British Contributions To The Revolutionary War

Most people did not expect the colonists with their under trained militia to last long against the British superpower. The colonists did just that. In the night of June 16, 1775, a detail of 1200 troops under orders from Artemas Ward, and led by William Prescott was supposed to entrench themselves on the rise on Bunker Hill, but instead misunderstood the instructions and went to Breed’s Hill by mistake. The next morning, the British were shocked to see Americans threatening them. In the 18th century, British military custom urged that the British soldiers attack the American soldiers, even though the Americans were in a superior position. Major General William Howe, leader of the British forces could easily have surrounded the Americans with his ships, but chose to march his troops up the hill; to the Americans. Howe might have believed that the Americans would retreat in the face of a smashing, head-on attack. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how a person looks at it, William Howe was wrong. The Americans stood their ground, dug in their heels, and stood firm. In the first wave, the Americans waited until they were within forty meters, then opened fire. The British force retreated with their wounded for a second wave. The British rushed up yet again. Again they retreated, suffering a great number of casualties. By the time the

During the American Revolution, The British and the American colonists had many difficulties and challenges to overcome. Both sides had great disadvantages and advantages, but the in the end the colonists had the most advantages and won their independence from the British. Some of the most important reasons the colonists won was that they were fighting on their own continent and knew the land better than the British, they received help from other European countries such as France and they had a well-experienced General; George Washington.

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

This alliance had helped the Americans greatly by providing firearms, gunpowder, a naval force, more military strength, and most importantly, financial aid. America, at the time, had already been suffering from debt and did not have enough gold to back up the less important paper money. This financial aid from France had been essential in the United States' victory in the war overall with battles following Saratoga. To continue with the previous statement, the official formation of French-American alliance in 1778 that had offered the colonists everything Britain was asking for but with freedom. The alliance might have created a shaky bond between America and France but it had made the fight for independence fairer between the the two and

The US Navy also was using its diplomacy in hopes to gain the French and their Navy as an ally in the fight for freedom in America. Though it took till 1778, the French had finally decided to aid in Americas relief after the signing of the Treaty of Alliance. After confirming this ally, the battles on the sea changed drastically. Due to its large size, it was able to confront the Royal British Navy head on at engagements such as, Battle of the Capes, and the Battle of the

France had enough influence to convince the Dutch Republic and Spain to join the revolutionary war (“The Aftermath of Saratoga”). Having France as an ally helped the Americans even more because France was able to pull even more allies to the United States’ side of the war. Spain wouldn’t join the revolutionary war, but when France joined they were able to fight as France’s ally. Additionally, France was able to convince many powerful nations, like Russia, not to side with the British in the war (“The Aftermath of Saratoga”). This also shows that France’s aid in the war was crucial to the United States victory. If Britain had gotten more allies in the war things would have been even worse than they already were for the American soldiers. They were already fighting the British with very uneven odds. If the Americans had not won the Battle of Saratoga, and France had not joined the war, the United States army would have had less allies and more

The relationship between the allies, French and the Americans, was the primary reason for their success in the Battle of Yorktown and ultimately in the American Revolutionary War. Under the command of General George Washington, the Americans provided initial force upon their attack against the British that eventually wiped them out. In addition, the French were able to provide reinforcement for their allies and respond to their actions accordingly for a successful battle. This strategy provided by the allies in addition to the poor response by the General Cornwallis of the British contributed to its successful outcome, as we understand it today.

Many factors contributed to the British losing the American Revolutionary War. By the 1770’s the American colonists were not socially, religiously, or culturally connected to Britain. The colonists has their own ways of life and thus were not British by culture. The majority of the colonists had immigrated to America to escape the rigid class structures of Britain and Europe.

The British used on of their biggest assets heavily, their navy. The more powerful and larger colonial cities were primarily seaside and featured harbors for trade as that was one primary way for the Americans to make money. The biggest cities at the time were Philadelphia PA, New York NY, Boston MA, and Charleston SC. The British would use their almost undefeatable naval force to blockade the ports to these cities, and in turn end up capturing them and taking them over. What this also did was block off the colonies from trade with the rest of the world, preventing them from gaining income. The Americans though were smart, as the British Navy was only effective in port cities. The Americans used this to their advantage by keeping control out on the frontier and the Rocky Mountains, and pushing back any British onslaught. Here what they were able to do was isolate British control to the coastal cities alone. As the British kept trying to gain a foothold beyond the coast, the colonists did their best to push them back. Onslaught after onslaught eventually became too financially burdening for the English. Important military Campaigns from the era show truth to these tactics. One such is being the American victory over the British in the Battle of Saratoga in 1777. One of the British Generals, John Burgoyne, tried to make his way down from Canada with 7200 men, and meet up with two other English

The British had many strengths too. They had many over 42,000 troops and 400 shops on their side. Not only did they have many troops on their side but unlike the Americans their troops were quite professional. They were trained how to fight. George III also hired 30,000 mercenaries from Germany. They also recruited loyalists, African Americans, and American Indian. They easily outnumbered the Americans. All of their troops were well trained and had more experience than the patriot troops. Not only were they well trained they also were well supplied. They had food, proper uniforms, weapons,

The war took place on American soil due to this it gave them a territorial advantage tipping the war in their favor. The Americans like the British had many allies such as the French, Spanish and the Dutch. The due to the lack of money and industry the allies helped supply the colonist army with arms. The French aided the Americans by allowing them to use their navy to fight off the far superior might of the British navy.

Not only did the British have better economic resources and manufacturing capabilities, but their population was almost six times greater than that of the Colonists at around twelve million British citizens. This large population had a direct correlation to the size of the army which at the peak of the war reached over two hundred thousand soldiers fighting for the British against the mere seventy five thousand colonial soldiers. The British also had one of the world's best naval forces easily dominating the colonists who at the time had no large scale form of any naval power. Although the British had many great strengths coming into the Revolutionary war they were missing a few key aspects in the game of war that inevitably caused their loss in the War. While the American colonists were lacking in army size, finances, and manufacturing capabilities they made up for these disadvantages in many other ways shapes and forms.

"Peace of mind! I have no peace of mind. I have had no peace of mind since we lost America. Forests, old as the world itself, plains, strange delicate flowers, immense solitudes. And all nature new to art. All ours. Mine. Gone. A paradise lost."

The lack of concern or care that Great Britain showed the 13 North American colonies and conflicts between the two escalated to a point that lead to what we know as the Revolutionary War. Great Britain while better equipped and trained could not support a war for a long period of time. There were many Logistical issues that the British military could not overcome which ultimately lead to a North American victory. The British were not able to create an effective and defend a supply chain. A supply chain a logistical system that is used to move goods to its intended place safe and on time. People, transportation methods, technology, information, and resources are all important parts of a supply chain. The Atlantic Ocean made communication between

This was the turning point in the American Revolution. Because of the American victory, the French then joined forces with America, giving support on land and at sea ("Battle of Saratoga," 2009). Ultimately, this relationship enabled America to win the war.