Lexington and Concord—the War begins
1775
The American Revolution became a shooting war on April 19, 1775, when a group of British soldiers set out to capture and destroy rebel rifles and gunpowder stored at Concord, Massachusetts. As the British advanced on Lexington, a small village along the way to Concord, a group of farmers turned riflemen entitled “Minute Men” barred the way at a small bridge. The English commander called for the men to disperse, but they stayed. Someone, no one knows who, fired off a rifle and the Red Coats then leveled a blast at the Minute Men.[90] Those who gathered to stop the English advance suffered several casualties, and the unharmed English marched on to Concord. The word of the confrontation spread across the countryside, and the surrounding farmers grabbed their rifles and ran to fight the British troops who had shot down their neighbors.
As the English were returning from Concord through the rolling hills and lightly forested area making up the countryside, the Americans gathered in small concealed groups and began to shoot the British column to pieces. Britain’s troops had learned to fight on the broad plains of Europe, where armies smartly lined up about one hundred yards from each other and fired away. As the British troops in their red coats marched in line back to Boston the Americans used low stone walls, trees, and bushes to hide behind while they fired at the soldiers. The British tried to handle the incoming rifle fire by turning squads toward the Americans and firing off a large volley, but the Americans were behind faraway barriers making the English musket fire ineffective. As long as the attackers stayed away from the English column, and behind walls, they could inflict casualties while losing almost none of their own.[91] The British march back to base was a nightmare for the troops, and even though they arrived back at the city of Boston intact they lost many men. The American Revolution had commenced.
The Continental Congress assembled and appointed General George Washington to lead the American cause. George Washington was the indispensable man for America and the Revolution. Washington was the heart and soul of the revolution. Without George Washington there would be no United States of America and no worthwhile constitution. He was a man who did not obsess over power or glory. When offered the office of king after the revolution he turned it down, and he left the office of president after two terms when he could have stayed for 10 if he wanted. Washington was a giant of virtue among men. With all this said, he was human. He made errors, and his army paid dearly for them; however, no better man ever lived, and his honor and courage were the keys to victory as much as his leadership in the field. In terms of his impact on history, it is every bit as great as Julius Caesar or Napoleon.
Washington’s men had managed to surround a British army in Boston, and they had taken the critical high ground of Bunker Hill overlooking the harbor, thus endangering the ability of English warships to stay and support the troops.[92] Overnight, it seemed to the astonished British commanders, the American “rebels” on the hill erected dug-in positions with trenches and earthworks. General Howe, the British commander, decided to assault the hill after a crucial maneuver to cut off and isolate the Americans was botched. The English “won” the battle of Bunker Hill, but the cost was very high. It took three assaults to take the bastion, and even the last assault was facing destruction when the rebels ran out of bullets. Most of the Americans got away. The position endangering the harbor was taken, but the English remained surrounded in the town. Howe decided to depart by sea for New York, thus escaping the siege and achieving better accommodations. This left Boston to the American patriots.
The Declaration of Independence
1776
The Continental Congress argued about independence from England. Even though a shooting war was underway many colonists wanted to stay with England. After the revolution was over, John Adams estimated that no more than one-third of Americans actively supported a break with the British Empire. As the debate in Congress droned on, a fellow named Thomas Payne published a pamphlet entitled Common Sense arguing to the vacillating public that Americans should be free. Should an island rule a continent, he asked? Public opinion then shifted strongly toward independence. Congress responded and on July 4, 1776, adopted the Declaration of Independence, expertly penned by Thomas Jefferson. The break with England was complete, and now the Americans had to make the dream a reality. All those signing the declaration were traitors, and England would be overjoyed to hang them. Each pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to the cause of freedom, and almost to a man they would sacrifice all three in the war for independence. Some died in action, many suffered bankruptcy, and all were stressed to the limit by the needs of the cause. These were the men who not only signed the charter of freedom but put everything they had on the line in a bid for success. Modern critics call them “dead white men.” But they were among the greatest men that ever lived. They signed a document declaring war on the mightiest empire of the time—the British Empire—and the chances of success were meager. England had fleets of ships while the Americans possessed none; England benefited from massive numbers of well-trained men while the Americans mustered farmers who never fought in an all-out war; England had money, and lots of it, while the Americans had little money to pay and feed an army. And these were only a few of the problems. The disparity in national strength was profound.
Early Defeats and Trenton—the Last Chance
These disadvantages were on display at once as the British inflicted a terrible series of defeats on Washington and his small army in the summer of 1776. New York and New Jersey easily fell to the British. Washington nearly lost his entire army, and the war, in these contests. In battle after battle he was outmaneuvered, and the English regulars and their German mercenaries, the Hessians, outfought his army. Washington’s men fought well enough for a relatively untried army, but they were consistently out flanked, outmaneuvered, or outnumbered so defeat followed defeat. By the winter of 1776, the men in the Continental Army were in rags, starving, and unpaid. Washington’s army had been 20,000 men, but the size had shriveled dramatically as defeat followed defeat. Many of the one year enlistments ended on January 1, 1777, when the army would dwindle to 3,000 men. Without money for food, clothing, and pay for the soldiers how could the revolution survive? The Continental Congress was better at debating than obtaining funds. As the British and the Hessians settled in for the winter, General George Washington determined to risk the Revolution on one gamble. He needed a victory to keep the cause alive, and now he decided to get that victory or lose the cause trying.[93]
Figure 28 Trenton 1776
On the frozen Christmas night of December 25, 1776, General Washington roused his tiny army to begin its march to the Hessian-controlled town of Trenton, New Jersey. There was no global warming[94] in 1776, and the Delaware River was all but frozen; however, Washington had to get his men, horses, and cannons across. The boat handlers transferred the entire army across the ice choked river without the loss of a man, horse, or cannon (few as they were). Onward through the night, through snow and sleet they marched, some dying along the way from cold, hunger, and exhaustion. Washington and his officers were there with the men encouraging them forward, knowing this was the final chance. Many colonial troops hurrying toward Trenton wore rags for clothes and marched barefoot with their feet bleeding into the snow-covered roads. Rushing through the night while fighting the awful weather, they drove painfully on trying desperately to reach Trenton before the sun was up. Surprise was all.
Figure 29 1776 Washington Crossing the Delaware
The surprise was total, and Washington’s troops won a stunning victory over the professional German mercenaries. Only Three Continental officers received wounds—one of them was James Monroe who would later serve as president. Over 900 Hessians entered captivity, and their commander lay dying. A few days later, at Princeton, Washington’s men won another victory over a regiment of British regulars just outside the town. Word of the victories at Trenton and Princeton spread f
ast, the Continental Congress took hope, and the Revolution was alive once more. A victory, a very small victory, had saved the fledgling nation. The triumph also helped re-enlistments. After Trenton a few brave souls, still freezing and starving, came forward to fight on at Washington’s urging. Thus, solitary freezing men, dressed in rags, ribs showing, feet unclad, stepped forward for freedom. We sit in our warm houses today protected by our Constitution because of these few unheralded heroes. These men were as brave as the Greeks at Marathon, but seldom remembered in that way.
Of course, it was far from being over. The British almost failed to notice the American “victory” and continued with their plans to put down the rebellion. Washington was not fighting a guerrilla war. He was building an army that could stand and fight the English and their mercenaries’ straight up and win. He retreated to keep his army from total defeat, and his generals did engage in hit-and-run raids; but his goal was always to field an army that could stand toe-to-toe with the British. By winning set piece battles with the British Empire other nations might be convinced to aid the Americans, because the Americans could not win without significant outside help.
Figure 30 Saratoga September 1777
Saratoga
1777
The English decided to cut American’s northeast in half by invading through the Hudson River Valley thereby isolating New England, the hotbed of patriotism. Once accomplished, mutual support from adjoining regions would be stifled, and then each region could be defeated in detail. So it was that in 1777, General Burgoyne, a stuffed shirt of sorts, could be found leading an army down from Canada through the deeply wooded Hudson River Valley bound for Albany, New York, where General Howe had promised to meet him. This route is thick with shadowy forest, so Burgoyne hired Native American scouts to guide his brilliantly attired army. He also took along fine accommodations; after all, he was a gentleman and a general. At first the expedition went well, but before long the near impenetrable forest, and an undersized American delaying force, began taking a heavy toll.
By clogging narrow forest trails with felled trees and clever ambushes, the American woodsmen slowed the English advance to a crawl. Perhaps sensing disaster, the Native American scouts disappeared. Then word came that Howe refused to follow the plan and would not come up from Albany to meet Burgoyne’s army. Nonetheless, the always tenacious British pressed on. Meanwhile, Washington assembled an army to confront the invasion, but he chose its leader poorly. Command of the American army at Saratoga went to the incompetent General Gates. Fortunately, for the Americans, a competent general was with the army, and he would make a real difference—General Benedict Arnold.[95]
As the fatigued British emerged from their forest nightmare, they found a spirited Americans army waiting at Freeman’s Farm near Saratoga. Although weary, with their numbers diminished by their horrid march, the British could now confront the enemy and win control of the Hudson River. Across the field, disarray over tactics consumed the American command. Gates wanted to wait atop a fortified hill, but Arnold pressed to assault the redcoats at once. He pressed too hard. Gates was in command and he banished Arnold to his quarters. Good thing he was too proud to stay there. During the opening stages of battle Burgoyne’s regulars overpowered the colonials causing General Gates to flee to his tent. All appeared lost when Benedict Arnold rode into action accompanied by General Morgan. Arnold and Morgan rallied the faltering troops and charged off to a history changing victory. Under Arnold’s leadership, the rag tag farmers of America won at Saratoga. General Burgoyne found himself surrendering his army of over 6,000 men to Gates, along with his military career. At last, an American army facing British regulars won in a toe-to-toe fight. In Europe, few knew how exhausted and demoralized Burgoyne’s army had been. All they saw was an American victory, and Gentleman Johnny Burgoyne surrendering a large force of British regulars. Suddenly, the world had turned upside down.
Pyle, The Nation Makers
Saratoga is a top battle in history because it changed the mind of the French monarch, Louis XVI, who decided to join the Americans against the English. Benjamin Franklin, America’s ambassador in France, was working overtime to bring France to the American side. France had every incentive since England bested them in the Seven Years War, and France wanted some measure of revenge for their losses. However, backing a losing proposition did not interest France. The Americans had to convince the King they could win if helped, and Saratoga persuaded the King the war was worth the risk. France began sending significant aid, and in 1778 executed a formal alliance with the Americans while declaring war on England. Now the American Revolution was a world war. France’s naval power was the key. The English had been operating at will along the colonial seacoast. Now their problems would multiply because a French fleet set sail to assist the Americans.
Although Saratoga was a great victory for the American Revolution, the general who had won the battle and probably saved the cause was disgruntled. Gates took total credit for the victory leaving General Arnold little recognition for his heroic labors. Moreover, he was shot in the leg and suffered rather badly after the engagement, adding to his disgust when few accolades came his way. Benedict Arnold knew Washington depended upon him, and that held his loyalty to the cause for a long while, but not until the end. Arnold’s love for a Tory woman (a Tory supported the Crown) and his dislike for his rival American generals caused him to sell out the Revolution by agreeing to secretly transfer the fortress at West Point to the English. His plot came to light, and he fled with his lover to England where he continued to be ignored. Through the entire episode, and the remainder of his life, Arnold’s Tory gal stuck by him as his nation came to despise him, and the name Benedict Arnold [96]still refers to a blackheart who stabs his friends in the back.
It was still a long haul, but in 1781 a French fleet bottled up an English army at Yorktown where American and French forces already had them surrounded on land. After a siege of some weeks the English surrendered, losing yet another army, this time under General Cornwallis. Still it did not end. Negotiations in Paris drug on until 1782 when Parliament at last voted for peace with the new United States of America (US, USA, or America).
The American Frontier
The United States of America eventually developed into a world power, but in the beginning it was just a few sparsely populated colonies on the eastern seaboard of the great North American continent. On the frontier, the Native Americans were trying to hold up the advance of the Europeans (now Americans). During the nearly seven years of the American Revolutionary War, more colonists were killed on the frontier in the ceaseless “Indian Wars” than were killed fighting the Revolution. This frontier of scattered settlements and lone men tracking through the wilderness was an important part of the American mystique. Those fitting in nowhere else could travel west for land or some other opportunity. Those arriving with nothing could go west to clear land and establish ownership of something. The frontier was a way to let off society’s steam because those without hope could go west and obtain, through hard work and unending danger, something of their own. There was little law in the west, and that is how those in the west liked it. Those born in the west often hated the impositions of civilization and continued west when civilization started creeping in. On the western frontier the same family names appear repeatedly. This was near total freedom from the law or the obligations of society. A person could do what he wanted when he wanted, and that developed into a way of life and thought still coveted by many in the United States. “Leave me alone” are extremely important words in the United States of America.
The Constitution of the United States of America
1789
America had finally won its freedom. Each state had its charter or constitution providing for governance. The American states had been jointly governing themselves under the Articles of Confederation since 1775, but this weak document failed to pull the nation together. Now facing the task of coming up with their own national gov
ernmental system, the Americans carried a few powerful ideas into the process that we should remember:
1. Each state wanted to keep its individual identity. States were set up as separate colonies, and grew up very differently because of American geography. No colony wanted another colony telling them how to govern in their jurisdiction. This was an unstated assumption in the Constitutional debates seldom talked about, but it underlies many disagreements between Revolutionary era Americans.
2. Fear of a powerful central government was fervent. This is another given, although expressed in many different ways. One of the Constitutional Convention’s main goals was to prevent the central government from overpowering state governments and individual citizens. In this central task the convention failed.
3. The colonials believed revolting against an oppressive government was a God given right. The Declaration of Independence says so. This is a key reason for the Second Amendment to the US Constitution (the right to keep and bear arms) and the Bill of Rights (first 10 Amendments to the Constitution). The Bill of Rights entered the Constitution as an additional measure to keep the central government in check by giving rights directly to individuals; however, the ultimate weapon was always rebellion. In the 21stst Century, we may forget that revolutionaries who overthrew a powerful central government by force of arms founded our nation. The US Constitution reflects this fact.
The Super Summary of World History Page 19