The American Revolution : The Battle Of Bunker Hill

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

We, as a military can still learn much from the actions that George Washington took. The siege operation that was implemented emphasized just how important it can be for an army to have the ability to replenish their supplies. Without this capability, the British troops were rendered ineffective because they were severely depleted of rations, manpower, and even bullets. The Colonial Army basically gave General Cornwallis no other option than to lay down their arms and surrender.

The American Revolution, when 13 American colonies waged war against the most powerful country in the world, Great Britain, for their independence. Soldiers who fought in the war and risked their lives to gain the freedom we have today, is just one of the many prime examples of prevailing hardships in battle. George Washington proved to be exemplary just like many others heroic patriots, like Henry Knox and Nathaniel Greene, when triumphing over the British soldiers with what little strength they had and defeating them. Their victory was more than enough proof on why they deserved independence. David McCullough’s 1776, describes and educates us about events which happened before the war and foreshadows up to the revolution. We learn about the hardships thrown at George Washington and the Continental army whose intentions switched from equal rights to complete emancipation. Battles throughout the Revolutionary War, like the Battle of Bunker Hill, are well known, but McCullough shows the reader how the Continental army continues to strive on even when victory is not in their favor.

The Battle of Trenton marked a decisive victory for the Colonial Army that helped to solidify the American people in fighting for independence from Great Britain. General Washington was able to leverage available human and counter-intelligence to gain the upper hand and defeat the Hessian force garrisoned in the town. Had Washington not acted on the intelligence available at the time, it is possible that the Colonial cause would not have lasted though that winter. This paper will analyze the two forces that took part in the battle and describe how each side used, or failed to use available intelligence. Additionally, it will postulate alternate outcome should Washington not have acted on the information available.

The purpose of this paper is to identify three factors that contributed to the failure in the British Southern Campaign in the American Revolutionary war. This paper will examine British and American Southern Loyalist defeat in the Battle of Kings Mountain, and discuss assumptions the British made including loyalists support, logistics, and terrain advantage. It is important to study past military actions to identify mistakes and apply lessons learned to current U.S. military operations.

The battles at Lexington and Concord were simply formalized versions of the resistance that had been going on in the streets of Boston for 10 years. The Sons of Liberty introduced violence into the British-American dispute and made reconciliation impossible, which was Adams’ goal all along, namely to alienate the moderates and make them choose sides. Events also revealed that “news” and “propaganda” often were one and the same, depending on who did the “reporting.” With that strategy in mind, Sam Adams and the Sons of Liberty proved that rioting, looting, and violence—disgusting as they often were—could be effective Revolutionary

Even after three years of war, the British were still losing. Eventually, they decide to change their strategy. Invading the South with a smaller army instead of the North seemed like the perfect idea. The Loyalists were plentiful in the South, and with their support, it seemed likely that they would win the war. But only in the beginning their new plan had worked.

As the Revolutionary war began it seemed that the British held all of the advantages. They had won recognition as the most powerful nation in the world through their military exploits in the Seven Year’s War. The British had a population with more than three times the people of the colonies that produced an experienced, professional Army that was able to deploy fifty thousand troops to the colonies. They had the wealth and credit, as well as the alliances needed to secure the services of thirty thousand Hessian troops, and they had the support of as many as thirty thousand armed Loyalists (Feldmeth, 2004). The British Army, in addition to being highly professional was also supported by the largest naval force in the world. This let them establish superiority over the sea and allowed their Army freedom of movement to any place on coastlines of the rebellious colonies (Wright & MacGregor, 1987). The British also had a political establishment that was geared towards supporting troops in the field. Their

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

Have you ever heard “don't shoot till you see the whites of their eyes.” That is what William Prescott said during the battle of bunker hill.General Howe lead the british up a hill into battle.There was three waves the first time they went up the british was plowed down by the colonist.The second time they went up they were shot down again.The third time the british went up the colonist were out of ammo and was forced to use their bayonets.

British commander Cornwallis dragged his troops to New York in hopes of meeting a naval fleet. However, the French fleet had been there since August and they were able to chase off the British fleet. This caused Cornwallis to be trapped at Yorktown, with the French blocking him by sea and Washington by land. Those three weeks he was trapped there were the three most suspenseful weeks of my life. Ebenezer Denny, a major in the Continental Army describes that last day, October, 19,1781, just as I would have if I had been able to fight. He wrote in his journal, “British army parade and march out with their colors furled; drums beat as if they did not care how. Grounded their arms and returned to town. Much confusion and riot among the British through the day; many of the soldiers were intoxicated; several attempts in course of the night to break open stores; an American sentinel killed by a British soldier with a bayonet; our patrols kept busy. Glad to be relieved from this disagreeable station.” This relates to exactly what was going on at the time and how a true Patriot would have felt about us Americans beating the mighty British in our fight for independence. While the British acted like this defeat did not bother them, we all knew that they were embarrassed and that the only way they could seek some sort of security was acting out and hurting

On April 18, 1775, an American rebel leader named Joseph Warren learned that a British Army unit occupying Boston would deploy from the city into the countryside. The British mission was to confiscate rebel arms and equipment from a nearby town called Concord within the same colony of Massachusetts. Warren dispatched two men during the middle of that night, Paul Revere and William Dawes, to alert the militiamen in Concord “the British were coming”.

The British seemed unbeatable. Their military was one of the best in the world in the eighteenth century. The British had a very well trained, disciplined,well paid, well fed and well equipped army. Their army had a lot of money being passed to them by the English crown allowed them to be financed and well prepared for any situation. The British navy even dominated the seas. On the other side, their opponent, the Patriots didn’t have more than a meager army. The Americans had shortages of ammunition, food, clothing, blankets, and shoes from the difficulty of raising enough funds to finance their necessities.Their army lacked basic training and discipline and they lacked a real navy on the seas causing them to have no way to defend themselves on the coastlines. The British previously had victory after victory

It is said that the Battle of Saratoga, two collective battles fought between the Colonial America and the British armies in fall of 1777, is the world’s “most important battle of the last 1000 years”. However, many people don’t know the story behind the battles or haven’t even heard of them. The American Revolutionary War was about two and a half years running at this time, and patriot morale was down. The British military was proving to be the strength they were known to be, and they were looking to put the war to an end. However, many things came together to create the perfect storm. There is no doubt that the victory at Saratoga was a turning point in the war that led to America’s victory.

What was the tipping point for the American’s independence? Was it the colonists fighting on their own, or did they have help and did that help result in winning their independence? In order to answer these questions, we must first look at the financial stability New England was in. According to (shy and Tyndall P.202, 2016) "recruiting, supplying, equipping, training, and paying soldiers and sailors, are monumental challenges" for the 13 colonies. New England neither had the finances, nor the professional army with full-time soldiers to win the war.