4.3 STRUGGLING TOWARD SARATGOA
CHAPTER 4, SECTION 3
STRUGGLING TOWARD SARATOGA
OBJECTIVES:
1. Trace the progress of the war through the turning point at Saratoga and winter at Valley Forge.
2. Examine the colonial economy and civilian life during the Revolution.
One American’s Story:
Most people predict that the rebellion would not last:
2-1/2 million in the colonies vs. 10 million in British empire
Albigense Waldo (surgeon at Valley Forge) reports on the men – underfed and underclothed. A lowpoint for Washington’s troops, but the morale began to improve, along with their hopes of winning.
BEAUCRATIC SNAFU
§ Heavy snows and abnormally freezing temperatures prevented delivery of food and supplies
§ Many soldiers endured the hardships; others deserted.
§ By the winter ended, 2,500 soldiers had died and been buried in unmarked graves.
OBJECTIVE #1 – THE WAR MOVES TO THE MIDDLE STATES
1. How was the Continental Army able to capture Trenton?
2. Why was the battle of Saratoga considered the turning point of the war?
3. Why were the victories at Trenton and Princeton so important to the Continental Army?
4. What factors contributed to General Burgoyne’s defeat at Saratoga?
5. What did France agree to in its treaty of cooperation with the Americans?
1776, March – British retreat from Boston to the Middle States
§ Plan: isolate New England and stop the rebellion by seizing New York City
DEFEAT IN NEW YORK
§ 1776, Summer – Brothers General Wm Howe and Admiral Richard Howe join forces on Staten Island and sail into NY Harbor
q Largest British expeditionary force ever assembled: 32,000
§ Hessians, mercenary troops from German region of Hesse
o Mercenaries – troops that fight solely for money
§ Washington and 23,000 men meet the British: out-manned, untrained recruits, poor equipment
§ Battle ends in late August, with American retreat following heavy losses
§ 1776, LATE FALL - British HAVE PUSHED Washington’s army across the Delaware into PA
§ majority of W’s men have either been killed or deserted; 8,000 remain with enlistment due to end December 31st
§ W needs some sort of victory to keep the men from going home
THE BATTLE OF TRENTON
§ 1776, CHRISTMAS NIGHT- Despite a fierce storm, Washington leads 2,400 of his men in rowboats across the Delaware River (ice chunks)
§ they march 9 miles at 8 o’clock to Trenton, where a group of Hessians are “sleeping it off”
§ surprise attack – Americans kill 30, capture 918, and 6 cannon
§ 8 days later, Americans score another victory against 1,200 Brits in Princeton
§ W then settles into winter camp at Morristown, NJ
THE FIGHT FOR PHILADELPHIA
§ 1777, SPRING - General Howe begins a campaign to seize Philadelphia, the American capital
§ Sails his troops from NY to the head of the Chesapeake Bay and lands near Philly in late August
§ Continental Congress is forced to flee Philadelphia as W’s troops were unable to block the redcoats at the battle of Brandywine Creek
§ Gen Howe is well-treated by Philadelphia’s grateful Loyalists
VICTORY AT SARATOGA
§ Burgoyne (another British general) suggests to the London high commanders that he be allowed to pursue a complicated plan
o He proposes to lead an army from Canada to Albany, NY
o There, he will meet w/ General Howe, coming up from NY and the two would isolate New England from the rest of the colonies
§ Burgoyne had 4,000 troops; 3,000 mercenaries; 1,000 Mohawks
§ Also 30 wagons w/ 138 pieces of artillery (as well as his fancy dress clothes, champagne, etc.)
§ South of Lake Champlain, swamps and gullies impede the wagons progress; they run low on food
§ MEANWHILE, General Horatio Gates has been appointed by the CC to command the northern part of our army.
o He gathers together men from all over NY and New England
§ Gates is aided by Ethan Allen and his Green Mt Boys from VT, who attack Burgoyne’s troops
§ AND, poor Burgoyne does not know that HOWE is too busy in Philadelphia to come to NY!
§ 1777, October 17 - POOR BURGOYNE is surrounded by CC troops at Saratoga and is forced to surrender
§ CHANGE OF STRATEGY FOR BRITS: let’s keep our troops along the coast – why?
o Near big guns and supply bases of the British fleet
A TURNING POINT
§ The French were still bitter over their losses in the French and Indian War
§ After the Battle of Saratoga proves the Americans have what it takes, France agrees to support the Revolution
o France recognizes American independence
1778, FEBRUARY - France signs an alliance – or treaty of cooperation - with us
§ France agrees not to make peace w/ GB unless GB recognizes our independence too
WINTER AT VALLEY FORGE
§ Months will pass before French aid can arrive; meanwhile W’s troops head to Valley Forge, for the worst winter of their lives, while British troops live in relative luxury in Philadelphia
§ W’s problems: bitter cold
§ Primitive conditions
§ Soldiers suffer from exposure, frostbite resulting in many amputations
§ Of the 10,000 at Valley Forge, 2,000 died that winter; those who survived stayed at their posts
SIDEBAR ON GEO WASHINGTON: While his men all loved and admired him ,the one thing he could not tolerate was cowardice; he called it
“A crime of all others, the most infamous in a soldier, the most
injurious to an army, and the last to be forgiven.”
Why do you suppose did W have such a harsh view of cowardice?
1. How was the Continental Army able to capture Trenton?
2. Why was the battle of Saratoga considered the turning point of the war?
3. Why were the victories at Trenton and Princeton so important to the Continental Army?
4. What factors contributed to General Burgoyne’s defeat at Saratoga?
5. What did France agree to in its treaty of cooperation with the Americans?
OBJECTIVE #2 – COLONIAL LIFE DURING THE REVOLUTION
1. What difficulties did Congress face in financing the war?
2. What contributions did civilians make to the war effort?
3. What economic problems did the Americans face in financing the war?
4. In what ways did women contribute to the Revolutionary War?
All Americans, not just those on the battlefields, were touched by the war…
FINANCING THE WAR
§ Congress uses what gold and silver it has until it runs out
§ Borrowed money, by selling bonds to American investors and foreign governments, esp France
§ Printed paper money, called CONTINENTALS
o As they printed more money, inflation ran rampant; the value of the money plunged and the prices rose dramatically.
§ Congress struggles to equip the army
o Few munitions factories; British navy blockading the coast
o Smuggle weapons from Europe
§ PROFITEERING – some government officials sold scarce goods for a profit
§ Corrupt merchants either hoarded goods or sold defective merchandise, e.g. spoiled meat, cheap shoes, defective weapons
§ 1781 – Congress appoint Robert Morris, a rich Philadelphia merchant as superintendent of finance
o together w/ associate Haym Salomon, a Jewish political refuge from Poland they beg and borrow on their personal finance to pay the soldiers
§ Philadelphia’s Quakers and Jews contribute
§ 1781, September 8th – the troops are paid in gold coin, known as specie
CIVILIANS AT WAR
§ wives forced to pick up the slack when their husbands go to war
o they manage farms, shops, businesses, plus households and families
§ some women organize to support the troops by mending clothes for the soldiers
§ many women made ammunition from their household silver
§ hundreds of women followed their men to battle – where they washed, mended, and cooked for the troops (see Molly Pitcher, p 117)
§ About 5,000 African-Americans served in the Army; others escaped to freedom, some to the cities where they passed as free, others to the frontier, where they joined NA tribes.
§ Native Americans remained on the fringe; some fought for the British (WHY?), but most remained apart from the conflict.
1. What difficulties did Congress face in financing the war?
2. What contributions did civilians make to the war effort?
3. What economic problems did the Americans face in financing the war?
4. In what ways did women contribute to the Revolutionary War?
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