war of independence 1776-1783

Question 1

give 5 strengths of the British forces in the war of independence

Answer 1

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

Question 2

give 5 weaknesses of the British forces in the war of independence

Answer 2

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

Question 3

give 3 strengths of the continental army in the war of independence

Answer 3

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

Question 4

give 5 weaknesses of the continental army in the war of independence

Answer 4

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)

Question 5

what was the demographic of the loyalists

Answer 5

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

Question 6

what are the dates of the war of independence

Answer 6

1776-1777

Question 7

who was in charge of the British troops (32,000 men) in August 1776

Answer 7

general Howe

Question 8

what was Howe’s first plan after the evacuation of Boston and withdrawal to Halifax, and the reasons for it

Answer 8

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

Question 9

why did the Battle of Long Island occur in 27th August 1776
and explain what happened

Answer 9

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

Question 10

summarise and name the events on what occurred in New York from August 1776 to January 1777

Answer 10

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)

Question 11

summarise Kipps Bay 1776

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Fort Washington (10th November 1776)

Answer 12

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)

Question 13

New Port Rhode Island (December 1776)

Answer 13

Howe declared if people swore oath to the King they would get a pardon, Britain seized New Port in Rhode Island

Question 14

what happened in the Winter Quarters in December 1776

Answer 14

Howe threw away another opportunity to destroy America morale instead of marching to Philedelphia, the respite gave Washington time to regroup

Question 15

what happened at the Delaware River in December 1776

Answer 15

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)

Question 16

what happened at Princeton on the 3rd Jan 1777

Answer 16

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

Question 17

describe the situation in early 1777 for Washington

Answer 17

Washington had to adopt a more defensive strategy and have his ready at any chance that Howe attacked

Question 18

describe the British plans in 1777

Answer 18

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

Question 19

summarise the capture of Philedelphia

Answer 19

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

Question 20

describe what Washington’s counter attack was to Howe capturing Philadelphia and how was its impact unsuccessful

Answer 20

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

Question 21

describe Burgoyne’s campaign (June 1777)

Answer 21

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

Question 22

is Burgoyne American or British

Answer 22

British

Question 23

describe what happened in Saratoga

Answer 23

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

Question 24

are Gates and Arnold American or British

Answer 24

American

Question 25

what were the reasons for British failure in Saratoga

Answer 25

Howe did little to help Burgoyne Burgoyne underestimated the strength of the army and the terrain

Question 26

what were the results of Saratoga

Answer 26

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

Question 27

who is Germaine

Answer 27

British Secretary of State for the Colonies throughout the revolutionary war

Question 28

why did France enter the war and was an ally to America

Answer 28

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

Question 29

why did Spain enter the war

Answer 29

they joined as they were an ally to France to regain possessions lost to Britain (e.g. Florida, Gibralta and Jamaica)

Question 30

when did Spain enter the war

Answer 30

April 1779

Question 31

why did Netherlands enter the war

Answer 31

Britain had declared war on them in 1780

Question 32

why did Britain's attention move away from America in 1780s

Answer 32

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

Question 33

what were Washington's problems in 1777 (4)

Answer 33

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

Question 34

who did General Clinton replace in Feb 1778

Answer 34

General Howe

Question 35

summarise the southern phase in 1778-1781

Answer 35

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)

Question 36

why did Britain turn to the southern colonies in 1778-1881

Answer 36

they thought there was a large number of loyalists capturing Georgia and fighting northwards

Question 37

was it an overall success for Britain or America in southern phase of 1778-1781

Answer 37

Britain but they were left vulnerable

Question 38

why was York Town (April 1780-May 1781) a great triumph for the Americans? What mistakes did the British make?

Answer 38

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

Question 39

summarise General Nathanael Green

Answer 39

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

Question 40

summarise the peace talks after Yorktown

Answer 40

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

Question 41

summarise the Treaty of Paris

Answer 41

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

Question 42

summarise the British failures of the war of independence (5 points)

Answer 42

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

Question 43

summarise the American successes of the war of independence (5 points)

Answer 43

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)