The American Revolution

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,

Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,

Here once the embattled farmers stood,

And fired the shot heard round the world.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Concord Hymn”

Stamp Act

• 1765 – revenue stamps on

most printed items

• First direct tax on users!

Boycotts

• Most effective means

of protest

– Economic impact

– 1765-1766

• Even before Stamp act

in effect!

– London merchants

demanded relief

Townshend Acts

• Passed to raise

revenue that was not

coming in because of

the failure of the

Stamp Act

• “Writs of Assistance”

• Salaries of crown

officials

More Protest

• Letters – Farmer in PA &

Mass. Circular

• More boycotts

Boston Massacre – March 1770

• A group of colonists taunting

soldiers guarding the customs

house

• Wanted customs official sent

out to be tarred and feathered

• Additional soldiers arrived to

help

• Soldiers were in Boston to

help enforce tax laws

• 5 deaths; at least 6 more

wounded

Moving towards Revolution

• Conspiracy?

– During the period of peace from 1770 to 1772, Samuel

Adams and a few others tried to keep alive the view

that British officials were deliberately conspiring to

suppress colonial liberties

• Committees of Correspondence

– Initiated by Samuel Adams beginning in 1772

– Connected Boston and other Massachusetts towns

– exchanged letters describing suspicious or potentially

threatening British actions

• Inter-Colonial Committees

– Initiated by the VA House

of Burgesses in 1773

– Same as Committees of

Correspondence but

throughout the colonies

– Allows Virginia and others

to be aware of the events in

Massachusetts and New

York (and others) The Alternative of Williamsburg by

Philip Dawe, 1775

Armed patriots in Williamsburg, Virginia,

obtain a merchant's written agreement not to

import British goods. The "alternative" is

the containers of tar and feathers hanging in

the background. (Library of Congress )

The Gaspee - June 1772

• A Customs ship sent to

enforce various acts of

Parliament (and catch

smugglers) was chasing a

sloop full of smuggled goods

• Lured into running aground

on a sandbar off the coast of

Rhode Island

• Colonists boarded the ship

and burned it

•A British investigation

revealed nothing about who

was involved and responsible

Boston Tea Party

• December 16, 1773

• Dozens of Bostonian “Sons of Liberty,” including

Samuel Adams, boarded three ships loaded with

East India Tea (and subject to the tax from the Tea

Act) **See poster & pgs 158-163 in Rise to Rebellion

• The tea was still on board the ships because all the

warehouses were full since no one was buying

East India Tea (even though it was the cheapest

available - even cheaper than smuggled tea)

• Disguised as

Indians, they

dumped 342

chests of tea

into Boston

Harbor

• Reaction in the colonies was mixed

– Some supported it as a justifiable defense of

colonial liberties (more tea parties)

– Others saw destruction of private property as too

radical

Response: Intolerable Acts

• Coercive Acts - March-June 1774

– Boston Port Bill

– Massachusetts Government Act

– Administration of Justice Act

– Expansion of the Quartering Act

• Quebec Act - June 1774

– 3 provisions

– 3 reactions

*First Continental Congress • Sept 1774

• Every colony except Georgia met in Philadelphia

• Purpose was to decide how to react to the threat to

rights and liberties presented by the Intolerable Acts

• Delegates mostly one of three types:

– Radicals – demanded concessions (Patrick Henry, S. & J.

Adams)

– Moderates (G. Washington, John Dickinson)

– Conservatives – mild protest (John Jay)

– NOTE: No loyalists (Tories) were present!

*First Continental Congress

• Actions:

– Suffolk Resolves

– Declaration of Rights and Grievances

– Continental Association

– Promised to meet again in May 1775 if

Parliament did nothing (or didn’t start to

address the problems to the American’s liking)

March 23, 1775

Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions

of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth,

and listen to the song of that siren, till she transforms us

into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great

and arduous struggle for liberty? ... For my part, whatever

anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the

whole truth; to know the worst and to provide for it.

I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that

is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of

the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish

to know what there has been in the conduct of the British

ministry for the last ten years, to justify those hopes with

which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House? ... Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed

with a kiss. ... Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so

unwilling to be reconciled, that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir.

These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask

gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can

gentlemen assign any other possible motives for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of

the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are

meant for us; they can be meant for no other. … Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves

longer. Sir, we have done everything that could be done, to avert the storm which is now coming on.

We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before

the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and

Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence

and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from

the foot of the throne. … There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free—… we must

fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us!

... There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations; and who will raise up

friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant,

the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it

is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat, but in submission and slavery!

Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is

inevitable—and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come!

... Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen

wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the

price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may

take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!

Patrick Henry to the Virginia House of Burgesses

Lexington and Concord (1) The British held the City of Boston under military rule but they

did not control the surrounding countryside and rebel

militias began to form there. The Colony of Massachusetts

was declared to be in a state of rebellion by the British.

Because of Britain's unequal treatment of the American

colonies, the rebels just needed a spark to arouse the

colonists.

On April 18, 1775, the British commander in Boston, General

Thomas Gage, sent a detachment of 1000 troops to seize a

store of gunpowder being kept by the colonists in Concord.

He also wanted his troops to find the ringleaders of the

rebellion, Samuel Adams and John Hancock, and arrest

them.

Lexington and Concord (2) When the rebels got wind of the British plan, they sprang into

action. Paul Revere and a companion, William Dawes, set

out to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams (who were at

Lexington) and the rest of the countryside that the British

were advancing. They were joined by Dr. Samuel Prescott.

All three then left for Concord, taking different routes.

A brief stop in Charlestown allowed Revere to place a back-up

signal in a church steeple. He then began his ride from

Charlestown to Concord that is immortalized by Ralph

Waldo Emerson’s poem The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.

Both Dawes and Revere were captured en route to Concord.

Prescott escaped capture by leaving the road and making his

way to Concord by way of the countryside.

The Route to Lexington &

Concord

So through the night rode Paul Revere;

And so through the night went his cry of alarm

To every Middlesex village and farm,—

A cry of defiance, and not of fear,

A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,

And a word that shall echo for evermore!

For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,

Through all our history, to the last,

In the hour of darkness and peril and need,

The people will waken and listen to hear

The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,

And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

From “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Lexington

Lexington Approximately 77

minutemen gathered

at Buckman Tavern

to display American

patriot resolve to the

advancing British.

Minutemen,

armed militia

members that

can be ready to

fight at a

moments notice,

fire on British

troops at the

Battles of

Lexington and

Concord. It is

unknown which

side fired the

first shot.

Lexington Green

Lexington

The Nelson

House, located at

Lexington Green

– oversaw the

fighting at the

Battle of

Lexington

between 77

Americans and

about 800 British.

Fighting on the town common at Lexington.

Lexington

They were ordered to disperse, as they did, a shot rang out. Who

fired the shot is unclear. The British responded with a volley of

shots. Eight colonists lay dead, several more colonists and one

soldier were wounded. After the bloody skirmish, the British

determined that John Hancock and Samuel Adams had fled. The

British pushed on to the arsenal (and confrontation) at Concord.

British units reached

Lexington at dawn on

April 19, 1775. A

group of about 70

armed townsmen were

gathered on the town

common.

Lexington

After the clash, the

British began their

search for John Hancock

and Samuel Adams with

the goal of arresting

them.

John Hancock & Lexington

After searching

John Hancock’s

family home (the

home of his

father), it was

determined that he

had fled so the

British resumed

their trek to

Concord

The Road to Concord

Concord Bridge

The British

encountered

very

organized

American

resistance at

the old

“North

Bridge”

An early tapestry depicting the fighting at Concord.

As the British approached Concord, they were met by more

“Minutemen.” The clash left the British with 273 casualties

while the Colonists sustained “only” 95. The British were

forced to retreat back to Boston and the colonists began a

siege of the city in an attempt to drive the troops out.

Concord

Concord – North Bridge

Concord Aftermath

Special Notes on Tactics and Firepower

As you can see from paintings included in this section the

British marched and fought in organized formations. The

type of gun the British troops used was a smoothbore

musket and it was not very accurate. The British used these

tactical formations to bring massed firepower on their

enemies in similar formations.

The Americans had more accurate guns called Kentucky

rifles because they had rifling or spiral grooves in the

barrel. The grooves made the bullets spin as they were

fired and increased accuracy and range dramatically. They

also used different tactics - they hid behind trees and stone

walls and peppered the formations of the retreating British

troops with rifle fire.

Concord

Boston: The Focal Center of War

General Artemas Ward’s New England

Volunteers surrounded Boston and

blockaded the land approaches. General

Thomas Gage and 4600 British soldiers

held the city itself.

Critical to the occupation of Boston was

control of the hills on the Charles Town

peninsula. An army holding this position

overlooked both Boston and her harbor.

Bunker and Breed’s Hill Colonel William Prescott, leading 1200 Massachusetts and

Connecticut soldiers was sent on the evening of June 16 to

fortify Bunker Hill (the dominant hill in Charles Town

above Boston). Instead, he dug in on a lower hill closer to

Boston called Breed’s Hill. The next morning, British

commanders awoke to find Breed’s Hill fortified by the

Americans. General Thomas Gage ordered the position

captured.

Major General William Howe was sent to capture the position

but was delayed by unfavorable tides. While he waited the

Americans built more fortifications. Between 2500 and

4000 New Englanders manned the lines.

Charles Town peninsula in relation to the city of Boston.

Bunker Hill On the morning of June

17,1775, Howe ferried

2200 British soldiers across

Boston harbor on barges.

Howe then led a contingent

of British troops around the

base of the hill to cut off

the retreat of the rebel

forces holding the high

ground on the hills. The

unspoken rule for the

colonials was to hold fire until they saw “the whites of their

eyes”, and to wait for the order to fire, to aim low and to most

especially target British officers. As the British tried to advance,

they were met with increasingly steady musket and rifle fire.

The British advance up Breed’s Hill

Their orderly march broke into confusion and they were

forced to retreat. The Americans, rapidly running out of

ammunition and supplies, abandoned the hill. This allowed

the British to advance in their wake and take control of

Bunker and Breed’s Hills. Essentially, it was a British

victory. It was a costly victory. The British had over a

thousand dead and wounded, while American losses at the

time were about 115-140 killed, 300 wounded, and only 30

captured. This meant it was also a moral victory for the

Americans - they had held off the British Army for as long

as they could and had caused them to lose half of their

fighting strength.

The Continental

Congress, which had met

the first time September to

October 1774, met again

in May 1775. In June

1775, it commissioned

George Washington to

organize and be the

Commander of a

Continental Army.

Thoughts of Independence • Even through these earliest battles, most Americans were

not thinking of independence from Britain

• Early in 1776, colonial leaders’ thoughts turned toward

independence when it became clear that Britain would

never grant colonial liberties

• Even as thoughts turned to independence and fighting

began, only about 30% of Americans could be considered

“rebels.” About 20% remained loyal to the crown and the

rest didn’t really participate one way or the other.

• Southerners tended to either NOT support independence or

to not participate either way...

Southerners Join the Cause • The VA House Of Burgesses

supported the Bostonians and so

were disbanded in 1774. They

continued to meet anyway.

• The governor, Lord Dunmore,

fled to a ship in the Chesapeake

then announced (Nov 1775)

that all slaves who came to the

British cause would be freed.

• Southern planters were so

concerned by this

announcement (800 slaves did

run away) that they began to

support independence John Murray, Lord Dunmore

Common Sense

In January, 1776, Thomas Paine

published his pamphlet

Common Sense. In it, he

questions whether “a continent

should continue to be ruled by

an Island.” At this point, only

the few loyalists, or Tories,

could defend keeping the

connection with England. His is

essentially propaganda for total

independence from Britain.

June 7, 1776 – Richard Henry Lee (VA) introduced a

resolution calling for independence from Britain

July 4, 1776 - A formal Declaration of Independence was

adopted in Philadelphia at the Second Continental Congress.

The Declaration of Independence

Every man who

signed the Declaration

knew that if the

colonies failed in the

rebellion they would

all be executed for

treason.

The document lists the

grievances of the

colonists toward their

king. It was written

not for themselves,

but to justify their

actions to the rest of

the world.

Following the Battle at Bunker Hill and Washington’s

appointment as head of the Army, colonial troops engaged in

several battles with the British in upstate New York.

The colonists also attempted to capture British fortresses in

Canada in an attempt to drive the British out. In November of

1775, colonial forces attacked Montreal and were defeated. In

December, they attempted to take Quebec but again, were

defeated.

The British quickly authorized more troops be sent to the

colonies to put down the rebellion and arrive in New York in

July 1776. Engagements between the two forces at Long Island

in August and at White Plains in October result in two more

defeats for Washington and the Continental Army.

Early Stages of the War

Desperate and Demoralized George Washington learned from the battles in New York that

the British Army could not be fought by conventional

methods. Washington had lost great numbers of men and

equipment at the two battles. The British Army led by

General William Howe was enormous and was backed up

by the British Navy which controlled the Atlantic ocean.

Washington fled into the countryside away from the British

Army and Navy. By now the army under Washington was

only about 500 men. The rest of his troops were in New

York. The troops under Washington were cold, hungry, and

demoralized. Their terms of enlistment were almost up.

Washington desperately needed a victory.

Washington Crossing the Delaware (1851), by Emanuel Leutze

Trenton

The British troops

defending Trenton were

led by Colonel Johann

Gottlieb Rall, a

mercenary soldier. This

means that he (and his

troops) were paid to be a

soldier for another

country. These British

troops were called Hessians, after the region of Germany they

were from. Because these troops didn't care who won the war,

they didn't always fight as hard as they could have. In the early

morning hours of Christmas Day, 1776, Washington attacked

Trenton. The defending Hessians, drunk and sleeping, after their

Christmas celebrations, were caught completely by surprise.

Washington captured over 900 Hessians who were defending

the Trenton garrison. The cost to the Patriot troops was

four wounded men. That same night Washington led his

troops on a forced march to Princeton, New Jersey. Again

the British garrison was caught completely by surprise and

colonial forces prevailed.

These early victories enabled the rebel forces to gain valuable

ammunition, food and other important supplies which

proved crucial to survive the winter of 1777. By the time

the British Commander General Howe learned of the raids

the rebel army was long gone.

The Crucial Year - 1777 1777 was crucial because the rebellion was entering its third

year. The British needed to prove that they could overwhelm

the Americans and weaken their resolve to continue.

The strategy of the British was to focus on isolating New

England - the hotbed of rebellion. To this end, General

William Howe left 3000 men in New York City and set out to

take Philadelphia with a force numbering about 20,000. He

would sail down the coast then up the Chesapeake to reach

the rebellion’s chief city.

Although the Congress had fled the city, Washington had to

meet the British - even outnumbered as he was.

Battle for Philadelphia

The Continental Army tried to gain an

advantage by entrenching itself outside of

Philadelphia. However, first at the Battle of

the Brandywine on September 11 and again

at the Battle of Germantown on October 4,

the British troops were able to outflank the

colonists and force them to retreat.

The British then faced no challenge to the

occupation of Philadelphia. With winter fast

approaching, Washington (an imposing

figure at just about 6 feet tall) and his

approximately 11,000 troops retreated to the

safety of nearby Valley Forge.

Valley Forge The winter of 1777-1778 at

Valley Forge was one of

the bleakest times for the

American cause. An

extremely harsh winter

combined with a lack of

adequate clothing, poor

shelters, disease and hunger resulted in tremendous suffering. More than 2500 men

died of typhus, dysentery and pneumonia. Washington pleaded

with the Congress to send supplies but they were unable to get

the states to come to the aid of his men. The deaths, combined

with desertions, reduced the army to half its former size.

*Ammunition and

Weapons • Muskets (center) were standard

weapons for both sides

• Soldiers made their own musket

balls while in camp using a

bullet mold and melted lead

• Cannon (artillery) was made in

several sizes and fired cannon

balls or “grape shot” (multiple

smaller balls loaded at once)

Musket

Bullet mold Cannon balls & grape shot

*Medicine

• Medicine was primitive at best

as was care for the wounded

• Bullets were large (69 caliber

uses .69” diameter bullets) and

caused large wounds that could

destroy bones, internal organs

or lead to infection

• Cannonballs were meant to tear

limbs from bodies

• Generally the only treatment

was amputation (pictured)

Amputation surgery

Medical tools

Action in the North As Howe was advancing on Philadelphia, British General

John Burgoyne would be on his own in facing the Americans

in the North.

Beginning in July 1777, Burgoyne set out to capture the

American stronghold of Albany. The New England militias

were able to take advantage of the under-provisioned British.

They killed or captured most of an 800 man force sent out to

secure supplies on August 16. Burgoyne decided to press on.

By mid-September, he was south of Saratoga and within

striking distance of Albany. However, American forces under

the command of General Horatio Gates were able to repel the

British assault.

Saratoga The Americans

were able to bring

in substantial

reinforcements and

on October 7, were

able to repulse a

second British

assault.

Burgoyne retreated with his remaining troops to Saratoga where

they were surrounded by an ever increasing American force -

now numbering somewhere near 17,000. On October 17,

Burgoyne was forced to surrender his 5,800 troops. This would

be the first major military victory for the Americans.

Saratoga - the Turning Point The victory at Saratoga was a turning point in the war because

the Americans were trying to obtain support from other

European nations - especially France.

They had proved they were able to defeat the British and so

the French, in 1778, decided to ally with the Americans. A

year later, Spain and Holland also joined the war against the

British.

This new alliance was a turning point because it meant that the

war had widened and Britain would have to divert military

resources away from America lest they be attacked at home.

The Road to Victory Now that it faced a larger war, Britain decided to consolidate

its forces. They pulled back from Philadelphia and centered on

New York.

In the West, the Americans began attacking British forts to gain

control of vast amounts of the Ohio territory from 1778-1779 -

and they were successful.

In 1780, British focus shifted again - to the South - focusing on

Virginia and the Carolinas where the loyalists were numerous.

Victory at

Yorktown –

October 19,

1781

The British General Lord Charles Cornwallis was hoping to combine troops with

an army led by American traitor Benedict Arnold and capture Virginia so that the

British could hold the Carolinas but was blocked by various American militias.

George Washington, backed by the French military and navy met up with

Cornwallis’ army at Yorktown, Virginia.

In the face of such opposition, Cornwallis was forced to surrender his entire

army to the Americans on October 19, 1781, effectively ending the war.

*Yorktown

The Treaty of Paris - 1783 In 1782, news of the defeat at Yorktown reached Britain, and

Lord North and the other Tory ministers resigned. Whig leaders,

who wanted to end the war, replaced them.

In 1783, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and John Jay met with

British leaders in Paris to negotiate a peace treaty.

The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783 provided for

the following: (1) Britain would recognize America as an

independent nation (2) the Western boundary of the new nation

would be the Mississippi River (3) Americans would receive

fishing rights off the coast of Canada (which stayed with

Britain) and (4) Americans would pay any debts owed to British

merchants and for any loyalist property that was confiscated

during the war.