trusted him, put an end to the fighting of the war after defeating and making General Charles Cornwallis’ army surrender in the Siege of of
...e gun, it seemed, the greater the owner‘s pride in it.” (McCullough 33) The Continental army certainly did not look like an army yet these people were brought together in this fight for freedom and prevailed even winning the support of Americans who had no hope the British would be defeated.” Merchant Erving had sided with the Loyalists primarily because he thought the rebellion would fail. But the success of Washington‘s army at Boston had changed his mind as it had for many” (McCullough 108). The reader must comprehend the power of this accomplishment for the rag-tag army. “Especially for those who had been with Washington and who knew what a close call it was at the beginning-how often circumstance, storms, contrary winds, the oddities or strengths of individual character had made the difference- the outcome seemed little short of a miracle.” (McCullough 294).