Naval's Role In The Revolutionary 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

In 1787, a few years after the British recognized American independency, the Revolution in France was beginning to unravel. France was desperately in need of financial assistance; it lacked a National Bank and National Treasury system. France had supported the American colonists in the American Revolution, and also gave financial support in the War of Austrian Succession, and the Seven Years War. A combination of the financial support given in these wars, maintaining their military, and the fact that France spent more then it collected in taxes each year, resulted in a substantial debt crisis for France.

The French's entry into the war meant that the power of the British Navy was challenged. The French-American alliance began poorly with the admittedly unsuccessful operations in Rhode Island in 1778 and Savannah in Georgia in 1779. One reason for the problems was that the priorities of the French and the Americans were not identical. France hoped to conquer the British areas in the Caribbean before they would help the Americans to secure independence. While the French financial assistance to the American war was already critically important, would not French military aid to show positive results before an

In the book 1812: The Navy’s War, Author George C. Daughan gives the reader an inside look into the events that led to the War of 1812 and war itself. Within the book, Mr. Daughan analyzed the conflict between the recently discovered Unites States and Great Brittan. The book gives in detail the short-term consequences of the War, as well as the lingering effects the war brought to the United States. By the end of Mr. Daughan historic text it is abundantly clear that the War of 1812 forever impacted the way the United States military operated. Mr. Daughan gives an outstanding synopsis of the United State’s rise as a military power, specifically the United States Navy. Daughan gives the reader an in-depth look of these gruesome battles, by using letters, journal writing, and other first-hand accounts of those directly involved in the war.

Shortly following the Revolutionary War, America built one of the strongest merchant fleets the world had ever seen. Overseas trade flourished America’s economy, with its peak specifically in 1807 with exports ranging around $100 million (Hickey). Throughout this period of growth for America, Great Britain’s Royal Navy was without a doubt the master of the high seas. Not helping the future war, Thomas Jefferson was elected into office in 1801 and one of his most notable actions was to shrink the Navy and Military significantly. The homelands defense now laid in the hands of a small fleet of mainly gunboats. They did have a few capital ships, however their primary tasks were to remain as the “floating fortress” of vital eastern seaboard ports. Only quite rarely did they ever see open water conflict.

The American Revolution was far from being the first conflict to occur on the soil of the New World. There were multiple skirmishes, battles, and official wars fought in the territory that resulted in severe bloodshed before the idea of the American Revolution was even conceived. One of the most significant of these wars was the French and Indian War or as it was known in Europe, the Seven Years’ War. At its conclusion in 1763, the Treaty of Paris was signed. The English received a substantial amount of new land for the Empire (94). However, with the acquisition of new land and a significant amount of debt from the extensive war efforts, the British government had to reevaluate many of their policies (95-96). After the Treaty of Paris of 1763, the British were confident in their mastery of North America. However by attempting to tighten their control over their American colonies they initiated a series of poorly thought out programs and policies which resulted in a disastrous rebellion.

When most people consider the time of the American Revolution, they picture the oppressed colonists fighting back against the tyrannical British Empire, but most ignore the international situation that was occurring at the time. Only thirteen years before the start of the American Revolutionary War, the Seven Years’ War ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. In the Seven Years’ War, Great Britain took control of Canada and the land east of the Mississippi Valley from the French and Spain lost Florida, Minorca, and Gibraltar, causing a tremendous amount of resentment towards the crown (see Figure 1). This mutual opposition to Britain fueled an alliance between France and Spain, an alliance that was solidified by the Bourbon Family Compact following the Treaty of

A Comparison of the Naval Tactics and Outcomes of the Colonists in the American Revolution Introduction The American Revolution ended with triumphant colonists gaining independence and founding their own nation. The Civil War ended with the Confederates failing, where the original colonists had succeeded, and remaining part of the United States. Despite this, there are still many similarities between the naval tactics used by the Confederates in the Civil War and by the colonists in the American Revolutionary War. Both the colonists and the confederates found themselves with a serious lack of naval capabilities at the start and end of the wars.

The American Revolutionary War took place from 1775 to 1783. The war made the thirteen colonies of the United States of America independent from Great Britain. One of the first major battles of the American Revolution was The Battle of Long Island. The Battle of Long Island was the first battle that took place after the United States declared its independence on July 4, 1776. The battle took place in August 1776 and proved to both sides that the upcoming war would be long and arduous, not easily won by either side. The British Army was victorious in this battle and forced the Continental Army to retreat leaving the entire state of New York under British control. This paper will provide insight and valuable information into the reason behind the American Revolution, and The Battle of Long Island, specifically details concerning the Continental and British Armies, strategies employed during the battle, and an alternate outcome through addressing failures in the American strategy. An alternate outcome to the battle would have a significant impact on the American Revolutionary War.

The American Revolution war was sanctioned by the former British settlers who wanted autonomy from British Rule. The revolution itself was a culmination of years of heavy taxation and exploitation by the British loyalists. It was the expansionist ambitions of the British Empire that caused it to lose the grip on the American sub continent (Scanlan, 2015, Para. 2-4). The British had embarked on a serious expansion of its empire through the acquisition of colonies in Africa and Asia. The thirteen colonies revolted against the British rule and founded the United States of America. It is important to note that this independence struggle was brutal and both parties suffered heavy casualties. The battle of Nassau can be considered as one of the greatest independence battles in the history of the United States. This paper will critically analyze the battle of Nassau from its onset to completion and the circumstances surrounding the raid on Nassau Island.

Leading up to the war, the Americans had a multitude of reasons for anger towards the British. The wrong done by England that outraged many U.S. citizens was the British's capturing of America's trading vessels and impressing of American sailors. During England's war against Napoleon, France's current dictator, the English army began to grow smaller in numbers, causing the need for more men, which they supplemented by taking America's seamen. Because Britain and France were also at war at the time, neither country wanted trade to exist between America and the enemy, leading to even more captured

The American revolutionary war is the most important war the United States has ever been in. The colonies wanted freedom from the British government but they couldn’t win a war with such a little army, so they needed help. This is why the Colonies made an alliance with France, so they would have a shot to become their own independent country. The Continental army was provided with Soldiers and weapons from France. Also, France gave up all territorial claims in North America east of the Mississippi River and in Bermuda. France even agreed to guarantee whatever U.S. boundaries existed at the war’s end in exchange for U.S. guarantees of French possessions in the West Indies. The treaties and alliances encouraged French and American trade too.

In this essay I will be comparing and contrasting the battle strategies of the Americans and the British during the Revolutionary War. They both used very different strategies. They were smart though. They were also very similar.

An interesting fact is that both countries, America and France, fought their wars on their homeland. The Americans faced a small amount of British troops established in the colonies already, and they also had the Redcoats crossing and ocean from Great Britain. This gave the Americans an advantage that the French did not have. The Americans were blessed with more time to organize and more time for warning. The French did not have this advantage because they were fighting their own government on their own soil. Another significant part of each war is that the Americans did not have any neighbors whereas the French had to worry about invasion from other countries in their time of weakness. The best advantage the Americans had was the fact that the British Empire was the most hated country of the time. Many countries sent aid to America especially the French. The French paid for a large sum

Mr. Mahan argued for greatness through control of the seas. As a naval officer and strategist whose 1890 book, The Influence of Sea Power upon History: 1660–1783, he believed controlling the seas was critical to domination in the war. If an opponent of greater strength could deny the sea to the other, the economy of the second would eventually collapse, leading to victory. But in his writings he stated that such a fleet was not composed of commerce raiders, because raiders could not establish command of the sea, “by defeating the enemy fleet in a decisive battle”. Only battleships, not cruisers and destroyers, could fight such battles. A concentrated battleship fleet was “the arm of offensive power, which alone enables a country to extend