George Washington was extremely clever and astute so he used that talent and came up with his strategy of the surprise attack on the Hessians on Christmas, 1776. After crossing the Delaware River he gained complete control over Trenton and had defeated the German mercenaries that had been paid to fight for the British on December twenty sixth, 1776. The Battles of Lexington and Concord were fought between Britain and the American colonists in all of April 1775. On the eighteenth of April specifically, approximately eight hundred British troops vacated Boston to try to obtain their goal of snatching the Americans huge stockpile of weapons. Soon their confidential scheme was revealed as Paul Revere, Samuel Prescott, and William Dawes notified Patriot leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock. Lexington is where the first shot was fired by someone who is not yet known on April nineteenth, bombardment turned into a total militia at this point, (Cayton, et al).
As the British approached Concord, they continued to battle on. This was a fatigue and expensive in lives series of battles for both the British and the Americans. American independence from Britain was fought for in the Revolutionary War after these clashes. On June seventeenth in the year of 1775 is when the British attacked in Boston and had won the Battle of Bunker Hill. British strengths included their well-equipped, trained, and disciplined army, the finest Navy with military support troops, and outside help from Native Americans as well as slaves. Fighting on their own territory with a cause, having George Washington, and officers familiar with fighting strategies from the French and Indian war such as guerrilla warfare helped the Americans excel in war, (Cayton, et al).
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...s personally commanded by himself as it revitalized the Americans to not give up on their independence from Britain, (E. Purcell, S. Purcell).
Works Cited
Cayton, Elizabeth I. Perry, Linda Reed, Allan M. Winkler. America Pathways To The Present. Prentice Hall Pearson Education: Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 2003. Web. 03 Jan. 2014
Murphy, Justin D. “Battle of Trenton.” Encyclopedia of American History. Ed. Tucker C. Spencer. Facts On File, Inc., 2003. American History Online. Facts On File, Inc., n.d. Web. 03 Jan. 2014.
Purcell, Edward L., and Sarah J. Purcell. “Battle of Trenton.” Encyclopedia of Battles in North America: 1517 to 1916. Facts On File, Inc., 2000. American History Online, n.d. Web. 03 Jan. 2014.
Stephenson, Michael. “Washington Risks Everything.” Military History 24.4 (2007): 42. MAS Ultra School Edition. Ebsco Host, n.d. Web. 03 Jan. 2014.
First Revolutionary Battle at Lexington & Concord. History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. .
Historians may argue that the British lost the war more than the Colonists won it. Simply looking at the statistics of the British three to one ratio over the colonists, and their overwhelming wealth and naval power, it is virtually impossible to believe that the Americans came out victorious. During this war, the newly emerging colonists proved to the rest of the world that they were becoming an upcoming world power. Although unknown at the time, Washington would prove to be a military genius. This would benefit the colonists in many ways. The colonists, although only one-third of them were pro-war, were patriots who were willing to die for their country. The colonists had more to gain from the war then the British had to lose, thus creating more of an incentive to win. The colonists also had aid from other countries such as France and created allies that would eventually be useful in other wars. The Colonists won the war more than the British lost it because of Washington's great military skills, their patriotism and motives to triumph, and aid of foreign countries.
The author's twenty page preface details “The Generation”, which he asserts that despite current trends in scholarship, the real essence of the revolutionary era lies in the thoughts and deeds of this handful of Patriot elites, which had publicly pledged at great peril to their own lives and fortunes their undeniable support for the ideals of our founding documents. America's most famous (or infamous) duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr is the backdrop for first chapter. This might lead one to think Ellis intends to move backward in time through the book, considering it occurred on July 11, 1804, however such is not the case as mentioned. Ellis does manage to present a fairly balanced view of the part played by both participants in the long war of words which finally led to the deadly showdown near Weehawken, New Jersey, providing an accounting of the historical scholarship on this well told chapter of our history.
In the second half of the eighteenth century, the British were faced with rebelling colonies. Finally realizing that they had to fight to keep their colonial possessions, the British sent troops to America. Once the battles began in America, the British were not impressed with the colonial military, but the weak militias soon proved to be effective. With foreign aid from France, American devotion, and the lack of British vigor, the Americans soon discovered the open doors of independence. In my opinion, the American advantages and the British disadvantages proved to be the downfall of the English in the American Revolution.
The colonists had failed to stop the British, but they got reinforcements. when the British got to Concord, there was no equipment to be taken. It was a decoy and the British had been tricked. When they turned around to head back, they were faced with the Colonial army to fight. The colonial army won and the American Revolutionary War had begun.
Edward, Rebecca and Henretta, James and Self, Robert. America A Concise History. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2012.
On June 17, 1775 the Battle of Bunker Hill took place. It is one of the most important colonial victories in the U.S. War for Independence. Fought during the Siege of Boston, it lent considerable encouragement to the revolutionary cause. This battle made both sides realize that this was not going to be a matter decided on by one quick and decisive battle.
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
Accepting risk is an inherent necessity of commanders past and present. General Gates knew a purely defensive operation was risky, but he also knew that engaging the British on open terrain was an even greater risk. Commanders today should consider the implications of accepting too great a risk while developing the situation and operational approach to their desired end state. Whatever the mission, by empowering subordinates, enabling disciplined initiative and driving the operations process, commanders will not only provide that needed and desired leadership, they will affect the outcome of the battle.
Alexander T. (2013). “Historynet.com” Battle of Antietam: Two Great American Armies Engage in Combat < http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-antietam> . 3/21/2014
The American Revolution: the war for our independence. This revolution opened the door to our liberty, freedom, and basically what America is now. Most Americans have heard the stories of famous battles, important people (George Washington for instance), and everything in between. However, this was only for our side of the American Revolution and a small fraction of people have been told of Britain’s campaign of the revolution. The only thing people have been told was the Britain lost the war. What of Britain’s triumphs, strategies, and everything that happened in the span of a few years? Not many people know it, but the British struck a major blow against the Patriots in the last few years of the war. Even though the United States won the American Revolution, Britain struck a major blow against the colonists when the British successfully and brutally took the town of Charleston, South Carolina.
6 The battle in which Captain Michael Pierce lost his life is detailed in Drakes Indian Chronicles (pp. 220-222) (http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/conn.river/massacre.html)
Newman, John. UNITED STATES HISTORYPreparing for the Advanced Placement Examination. Second Edition. New York: AMSCO SCHOOL PUBLICATIONS, INC, 2010. eBook. .
After we established precisely what we were fighting for, complete independence from England was our unyielding goal. Ultimately, against all odds, the Americans defeated the British in a victorious surrender at Yorktown on October 19, 1781. It is unquestionable that the war gained us political independence, for without it we would still be governed by England. As Carl Becker stated, the Revolution helped us conquer the problem of “home rule”, but now we faced the question of “who should rule at home”. Accordingly, Congress appointed a committee t...
The Revolutionary War was a war between the Thirteen Colonies and Great Britain from 1775-1783 during the American Revolution. The American colonists fought the British in hope of freedom and separation from Great Britain. “This was the completion stage of the political American Revolution whereas the colonists had denied the rights of the Parliament of Great Britain in governing them without any representation,” ("American Revolutionary War."). The Revolutionary War consisted of many different bloody battles on American soil. The war resulted in an American victory because of many historical reasons. The factors that contributed to an American victory of the Revolutionary War are British debt, distance between America and Great Britain, war tactics, French involvement, and important battles.