The colonists could not have won without the many advantages that they had- The Americans were in their home country and their resources were close by; the American Patriots believed in the importance of the war. Also, the British were at that time, rivals with the French and other world powers, and as a result Britain’s rivals provided aid to the Americans. Even with out these advantages, Britain could have won the war, if it were not for some serious errors in calculation and other mistakes on their part.
The American War of Independence is said to have begun in April 1775 with battles at Lexington and Concord, near Boston. It was at the Battle of Concord that the first shot was fired. At the start of the war, the colonies in America were not united and only joined together later on that year, during the Second Continental Congress, to defeat a common enemy. Even at that stage Georgia had not accepted the invitation to join the congress, but most other member colonies were slowly moving toward a sense of one, sovereign nation. At the congress meeting, the members decided that arms should be taken up against the British and so they made preparations for a war. They appointed George Washington as the commander in chief of the American forces when they realized that they needed to unite their different armies to stand a chance against the British. The member appointed a committee2 3[2] to draft a Declaration of Independence.
The Battle of Bunker Hill was the first major battle that took place between the British and the colonists. The clash, which took place on Breed’s Hill resulted in a British victory. However, the losses on the British side were heavier than that on the American side. A few months later, an American commander, Benedict Arnold joined forces with Richard Montgomery and attacked the British dominated city of Quebec and was defeated. The British had been waging war from Boston- an indefensible place thickly populated with Patriots, and after realizing the disadvantage having Boston as a base, they moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia on the 17th of March, 1776.
America celebrated its unofficial independence on the 4th of July 1776, when the Congress approved the Declaration of Independence. This event united the Americans and although the sense of one united nation still did not fully exist, the colonies were now to be recognized as one country, not as different states.
After independence a lot of problems arose because the states remained independent and self- governing; there was not enough money and this led to a post war depression. The Congress were not ready to govern a whole nation and were not able to deal with the financial problem well. The confederation did not have any power to tax and had an enormous debt to pay off. It was only able to request states to help pay off the debt. They received one-sixth of the amount they had requested.
With the arrival of 32,000 British troops in New York harbor in August of 1776, the British were much more powerful in terms of man power. Under the command of William Howe, the British fought several battles against Washington’s 19,000 men and defeated them. These losses on the part of the Americans, led to British occupation of New York City in September of 1776. The war took a turn for the better for the Americans when Washington crossed the Delaware river in December and captured Trenton and dispersed a group of Hessians4[3], and then moved on to win the Battle of Princeton and gain control of Princeton College. However, Washington could not keep his hold on Princeton and Trenton for long.
The American gained another victory in August of 1777 when a group of American German farmers under Herkimer defeated the British under St. Leger at Fort Stanwix. Even though the Americans were not as organized as the British, the British made themselves easy targets by wearing red coats and always marching in groups. However, British officer, William Howe defeated Washington at the Battle of Brandywine Creek and on September 11th and occupied Philadelphia. Washington, defeated a second time at the battle of Germantown, spent the winter at Valley Forge. On October 17 of the same year, the Americans, driven by their want for independence, succeeded in a series of small battles which resulted in John Burgoyne, a British officer surrendering to American commander of northern forces, Horatio Gates at Saratoga, NY. This victory for the Patriots boosted the spirits of all Americans, and also resulted in a treaty between France and the United States.
Foreign aid played a very important role in the course of the war. France on the 6th of February 1778 recognized the United States as a sovereign nation and this eventually led to other countries offering aid to the Patriots. Apart from the French alliance in June, France sent large amounts of ammunition and other needed supplies to the Patriots.
There was a change in command of the British forces when Sir Henry Clinton replaced William Howe as General in July. Clinton moved his troops from Philadelphia to New York and stayed there for a year.
The morale of American troops was at a low when, in December of 1778, the British occupied Savannah, GA; in May 1780, the British had captured Charleston, SC and in September 1780, American General- Benedict Arnold was caught in an attempt to betray the Patriots and cede West Point to the British because he saw the war as pointless. However, there was a boost in the morale of the American troops when French troops arrived at Newport, RI, to aid the American cause. Also, in October 1780, Washington named Nathanael Greene as commander of the Southern army.
In March of 1781 Lord Cornwallis, (British commander in the south), clashed with Greene at Guilford Court House, North Carolina; this resulted in Greene’s withdrawal from the battle, and Cornwallis deserting his Carolina campaign. Cornwallis moved his troops to Yorktown, and was soon surrounded on land and sea by Americans, led by George Washington, and the French, led by Count Jean Baptiste de Rochambeau and Admiral Francois Joseph Paul de Grasse. Cornwallis did not stand a chance against the joint American-French force and on the 19th of October surrendered the British Army. This marked the end of fighting; however, the British still maintained its rule over Savannah, Charleston, Wilmington and New York. At this time, the British had defeated France in West Indies which meant that the Americans could no long rely on the French Navy for help. At this stage the Americans were not sure of their victory as their alliance with France prevented them from making a treaty with the British. There was a standstill for some time, and Americans, looking for a solution, signed a preliminary treaty with the British. A final decision was made, and the Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783. As a result of the treaty, France and Spain agreed to end hostilities with the British and the British agreed to grant the United States a “clear-cit recognition of its independence and a generous though ambiguous cession of territory- from the southern boundary of Canada to the northern boundary of Florida and from the Atlantic to the Mississippi.”5[4] (141, American History, a Survey).
Gaining independence, for the Americans had many advantages. Above all, the United States was an independent country and the citizens did not need to pay the taxes that they had earlier been forced to to under the British. Also, Women rights improved a little and there was religious freedom. With advantages, there were some disadvantages as well- even though the states were independent; there was more state loyalty than national loyalty as the states had their own governments and sometimes chose to ignore the laws of constitution. Also there wasn’t enough money and the Confederation Congress ran into enormous debt.
The War of Independence resulted in a great victory for the Americans, and set an example to many other colonies. Even though the British outnumbered the Americans, the passion the Americans had for their cause, and their determination for independence was the main reason why they won.
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