American Militia Success During The American Revolution

Imagination is built on history that passes down from generation to generation. Whether it’s written, shared verbally, or physically present. But are those stories really true? How do the people of this world know what is true based on a written textbook or a person’s voice describing the events that happened prior to the newer generation? Just like the confusion in what is true or not, there is confusion in whether the American Revolution was in fact revolutionary. This was also known as, the War for Independence. It was between the British 13 colonies and England, which at the time was the most powerful country in the world, but was short lived when the 13 colonies took victory in between 1775 and 1783. They are now known

On october 19, 1781 the British army surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia. Although the treaty had yet to be signed, American independence had been accomplished. The Patriots had pulled off the most improvable upset by defeating the most powerful military of the day. Although the British had more troops, were highly trained, had more supplies, and a strong navy, the Patriots prevailed. Under the leadership of George Washington along with technological advancements in weaponry, aid from foreign allies, new fighting techniques, coupled with medical innovations and an extensive spy ring, a new nation is born.

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 American Revolution which started from 1775 and ended on 1783 is also known as the American Revolution war and the U.S. war of Independence. There arises a battle between residents of Great Britain’s North American Colonies and the colonial government which represented the British crown. Different battles were fought to declare the independence of the country. British strategy in 1777 involved two main prongs of attack mainly aimed at separating New England from the other colonies. The American triumph Saratoga is proven to be a turning point of the American revolution as it urged France to enter the warfare openly on the American side. Eventually, the war between Britain and its colonies turned over to be a crucial world war.

Although Identity was lacking at the beginning of the revolution, the American unity, proven by indisputable evidence proved essential and eventually won them war, making

“Martin's belief that the Continentals' contributions to final victory were underappreciated (both during the war and after) ties into the second part of his concluding argument: the role of the militia, which performed important service during the war: "I well know, for I have fought by their side" (183). Nevertheless, he contends that the Continental Army was the backbone of the Revolution. Ironically, the scholarly consensus has caught up with the old veteran in its view of the militia as a necessary but insufficient agent for Independence.” (G.W. Jones fifth paragraph)

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 importance of this raid lay in the fact that they captured much-needed cannons and gunpowder.

Yet in early spring at Valley Forge General Nathanel Greene was appointed quartermaster. Conditions for the members of the continental army greatly improved. Food was in abundance as well as clothing and soldiers took full advantage of it. While the American soldiers were very valiant, they lacked the discipline and skills of a true army. This soon changed will the arrival of Baron Von Stueben. Von Stueben quickly turned the continental army into a true “army.” Leaving Valley Forge Washington and his men had a renewed sense of patriotism. They were now a united army with the skills to defeat the British although they had suffered great losses they had made great achievements and were now truly an army. The winter of Valley Forge exemplified the true will of General George Washington and his troops. They were united and they were ready to fight for one cause life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

If the defeat at the hands of a rag-tag militia damaged the pride of the world’s most powerful military, perhaps they would have taken some solitude in knowing just how chaotic the early days of this country were. Hip-hip hooray!! The King is gone, now what? I imagine many early Americans probably thinking something along those lines in those early days of independence. Like any good revolution, the colonists had achieved their objective, expel the British and establish a new country; done and done. Next came the hard part, establishing a new government and country, something easier said than done. Fresh of the rule despotic rule of King George III, newly minted Americans were faced with a dilemma. They could either create a new system of government completely devoid of anything previously seen in the Colonies (now States) or create something similar in principle but ideologically dissimilar government which consolidated power. Thus begins the rise of the Federalists, supporters of a strong, centralized government to protect and defend the right of all; and then there were the Anti-Federalists, those who believed a weak federal government kept in check by strong state government to be the true intent of our founding.

The Revolutionary War was fought by two sides, those being the British and the American colonists, fighting for whether the colonies would remain under British rule, or become their own independent country, and they both had advantages and disadvantages over the other. The Americans were eventually victorious, forming what is known today as the United States of America. It will be discussed in this essay just what advantages and disadvantages each side had, and how these played into the eventual outcome of victory for the colonists.

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.

The American Revolution, which occurred approximately from 1765 to 1786, is also known as the American Revolutionary War and the U.S. War of Independence, for good reason. The conflict rose from rising tensions amid the people of Great Britain’s thirteen American colonies and the colonial government, which represented the British crown. Clashes between Britain’s troops and colonial militiamen in Lexington and Concord in April 1775 kicked off the armed conflict, and by the following summer, the rebels were waging a full-scale war for their independence. The American Revolution had tremendous consequences, and was not simply a victory of arms on the battlefield, but also a feat of economic and political ideals, and vital societal changes. This huge period of history set into motion greater changes in American life and created a country, demonstrating just how this revolutionary age in time more than earned its name. This battle of independence waged by the American colonies against Britain influenced political ideas and revolutions around the globe, as a young, largely divided nation won its freedom from the greatest military force of its time.

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?

The British military was considered the strongest in the world at the outreach of fighting between England and the American colonies in 1775. Britain had just defeated France and the Indians in the Seven Years War and had attained its prominence as a world’s superpower. Yet despite Britain’s overpowering military dominance, the British found themselves unable to subdue General Washington and the American colonies. The American’s success in achieving independence during the American Revolution was not due to General Washington’s strategic skill but by numerous British blunders. The British mistakes during