The American Revolution

The American Revolution

1. British victory over French in French and Indian War in 1763

   • Eliminates France as a major player in North American affairs
   • Taxation
     • Sugar Act (1764): Taxes placed on certain goods. Indirect taxation
     • Stamp Act (1765): Direct tax on any paper goods
     • Issues arise, not because of the taxes high price, because they lacked representation in Parliament
     • Townshend Act (1767)
       • British attempt to better regulate the tax and trade industry
       • Boston Massacre (1770)
         • Leaves 6 dead and becomes a perfect propaganda tool against the British.
         • Boston Tea Party (1773)
           • Direct result of the Tea Act.
           • First Continental Congress (1774)
             • All Colonies attend to question possibile collective action
             • April 1775
               • Battle of Lexington: British defeat the ill prepared American militias as they search for near by weapons
               • Battle of Concord: Hours after Lexington, with more militias reaching Concord, a force of American militia men made contact with a small British force searching for hidden weapons. Poor tactical mistakes by the British lead to a tactical retreat that resulted in the entire force of British regulars coming under fire and taking causalities from thousands of colonials using guerrilla warfare tactics.
               • The siege of Boston Begins with nearly 15,000 colonials surrounding the city
               • Battle of Bunker Hill (1775)
                 • The British take heavy causalities as they try to break the colonials siege of Boston
                 • Instils more confidence in the Colonial cause
                 • March 1776
                   • With heavy artillery captured from Fort Ticonderoga, Washington's forces are now considerably stronger despite their declining numbers
                   • By the 17th, the British forces leave Boston and sail out of the harbor
                   • Invasion of Quebec
                     • Two separate advances on Quebec by American forces end in defeat in 1775-1776 and again later in 1776
                     • The attacks do serve the purpose of delaying a British attack from Canada until 1777
                     • 4th of July
                       • America Declares its Independence from the King
                       • Battle of Long Island (August 1776)
                         • Also know as the Battle of Brooklyn
                         • Largest battle of the entire war
                         • Ended in a terrible defeat for Washington and his army, New York falls to the British
                         • Battle of Trenton
                           • With the continental army hovering near defeat Washington takes the offensive
                           • A surprise attack takes 1,000 hessian soldiers prisoner and provides a major morale boost to the weak continental army
                           • More poor leadership by William Howe gives the Americans another victory in the following days over a much larger force.
                           • Battle of Saratoga
                             • General John Burgoyne's plan to take Albany with a march from Canada continually runs into problems, losing men and material
                             • With a much weaker force then he had weeks before, Burgoyne is defeated at Saratoga. When he realizes that General Howe wont be coming to his rescue, Burgoyne surrenders to the Americans
                             • With proof the colonials could win, the French throw their full support into the war against the British
                             • Failures of General Howe
                               • His cautious attitude is all attributed to losses he suffered at Bunker Hill
                               • After failing multiple times to press his advantage and destroy Washington's army after Boston, New York and Trenton, Howe resigns his position of British Commander in Chief
                               • Valley Forge
                                 • Washington's defeated army continues to suffer losses as thousands die in the freezing cold winter
                                 • Prussian advisors help train the continental army on their tactics for 6 months
                                 • The North(1778-1783)
                                   • With the threat of French Warships, The British abandon Philadelphia and fortify New York
                                   • The Continental Army suffers additional losses due to harsh conditions and boarders on munity in 1780
                                   • For the remainder of the war the North stays very quiet
                                   • The South (1777-1780)
                                     • After 3 years of fighting in the North the war moved down to the South for the remainder of the war.
                                     • 1778: General Henry Clinton's army takes Savanah Georgia and repulses counter attacks from colonials
                                     • 1780: Clinton then capitalized on his victory at Savanah with his conquest of Charleston, South Carolina, taking a large portion of the Southern colonial force as prisoners
                                     • 1781
                                       • Believing Virginia is the key to the Sothern colonies General Cornwallis was ordered to fortify a major sea port to receive reinforcements, the location he choose was Yorktown
                                       • At the same time that Cornwallis is preparing Yorktown, Washington began moving his army south as the French moved their fleet north to Yorktown from the Caribbean
                                       • Yorktown
                                         • With a much larger fleet than expected, the French routed the British fleet and cut off Cornwallis at Yorktown
                                         • Washington and the French army soon connected to surround Cornwallis with nearly 19,000 soldiers, cutting off all escape
                                         • After just over a month of siege warfare, Cornwallis surrendered to the American and French forces.
                                         • Post Yorktown
                                           • Upon hearing the loss of Cornwallis and Yorktown, the British parliament vows to continue the war against the colonies
                                           • Fighting against the French and Spanish in the West Indies and Gibraltar draws British forces. British losses cause many to question continued action in the colonies
                                           • February 1782: Faced with growing losses in other reaches of the world, the British seek peace
                                           • Treaty of Paris
                                             • September 3rd, 1783: US and Britain officially sign the Treaty of Paris, ending the conflict
                                             • November 1783: the Last British soldiers leave New York
                   • The siege of Boston continues
                 • British forces are seriously bloodied by the militias leading to many, including British General William Howe to be much more cautious in future battles. Proving to be a serious advantage for the colonials
           • Helps instil confidence that the colonials can stand against Britain
       • Taxes set to replace the stamp act which was repealed in 1766

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