2G The Birth of the USA A* A-Level Summary Notes (Part 2)
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Access to History: The American Revolution and the Birth of the USA 1740–1801, Third Edition
Clear, comprehensive and organised summary notes based on multiple reliable sources and optimized for the AQA A-Level 2G Birth of the USA history course. This covers the second half of the course.
2G The Birth of the USA 1760-1776 A* A-Level Summary Notes (Part 1)
AQA A Level History American Revolution Summary Notes and Essay Plans - Washington and Adams' Presidencies
AQA A Level History American Revolution Summary Notes & Essay Plans - Founding the Republic
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2G THE BIRTH OF THE USA 1760–1801
PART TWO: ESTABLISHING THE NATION, 1776–1801
THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE, 1776–1783
CONDUCT OF THE WAR
What was the result of Washington's efforts in Boston in early 1776?
• In the first months of 1776, Washington had seemed to overcome some of the difficulties around Boston.
• Thanks to Henry Knox, artillery from Ticonderoga was transported by sledge, boats, and wagons more than
300 miles to Boston.
• This arrived in February and in March, a 17,000-strong rebel force captured Dorchester Heights overlooking
the city.
• Great Britain realized that their position was now compromised, deciding that same month to evacuate
troops to Britain's main naval base, located in Nova Scotia.
• Consequently, Howe's army, accompanied by 1,000 loyalists, sailed to Halifax.
Who were William & Richard Howe and what were their plans for America in 1776?
• Both William and Richard Howe were against the policy of coercion, sympathetic to colonist grievances, and
unwilling to destroy the Americans militarily, fearing that it would alienate them.
• Richard even resigned from his role in 1778 to protest the attitude of Lord North.
• William Howe commanded the largest trans-Atlantic expedition at the time, with 32,000 men under his con-
trol by August. Having retreated to Nova Scotia, he wished to push the Americans out of New York City as it
would make a good military base.
• Both ultimately sought a conciliatory settlement as the solution to the war, with US complaints being dealt
with peacefully.
• William wanted to land on Staten Island in July, lure Washington into battle, defeat him with the help of his
brother who commanded the fleet, and negotiate peace with them.
What was the result of Washington's attempts to defend New York?
• The Continental Congress insisted that Washington protect New York, and he was happy to do so, in spite of
having only 20,000 men to do so.
• The general felt that Manhattan Island was a key American territory that needed to be kept.
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,• Nevertheless, his attitude shifted after the Battle of Long Island in August, where Americans had 2,000 casu-
alties (six times as many as the British) and John Adams claimed that the colonists were "out-generalled."
• Timid Howe did not exploit this momentum, however, letting Washington retreat through the fog back to the
mainland.
• Lord Howe met with members of the Continental Congress such as Edward Rutledge, John Adams, and Ben-
jamin Franklin in September, but he achieved little due to their disagreements on the Declaration of Independ-
ence.
What defeats did Washington experience in late 1776?
• General Howe's troops landed at Kips Bay in Manhattan, between the two halves of Washington's army in
September.
• Howe's caution again gave Washington time to withdraw.
• Several weeks of stalemate.
• Howe preferred to turn the Americans' flank.
• Washington retreated slowly across New Jersey.
• In November, British forces captured Fort Washington, taking nearly 3,000 American prisoners and immense
quantities of weapons and supplies.
• Three weeks of extensive US retreat followed, with many militiamen returning home.
• When the army crossed the Delaware River into Pennsylvania in December, it had dwindled to 3,000 men.
• Lord Howe issued a proclamation offering all who would take an oath of allegiance to the king a 'free and
general pardon' - thousands applied for pardons.
• In December, British forces seized Newport in Rhode Island, leading a disconsolate Washington to declare
that "I think the game is pretty near up."
• Instead of marching on Philadelphia, General Howe went into winter quarters, throwing away another op-
portunity to destroy American morale.
How did Washington triumph from late 1776 to early 1777?
• Instead of marching on PHIL, General Howe went into winter quarters, throwing away another opportunity
to destroy American morale.
• Having regrouped, General Washington became reinforced by militia units, recognized the need to end the
campaign with a victory, re-crossed the Delaware with 1600 men on Christmas Day, attacked an unsuspecting
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,garrison at Trenton NJ, captured more than 1000 prisoners w/ only four Americans wounded and followed this
up with a similar coup at Princeton in January 1777
• These counterstrokes forced Howe to relinquish most of his gains in NJ and breathed new life into the Amer-
ican cause
• Settling in Morristown, Washington rebuilt his army.
What were the British and American plans in early 1777?
• During the winter of 1776-77, Washington realised that he had to adopt a more defensive strategy, recog-
nising the 'melancholy truth' that his army could neither compete on equal terms to the British nor had the
size of their opponents (Howe commanded more soldiers than Washington)
• Thus, George Washington decided to avoid putting all his soldiers at risk in key battles - he began to favour
tactics like the military harassment of Howe
• Meanwhile, the British were planning to achieve a decisive victory, building on their prior successes: after all,
they had captured NY, saved CAN and brought Howe's & Burgoyne's large armies to the respective regions
• General John Burgoyne sought to move down the Hudson Valley, isolating NENG from the other colonies
while General Howe wished to capture PHIL
• Lord Germain instructed Howe to cooperate w/ Burgoyne but the two had different objectives, so two separ-
ate campaigns rather than one coordinated one were fought
How successful was General Howe's capture of Philadelphia?
• Rather than going across NJ, Howe decided to reach PHIL by boat, transporting his 15000 troops by sailing for
six weeks
• He left in July, but the sailing only brought him 40 miles closer to PHIL by the end of summer
• Nevertheless, in early September, he secured a victory over Washington at Brandywine Creek, made the
rebels lose 1200 men and suffered from half as many casualties
• After winning at Paoli, he managed to capture PHIL in late September, which appeared to be a major triumph
• That being said, this did not end the rebellion and CONG simply moved to Lancaster
• In October, Washington launched a counterattack at Germantown but his plan was too complicated, so his
casualties were twice that of the GB
• The Americans were also forced to evacuate Delaware River forts in November, condemning Washington's
forces to Valley Forge and granting the British naval access to PHIL
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, • Once again however, Howe stayed in PHIL during the winter, failing to use his momentum to crush Washing-
ton along w/ the rebellion
How successful was Burgoyne's summer campaign in 1777?
• Leaving CAN in June, General Burgoyne went on to capture Ticonderoga w/ his 9000-strong army in July
• To reach Fort Edward, instead of sailing down Lake George, Burgoyne decided to through inhospitable ter-
rain by foot
• This meant that he was burdened by a large baggage train, which made army movement difficult, especially
in the face of patriot militias blocking roads and trains
• It took the British three weeks to cover 37km to Fort Edward and when they arrived, they were disappointed
that the expected flock of supportive loyalists did not welcome them
• Allying w/ the Amerindians might have hurt the GB, as Iroquois attacks on farms and families created rebels
out of those who were neutral beforehand
• The murder and scalping of Jane McCrea particularly alienated those sympathetic to the GB - when the Brit-
ish asked the Native Americans to hand over the culprit behind the atrocity, the Iroquois refused and many
even went home
• Burgoyne's month-long attempt to collect supplies did not work out well either
• In August, 600 troops on a foraging mission were captured & killed by NH militia at Bennington; when an-
other relief party was sent, it suffered the same fate
• St Leger w/ 1600 GB and Amerindian troops was supposed to join Burgoyne, as he moved down to St
Lawrence and along the Mohawk: however, during his August siege at Fort Stanwix, the Natives left and his
troops were challenged by local militia at Oriskany
• Therefore, in another blow to the GB, he retreated to CAN
What happened at Saratoga in 1777?
• Burgoyne was determined to capture Albany.
• In August, General Horatio Gates replaced the unpopular General Schuyler as head of the northern forces.
• Gates gathered 7000 troops in defensive positions by mid-September, with help from subordinates like Be-
nedict Arnold and New England militiamen encouraged by August American victories.
• Burgoyne failed to defeat the rebels at Freeman's Farm, and although he was in a perilous position 200 miles
away from Canada, the prospect of General Clinton pushing north from New York to help him gave him hope.
• However, General Clinton only left New York in early October with 3000 men, slowly drawing closer to Al-
bany as he captured forts in the New York highlands along the way.
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