With the commencement of war in the 13 American colonies in 1775, the British Army logistics organization of the rebelling colonies, the British logistics system was effective (McCoy, 2012). Though there were significant shortcomings in the resupply system that existed consequently failure to identify moreover correct supply deficiencies weighed in significantly to the British Army's defeat. According to McCoy (2012) one large milestone the British Faced was” a 3,000-mile line of communication across the Atlantic Ocean”. An examination of how Britain supplied its army, Great Britain could not sustain the Army neither could the colonies (McCoy, 2012). The failure of the British Army supply system demonstrates how the status of essential commodities
The Non-Fiction Historical Book 1776 By David McCullough is a historically accurate and in depth view of The American Revolution; starting from The Battle of Bunker Hill, Boston, Brooklyn, New York, Fort Washington, and ending its Analysis at the Battle of Trenton in 1776. There are many fascinating features, trends, themes, and characteristics used in 1776 that make the book a fluent and enjoyable read. Also the book gives a very detailed and informative account of the battles and military life from the Battle of Boston to the Battle of Trenton. Finally the author, David McCullough, of the book as many other works and experiences that tell the reader why and how 1776 is such a credible source
Nether the Americans nor the British achieved their main goals. The US wanted to annex Canada as part of the United States, but failed. The British wanted to occupy the Ohio Valley and Mississippi basin and cut the new United States off from the western portion of the Continent, confining them to their original size of the thirteen colonies but failed.
To travel to America and battle against the colonists, the British soldiers had to go across the
One of the reasons that lead to the conflict was the lack of proper communication between England and America. Even though packet boats sailed regularly back and forth
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
The purpose of this paper is to identify the 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, long rifle, 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 French and the English were bitter adversaries for many years. Throughout much of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Britain and France were engaged in many vicious power fights that repeatedly flared up into worldwide wars. Nevertheless the ultimate victory over the French came at an extraordinary price for Britain. Britain spent a fortune on the French and Indian War and couldn’t raise enough money to pull together a more intimidating fighting force; which forced Britain to extract funds from its colonies. However, the colonies felt that Britain was not effective in protecting them. This along with the advancement of distinct political entities among the colonies led to a feeling that the English were no longer necessary in these areas. Likewise after winning the war Britain no longer had to govern its land, but also their new land and the
From early on the British were confronted with serious challenges with providing provisions for troops operating in America. During the war, British provisioning strategy relied heavily on sustainment support to come from the homeland. The 3000-mile trip proved to a tactical hindrance in feeding the troops as well as resupplying with ammunition, blankets, shoes and armament. Often taking several months to arrive, the supplies arrived spoiled and unusable. Further amplifying the issue, the U.S. Continental Congress authorized “legal piracy” which attributed to the seizing of over 300 British ships during the war.
After the Colonies revolted, Colonists’ lost British protection and imports. In the History Alive! Textbook, it states, “The Continental Army was always short for men. General Washington never had more than 20,000 troops at one time and place,” and “Food shortages forced troops to beg for handouts.” That would mean they struggled without the British help. As stated, the Colonists
The British enrolled about fifty thousand American Loyalists and enlisted the services of many Indians, who though unreliable, who fair-weather fighters, inflamed long stretches of the frontier”(135). This extra help from colonists, Loyalist, hessians, and the Indians only add to the army creating a bigger advantage towards the colonists. Even though they did not win it can said that the British seemed to have a bigger lead on the colonists. Colonists presented themselves as weak and disorganized, where one would presume that they wouldn’t win at all, “Yet the American rebels were badly organized for war. From the earliest days, they had been almost fatally lacking in unity, and a new nation lurched forward uncertainly like an uncoordinated centipede”(136). Organization is important for the colonists because they are competing against a well-developed and trained army.
The greatest advantage of the British army during the Revolutionary War was its ability to raise and use money for the war effort. Through this money their soldiers were able to be well trained, well equipped, and well fed. The army was able to order supplies and weaponry whenever it was needed, and even “buy” extra soldiers. They hired German mercenaries (Hessians) to fight for them, and used gifts and promises of future wealth to sway many Native American tribes to their position, thus enabling the British to have a much larger army than the colonists. This gave them a prodigious advantage over the Continental Army, who had difficulty raising enough funds for basic staples, such as blankets and shoes, and had to conscript civilians into the
(Devore, Lecture #3.) Even though most of the credit was issued from England, it allowed the colonists to buy more things and further strengthen and enhance the cohesiveness of the colonies. By this time the colonies had already well established external trade relationships with both the Indians and other countries. One of their major trade partners was the West Indies, where the colonists procured molasses from which they made rum. (Devore, Lecture #3.) All of these economic developments – consumerism amongst the colonies, Anglicizing of the colonies, the newfound availability and use of credit and the abundance of external trade – play a major role in the reasons that lead up to the American Revolution.
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.
How did the colonists manage to triumph in their battle for independence despite Great Britain’s military might? If any of these factors had been different, how might it have affected the outcome of the war?
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.