The American Rebellion

and world war

In the mid-1760s the British government's finances were in a terrible
state. A debt of f.140 million had been left by the demands of the recent
Seven Years' War. Government ministers searched far a way to start to
pay this back and to help pay for further costs, such as stationing
troops in North America. The ministers knew that Britain had just saved
the
American colonies from attack by the French and that they were
enjoying the protection of the Royal Navy. Moreover, the British Empire
provided
a huge market far American goods. They decided that it was time for the
American colonists to shoulder their share of the financial burden.
By the late 1760s, the thirteen British mainland North
American
colonies had a combined population of nearly 3 million people. There
were a number of large cities such as New York, Boston and Charleston,
while Philadelphia, with a population of around 40 000 people, was
the second-largest city in the British Empire. The language and culture
of the colonies was English, but in sorne there were large groups of
other nationalities, such as Germans, Scots and Irish. There were also
large numbers of black slaves, particularly in the southern colonies.
Each colony, with its governor and assembly, like a local parliament,
was
loyal to the British Crown, but
there was little co-operation
between the colonies and they
sometimes argued with each
other, often over their borders.
However, land and
religion were to draw these
quarrelsome, often selfish
colonies together. ) .
Immediately after the end ( PENNSY

of the Seven Years' War, the INDIAN RESERVE

¡f
British government made the \ .,) -----

Proclamation of 1763. This V'"m

was designed to reorganise the
British colonies of North America
now that the French lands had
become British. It recognised
( - -~"--- Soura CAROLINA

Catholicism as a permitted 200 mile

_...,,. GEORGIA Atlantic Ocean
religion in former New France
(Catholicism was banned in ■ The American colonies in 1770
G)
sorne British American colonies), established a firm border between the
thirteen mainland colonies and British Canada, and finally established
rules for relations with the Native American tribes and peoples. However,
several of the existing British colonies resented the fact that new
borders stopped them expanding westward. Many colonists hated
Catholicism
and wanted it banned throughout North America.

o..Ib.~..s.iªrnP...I.é;I.~
The British government angered even more colonists when it claimed
.
that the British Parliament had the right to tax people in the
colonies. Previously the governor and assembly in each colony had
decided
what taxes their residents should pay. After several other taxes, in
1765 the Stamp Tax was passed. This required that legal documents,
newspapers, playing cards and dice had to carry a stamp that had
been bought from the government.
In Boston, Massachusetts, groups calling themselves the Sons of
Liberty used intimidation to prevent anyone from selling the stamps.
The outcry against the Stamp Tax caused nine colonies to send
representatives to sit in what became known as a Stamp Act Congress
in New York City, which then declared:
That the only representatives of the people of these colonies are
persons chosen by themselves, and no taxes ever hove been, ar can be
constitutionally imposed upan them, but by their respective
legislatures.
Possibly the most damaging action of all was the boycott of
British goods enforced by groups like the Sons of Liberty.
All this protest and violence in the colonies caused the British Parliament
to repeal the Stamp Tax in 1766, while at the same time passing (largely
unnoticed by the colonists) the Declaratory Act which stated that:
The king and Parliament hove full power and authority to make
laws and statutes of sufficient force to bind the
colonies ... in ali cases whatsoever.

Q. .I~.ª·ªnº··rnª~~ª·~J.~ .
The government saw a need to tighten up
Britain's control of its American colonies, not their rights as freeborn Englishmen.
only by taxing them, but also by stopping Their battle
the widespread smuggling of goods. The
colonies were meant to huy only British
goods, but
the smugglers brought in merchandise from
G
France, Spain and other countries.
In many American colonists' eyes the
new rules were an attempt to undermine
 PE N NS Y LV A NI A JO U R N AL;
A N D

WEEKLY ADVERTlSER..
!X'PlAINO: 1n Ha,,: oí a:1\e: í.urruti .on loºL1u a.,,D'\.

■ Part of the heading of an anti-Stamp Act American

newspaper, printed in 1765
cry was 'no taxation without representation',
meaning that the right to tax in each
colony lay with the local colonial assemblies
alone, not the distant Parliament in l.ondon.
In 1766 William Pitt, now Earl of Chatham,
helped form a new qovernment. Although
Pitt generally supported the American
colonies,
the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Charles
Townshend, decided to pass a new set of
taxes. These Townshend Duties of 17 6 7 were
a set of customs duties on goods such as
paint, paper, glass and tea.
There was a strong reaction in the colonies
against these taxes and in a number of places
there was violence against customs officials. ■ An engraving of the Boston Massacre by Paul
Once again, it was a campaign started in Revere, silversmith, and a member of the Sons of
the colonies to boycott English qoods. In Liberty
Boston a former tax collector named Samuel
Adams stood out as a leader of the Sons of
l.iberty, The Massachusetts Assembly, with Samuel Adarns's urging,
declared the Townshend Duties illegal. So, in response, regiments of
British troops were sent to Boston to enforce thern. Friction
developed between the soldiers and sorne citizens of Boston, and a
propaganda war was fought between those backing Adams, who called
themselves
'Patriots', and those who supported the government, who were
known as 'Loyalists.
On a cold night in early March 1770, all the tensions exploded
outside the Customs House in Boston, where a group of local men
and boys began to taunt the British soldiers on sentry duty, An
unknown person - perhaps a soldier, perhaps a member of the crowd -
fired
a shot. The soldiers, thinking they were under attack, fired into the
crowd, hitting eleven men and killing three immediately, with
two more later dying of their injuries.
Samuel Adams and his followers branded this the 'Boston Massacre'
and accused the British of deliberately murdering colonists, The
soldiers
involved were put on trial and found not quilty, However, Adams
and the Patriots still used the incident to whip up anti-British
feelinqs.

Q__M.Qr.~.:tr.9_1Jb.l~.-w.i:th.t~~-----·-·-·-·-·----·----------·----------------·--·--------
In Britain there was a new government headed by King George III's
favoured politician, Lord Frederick North. North had repealed all the
Townshend Duties, except for the import duty on tea. George III had
decided:
I am clear there must always be one tax to keep the right, and
as such I approve the Tea Duty.

G)
For the next four years there was little trouble in the American
colonies. Lord North had other problems to deal with. Most pressing
was that the large and powerful East India Company was almost
bankrupt. The government decided to sell the millions of tons of
East India tea to the American colonies at knock-down prices. This
would boost company funds, and the government would collect
import tax on the tea as well.
The Tea Act of 1773 sparked a major confrontation between the
British government and the Patriots, who resented the imposition
of a tax from London. Again, they demanded 'no taxation without
representation'. In Boston, three tea ships waited to be
unloaded. On the night of 16 December 1773 Samuel Adams and
the Patriots held a large public meeting, after which they decided
to take direct action.
John Andrews, a Boston merchant, wrote the following to a friend
in Philadelphia about what happened next:
They mustered, I'm told, upan Fort Hill, to the number of about two
hundred, and proceeded, two by two, to Griffin's wharf, where Hall,
Bruce and Coffin [the three merchant shipsJ lay, each with 114
chests of the iil-foted articie [tea] on board; ... and befare nine
o'clock in
the eveninq. every chest from on board the three vessels was
knocked to pieces and flung over the sides. They say the actors were
Indians
... Whether they were or not, to a transient observer they appeared
as such, beinq clothed in blankets with heads muffled ... being
each armed with a hatchet or axe, and a pair of pistols.
The event became known as the 'Boston Tea Party'. The British
Parliament was outraged and decided to bring the troublesome
colonists to heel. Lord North believed it was no longer a
dispute about a tax on tea, but about who had the right to rule
in the colonies.
Even friends of the colonists, like William Pitt, believed the
destruction of the tea had been 'certainly criminal'. Parliament
passed a set of acts the Patriots were to call the Coercive Acts: the
port of Boston was to be closed, a military governor named General
Gage
was to take over and the authority of the colonial assembly would
be reduced.
Samuel Adams and other Patriots summoned the colonies to
send delegates to a Continental Congress in September 1774 to
discuss
the situation. Delegates arrived from New Hampshire,
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and
South Carolina.
Georgia preferred to stay away from a meeting that appeared
determined to cause trouble with Britain. The congress declared
that the colonies were still loyal to Britain, but then set out a list
of demands that the British government would not accept.

G
 \
)
'·

>'

f·
1

. _ ,
S.!t.,:, a/,./4 f52>t,clt11: t11· J/m,u;·,·1 t Jr:.1,//4,u,,! ~/ /h. Mtllcr- {!!: )),ra~
1
t

///i-.
0 . ~

■ The able Doctor, or America Swallowing the Bitter Draught, a cartoon in The London Magazine, 1 May 1774. This shows
that there was sorne sympathy in Britain for the American colonials. Tory ministers are forcing the Coercive Acts on
the helpless figure representing America. Lord North is pouring tea down America's throat, while Britannia is in
the background hiding her face in shame. To the left, Spain and France look on.

(_Ex_e_r_c_is_e_2_.1 )....-----------
write two or three significant things you have discovered about each of the
following terms, events or people.
The Proclamation of 1763
The Stamp Tax
The Sons of Liberty
The Townshend Duties
Samuel Adams
The Boston Massacre
The Boston Tea Party
The Coercive Acts
0
(__Ex_e_r_c_is_e_2_._2__)....-----------
Propaganda played an important role in raising the tensions in both Britain
and the American colonies befare the outbreak of war.
1 Write a newspaper article for a Boston or London newspaper about either
the Boston Massacre or the Boston Tea Party. Write either in support of
the Patriots or defending the position of the British Crown in the way you
describe the event.
2 Draw a cartoon in the style of the one an page 17 that camments on either
the Bastan Massacre or the Bastan Tea Party frorn either viewpaint.

Q War breaks out: Lexington, Concord

ªf.l·º··~º-~·tºf.l .
General Gage in Boston did not trust the local militias of Where was tea grown
Massachusetts to be loyal to Britain. On 19 April 1775, he and how did it end
planned to disarm them by marching to the town of Concord up in the homes of
colonists living in
and seizing military supplies stored nearby. He also hoped to America?
arrest Samuel Adams and fellow Patriot John Hancock at
Lexington
onThe
theBritish
way. soldiers marched through the
night and early morning. They heard
muskets being fired in the distance as the
Patriots raised the alarm. At 5 a.m. the
G
British advance guard, under Major Pitcairn,
arrived at the village of Lexington Green,
to find 70 armed militiamen drawn up on
the green. Pitcairn ordered the militia to
lay down their weapons and go home.
Instead the militia commander, Captain
Parker,
told his men to go home but to keep
their weapons.
Suddenly a single shot rang out,
apparently from near the village tavern. In
reply, the British infantrymen fired two
volleys and then
charged the retreating militia with bayonets.
The fight was over in less than two minutes:
eight American militiamen lay dead and
ten wounded, while one British soldier
was slightly hurt.
The British troops marched on and reached
Concord at 7 a.m. They seized and
destroyed a few military supplies and set
sorne buildings in the town on fire. This
alerted
■ The clash between British soldiers and American militia at
Lexington Green, wood engraving, 1883, after Howard Pyle
400 militia on a nearby ridge, who advanced and pushed back 80
British light infantrymen at the North Bridge. Realising he was
now greatly outnumbered, the British commander, Colonel
Smith,
began the march back to Boston at about noon. By now, the
whole countryside was alive with American militiamen firing on
the red•
coated column from trees, from behind fences and from windows
in houses near the road. At Lexington, British reinforcements from
Boston met the retreating column and the fighting petered out.
The British had lost 73, with 174 wounded; the militia lost 49, with
39 wounded.

Q..QJ?.~.r:i.. r.~!?.~U.i.9.IJ .
The militia did not go home at the end of the day. Thousands of
angry New England colonists surrounded Boston and started
digging entrenchments, trapping Gage and his army.
A Second Continental Congress was summoned for 10 May 1775.
This time, Georgia sent delegates as well, so in all thirteen
colonies were represented. The Patriots wanted to show that
resistance to British rule was an official act of the governments of
the colonies and not isolated acts of rebellion by individuals. They
also wanted
to find a leader for the armed forces surrounding Boston. These
forces, the combined militias of the colonies, were to be dubbed
the
'Continental Army'.
The obvious choice of leader was the tall and commanding
delegate from Virginia who attended Congress in his blue and
buff militia officer's uniform, George Washington. Washington was
appointed commander of the forces surrounding Boston,· but before he
could reach them there was another battle.
George Washington
Washington accepted his commission as commander of the Continental
Army with misgivings. He wrote to the Continental Congress:
My abilities and military experience may not be equal to the
extensive and important trust.
Washington was aged 43 and was an experienced militia officer. He
was also a wealthy landowner who was popular with many of the
leading citizens in the thirteen colonies. Events would show that he The capital city of the
was nota particularly good battlefield commander, but his ability USA is Washington
to organise supplies and reinforcements was formidable, while his D.C. Find out all you
political skills kept many colonies firmly opposed to British rule when can about George
Washington and how
they might otherwise have surrendered. Above all, he avoided being he carne to be such a
totally defeated by the British and kept his Continental Army figurehead for the North
in existence through trying times. American people.
0
Q.Th~..~ª~tt~.J?f ·ª~nk~r..tl.!H .
On the morning of 17 June 1775 the
British began bombarding the newly dug
earthworks on Breed's Hill and Bunker
Hill. The new British commander in Boston,
General William Howe, sent a large British
force to expel the colonists. The British
were pushed back twice, but on the third
attempt swarmed over the earthworks. The
peninsula was secured, but the price was
heavy: 226 killed, including Major Pitcairn
of Lexington and Concord fame, and 828
wounded. The Colonial militias lost 140,
with 271 wounded. Charles River

Q..~[it~ÜO.P.f.~P..~f.~~.f.9LWªr. .
Nearly everybody in Britain believed ■ The British attack on the American position on Breed's
Hill; the American rebels were threatening British shipping
that the thirteen colonies would soon be in the harbour
defeated. The colonies had no
professional
army, no navy, very little in the way of a national government and a
tendency to argue among themselves. Perhaps a third of the
population of the American colonies actively supported the Patriots, a
third were Loyalists who opposed it and a third simply wanted to be
left alone.
Britain, with her trained, if small, professional army, a fleet
second to none and her proven ability to win major wars, was
thought to be capable of smashing the rebellion quickly once
properly prepared.
However, there were many in Britain who thought the colonies had
been badly treated and who opposed a war against fellow Britons. There
was also the problem of raising the money to pay for this new war,
while still maintaining garrisons in other parts of the Empire. Moreover,
a war fought overa vast area of land with few roads and poor
communications would almost certainly be a long one. To help cope with
these problems, the British government decided to hire troops from
friendly nations, including the German states of Hesse-Cassel and
Brunswick.

Q.Th~..(;..9Y.rn.~.9.f.íh~..w.~r.
. The American War of Independence was to last for eight long years.
It can be divided into three different phases: the early war, with
Britain largely triumphant; the turning point of the war, with the
Battle of Saratoga; and the final, long phase when the fighting moved
to the
southern colonies and the French openly joined in. By the final phase
the colonial rebellion had changed into a world war and the
British found themselves fighting for the survival of their empire.

G
-
1776
Finding themselves surrounded and outnumbered, the British
Army in Boston, now commanded by General Howe, was evacuated
by sea in March 1776. The thirteen colonies then launched an
invasion of British Canada in North America in the hope of
stirring
up rebellions against Britain. This invasion captured Montreal
and advanced toward Quebec, but the other colonies preferred to
remain loyal to Britain. The invasion was thrown out by May 1776.
Meanwhile, a British naval assault on Charleston, South Carolina,
was beaten back.
On 4 July 1776 the Continental Congress formally issued its
Declaration of Independence from Britain. The colonies now regarded
themselves as independent states fighting a war against Britain, not
as rebels. It was a key legal difference intended to attract help from
Britain's enemies.
By then General Howe had received reinforcements of British
and
German troops, so he sailed to attack New York. He was supported
by a fleet led by his brother, Admiral Richard Howe. Howe defeated
Washington's rebel army in a series of battles that, by August,
drove the Americans out of New York, south through New Jersey
and into Pennsylvania.
General Washington had only 6000 men, but he decided on a
daring plan. On the night of Christmas Day he crossed the Delaware
River to surprise and defeat the outpost of Hessian troops at
Trenton, New Jersey. Several days later Washington defeated
a smaller British force at Princeton befare retreating to winter
quarters. These small actions raised the morale of his army and
persuaded the colonial governments to continue with their bid for
i ndependence.

Q. .Ih~.1~.r.r:1Jn&..P.Qlnt.Qf.Jh~.r.~R.~H.i.Qn.--::..Sª.rn.t9.&.~ .
1777
The man in charge of the strategy of the war in Britain was Lord
George Germain. During the winter of 1776-77 he received advice
from the influential army officer and playwright General John
Burgoyne. Burgoyne proposed to march an army south from
Quebec, down the Hudson River valley, to cut off the New England
colonies
from the rest of the thirteen colonies. Burgoyne wanted General
Howe to march his army up the Hudson from New York City to
support him. But at the same time Howe suggested moving his army
by sea to
attack the city of Philadelphia, acting capital of the thirteen colonies.
Lord Germain agreed with Burgoyne, but the orders sent to
Howe instructing him to support Burgoyne reached him late and
were
then ignored.

0
 General Howe's campaign in Pennsylvania was successful - he killed,
defeated Washington's army in several battles and seized Philadelphia. wounded or
But Washington's army was still in existence and could not be ignored. taken prisoner,
General Burgoyne had a force of 8000 men, both British and while the
German, as well as an artillery train of 138 guns. His plan was to go rebel losses
via Lake Champlain, Ticonderoga and Saratoga, before linking up were 319
killed,
with Howe's troops at Albany. Setting off in late June, Burgoyne's wounded or
forces captured Ticonderoga and defeated the colonists again at missing.
Hubbardton on 7 July. One Hessian officer, however, realised the After the
difficulties facing battle, Burgoyne
Burgoyne's army: decided to
In the open Jield the rebels are not of much count, but in the entrench and
woods they are redoubtable. At the present time we are almost wait for help to
continually marching through, and living in, forests. It is on reach him from
such occasions that the rebels lurk in the woods and dart from New York, from
tree to tree. In their ability to hit an object ... their riflemen where General
are terrible [terrifying]. Clinton was
moving up
The British were then held up when Burgoyne cut a supply road

0
through woods to Fort Edward. Meanwhile, Iroquois tribesmen
who
were allied to the British spread out to raid isolated farms and
villages enraging the local colonists. They in turn destroyed a column
from
the British Army at Bennington. When Fort Edward was
captured, Burgoyne's advance began again.
It was now August and a rebel force of 7000 men, under the
command of General Horatio Gates, was building entrenchments at
Bemis Heights near Saratoga, in order to block Burgoyne's advance.
Serving under Gates were two superb officers, Colonel Daniel Morgan
and General Benedict Arnold, who were to play a key role in the
battles to come.
General Burgoyne decided upon a three-pronged attack on the
American position. The densely forested terrain made it difficult for
the three different columns of attack to co-operate, but was
perfect for Colonel Morgan's riflemen. The rifle was much more
accurate
than the musket, but was much slower to reload. It was best used
skirmishing in woodland, not in open battle. General Arnold persuaded
Gates to unleash Morgan's riflemen against the British advance
on
19 September. At Freeman's Farm, they suddenly fired from
trees, scattering the British, Canadians and Iroquois guarding
the area.
Benedict Arnold brought up reinforcements and the British
troops appeared to be breaking, only to be saved by the timely
arrival of General Riedesel marching his troops to the sound of the
guns. In
the end, Burgoyne's men drove off the attack, but at the cost of
600
What weapons were available to soldiers in America at this time? How were they
used
and how did they affect the way battles were fought?
the Hudson towards Albany with a force of
3000 men. Burgoyne's supply route to Quebec
had by now been cut and he grew short of
supplies. In contrast, Gates's army continued to
grow as the local militia flocked in.
On 7 October, Burgoyne sent another
force of a little over 2000 British and German
troops and their artillery to harvest wheat
from nearby farms. Rebel troops under Arnold
attacked and drove the British back, then
sought to break the entrenched British line.
At Breymann Redoubt (an earth fort), Arnold
co-ordinated an attack with Morgan's men.
Sweeping in from several sides, they drove the
German defenders out.
Burgoyne's entire position was
compromised, but fortunately for him Arnold
was wounded
in the leg as he led the attack on Breymann
Redoubt; without hirn the attack halted.
Burgoyne had lost 600 men and the American
rebels had lost 150, in what became known
as the Battle of Semis Heights.
On 17 October 1777, Burgoyne and his
trapped army of 5721 men surrendered. ■ One of Washington's soldiers, American
engraving, nineteenth century
Other British forces withdrew to
Canada, abandoning the whole area that
had been taken during this campaign. All
that General Howe now controlled in the
thirteen colonies was Philadelphia,
New York and part of Rhode Island. He
resigned from his position soon afterwards.
The British defeat at Saratoga was a
turning point in the war. France had been Wheatfield
quietly supplying the rebelling colonists
with funds and equipment, but the victory
at Saratoga encouraged France to enter
the war against Britain openly, soon to be
followed by Spain and the Netherlands.
The flow of French aid kept the Patriot
cause alive during the following years,
Bemis
as did the eventual arrival of French
ey
troops and ships. Even more alarming for .Patriots
the government in London was the .British
expansion of the war, which turned from
a colonial rebellion in America into an
assault upon
British holdings across the globe. ■ The Battle of Bemis Heights
0
 ■ Surrender ofGeneral
Burgoyne at Saratoga, a
Q. .Ih~.finªi..P.hª~~J..].7.lJ~::Jl~ . twentieth-century colour
lithograph, after John
Trumbull
Much as it behoves us to profit of every means and occasion
which present themselves of bringing the American war to an
honourable conclusion; the powers Great Britain has to contend
with in Europe are so potent as to require her utmost efforts to
withstand
So wrote Lordthem.
Germain to the new commander of British forces in
America, General Sir Henry Clinton. A new strategy was needed.
Philadelphia was abandoned and Clinton prepared for a campaign
in
the southern colonies, where it was believed there were large numbers
of colonists still loyal to the Crown. With the war now spreading across
the globe, the new British strategy was to encourage many more
Loyalist American colonists to take up arms and fight for the King.
The campaigns in the southern colonies went well for Britain.
Georgia fell to British and Loyalist forces. When a combined Franco•
American force attempted to retake Savannah in Georgia it was
brutally defeated. South Carolina fell as Charleston surrendered,
along with the main rebel army in the south. British and Loyalist
forces
marched into North Carolina and began to threaten Virginia, defeating
every regular force of colonial soldiers, including an army led by the
victor of Saratoga, General Gates.

G
J
 Unfortunately for the British, the Loyalists in the south were not
as numerous as they had hoped. Whenever British troops moved
away from an area, the local Loyalists were left open to attack. The
limited
number of soldiers available to the British found it difficult to keep
control. Still, the commander of the main British force in the south,
General Lord Cornwallis, continued to try to crush the rebellion in
all the southern colonies, while the largest part of the British Army
in America guarded New York.
Washington then sent the talented young General Nathanael
Greene to lead the small American army that had been formed in
North Carolina. Greene's men defeated the British at Cowpens
and then retreated to Virginia. The rebels returned to North
Carolina in March 1781 to be defeated by Cornwallis at the Battle
of Guilford
Courthouse. However, this victory left the British fatally weakened
and without supplies. When this was reported in one American
newspaper, the author foretold the eventual result:
By accounts from the southward we learn, that Earl Cornwallis has
evacuated his post at New Garends, leaving behind him all his sick
and wounded, who hove fell into our hands; that Gen Greene is
close in his rear, pushing him ve,y hard; and in all human
probability, will oblige him ve,y soon to surrender.
General Cornwallis decided to march north into Virginia to join
another British force already in the colony, led by none other than
Benedict Arnold. Arnold, unhappy with what he felt was a lack of
recognition of his achievements and abilities, had changed sides.
The colonists henceforth treated him as a traitor.
Under orders from General Clinton in New York, Cornwallis
established a base on a peninsula jutting into the Chesapeake Bay
and occupied by the small port town of Yorktown. There Cornwallis
could be supplied by the Royal Navy. As his troops dug
fortifications
neither Cornwallis nor Clinton were aware that George Washington
and the French were about to spring a trap that would finally decide
the
outcome of the rebellion.

Ü--º~f~ª.t..ªt.'f.Qr~tºw.n
. Washington's initial plan for 1781 was to combinehis forces with the
French troops already in Rhode Island and attack New York. When he
received news that a French fleet was to arrive and operate in the
Chesapeake Bay area until October, his plans changed. He marched
south to Virginia with his army and the French force under General
Rochambeau, leaving enough troops behind to make General
Clinton believe that he intended to attack New York.
 The key moment of the campaign took place not on land,
but in Chesapeake Bay. A British fleet under Admiral Thomas
Graves

0
attempted to drive the French fleet away, but after an inconclusive
battle, it was forced to sail away. Fought on 5 September, this
Battle of the Chesapeake sealed Lord Cornwallis's army's fate.
Without the help of the Royal Navy it was soon trapped in Yorktown,
as the
Franco-American force arrived to besiege them.
Outnumbered and battered by constant bombardment, the
British
hung on until 17 October 1781, when an American rebel officer spotted:
... a drummer mount the enemy's parapet, and beat a parley,
and immediately an ofjicer, holding up a white handkerchief,
made his appearance outside their works ...
On 19 October the British and German troops in Yorktown marched
out with their bands playing The World Turned Upside Down, a
popular tune of the time, and formally surrendered. For a second
time a British army had been forced to surrender in the American
colonies.

► .
. . - . W"i
,

■ Surrender at Yorktown,
1 781, engravi ng
When the news reached Lord Germain in London on Sunday 25
November 1781, he took it personally to Lord North at Downing
Street. When asked later how the Prime Minister had reacted,
Germain reported:
As he would have taken a ball in his breast.

0
J
 Lord North had called out in agitation:
Oh, God! It is all over!
Within a few months both Germain and North were out of office.

Q.Ih~..r~ª-~~.Qf.P.ªIJ.~,.JZª.~·-······..··························· .
A new British government, made up of men who had opposed the
war in Parliament, took steps to end the war in America. Meanwhile,
British forces were enjoying much greater success in defending the
rest of the Empire.
In 1782 the same French fleet that had won the Battle of the
Chesapeake was defeated by Admiral Rodney at the Battle of the Saintes
in the West Indies. Gibraltar, the key to the Mediterranean, survived an
epic siege by the French and Spanish. In India the French made
another attempt to restare their position and drive out the British.
In 1783, with the outcome in southern India still in doubt, a treaty
was signed in Paris, bringing an end to the fighting in America.
Britain emerged with most of its empire around the world, save
the thirteen American colonies, intact. George III had lost his
favoured Tory minister and government, and was forced to accept
several weak Whig ministries. Eventually William Pitt the Younger, son
of Pitt the Elder, would become prime minister. He began to work on
restoring
the finances of a country damaged by eight hard years of war. This was
greatly aided by the growth in Britain of new industries, and Pitt's
actions in reducing the large-scale smuggling of goods such as tea.
An important lesson had been learnt: that the Empire needed to
be tied much more closely to Britain, with London at the centre,
and that this could be achieved by allowing the British colonists
more political say over their own affairs. This process was allowed
only in
colonies with large numbers of European settlers who shared British
culture and could be expected to remain loyal to Britain. Several acts
of Parliament started this process within a decade.

Q Could Britain have won the American War of

to.Q~J?.~.1:1g.~o.c;:.~l .
In 1775 the British forces were not prepared for a fight so far away.
The distance from London made it difficult to coordinate strategy, in
particular during the Saratoga campaign of 1777, and Britain relied
too heavily on American Loyalist support in the southern colonies
during 1779. When first France, then Spain and the Netherlands,
decided to join the war against Britain in 1778-79, the course of
the
war turned for good. Resources were overstretched and Britain
found it impossible to win the thirteen colonies back.
0
 In an age before technology could provide quick communications,
any attempt to control colonies 3000 miles across an ocean
was bound to be extremely difficult. Britain's leaders' lack of
understanding concerning their American holdings, the developing
awareness in the colonies of being American rather than British and
the ruthless determination by the small minority of Patriots played
major roles in ending Britain's hold on the thirteen colonies. While
this marked the end of one phase of British imperial history, the
Empire was destined, in the coming century, to develop and grow
in new ways.

( Ex_e_r_ci_se_2_.3 )..,._.. _
Match the following events with their dates and write them out in
chronological order:
Fighting at Lexington and Concord December 1776

British surrender at Yorktown July 1776

The Declaration of lndependence 1778-80

British success in the southern colonies September-October 1777

Battles at Saratoga April 1775

Battle of Bunker Hill June 1775

American attack on Canada fails March 1781

Washington attacks Trenton and Princeton May 1776

Americans driven out of New York August 1776

Cornwallis fails to crush General Greene October 1781

( Ex_e_r_c_is_e_2_._4 )~-----------
write two or three significant things that you have discovered about the role
each of the following people played in the American War of lndependence.
General Thomas Gage
General William Howe
General John Burgoyne
George Washington
General Lord Cornwallis
General Benedict Arnold
Lord Germain

General Horatio Gates

G
(__Ex_e_r_c_is_e_2_._s__)....-----------
Examine the sources below and the picture of the Battle of Lexington on page 18,
then answer the questions that follow.

SOURCE A: From an account printed in a Massachusetts newspaper on 25 April 1775.

At Lexington, 6 miles below Concord, a Company offvtilitia, of about 100 Men,
muste red near the fvteeting-house; the Troops came in Sight of them just
befare Sun-rise; and running within a few Rods of them, the commanding
Officer accosted the /vtilitia in Words to this effect: 'Disperse, you Rebels -
Damn you, throw down your Arms and disperse': Upon which the Troops
huzza'd [cheered], and immediately one or two Officers discharged their
Pistols, which were instantaneously followed by the Firing offour or five of
the Soldiers, and then there seemed to be a general Discharge from the whole
Body: Eight ofour fvten were killed, and nine wounded.

SO URCE B: From the report of the action by General Thomas Gage, commander of the
British troops in Boston.
About three o'clock the next morning [ 7 9 April], the troops being advanced
within two miles ofLexington, intelligence was received, that about Five
Hundred /vten in Arms, were assembled, and determined to oppose the King's
troops; and on /vtajor Pitcairn's galloping up to the head of the advanced
companies, two officers informed him, that a man (advancedfrom those
that were assembled) had presented his musquet, and attempted to shoot
them, but the piece flashed in the pan {misfired}: On this, the fvtajorgave
directions to the troops to move forward, but on no account to fire, nor even
to attempt it without orders. When they arrived at the end of the village,
they observed
about two hundred armed men, drawn up on a green, and when the troops
carne within a hundredyards of them, they began to file off towards some
stone walls, on their rightflank: The light infantry observing this, ran after
them; the /vtajor instantly called to the soldiers not to fire, but to surround and
disarm them;
some of them who hadjumped o ver a wall, then firedfour or five Shot, at the
troops, ... and at the same time severa/ shots were firedfrom a meeting house
on the left: Upon this, without any arder or requiertty, the light infantry began
a scatteredfire, and killed severa/ of the country folk ...

1 Look at the picture on page 18. How can you tell which menare the
American militia?
2 Look at Source A. According to this report, in what ways were the British
troops being aggressive towards the militia?
3 Look at Source B. How does this source support the information given in
the picture and Source A?
4 Look at and use ALL the sources. How useful would a historian studying the
events of 19 April 1775 find each of these sources?
5 Using ali the sources and your own knowledge, who do you think was guilty
of starting the fight at Lexington Green?
G
(__E_x_e_rc_i_se_2_.6 )...-----------
Write an essay answering one or both of the following questions.
1 Explain the causes of the American War of lndependence.
2 Explain the consequences for the British of the Saratoga campaign of

1777. An 'explaln' (analytical) essay is about analysing and making

judgements. You
still need to be accurate with your information but you are not telling the
story: instead you are trying to show why something happened, or how it
affected other events. One approach to the 'explain' question is to pick out the
most important consequences and create an argument based on these. Another
approach is to look at short-term and long-term results of what happened, and
try to show the most important consequences.
e