Revolutionary War Information
• Force Comparison
• Causes of the
Revolutionary War
• Loyalist Areas
• Weapons
• Naval Forces
• Battles
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Soldier’s Life
Espionage
Treaty of Paris
Washington’s Problem
Fighting Tactics
Military Strategies
Exports and Imports
Soldier’s Life
Naval Forces
American
• Brigantine
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Example: USS Baltimore
Armament: 12 – 3 lb. Cannons
Crew Members: 8 – 18 people
Displacement: 129 – 144 tons
Length: 88 – 113 feet
British
• Fifth Rate Ship-of-the-Line
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Example: HMS Serapis
Armament: 20 – 18 lb. Cannons, 22 – 12 lb. Cannons
Crew Members: 280 people
Displacement: 879 tons
Length:140 feet
• Sloop-of-War
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Example: USS Enterprise
Armament: 12 – 4 lb. Cannons, 10 Swivel Cannons
Crew Members: 50 people
Displacement: 70 tons
Length: 68 – 75 feet
• Frigate
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Example: USS Bonhomme Richard
Armament: 28 – 12 lb. Cannons, 6 – 18 lb. Cannons
Crew Members:380
Displacement: 998 tons
Length: 152 feet
• Third Rate Ship-of-the-Line
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Example: HMS Ardent
Armament: 26 – 24 lb. Cannons, 26 – 18 lb. Cannons
Crew Members: 500 people
Displacement: 1379 tons
Length:160 feet
Brigantine
Example: USS Baltimore
Sloop-of-War
Example: USS Enterprise
Frigate
Example: USS Bonhomme Richard
Fifth Rate Ship-of-the-Line
Example: HMS Serapis
Third Rate Ship-of-the-Line
Example: HMS Ardent
Espionage
Weapons (Small Arms)
American
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Pennsylvania - Kentucky Long Rifle
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Overall : 30 inches long
Blade: 24 inches long
Weight: 2½ lbs
Weight: 2½ lbs.
Length: 19 inches
Ammunition: ¾” lead ball
Range: 1 – 15 yards
Rate of Fire: 2 to 3 shots / minute
Bayonet
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Weight: 9 lbs.
Length: 5 feet
Ammunition: ¾” lead ball
Range: 50 – 100 yards
Rate of Fire: 3 to 4 shots / minute
Flintlock Pistol
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Length: 15 inches
Saber
Flintlock Musket “Brown Bess”
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Weight: 2½ lbs.
Length: 19 inches
Ammunition: ¾” lead ball
Range: 1 – 15 yards
Rate of Fire: 2 to 3 shots / minute
Bayonet
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Weight: 7 – 10 lbs
Length: 54 – 70 inches
Ammunition: ½ - ¾ inch lead ball
Range: 100 – 200 yards
Rate of Fire: 2 – 4 shots per minute
Flintlock Pistol
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British
Length: 15 inches
Saber
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Overall: 30 inches long
Blade: 24 inches long
Weight: 2½ lbs
Pennsylvania-Kentucky Long Rifle
Weight: 7 – 10 lbs
Length: 54 – 70 inches
Ammunition: ½ - ¾ inch lead ball
Range: 100 – 200 yards
Rate of Fire: 2 – 4 shots per minute
British “Brown Bess”
Weight: 9 lbs.
Length: 5 feet
Ammunition: ¾” lead ball
Range: 50 – 100 yards
Rate of Fire: 3 to 4 shots / minute
Flintlock Pistol
Weight: 2½ lbs.
Length: 19 inches
Ammunition: ¾” lead ball
Range: 1 – 15 yards
Rate of Fire: 2 to 3 shots / minute
Bayonet
Length: 15 inches
Saber
Length: Overall – 30 inches, Blade – 24 inches
Weight: 2½ lbs
Weapons (Cannons)
Both Sides
Gun (Cannon)
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Weight: 4,660 lbs
Length: 9 feet
Ammunition: 3 – 42 lb. solid shot, Grape Shot
Range: Up to 3,200 yards
Rate of Fire: 3 shots per minute
Crew: 5 – 6 people
Howitzer
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Weight: 3,500 lbs
Length: 50 inches
Ammunition: 8 – 10 inch Round Explosive Shells
Range: 750 – 1,300 yards
Rate of Fire: 2 – 3 shots per minute
Crew: 4 – 5 people
Mortar
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Weight: 84 to 112 lbs.
Length: 13¼ - 16½ inches
Ammunition: Explosive Shells
Range: 800 – 1,000 yards
Rate of Fire: 2 – 3 shots per minute
Crew: 2 – 3 people
Gun (Cannon)
Weight: 4,660 lbs
Length: 9 feet
Ammunition: 3 – 42 lb. Solid Shot, Grape Shot
Range: Up to 3,200 yards
Rate of Fire: 3 shots per minute
Crew: 5 - 6 people
Howitzer
Weight: 3,500 lbs
Length: 50 inches
Ammunition: 8 – 10 inch Round Explosive Shells
Range: 750 – 1,300 yards
Rate of Fire: 2 – 3 shots per minute
Crew: 4 – 5 people
Mortar
Weight: 84 to 112 lbs.
Length: 13¼ - 16½ inches
Ammunition: Explosive Shells
Range: 800 – 1,000 yards
Rate of Fire: 2 – 3 shots per minute
Crew: 2 – 3 people
Win by Not Losing
• We were fighting for our
independence, we already declared it.
As long as we were not defeated and
had an army in the field, we had a
chance to win.
• We wanted to make them lose the will
to fight and give up since the outcome
would have very little impact on the
life of the average British soldier.
Fighting Tactics
American
• Win by not losing?
• Strategic Battles
• Fight just enough
• Explain/Explain/Explain
• Guerilla Warfare
British
• Large Scale Battles
• Occupation of Cities
• Split and Divide the US
• Southern Strategy
Split and Divide the US
• The British hoped to divide the colonies in
half and isolate the areas of strongest
resistance to the King. They wanted to
divide and conquer. In the South, where
there was more loyalist support, they
hoped that support would help them keep
control of the South. Then, they could
focus on the other areas of the Colonies
and take them over one by one.
Occupation of Cities
• Since the British had superior forces, they
were able to occupy many key northern
cities like New York, Boston, and
Philadelphia at various times in the war.
This hurt the colonists, but ultimately
would prolong the war for the British.
Large Scale Battle
• The British almost always had the
advantage in terms of numbers of soldiers.
So, they would try to engage the Colonial
Army in as many open field large scale
battles as they could. When they were
able to do this, they were generally
successful.
Guerilla Warfare
• Successfully utilized by American
Generals primarily in the South, this tactic
involved hitting a larger superior force
quickly with smaller units then breaking off
the attack as soon as you could get away.
This was designed to inflict a high amount
of casualties with a low risk of loss of life
for the attacker. Avoid large scale battles,
hit and run.
Explain/Explain/Explain
• Not as much a fighting tactic as a
leadership style. Since the Colonial forces
were largely volunteer, they did not always
take orders the same way as a British
Regular would. They needed to have
things explained to them in such a way
that would make them want to follow the
orders. They needed to know the because
part, instead of just carrying out the order.
Strategic Battles
• Since the Colonial Army was generally
outnumbered, Washington and the other
generals would try to attack only when
they thought they had an advantage or an
equal chance of winning.
• This strategy didn’t always work, but it was
better than just trying to slug it out with the
British in battle after battle.
Fight Just Enough
• Washington and his generals had to worry
about the morale of their troops. They had
to make sure that is did not drop, because
the soldiers were volunteers and not
regular army like the British soldiers. This
was not their life, it was something they
did. So, the generals wanted to fight
enough battles to keep up the morale, but
not too many to where the volunteers
would lose interest or heart.
Revolutionary War Battles
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Lexington and Concord
Fort Ticonderoga
Bunker(Breed’s) Hill
Invasion of Canada
– Battle of Quebec
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Invasion of New York
Trenton
Saratoga
Monmouth
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Vincennes
Camden
Hannah’s Cowpens
Yorktown
British Invasion/Occupation of
New York
• This takes place over a series of battles
including Long Island and Brooklyn
Heights in 1776. Washington and his men
barely escape capture by the
overwhelming British force led by General
Howe by rowing to Manhattan and evading
capture. Washington loses the largest
seaport to the British, but still has an army.
Washington Crossing the Delaware
Painted by Emanuel Leutze, 1851
The Battle of Trenton
Date
Thursday, December 26, 1776
Weather
~20ºF, cloudy, winds calm
Location
Trenton, New Jersey
Great Britain
The US Colonies
Belligerents Great Britain, Hessians United States
Commanders Johann Rall
Casualties
Force: 1520
Killed: 22
Wounded: 86
Captured: 906
George Washington
Force: 2400
Killed: 2
Wounded: 5
Captured: 0
Battle of Trenton
BATTLE OF TRENTON
• General Washington crossed the
Delaware River in the middle of the night
and was able to sneak up on the German
Hessians and take the city of Trenton with
very little loss. This allowed the Colonial
Army to gain much needed supplies and to
improve their morale.
Vincennes
Vincennes
Date
Tuesday – Thursday, February 23 – 25, 1779
Weather
Location
Vincennes, Indiana Territory
Great Britain
The US Colonies
Belligerents
Great Britain
United States
Commanders
Lt. Colonel Hamilton
George Rogers Clark
Force: 90 British
200 Indians
Force: 172
Killed: 11 British
6 Indians
Killed: 1
Wounded: 5
Wounded: 4
Captured: 79
Captured: 0
Casualties
Vincennes
• Clark and his men faced a grueling
march to recapture Vincennes from the
English. They were facing a British
officer that was not liked by the locals.
Clark was able to sneak up on the fort
and make it appear that he had more
than 1000 men. He laid siege to the
fort and eventually Hamilton
surrendered. Hamilton supposedly had
tears in his eyes when he realized he
surrendered to an inferior force.
Monmouth
Date
Weather
Location
Sunday, June 28, 1778
~96ºF, warm and humid
Monmouth, New Jersey
Great Britain
The US Colonies
Belligerents Great Britain
United States
Commanders Sir Henry Clinton George Washington
Casualties
Force: 14500
Killed: 289
Wounded: 641
Captured: 60
Force: 11000
Killed: 400
Wounded: 40
Captured: 22
Monmouth
• The last major engagement between the
Colonial Army and the British in the North.
• Despite Lee’s efforts to lose this battle,
Washington is able to salvage victory.
• Washington attacks the rear of General
Clinton’s men and flank and is able to
inflict a lot of damage.
• Patriot Victory
Saratoga
A modern-day re-enactment
Saratoga:
“Turning Point” of the War?
Saratoga
Date
Weather
Location
Friday, September 19, 1777
52ºF, cloudy
Saratoga County, New York
Great Britain
The US Colonies
Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel,
United States
Belligerents Great Britain,
Hesse-Hanau
Benedict Arnold,
Commanders General John Burgoyne Daniel Morgan,
Horatio Gates
Casualties
Force: 7200
Killed: 140
Wounded: 370
Captured: 390
Force: 9000
Killed: 60
Wounded: 260
Captured: 0
Saratoga
• General Burgoyne lead a demoralized and
tired group of soldiers against Gen. Gates’
Army that had dug in.
• Burgoyne was defeated and forced to
surrender.
• The Americans proved to the world that
they could stand up to the British and
defeat them
• The French started to provide aid to the
Patriots.
Battle of Quebec
Date
Sunday, December 31, 1775
Weather
~31ºF, Blizzard conditions
Location
Quebec City, Province of Quebec
Belligerents
Great Britain
The US Colonies
Canadian Militia,
Great Britain
1st Canadian Regiment,
United States
Benedict Arnold,
Capt. William DeLaPlace,
Daniel Morgan,
Commanders Sir Guy Carleton
Richard Montgomery
Casualties
Force: 1800
Killed: 5
Wounded: 14
Captured: 0
Force: 1200
Killed: 48
Wounded: 34
Captured: 431
Battle of Quebec
• The hope was that by taking Quebec, the
Canadians would join forces with the
Colonists against Britain.
• Carleton told any resident that wouldn’t
help fight the Americans that they would
be forced to leave
• Arnold/Montgomery/Morgan were
unsuccessful in taking the city and many
were killed or captured including
Montgomery and Morgan.
Bunker (Breed’s) Hill
The British suffered over 40% casualties.
Bunker (Breed’s) Hill
Date
Friday, June 16, 1775
Weather
55° - 65°F, Winds 10 knots
Location
Charlestown, Massachusetts
Great Britain
The US Colonies
Belligerents
Great Britain
United States
Commanders
Sir William Howe William Prescott
Casualties
Force:
3000 Force:
2400
Killed:
226 Killed:
115
Wounded: 828 Wounded: 305
Captured:
0 Captured:
30
Bunker (Breed’s) Hill
• First battle of the Revolutionary War.
Prescott dug the Colonials in at Breed’s
Hill. He “gave” the command to not fire
until they saw the whites of the British
eyes. They had limited supplies, and this
would make each bullet count. They
repulsed two British assaults, but lost the
hill after a third assault. However, they
showed that they could stand up to the
British and the war would not be quick.
Fort Ticonderoga
Date
Weather
Location
Belligerents
Commanders
Casualties
Wednesday, May 10, 1775
~55-65`F, winds 10 knots
Fort Ticonderoga, New York
Great Britain
The US Colonies
Great Britain
United States
Captain William
Benedict Arnold,
DeLaPlace
Ethan Allen
Force: 78
Force: 168
Killed: 0
Killed: 0
Wounded: 0
Wounded: 0
Captured: 0
Captured: 1
Fort Ticonderoga
• The Patriots were able to seize the British
fort and the 100 cannons that the fort
possessed. These cannons would later be
used on Boston and in other conflicts. The
fort was also key for controlling the
waterways into Canada and for it’s
munitions that it had.
Lexington and Concord Map
Lexington and Concord
• British under the overall command of
General Gage were to travel to Concord
and seize weapons that were being
housed there by the Patriots. Early
warnings about the British coming allowed
the Patriots to hide the weapons and push
the “Lobsterbacks” all the way to
Charleston after being repulsed at the Old
North Bridge in Concord. “Shot heard
around the world”
Lexington and Concord
Belligerents
Commanders
Casualties
Great Britain
LieutenantGeneral Hugh
Percy,
Force: 1500
Killed: 73
Wounded: 174
Captured: 53
United States
Colonel James
Barrett,
Force: 3800
Killed: 49
Wounded: 39
Captured: 0
Phase III: The Southern
Strategy [1780-1781]
Battle of Camden
Camden
Date
Wednesday, August 16, 1780
Weather
~55-65`F, winds 10knots
Location
North of Camden, South Carolina
Great Britain
The US Colonies
Belligerents
Great Britain
United States
Commanders
Banastre Tarleton,
Francis RawdonHastings, Lord
Charles Cornwallis
Horatio Gates, Johann
de Kalb, Marquis de la
Rouerie
Force: 2100
Killed: 68
Wounded: 245
Captured: 11
Force: 3700
Killed: 300
Wounded: 600
Captured: 1000
Casualties
Camden
-Battle that is depicted in “The
Patriot”
-Gates takes an unknown army
into battle against Cornwallis
-Men are routed and Gates
leaves the battle and state
Battle of Cowpens
Cowpens
The Battle of Cowpens
Date
Wednesday, January 17, 1781
Weather
Location
~55-65`F, winds 10knots
Cowpens, South Carolina
Belligerents
Great Britain
Great Britain
The US Colonies
United States
Banastre Tarleton
Force: 1150
Killed: 110
Wounded: 200
Captured: 712
Daniel Morgan
Force: 1912
Killed: 25
Wounded: 124
Captured: 0
Commanders
Casualties
Cowpens
• Tarleton forces his men to march all night
to find Morgan reaching him very early in
the AM
• Tarleton makes mistake after mistake in
ordering charges that are not warranted
• His own men refuse to attack when all
seems lost
• Tarleton finally is matched and outsmarted
On the Eve of the
Revolution ?
Britain
Americans
Advantages
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Disadvantages
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Loyalist
Strongholds
Causes of the Revolutionary
War
Proclamation Line of 1763
Actions of Parliament
No representation in Parliament
Colonial Press
Declaration of Independence
Colonial Press
• Most of the colonies had their own paper
that was printed regularly. The republican
views that were being expressed in many
of the colonies were shared throughout the
colonies. The questioning of the current
state of affairs spread because of high
literacy rates and increased readership of
the papers.
No Representation in
Parliament
• Despite the fact that the colonists were still
British citizens, they had hardly anyone
that represented their views. Edmond
Burke was one of the few individuals in
Parliament to try and help the colonists.
Actions by Parliament
»Taxes
»Repeal of Taxes
»Declaratory Act
»Coercive Acts
TAXES
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STAMP ACT
SUGAR TAX
TEA TAX
TOWNSHEND ACTS
PROCLAMATION LINEOF
1763
MADE SETTLEMENT WEST
OF THE APPALACHIAN
MOUNTAINS ILLEGAL.
ONE OF THE
EARLIEST EVENTS TO
CAUSE CONFLICT
BETWEEN BRITAIN AND
THE COLONIES
Declaration of Independence
• Jefferson, Adams, and
Franklin helped write it.
• Second Continental
Congress
• Spelled out what we
believed in
• Told the world why we
were declaring our
independence
• Those that signed were
committing treason.
Washington’s Headaches
Only 1/3 of the colonists were in
favor of a war for independence [the
other third were Loyalists, and the
final third were neutral].
State/colony loyalties.
Congress couldn’t tax to raise money
for the Continental
Army.
Poor training [until
the arrival of
Baron von Steuben.
Exports & Imports: 1768-1783
Military Strategies
The Americans
Attrition [the
Brits had a long
supply line].
Guerilla tactics
[fight an
insurgent war 
you don’t have
to win a battle,
just wear the
British down]
Make an
alliance with
one of Britain’s
enemies.
The British
Break the
colonies in half
by getting
between the
No. & the So.
Blockade the
ports to prevent
the flow of
goods and
supplies from an
ally.
“Divide and
Conquer”  use
the Loyalists.
Phase I: The Northern Campaign
[1775-1776]
Phase II:
NY & PA
[1777-1778]
New York City in Flames
(1776)
Britain’s “Southern Strategy”
Britain thought that there were more
Loyalists in the South.
Southern resources were more
valuable/worth preserving.
The British win a number of small
victories, but cannot pacify the
countryside [similar to U. S. failures
in Vietnam!]
Good US General:
Nathanial Greene
The Battle of Yorktown (1781)
Count de
Rochambeau
Admiral
De Grasse
Yorktown
Date
Weather
Location
Belligerents
Commanders
Casualties
Tuesday, October 09, 1781
~49-60`F, winds 7-20 knots
Yorktown, Virginia
Great Britain
The US Colonies
Great Britain,
France, United
Hesse-Kassel
States
Lord Charles
George
Cornwallis
Washington
Force: 8980
Killed: 309
Wounded: 326
Captured: 8007
Force: 20600
Killed: 72
Wounded: 180
Captured: 0
Yorktown
• The combined French and American
forces were able to pin Cornwallis down
and bombard his men for a long period of
time.
• The British Fleet was not able to get
through to help them.
• Cornwallis surrendered ending the war,
but did not surrender to Washington he
claimed he was sick.
• The War effectively ends at this battle.
Cornwallis’ Surrender at Yorktown:
“The World Turned Upside Down!”
Painted by John Trumbull, 1797
North America After the
Treaty of Paris, 1783
Indian Land Cessions:
1768-1799
The United States in 1787