Securing Independence, Defining

Nationhood,

1776 – 1788

Chapter 06

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Readings for Chapter 6

• You MUST read pages 166-184

• I will only cover the Revolutionary War in this chapter and a few “interesting” stories about ratification of the Constitution.

• Read also, page 153,160-161and 175.

• Be prepared for a quiz along the way.

• Reading is FUN de mental!

The Prospects of War

Loyalists and Other British Sympathizers

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The Opposing SidesBritain11 million

111,000 soldiers to 162,000 *expenses strained

30,000 Hessians economic resources

21,000 Loyalists National debt doubledOver 100,000 sailors 62,000 lost

AmericansCitizen soldiers (state militia)

Not trained in Continental fighting (guerrilla tactics)

Need for precise execution of movements and mass formations

Discipline and training lacking

220,000 troops

Washington -- logical choice --bad military reputation

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Battle of Quebec December 1776• Benedict Arnold

• Marches north with army

• Besieges city

• Wounded in the knee

• Battle lost

• National hero

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American Navy

• John Paul Jones• 1779• Bonhomme Richard 42 guns• HMS Serapis 20 guns• Battle of Flamborough Head• Jones’ ship was burning and he should have struck his

colors, but he yelled his immortal works, “I have not yet begun to fight.”

• Serapis surrendered and Jones transferred his colors.• Repairs were made in Holland to the USS Alliance.• John Paul Jones became a legend.

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Shifting Fortunes in the North, 1776-1778

• New York Summer of 1776• General William Howe• 32,000 troops• Admiral Richard, Lord Howe• 130 warships• Battle of Brooklyn Heights August 27, 1776• ¼ of Washington’s troops killed or captured• British prison ships• Washington’s retreat across New Jersey and the Delaware River• Thomas Paine: “These are the times that try men’s souls.”• New Jersey loyalists ruin the state

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Valley Forge

• Shelters• Forests depleted• No food• No sanitation• No shoes• No clothes• Desertion rate high• Thomas Paine• Washington needs to take action!

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Washington Strikes Back

• Christmas night 1776• “The Crossing” of the Delaware

• Battle of Trenton New Jersey• Captured 918 Hessians • Hessian commander killed by sharp shooter• Lost 4 Continental soldiers• January 3, 1777

• Battle of Princeton• 1,200 British captured 1/3 Lost 40 men• New Jersey’s loyalists jailed and killed by militia

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Map 6.1: The War in the North, 1775–1778

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The Marquis de Lafayette

• Lafayette, Georgia• Fayette, Alabama• 20 years old• Aristocrat• Joined Washington’s staff• Brave• Idealistic• Optimistic Maybe France will join the cause• King Louis XVI wanted proof of American ability

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Battle of Brandywine CreekSeptember 11, 1777

• General William Howe• Landed 18,000 troops near Philadelphia• Washington occupied Philadelphia with 16,000 men• August 1777• Continental units crumble• Howe takes Philadelphia• Washington strikes back

• Germantown, Pennsylvania• October 4 Washington is a LOSER again!• Washington had lost 20% of his army wounded, killed or captured• Many called for Washington’s resignation• Only his Masonic brothers stayed loyal to him• This held the army together

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Battle of SaratogaOctober 17, 1777

• British 2 pronged attack

• Drive a wedge

• Cut off the New England states

• Lt. Colonel Barry St. Leger

• From Fort Oswego

• 750 Colonials at Fort Stanwix Couldn’t take the fort in 3 weeks

• Retreated in August 1777

• General John Burgoyne

• Main British army 8,300 men and Hessians

• Recaptured Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point

• General Horatio Gates with 7,000 men

• 2 Battles make up Battle of Saratoga

• Burgoyne surrendered TURNING POINT

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Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben

• February 1778• German soldier of fortune• Short, squat, immensely popular• Tantrums of swearing German, French, English• Administrator and genius• Single-handedly turned army into a formidable fighting force• Died a bachelor

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Battle of MonmouthJune 28, 1778

• France entered the war on America’s side.• Thousands of troops needed to fight against France in

the West Indies• General Henry Clinton (new commander-in-chief of

British forces)• Withdraws from Philadelphia• Colonial Army catches REAR GUARD in New Jersey• 6 hour battle 100 degree heat• Clinton broke off contact, “My Lord, you must heed the

voice of God.”• British slipped away in the night for New York.• Whig militia in New Jersey “exterminated” loyalists.• Battle for the north was over.

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“Molly Pitcher”

• Nickname given to a woman that said to have fought in the American Revolution.

• Believed to have been Mary Ludwig Hays. • Historians regard Molly Pitcher as legend rather than

history. Molly Pitcher may be a composite image inspired by the actions of a number of real women.

• name originated as a nickname given to women who carried water to men on the battlefield during the war.

• Affected outcome of Monmouth due to heat.

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War in the “South”West, 1776-1782

• Cherokee Wars– Cherokees attacked settlers in N. Carolina– Colonial retaliations– Burned most Cherokee towns– Cherokees signed treaties surrendering most

of their lands to S. Carolina, N. Carolina and Tennessee

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War in the “North”West

• Ohio Indians fought white settlers in Kentucky• Battle of Vincennes “Ven” “Sin”• Colonel George Rogers Clark

– 175 Kentucky militiamen– Captured lost and retook former French townShawneeJohn BowmanMay 1778Delaware and MingoDaniel BrodheadAugust 1778

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Mohawk Joseph Bryant

• Chief• Iroquois and Mohawk• Pennsylvania and New York frontiers• 1778• 700 settlers killed• General John Sullivan• Retaliated• 3,700 Colonial troops • Battle of Elmira, New York• Artillery routed Bryant’s warriors• 24 Iroquois villages burned Iroquois fled into Canada• Many starved as 60 inches (5 feet) of snow fell

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Significance

• Quenching Indian resistance would impact the future shape of the United States.

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Map 6.2: The War in the West, 1776–1782

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Victory in the South

• British assault on Fort Moultrie– Defends Charles Town– British Admiral Sir Peter Parker– Shattering cannon fire from ships– Patriot’s blue battle flag – Flagstaff shattered– Sergeant William Jasper– Retrieved / cannonbore pole– Drove into rampart / inspired men– Refused commission as officer (illiterate)– Killed in Battle of Savannah, Georgia Oct. 9, 1779

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General Augustine Prevost

Captured Savannah from the Americans

Asked to retire

Replacement was captured

Remained in command through the

Siege of Savannah

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Jasper, Alabama connection

• Dr. Edward G. Musgrove

• Settled in 1815

• Named town in honor of Revolutionary War hero

• Sergeant (Sgt.) William Jasper– No, Jasper never came to Jasper.– *This was a trend up until the U.S. Civil War.

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Jasper later rescued 12 American prisoners from the British at a site that became known as Jasper Springs.

General Count Casimir Pulaski killed at Savannah. Jasper got a sword. Pulaski got a fort.

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Sergeant William JasperBronze relief on monument

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Fort Pulaski

Savannah, Georgia

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Map 6.3: The War in the South, 1778–1781

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War in the South

• British Strategy– Secure Southern ports– Gain flexibility to move troops back and forth

from colonies to West Indies– General Henry Clinton– Loyalist militiamen would be used– Counted on Tories to come to their aid– Then, bickering in UK caused 2 year delay

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Georgia and Alabama

• 1778• Troops from East Florida took Georgia• Alabama• Fort Charlotte (Fort Conde) in Mobile• Spain entered war on side of Colonists• Brigadier General Don Bernardo de Galvez• Landed at Choctaw Point• Placed 6 batteries of artillery north and west of fort• “Brisk cannonade” which lasted two weeks• March 13 or 14, 1780, Captain Elias Durnford surrendered• Small garrison of Scottish kilted highlanders marched out

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War in the South continued…

• General Henry Clinton

• 9,000 men

• Charles Town, South Carolina

• 3,400 man garrison

• Surrendered

• Problems– Cherokees on war path– Loyalists had given up

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Swamp Fox

• Francis Marion

• Militia

• Dealt British misery

Sacred to the Memory

ofGEN. FRANCIS MARION

Who departed his life, on the 26th of February, 1795,IN THE SIXTY-THIRD YEAR OF HIS AGEDeeply regretted by all his fellow citizens

HISTORYwill record his worth, and rising generations embalm

his memory, as one of the most distinguishedPATRIOTS AND HEROES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

which elevated his native CountryTO HONOR AND INDEPENDENCE,

ANDSecured to her the blessings of

LIBERTY AND PEACEThis tribute of veneration and gratitude is erected

in commemoration ofthe noble and disinterested virtues of the

CITIZEN;and the gallant exploits of the

SOLDIER;

Who lived without fear, and died without reproach

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War in the South continued

• General Horatio Gates (militiamen)

• General Lord Charles Cornwallis

• American Victories

• Kettle Creek

• Cowpens

• Eutaw Springs

• Kings Mountain

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War in the South continued

• Battle of Camden• Worst Colonial defeat of the war• Battle of Guilford Courthouse• Gates relieved of command after Camden• General Nathaniel Greene takes command• Writes to Washington “We fight, get beat, rise and fight again.”• This is what Washington needs.

• Cornwallis moves north • Militia breaks supply lines• Cornwallis holds up at Yorktown

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Battle of Yorktown

• August 30, 1781 until October 19, 1781• French fleet arrives• Drops anchor off Virginia and won’t allow Cornwallis re-

supply• Washington moves south• French army lands• LaFayette joins Washington• 6,000 British against 8,800 Americans and 7,800 French• Cornwallis surrenders• George III has given him powers unprecedented to

negotiate. So, this proves to be the end.

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Peace at Last, 1782-1783

• Cornwallis was a god to British people.• Overtaxed people order peace terms• John Adams, Ben Franklin, John Jay• Treaty of Paris, 1783

– Withdraw British troops– Britain returned Florida to Spain– 31 Parallel set as boundary– British debt could not be collected so Britain held on

to some forts– No provision for Native Americans– 5% of all free males had died fighting British

The Revolution and Social Change

Egalitarianism / White Men

Read

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White Women in Wartime

• Read

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Revolution for African-Americans

• Read

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Native Americans and the Revolution

• Read

Forging New Governments, 1776-1787

From Colonies to States

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Formalizing a Confederation, 1776-1781

• See Articles of Confederation Slide Show

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Finance, Trade and the Economy, 1781-1786

• Read

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The Confederation and the West

• Read

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Map 6.4: State Claims to Western Lands, and State Cessions to the Federal

Government, 1782–1802

Toward a New Constitution, 1786-1788

Shay’s Rebellion, 1786-1787

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Map 6.5: The Northwest Territory 1785–1787

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Shay’s Rebellion 1786-1787

• Massachusetts farmers• Legislature: Pay of war debt in 3 years• Tax hike• Shortage of gold and silver coin (specie)• Daniel Shays• Marched on Arsenal at Springfield• Militia gained control and put down

rebellion

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Annapolis Convention

• Delegates from 5 states

• Called for a general convention to amend the Articles of Confederation

• Congress asked states to appoint delegates to meet in Philadelphia.

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The Philadelphia Convention, 1787

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Struggle over Ratification

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Map 6.6: Federalist and Antifederalist Strongholds, 1787–1790

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Conclusion