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The Treaty of Paris

After all the great fightings and battles the patriots had to endure in order to accomplish 
their Independence, they finally got to the end of it and signed the known treaty of Paris. 
What had happened?  Why would the British make peace with patriots?




When the British heard of the surrender at Yorktown, the 
House of Commons was in an uproar. They now were concerned of losing the war. The British prime minister North resigned and was replace 
by Lord Shelborne.

The Treaty of Paris, 1783. The British delegation refused to pose.

Lord Shelborne wanted to negotiate an end to the war. He sent Richard Oswald to Paris to meet with the American representatives Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and John Jay.
The Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1782. The treaty was ratified on April 17, 1783, and it officially recognized American independence.





This treaty had also some terms that were beneficial for the Americans as well for the British. Under the terms of the treaty for example:

• Britain recognized the independent nation of the United States of America. 
• Britain agreed to remove all of its troops from America. 
• The treaty also set new borders for the United States including all land from the Great Lakes on the north to Florida on the south, and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River.
• The United States agreed to allow British troops still in America to leave. 
• America agreed to pay all existing debts owed to Britain. 



The Treaty of Paris

• They also agreed not to persecute loyalists still in America, and allow those that left America to return.

As a conclusion the Treaty of Paris which was represented by Benjamin Franklin was considered as The Treaty of Paris officially ended the revolution, and recognized the United States of America as an independent nation.

king Mountain Battle

Countless number of battles took place in the American Revolution as we know it 

however there some battle specifically that were crucial for the American victory

in the Independence war. 

First of all we must know that there were two different kinds of groups in the colonies.

The Patriots: who were the ones pursuing independence and fought all the battles against

England

The Loyalists: the loyalists were a percent of the colonial people who were kind of against

patriots, supported the British and intended to keep under the control of them.

In the Southern colonies war became a cruel and bloody civil was with the patriot and loyalists 

confrontations. I must say also that Loyalists at this point (1780) had allied with the British 

and reached to a point of confrontation with Patriots. Even though they were sort of allied 

British didn't support the loyalists in war, therefore they obtained as a result big failure. 

Many historians consider the Battle of Kings Mountain on October 7, 1780 to 

be the turning point in America's War for Independence. 

The victory of the Patriots over British Loyalist troops completely destroyed 

the left wing of Cornwallis' army. This decisive battle successfully ended the British 

invasion into North Carolina and forced Lord Cornwallis to retreat from Charlotte 

into South Carolina to wait for reinforcements. 

This triumphant victory of the Overmountain Men allowed General Nathanael Greene the opportunity to reorganize the American Army.  

Benjamin Franklin



Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706-April 17, 1790 )


          Early Life
Benjamin franklin had a tough llife at the beginnig, when he was a kid given that his father had a tough economic situation he was onlly able to go through 1 or 2 years of school. later on he was sent to his uncle where he had to works printing pamphlets and sellling printed products. in 1721 when he was 15 his uncle started a news paper "The New England Courant" in Boston. After James was in prision he started to beat Benjamin which caused him to run away, this happened in 1723 when he was 17 years old. 
After running away he went to Philadelphia where he got a job as a printer and there he met his wife, Deborah Read.

In the later years he retired and started inventing machines. Towards the independence he was selected in the second continental congress, helped draft the declaration of indepence and serve as embassador in France.  He played an important role in Italy of alliance and the treaty of Paris in 1783 on his return he served as president of the execution councils of Pennsylvania. Sadly he died on April 17, 1790 when he was 84 years old.

Inventions

Among his many creations were the lightning rod, glass harmonica (a glass instrument, not to be confused with the metal harmonica), Franklin stove, bifocal glasses and the flexible urinary catheter. His inventions also included social innovations, such as paying forward. Franklin's fascination with innovation could be viewed as altruistic; he wrote that his scientific works were to be used for increasing efficiency and human improvement. One such improvement was his effort to expedite news services through his printing presses.  

Battle of Saratoga

Date: 17th October 1777

Place: Saratoga on the Hudson River in New York State.

Combatants: British and German troops against the Americans.

Generals: Major General John Burgoyne commanded the British and German force. Major General Horatio Gates and Brigadier Benedict Arnold commanded the American army.

There Were: The British force comprised some 5,000 British, Brunswickers, Canadians and Indians. By the time of the surrender the American force was around 12,000 to 14,000 militia and troops.

Winner: The Americans forced the surrender of Burgoyne’s force.

British Regimens: The senior officers were Major General Phillips, Baron Riedesel, Brigadier Simon Fraser and Brigadier Hamilton.

The Battle of Saratoga was the turning point of the Revolutionary War.
The scope of the victory is made clear by a few key facts: On October 17, 1777, 5,895 British and Hessian troops surrendered their arms. General John Burgoyne had lost 86 percent of his expeditionary force that had triumphantly marched into New York from Canada in the early summer of 1777.

Divide and Conquer

The divide-and-conquer strategy that Burgoyne presented to British ministers in London was to invade America from Canada by advancing down the Hudson Valley to Albany. There, he would be joined by other British troops under the command of Sir William Howe. Howe would be bringing his troops north from New Jersey and New York City. Burgoyne believed that this bold stroke would not only isolate New England from the other American colonies, but achieve command of the Hudson River and corrupt the Americans and their would-be allies, such as the French.



 Instead of heading north to help Burgoyne fight the rebels in Saratoga, General Howe sailed south and embarked on a campaign to capture Philadelphia.


In June 1777, Burgoyne's army of over 7,000 men (half of whom were British troops and the other half Hessian troops from Brunswick and Hesse-Hanau) departed from St. Johns on Lake Champlain, bound for Fort Ticonderoga, at the southern end of the lake. As the army proceeded southward, Burgoyne drafted and had his men distribute a proclamation that, among other things, included the statement "I have but to give stretch to the Indian forces under my direction, and they amount to thousands," which implied that Britain's enemies would suffer attacks from Native Americans allied to the British.

The Battle of Monmouth

Date: 28th June 1778.

Place: New Jersey.

Combatants: The army of British and German troops against American Continental troops and militia.

Generals: Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton, Major General Earl Cornwallis and Major General Knyphausen against General George Washington and Major General Charles Lee.

There Were: 10,000 British troops against 11,000 Americans.

Winner: The battle is generally taken as a draw.

The Battle of Princeton commanded by General George Washington

General George Washington and his army spent the winter of 1777/8 at Valley Forge in harsh and deathly circumstances.

Memorably the Prussian officer General Steuben trained the American regiments in a form of European battle drill, devised and adapted to suit American troops.

in the other hand the British army spent the winter in Philadelphia. Lieutenant General Howe returned to England, relieved of his appointment in command in America at his own request, to be replaced by General Clinton. Clinton arrived with orders to evacuate Philadelphia and concentrate the British forces at New York.

On 18th June 1778 the British army with artillery, left Philadelphia and began the laborious march to the North-East.

General Washington marched east from Valley Forge seeking to intercept the slow moving British troop. He did so at Monmouth Courthouse.

General Lee unsuccessful attack

France had initially doubted America's resolve and ability to wage an effective war against Britain, but was now willing to join forces with them and intercept the British. 

General Washington, bringing the main American army along the Monmouth road, encountered, not the rear of the British column, but Lee’s regiments, retreating in considerable disorder with the British advancing behind them. What was the main problem with Lee tactics was that he didn't gave strict orders but left the troops do as they wished which resulted in sort of a chaos. Later with the invaluable assistance of Baron von Steuben, Washington managed to re-form the American ranks and engage the enemy again; the fighting continued throughout the remainder of the day.


Washington's attack after Lees retrieving 



During the night the British broke camp and marched on they quickly embarked upon a short voyage over Lower New York Bay and through The Narrows to Manhattan. Washington prudently decided not to follow and instead marched his army northward to rejoin other the American force that was camping along the Hudson River. Eventually The patriot forces took credit for their enemy's flight from Philadelphia and New Jersey
Something curious was that Up to 100 men are thought to have died of heatstroke during the battle.
 

The Battle of Princeton

Another battle that took place during the American Revolution battles was the Battle of Princeton.

Date: 3rd January 1777

Place: Princeton in New Jersey, USA

Generals: General George Washington against Major General Lord Cornwallis

There were: 7,000 Americans against 8,000 British and Hessians. But only 1,200 British troops were directly participated.

Winner: George Washington with his army ( The Patriots)

 

General Mercer death at the Battle of Princeton

After the surprise of Hessians in the previous Battle of Trenton in 1776 General George Washington intended to return within a few days and attempt a recovery of New Jersey from the British.

Before the Attack something concerning happened to Washington he faced the curious crisis, that many of his soldiers were about to become “time expired”. That is their period of enlistment lapsed or ended at midnight on 31st December 1776. With some bargaining and convincing many of these men were persuaded to stay for six weeks more. The Battle of Princeton map The weather was wet and the roads muddy. Cornwallis advanced, driving the American force back to Trenton. Resisting strongly the American troops were forced back through the town to their positions on the south bank of the Assunpink. Attempts were made that evening by the British , but in the face of stiff resistance were postponed to the morning.  In the middle of the night the Americans left fires burning and marched off to the East and then to the North towards Princeton. As the Americans approached the Princeton road a rumour passed along the column that the Hessians were attacking. Some of the inexperienced militia turned and fled south, the rest continued towards Princeton. British Grenadier There were a not so good casualties. The British lost only 40 dead, 58 wounded and 187 missing. The Americans lost a number of able officers: General Mercer, Colonel Haslet and several others. They also lost 40 soldiers killed and wounded. The favorable results of this battles caught some Europeans attention. Obtaining as a later result the intervention  of France and Spain and it also proved Washington as a leader of resource and decision.

The Battle of Trenton

George Washington crossing the Delaware on
Christmas night of 1776

During the American Revolution countless of battles took place. In class we have studied many of them so we decided to start with some of them that seemed important to us. They will go chronologically.
The first one of them all is The Battle of Trenton.


Date: 25th December 1776

Place: Trenton, New Jersey on the Delaware River

The Battle of Trenton

Generals: General George Washington against Colonel Rahl.

There were: 2,400 American troops with 18 guns. 1,400 Hessians with 6 light guns.

Winner: George Washington with his army ( The Patriots)



Washington’s plan was to cross the Delaware at three points with a force commanded by Lt Col Cadwallader with a Rhode Island regiment, some Pennsylvanians, Delaware militia and two guns, a second force under Brigadier Ewing of militia and the third commanded by himself which would cross the river above Trenton and attack the Hessian garrison in the town. Washington had as his subordinates, Major Generals Nathaniel Greene and John Sullivan.

It was a really cold dark night and the river was running with pieces of ice.  ---> Poor soldiers!


 At about 11pm a heavy snow storm started. Washington’s force did not reach the east bank until around 3am. His soldiers were badly clothed and many did not have shoes.------------------------> Even worse!

The surrender to General George Washington of the dying Hessian commander, Colonel Rahl, at the Battle of Trenton

After this Washington’s men marched to Trenton, some of the men even left traces of blood on the snow.

On the night before the attack Rahl was at dinner when he was brought information that the Americans were approaching. He ignored the message which was found in his pocket after his death. -----> next time you better watch out

This battle gave the American colonies like a moral push. They felt stronger now than the British and also including the fact that British troops could barely defend themselves during the battle after their surrender.

Revolutionary Women!!

Many people knows about John Adams, Paul Revere, George Washington etc. But what about women??Did they had a significant role on the revolution???

Have you heard about Molly Pitcher or Ann Bailey?? Here is a brief information 
about them.


Ann Bailey: She was also known as Mad Anne.  
Enlisted in 1777 as Samuel Gay, three weeks later she was 
promoted to corporal. After this her men disguise 
was discovered and ran away.
A few months later, Bailey was found and tried
in court. She was finally sentenced to two 
months in jail, and discharged from the army. 








Molly Hays: Also known as Molly pitcher, she was a 
legendary water carrier along with another women 
named Margaret Corbin.
Molly took over her husband when he collapsed from 
heat.
One soldier recalls she kept firing the cannon even after
a British cannon ball blew off the lower part of her petticoat.












Margaret Corbin:  The other legendary water carrier.                            
She took over her husband's cannon when he was killed 
in battle and fired it until her arm was nearly torn apart by 
grapeshot (a small iron ball shot from a cannon).










These were only some of the most important revolutionary women who contributed to the
American Revolution. There were even others who maybe didn't fought but contributed 
by setting fire to their own property to keep loyalists from using it which was a great sacrifice.