How Did The Colonists Manage The Outcome Of The War?

The British military was considered the strongest in the world at the outreach of fighting between England and the American colonies in 1775. Britain had just defeated France and the Indians in the Seven Years War and had attained its prominence as a world’s superpower. Yet despite Britain’s overpowering military dominance, the British found themselves unable to subdue General Washington and the American colonies. The American’s success in achieving independence during the American Revolution was not due to General Washington’s strategic skill but by numerous British blunders. The British mistakes during

As the war began, it seemed that the British possessed a greater advantage over the unprepared American rebels. The population odds alone were about three British to every one American rebel with around 7.5 million British soldiers against around 2.5 million American colonists. When it came to wealth and military power, the British were in favor. In addition to having a much greater amount of soldiers, the British soldiers were professional trained when compared to the minute amount of poorly trained American militia. While numerous and highly trained, the British also had the necessary money to equip their soldiers with the necessary ammunition, clothes, training, etc. The American soldiers, on the other hand, suffered from lack of supplies, lack of money, no leadership, and the difficult weather conditions. Recruiting, supplying, training, equipping, and paying soldiers were monumental challenges, especially for a nation that was barely forming its first governments. Due to the lack of money, there was a lack of supplies for the soldiers who rarely received their pay

Prior to the historic Battle of Yorktown, General Washington had experienced a number of losses. These battles where along the upper east cost of the colonies in fairly strategically important places, such as New York and Boston. This is partly the reason why the British underestimated the strength and resiliency of the American forces. Additionally, they believed that the Americans would diplomatically end their rebellion, which unintentionally aided the American effort. Up until the Battle of Yorktown, the frustrations by the American forces were building up and a change in tactics was needed. Instead of the conventional combat tactics, General Washington began to use a guerrilla warfare methodology. Consequently, British forces were not expecting nor were accustomed to this type of attack and rapidly became exhausted.

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.

According to the Declaration of Independence, “He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.” Compared to the world renowned British naval/army, the colonists had ill trained soldiers and poorly trained generals who did not have much experience in combat. The colonists would have lost their battle for independence without aid/support from other countries. France was an ally to the colonists and secretly supplied guns, ammunition, gun powder,

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

The distance between England and the Colonies was to great and sending troops, and supplies was very difficult. News of the battles came way too late, and it made it hard to command. The King couldn’t convince the British people that beating the colonists was a vital goal, and they had no

The Battle of Saratoga was a key battle in the Revolutionary War. After the Americans beat the British in two battles at Saratoga, nearly 4000 British soldiers surrendered their arms and were forbidden to fight in the revolutionary war again. Not only that, but the American victory at Saratoga proved to the British and more importantly the French that the colonies had a chance to win this war - American negotiators were able to form an alliance with France, and Spain soon

Explain how and why the American colonists were able to defeat the British Empire in the Revolutionary War.

There was 50,000 Loyalists who formed nearly 70 regiments to help the British maintain control. the British commanders did not trust the Loyalists or respect their fighting ability. So they did not have as many potential supporters they could have if they didn’t alienate the Loyalists. They were afraid the Loyalists would try and take the crown from them so they wouldn't risk having help from them and losing everything. Not only did they not have Loyalist support they didn’t have enough to efficiently support the British army. That was an easy way for the Americans to win. British didn’t have a chance in the first place because Washington's Army was still in tact. They had a chance to capture Washington but failed, he never again would have a chance to get him. Having Washingtons Army still good and intact there was no chance of Britain gaining

They possessed a militia, that while not often able to match British regulars, that proved capable of fighting courageously and that freed up the colonial regulars to train and match the British army. They won the support of an ally who provided much needed technical and material support which enabled the colonists to fight the British on a more even footing. The colonists also had one great advantage that allowed them to defeat the British, time itself. They were able to outlast the British forces in the face of many defeats. The ability of the colonists to persevere and continue on may have been the greatest deciding factor in the war (Kelly, 2014). In the end the British were worn out and had little will to continue the fight. While the king was loath to accept any result other than a victory, he was forced to accept that Parliament would no longer continue to support the War (Middlekauff,

For many, the American victory over Great Britain in the Revolutionary War remains a question of how colonial forces were able to overcome superior forces in conventional, face-to-face encounters. The British army was, unquestionably, superior in military skill and classical tactics to the American regulars. They were extremely disciplined and very proud. The redcoats also held the advantage of superior leadership and a strong chain of command. Overconfidence in themselves, and the difficulty of fighting so far from the mother country were, perhaps, their downfall. The British did not anticipate the power of an occupying citizenry to defend a land they considered their own. Although it will be seen that the American regular army, with its alliance

In the very beginning of the Revolutionary War, it seemed highly likely the victor of the war would be Great Britian due to their world wide reputation of being the best trained, best equipped and most professional army in the world. To many it seemed that the

The British had very few, but significant disadvantages/weaknesses. Since America was large and unfamiliar territory for them, it was troublesome to conquer and to hold territory. The British were 3,000 miles from home so it often took months for military orders, troops, and supplies to arrive from Britain after it was is sent out. And also due to distance, they couldn’t communicate with their leaders, reinforcements, and supply lines. They didn’t send their top military leaders, which caused problems. Their Red Coats and militant style made them easy targets to identify in the wilderness or on open fields. Their soldiers were fighting for a King, not for their own cause. They lacked motivation to crush the opposition from the onset of the war. They were also over-confident and cocky. Their goal was persuade the Americans to give up their claims of independence, which was an extremely rigorous objective. Also, the country had been at war for years and citizens were tired of war and war taxes.

Firstly, Britain was not just fighting the colonial Territorial Army. There were three other major European powers involved who wanted to undercut the growth of the British Empire and replace themselves as the main global power. France took the most active role in America, supplying arms and munitions before eventually providing troops, a naval force and most advantageously training for the militia. An earlier poster stated that the British had the belief that the colonists were an undisciplined rabble, who would run if challenged. It was a belief well founded, as on numerous occasions during a traditional battle the militia did indeed flee the field and often returned to their homes to hide. This changed with the influence of French battle training. Spain, as an ally of France, also involved itself by attacking far more important British colonies and possessions in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, to dilute British forces that otherwise would have gone to America. So, the better quality British soldier went here to successfully prevent this attempted Spanish invasion. The Netherlands played their part too, by continually harassing Royal Navy and East India Company shipping that hit Britain economically, and would often prevent supplies reaching the troops in America.