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Chapter 26

MAJOR WARS, 1775-1898

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

CAUSES. For a century and a half, colonial America enjoyed a minimum of interference from British rule in the development of its society, economy, and government. After the French and Indian War (1754-1763), George III and his ministers reversed the old policy of "salutary neglect," tightening restrictive laws on colonial trade and attempting to levy direct taxes on the colonists. The British Government not unreasonably expected the colonists to share in the costs of stationing British garrisons on the frontiers to keep the Indians in check. But the colonists, with the French threat removed, felt capable of defending themselves and viewed the British soldiers as instruments of suppression rather than protection. They protested that only their own assemblies had the right to levy taxes on them, and they particularly objected to the procedure, long accepted in England, of quartering troops on private property. George III and his ministers stubbornly persisted in a policy of using military coercion to enforce tax laws, with the result that the colonists, who at first attempted only to secure recognition of their rights within the British Empire, finally determined to achieve complete freedom. Thus, the immediate causes of the American Revolution were taxation and the quartering of troops; but underlying these issues were democratic ideals, generated by conditions peculiar to the colonial period, which provided an ideological basis for the decision "to dissolve the political bonds" with the mother country.

The immediate chain of events leading to armed conflict began in Massachusetts with the Boston Tea Party (16 December 1773) and similar demonstrations in other colonies. In reprisal the British closed the port of Boston, placed Massachusetts under military rule, and imposed various repressive measures known collectively as the "Intolerable Acts." The colonies, in turn, took steps to form revolutionary governments and convened the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia on 5 September 1774. The revolutionary governments also established control over the militia in each colony and began collecting arms and ammunition. A major depot for military stores was established at Concord, setting the stage for the opening of hostilities.

TROOPS INVOLVED. American Forces. The number of Americans who served on the American side is not known. Estimates range from 184,038 (including the navy) to 250,000. About 395,000 Continentals and militiamen were furnished, but this figure includes duplications for the many individuals who served two or more times. The peak strength of American forces in the field at any one time was approximately 35,000 (in November 1778). The number of casualties is also unknown. Dr. James Thatcher, a surgeon in the Continental Army, estimated total deaths on the American side at 70,000, a great majority of which were due to disease. The number of battle deaths accounted for in available records is 4,044, but the number was undoubtedly much greater.

The various state militias fought many battles and often provided the margin of superiority without which the Americans could not have won; but in general militia stayed in service only long enough to conduct a local summer campaign. Partisans carried out effective guerrilla operations, particularly in the South, but provided no sustained military effort. The Continental Army, established by Congress on 14 June 1775, gave the American cause the continued sustenance that only a well-trained, disciplined force in being can provide. Even this organization had difficulty in maintaining a continuous existence, and suffered chronically from manpower shortages because of recruiting difficulties, short-term enlistments, desertions, and casualties. At one time (December 1776) Congress authorized as many as 110 regiments. In 1781 it reduced the number to 59 regiments50 of infantry, 4 each of cavalry and artillery, and 1 of artillery artificersor about 40,000 men. This strength was never realized at any one time.

French Forces. French troops participating in the war generally stayed with their fleet, landing for specific operations and then re-embarking, although a French garrison was maintained at Newport, R. I., for a time late in the war. Approximately 3,500 French Regulars assisted in the siege of Savannah (1779) and 7,800 in the siege of Yorktown (1781).

British Forces. As in the case of the American forces, neither the total number serving on the British side during the war nor the number of casualties can be determined accurately. Two of the 24 cavalry regiments and 52 of the 70 infantry regiments (which usually had less than their authorized strength of 477 men) of the English and Irish Establishments served at one time or another in America during the Revolution. About 30,000 Germans (Hessians) also served, but there were never that many present at any one time. Of the colonial population (about 2,500,000) perhaps a fourth remained loyal to the Crown; and an unknown number of members of this group (Tories) served in Provincial regiments or conducted partisan warfare. In Canada the predominantly French population was

largely neutral; however, there were a few Canadian militia units in the field, and two battalions of Royal Highland Emigrants, recruited in Canada, served throughout the war. Several Indian tribes allied themselves with the British. About 1,500 Indians participated in the British campaigns in northern New York in 1777, and other hundreds conducted raids along the frontier from time to time, but the total number cannot be determined.

The total strengths of British forces in America at specific times have been compiled from British records. In 1775, at the beginning of the war, 8,580 British infantrymen were stationed here. In August 1776, General Howe assembled about 32,000 British and Germans (backed by a large British fleet) for the attack on New York. In May 1778 the forces in the United States totalled 33,756 (18,174 British, 11,007 Germans, and 4,575 Provincials) and those in Canada totaled 5,800 (4,000 British, 1,800 Germans) plus various Provincial detachments. In September 1781, shortly before Yorktown, a total of 27,765 troops (13,169 British, 10,872 Germans, 3,724 Provincials) were stationed in the United States, most of them being in New York and Virginia.

OVERALL STRATEGY. At first the British were mainly concerned with suppressing the uprising in Massachusetts, but rebellion quickly spread throughout the colonies. Thereupon the British adopted a plan which would permit them to take maximum advantage of their naval power. To this end, parts of Rhode Island and New York City were secured as naval bases to insure easy command of the entire coast. The British then planned to split the colonies by gaining control of the Champlain-Hudson valley, after which the other areas could be dealt with in detail. This plan failed with Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga (October 1777).

French naval power became a crucial factor in the war after France sided with the Americans (February 1778). The British then transferred the seat of the war to the South in an attempt to detach South Carolina and Georgia from the union. This met with initial success, but subsequent reverses caused them to abandon the plan in favor of a pin

cers movement on Pennsylvania, the northern arm being the British forces in New York and the southern a force assembled at Yorktown, Virginia. Cornwallis' defeat at Yorktown (October 1781) upset this plan and resulted in the overthrow of the British Cabinet; the new government was willing to concede victory to the United States.

The Americans were at first concerned only with securing redress of wrong. Gradually, however, opinion changed in favor of complete separation. With the Declaration of Independence, they committed themselves to an attempt either to drive out the British or to make the war so difficult and costly that Great Britain would be willing to concede victory. Although they could about match British manpower in the field, their army was untrained and poorly equipped, and they lacked industrial and financial resources needed to arm and maintain a military force. They therefore sought outside help; mean

while they adopted a defensive strategy, harassing and opposing the enemy but avoiding complete defeat. France was eventually persuaded to side openly with the Americans, and French aid in the form of supplies, troops, and naval power provided the necessary margin of strength for victory.

MAJOR BATTLES AND CAMPAIGNS.1 Campaigns of 1775-1777. Open hostilities began at Lexington and Concord on 19 April 1775. Maj. Gen. Thomas Gage, Military Governor of Masschusetts, secretly dispatched more than 700 British troops under Lt. Col. Francis Smith from Boston to seize rebel military stores at Concord. At dawn, 19 April, the British column dispersed a small force of Minutemen at Lexington, killing 8 and wounding 10 at a cost of 2 killed and 6 captured. After seizing what stores they found at Concord the British began their return march, but the local militia forced them to run a gantlet of fire all the way back to

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1 Named campaigns for which streamers have been awarded are indicated by italics.

Boston. Lord Henry Percy's relief force of 1,200 troops probably saved Smith's column from annihilation. British losses, including those at Lexington, were 78 killed, 174 wounded, and 26 missing; American losses were 49 killed, 39 wounded, and 5 missing.

The Massachusetts militia, reinforced by militia from other New England colonies, promptly placed Boston under siege. By the end of May 1775 this besieging force, loosely organized under command of Col. Artemas Ward, numbered about 16,000. Gage's force in Boston, after receiving reinforcements in May, numbered about 8,000.

Meanwhile a New England force of about 80 men, led by Cols. Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold, seized the British fort of Ticonderoga, N. Y., on 10 May 1775 and occupied Crown Point two days later. Captain Delaplace, British commander at Ticonderoga, was taken by surprise and surrendered his garrison of about 40 men and large quantities of military stores, including more than 100 cannon, without a fight.

At Boston, on the night of 16-17 June 1775, about 1,200 militiamen fortified Breed's Hill on the Charleston isthmus overlooking Boston. The battle that followed has been incorrectly named after nearby Bunker Hill. On the afternoon of 17 June the British stormed the position on Breed's Hill with 2,400 troops under Gen. William Howe and drove the Americans from the isthmus on the third assault, suffering a loss of about 1,000 killed and wounded. The loosely organized Americans, led by Cols. William Prescott and John Stark, lost about 400 killed and wounded from the approximately 3,000 men who participated in the battle at one time or another.

Bunker Hill marked the official beginning of the Boston Campaign (17 June 1775-17 March 1776) and was the only major engagement of the long siege. Gen. George Washington, who took formal command of the besieging force on 3 July 1775, was beset with organizational and logistical difficulties, but his most serious problem was that of keeping an army in the field. By March 1776 the supply situation had improved, and his army, by dint of assiduous recruiting and a call for militia. numbered about 14,000. Early in March

Washington moved suddenly to Dorchester Heights and later to Nook's Hill where his artillery dominated Boston from the south. General Howe, who had replaced Gates, had no choice but to evacuate the city. On 17 March 1776 Howe embarked his less than 9,000 troops and sailed for Nova Scotia. This development only hastened implementation of British plans to use Halifax as a staging area for an invasion of New York. Suspecting this, Washington immediately moved his army, less the militia, to New York.

During the siege of Boston other American forces made a two-pronged attack on Quebec (31 December 1775), hoping thereby to gain Canada as an ally and to deny its use as a base for the British. In September 1775 Col. Benedict Arnold led one force of about 1,100 men up the wilderness route along the Kennebec and Chaudier Rivers, while Gen. Richard Montgomery led about 2,000 troops up the Lake Champlain-St. Lawrence River approach. Arnold arrived at Quebec on 8 November with only 650 men and had to wait for Montgomery to make an attack. Montgomery took the British fort at St. Johns on 3 November, entered Montreal ten days later, and joined Arnold at Point Aux Trembles on 3 December with only 300 men. With enlistments running out at the end of the year, the two commanders made a desperate night attack on Quebec on 30-31 December 1775. Gen. Guy Carleton's garrison of 1,800 regulars, militia, seamen, and marines repelled the Americans, who lost about 100 killed and wounded and over 400 prisoners. Montgomery was killed and Arnold seriously wounded. The small remaining force continued to besiege the city, but in June 1776 the British drove the Americans back to the head of Lake Champlain.

During the first year of the war the Americans had seized British military installations and had driven out the royal governors throughout the colonies. Hoping to gain a foothold in the South where Tory strength was greater, a British naval and military force (seven regiments) under Adm. Peter Parker and Gen. Henry Clinton attempted to seize Charleston, S. C., on 28 June 1776. A southern patriot force of about 6,000

men, led by Maj. Gen. Charles Lee and Col. William Moultrie, successfully defended Charleston, severely damaging the British fleet with artillery. The British did not turn their attention to the South again for about three years. During July and August 1776, General Howe assembled a body of 32,000 British and Hessian regulars on Staten Island, supported by a powerful fleet under his brother, Adm. Lord Richard Howe. Washington had collected an army of 20,000 poorly-trained Continentals and militia and erected a system of defenses on and around the island of Manhattan. About half of the American force was placed on Long Island under the command of Gen. Israel Putnam. Howe landed on Long Island with more than 15,000 troops and completely defeated the Americans in the Battle of Long Island on 27 August 1776. The remnants of the American force fell back to fortifications on Brooklyn Heights and escaped to Manhattan two nights later. Estimates of their losses range from 300 to 400 killed and wounded and 700 to 1,200 prisoners. Howe reported his losses as 367, including a very few taken prisoner.

Howe's next move, on 15 September 1776, was to Kip's Bay on Manhattan (now 34th Street and East River) where militia posted to defend the landing site broke and ran. On the following day, however, the Americans won a small, sharp engagement at Harlem Heights which did much to restore sagging morale.

In mid-October the British landed at Pell's Point above Manhattan, threatening to trap American forces on the island. Washington moved his troops to White Plains, leaving 6,000 men under Gen. Nathanael Greene at Fort Washington in northern Manhattan and at Fort Lee just across the Hudson in New Jersey. At White Plains Howe made a short but costly attack on 28 October 1776, which forced Washington to retire further north. Fort Washington fell on 16 November with a loss of about 3,000 men, mostly as prisoners. Three days later, Maj. Gen. Lord Charles Cornwallis landed 4,500 British above Fort Lee and forced immediate evacuation of that installation. Meanwhile Washington had left a force under Lee to

guard the passes through the highlands, and crossed the Hudson into New Jersey with about 5,000 troops. After the disasters at Forts Washington and Lee he retreated across New Jersey, with Howe in close pursuit. Early in December the rapidly dwindling force of about 3,000 Americans escaped across the Delaware into Pennsylvania. Howe decided at this point to go into winter quarters, garrisoning several towns in New Jersey and at Newport, R. I., and retiring the main body of his army to New York City.

The British campaign in upper New York during 1776 ended more favorably for the Americans. In June 1776 General Carleton with a force of about 10,000 men attempted to drive down Lake Champlain and the Hudson River to join forces with Howe. He was opposed by Maj. Gen. Philip Schuyler's force of around 9,000 troops. Arnold's improvised fleet on Lake Champlain, manned by soldiers, was largely responsible for delaying British arrival at Crown Point until mid-October, upon which Carleton gave up his gains and retired to Canada for the winter.

In December 1776 Washington seized upon the idea of conducting a surprise attack on the garrison of 1,400 Hessians, commanded by Col. Johannes Rall, at Trenton, N. J., hoping that a spectacular success might raise American morale. By Christmas, with the arrival of 2,000 of Lee's troops from above New York and 2,000 Pennsylvania militiamen, his force numbered about 7,000 men. On the night of 25-26 December 1776, Washington ferried 2,400 men across the Delaware, and converged on Trenton at dawn with two columns led by Gens. Greene and Sullivan. The surprise was complete. About 30 Hessians were killed and 918 taken prisoner. Only 400 of the garrison escaped, largely because two smaller American forces were unable to make the river crossing at other points as planned. Washington lost 4 men, 2 from freezing.

The Americans promptly crossed back to Pennsylvania with their prisoners, but on the night of 30-31 December Washington returned to Trenton with 5,200 men. Cornwallis with about 6,000 British troops marched against Washington and on 2 January 1777 virtually

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