Against tremendous odds, George Washington defeated Lord Cornwallis’ mighty troops, which led to the establishment of a new independent nation. It was Washington’s foreign allies, better leadership and motivation that set the Colonial Army up to succeed. Without the brave 21 year old leader George Washington, there is no way the colonies could have won the war. The French and Spanish allies that the colonists acquired, were a key element in the winning of the war, who without them, they would have never been able to win. “Britain’s rivals, especially France, helped America” (Mcdougal, 215). Foreign countries such as France started secretly giving money, supplies and men to the Colonies in 1775. Soon after, Spain and the Netherlands also joined in, making it a war where Britain had no major …show more content…
The British were over confident and made poor decisions, whereas George Washington carefully thought out his tactics. The colonists used Guerilla Warfare, and militia were quick and often popped out from behind trees to attack. Using this type of warfare was very beneficial to the Colonists, as it did not give the British enough time to shoot the colonists before they were killed. Guerrilla Warfare was known to “weaken the enemy” (McDougal,210). By focusing on winning small battles, in their own land, the colonists were able to keep enough supplies, food and men to eventually win the war. In the battle of Yorktown, “British general Cornwallis set up his base, located on a peninsula” (McDougal, 209), which was a bad move on their part. Washington saw the opportunity and made the smart decision to block the one land entrance, so that the British could no longer get any supplies that they needed. Washington’s plans along with the Colonists motivation were the were the reason they won the
Other than the military victories, some of the factors that contibuted to the defeat of the British included the alliance with the French alliance, the colonist's knowledge of the terrian, and the leadership of the colonial generals. The first factor that contributed to the colonist's victory was when France created a military alliance with America after their victory in the Battle of Saratoga. This aided them with the reasources and troops they needed to fight Britian's armed forces. Another factor is the fact that they were fighting on American soil. Since the colonists knew the land and had lived there for the past century and a half, they had that advantage over the British. Me was there. The final factor is the great leadership that came
Victory after victory we come to the end. Lord cornwallis has retreated after almost 3 weeks of fighting. With the generous help of the french we have triumphed and to finally go home knowing that we are all free men.
The success in winning the American Revolution was influenced by several factors such as military changes, the civil war, and political and social revolutions. Firstly the strong and mighty British army and naval armed forces hired Hessians (p 202) who were the German soldiers to help them fight the American Revolution on their part and as a result, the Continental army( American) came into action. George Washington initiated that the American citizens had to take part in the force in order to wage war against the British who were on a battlefield far away from their homeland. He felt that this would make the British authorities eventually give up and declare independence. The Battle of Trenton ( 1776) was where the American army had
New England joined the militia forces and drove the British troops out of Boston. The British devised a plan to separate New England from the other colonies with the hope of ending the conflict. The British made great strides until they lost the battle of Saratoga. The British lost because General Howe decided to redirect some of his troops from the initial strategy to isolate New England to take possession of Philadelphia (Scott et al., 2006). The loss of troops became their downfall when the American militia surrounded some of the British forces. The battle of Saratoga became the turning point that convinced the French and several other nations to support the American cause against the
Augmented by their French Allies the Continental Army embarked south towards British occupied Virginia. France’s alignment with the United States was motivated by their loss to the British in the Seven Years’ War. Historian John Grainger remarks, “The most important element was the extraordinary achievement of brining several forces, naval and military, French, American, and British, all together at one point.” Upon the arrival of the Continental Army in Williamsburg, 13 miles outside of Yorktown, the British were fighting a two-front war. British General, Henry Clinton, occupied New York, while Cornwallis remained in Virginia with a force of eight thousand. General Cornwallis and his men were to ensure a protected harbor for British fleet in the Chesapeake Bay. The Continental Army comprised of eighteen thousand soldiers, a key facet of rebel success. Heavily outnumbered and outgunned, a distressed Cornwallis urgently pleaded to Clinton for reinforcements. The northern front responded with a fleet of five thousand, however they arrived subsequent to British defeat. “On October 19, in a spectacle incredible to all who witnessed it, most of Cornwallis’ army marched out of Yorktown between two lines of allied soldiers—Americans on one side and French on the other.” In this moment, the power of alliance became visible. Without the support of the French army, Washington and his troop would not have been triumphant at
My first key factor, George Washington, will be a huge impact in the result of this war. He knew when to retreat, and come into full force. One reason he was such a great commander is because of his unpredictable ability on the battlefield. He outsmarted his enemies and was cunning. “On October 18, a picked force of Hessians and redcoats landed at Pell's Point near New Rochelle. There Col. John Glover with only 850 men managed to delay the British advance while Washington retreated to White Plains. Washington's spirits had sunk low during the disorderly retreat from New York, but he was resolved to strike back.” The quote is an
Fighting a losing battle, Lord Charles Cornwallis commanded a last ditch effort to assault the American-French forces. He sent out his British fleet to arrive on the shores of Newport and make their attack on Yorktown soon after. Not long after their arrival, they were almost immediately attacked by both the American and French Armies. With seventy-two men killed and one hundred-eighty wounded on the American Colonies side and three hundred-nine men killed and three hundred-twenty six wounded on the British Forces side, along with eight thousand-seven men captured, the American Colonies were able to make a significant victory against the British
General Washington now had a combined force of over 16,000 American and French Soldiers ready to begin a siege of Cornwallis and his British force of only 7,500 Soldiers. The French Navy had decisively defeated the British Navy. There was no chance of escape for the British, both land and sea routes were blocked. On September 29, 1781, the Battle of Yorktown began. As Washington moved his Army closer to the British, the British would engage them from their defensive positions. Over the next 6 days, the French and Americans would establish their trenches needed to begin the siege. The French and America Armies moved Artillery pieces into position to engage the British.
For instance the americans won the battle of yorktown because the French were behind them in boats and they were ready to fire but the british army surrendered to them. The americans would of gotten killed if it wasn’t for the French. They won was because of the allies such Spain, Holland, and France but different allies came such as random civilians and even slaves so the americans got a lot more soldiers from just them. Even women joined the americans they would make food mend, clothes, they even buried the dead and sometimes served in combat.
The Revolutionary War began with Britain losing the French and Indian war which ended in 1763. This left the British with a huge debt they had to pay, so they ended up charging the American Colonists. In the end, the American colonists couldn’t handle it anymore thus started the Revolutionary War. As you know the American Colonists won the Revolutionary War by sharpshooters, strategy, alliances, and even because of their knowledge of the land. At first, the American Colonists were outnumbered and out-skilled by the British.
September 5th, 1781, a French Naval Fleet inhabited the lower Chesapeake Bay, which was a major advantage to the continental army. The siege of Yorktown, was the last major battle against the British army under General Cornwallis, resulting in the inevitable surrender and American independence. There was a great deal of coordination prior to the actual engagement consequently leading to this outcome. The total number of soldiers consisted of 17,600 American and French soldiers, under the command of General George Washington, Marquis de Lafayette, Comte de Rochambeau, and Rear Admiral Francois Joseph Paul, the Comte de Grasse lead a French Naval Fleet. 8,300 British forces were commanded by General Charles Earl Cornwallis with 7,000 additional forces sent from General Sir Henry Clinton in New York. Unfortunately for the British, the reinforcements arrived too late. According to General Cornwallis, the British failed their mission as a result of lack of reinforcements from Clinton. Middleton stated (2013), “However, it is wrong to blame Clinton alone for Yorktown” (p.387). Various factors led to the defeat of both British Generals. The lack of communications and insubordination of authority caused their defeat. This was the truth for the battle of Yorktown. At the time of the American Revolution, both American rebels and the British practiced a variety of methods for keeping written communications secret. Both sides had a networks of spies who passed on information right under
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.
“How does a rag-tag volunteer army in need of a shower, somehow defeat a global superpower? How do we emerge victorious from the quagmire, leave the battlefield waving Betsy Ross’s flag higher?” Is the start of Guns and Ships, a song from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton: An American Musical. But that raises the question: How we exactly did win the Revolutionary War? Even with the home-land advantage, without help, we would have almost certainly lost. Continuing on in Guns and Ships, “Yo. Turns out we had a secret weapon: an immigrant you know and love who’s unafraid to step in. He’s constantly confusing, confounding the British Henchmen. Everyone give it up for America’s favorite fighting Frenchman! [Lafayette!]” If you couldn’t tell before,
General George Washington and his Continental Army had just defeated the English Army. In 1776, the founding fathers of the United States of America signed the Declaration of Independence, according to ushistory.org 60 delegates signed the document that granted the country we know today as the United States free from British rule.Some of the men that inked their name into American history were Thomas Jefferson. Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Hancock. From that point on the United States was an independent nation. Being an independent nation means the founding fathers had to establish all the characteristics of a successful country, several example include: government, economic system, laws, etc. It is evident that a country cannot
The Battle of Yorktown gave General Washington the advantage he needed to win. General Washington, with the help of the French saw the opportunity to end the war by cornering General Cornwallis at Yorktown. (The History Channel Website, n.d.) Prior to the surrender of General Cornwallis to General Washington at Yorktown, the British were winning several battles. General Washington needed to do something before he had no other options left. General Washington’s forces were low in numbers and strength but knew the land to give them an edge in being rooted out by the British. (Lanning, 2005) General Washington used time and heavy militia to replenish his losses but did not have the troops to capture British Garrisons. (Lanning, 2005) The British in turn, could not pass the militia aiding General Washington. (Lanning, 2005)The militia, fighting alongside continental troops, had the land and the support of the people who aided their cause during the battle. The stalemate continued with no sign of either side budging. Guerilla-style operations were used to win many fights and battles that General Washington’s own troops could not. (Lanning, 2005) General Cornwallis, saw Yorktown in Virginia as a viable location to gather resources for future encounters with the Americans. General Cornwallis moved northward from the Carolinas toward Virginia and occupied Yorktown with an estimated 6,000 to 9,000 British troops. (Lanning, 2005) (The History