/
The Revolution's Early Stages and Battles, 1776-1778 The Revolution's Early Stages and Battles, 1776-1778

The Revolution's Early Stages and Battles, 1776-1778 - PowerPoint Presentation

tatyana-admore
tatyana-admore . @tatyana-admore
Follow
401 views
Uploaded On 2017-07-29

The Revolution's Early Stages and Battles, 1776-1778 - PPT Presentation

Sasso US I Bunker Hill June 1775 Charlestown MA English soldiers want to move the Minutemen off the hills surrounding Boston William Howe takes command of British forces William Prescott led ID: 574206

soldiers british howe 1776 british soldiers 1776 howe 000 1777 saratoga nyc american victory americans fall philadelphia troops 1778

Share:

Link:

Embed:

Download Presentation from below link

Download Presentation The PPT/PDF document "The Revolution's Early Stages and Battle..." is the property of its rightful owner. Permission is granted to download and print the materials on this web site for personal, non-commercial use only, and to display it on your personal computer provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright notices contained in the materials. By downloading content from our website, you accept the terms of this agreement.


Presentation Transcript

Slide1

The Revolution's Early Stages and Battles, 1776-1778

Sasso

US ISlide2

Bunker Hill- June, 1775

Charlestown, MA

English soldiers want to move the Minutemen off the hills surrounding Boston

William Howe takes command of British forces

William Prescott led

the Minutemen

Howe ordered 2,200 British soldiers to advance on Breed’s Hill (battle was misnamed!)

After three attempts, the British were able to take the hill

Major casualties (England- 1,000; America- 300)Slide3

Early Stages and Battles, 1776-1778

Washington will take command of the Continental Army shortly after Bunker Hill

Immediately gets to work training his inexperienced army

There will be some minor conflicts with the British during this time

The British begin to realize that Boston probably isn't the best base of operations

By March of 1776, the British will pack up shop and head to NYCSlide4

Early Stages and Battles, 1776-1778

Even though England had to vacate Boston, they are still in a great position to end the war quickly

Still dealing with sizable advantages over the Americans

Both the British and the Americans will head down to NYCSlide5

Early Stages and Battles, 1776-1778

The British will now be lead by two brothers: General William Howe and Admiral Richard Howe

William will lead the ground troops, while Richard is responsible for naval affairs

Two different personalities: William was somewhat overconfident, while Richard was a bit more attentive to detail

Knowing that Washington and his troops had headed to NYC, the

Howes decided to launch a massive invasion of NYCSlide6

Th

e Battle for New York (Summer 1776)

NYC was not the best environment for Washington’s soldiers

Too many distractions

They are also seriously outnumbered

32,000 British soldiers

19,000 American soldiers

General Howe simply wants to “shock and awe” the American soldiers

Howe actually offers GW terms of surrender before the battle begins

GW rejects the offerSlide7

The Battle for New York (Summer 1776)

A few weeks after the reading of the Dec. of Independence, the

Howes

will begin their attack

After meeting up on Staten Island, the British begin their advance up the Hudson and East Rivers

The British will send large forces through Long Island and BrooklynThey hammer the American forces, forcing them to retreat back through Manhattan

Ultimately, GW’s forces have to retreat across the Hudson in to NJ, all the way across NJ, before finally settling down in PA

The British will give chase before settling in Central NJ for the fall and winter monthsSlide8

The Battle for New York (Summer 1776)

Not exactly the start that GW was hoping for

Total number of soldiers dwindles to about 5,000 (result of desertions and casualties)

Even bigger complication: most enlistment terms are up on 12/31/76

In order to keep the soldiers he already has, GW badly needs a victorySlide9

Trenton (December 25-26,1776)

GW decides to roll the dice on a risky move

On Christmas Night , GW crosses the Delaware River through a fierce storm

Marched his troops (2,400) 9 miles through sleet and snow to ambush a British controlled fort at Trenton

Hessian soldiers occupied the fort, but had a little too much fun on Christmas

GW and his men stormed the fort in the early morning hoursCaptured or killed nearly 1,000 Hessian soldiers

The irony is that the Hessians had been warned that GW was coming and they ignored itSlide10

HUGE VICTORY…sort of.

Important victory for GW

First of all, it’s a victory (can’t underestimate that)

The victory can be used as a propaganda piece; spread the word like the Boston Massacre

Hopefully this will be enough to encourage soldiers to reenlist or motivate new recruits

8 days later, GW will replicate the attack, only this time he will attack British soldiers at Princeton

GW can’t secure either fort, but the brief victories will be monumentally important for the Americans

GW managed to keep his main army intact, and the British were no closer to total victory than at the start of the year

After Princeton, GW will march his troops to Morristown for the rest of the winterSlide11

Philadelphia (Spring 1777)

Once the fields began to dry out in the spring, General Howe went back on the offensive

Decided to attack the American Capital of Philadelphia

Moved his troops from NYC to Philadelphia by boat

Slapped GW around at Brandywine Creek and Germantown

Took Philadelphia with almost no resistance

Continental Congress had to escape to York, PASlide12

Saratoga (Fall 1777)

“Gentleman” John Burgoyne- British General

Devises a complex strategy to isolate New England from the rest of the colonies

Calls for a multiple-front assault throughout northern and central NY

Burgoyne from Canada, Barry St. Ledger from Western NY, Howe from NYC

All three units would meet up in AlbanyPlan looks fantastic on paperSlide13

Saratoga (Fall 1777)Slide14

Saratoga (Fall 1777)

Problems

#1- Howe isn’t coming from NYC; he is in Philadelphia

He actually isn’t coming at all

#2- Interesting mix of soldiers: 4,000 British; 3,000 mercenaries; 1,000 Mohawk

#3- Burgoyne really didn’t know the territory he would be marching through going to Albany

Thought it would take three weeks; took him nearly three months

#4- Burgoyne never expected to face constant American harassment

Continually falls victim to guerilla attacks (Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys)Slide15

Saratoga (Fall 1777)

Burgoyne’s army gets worn down: tired, weakened, cut off from supply lines

Eventually head to Saratoga

Burgoyne’s army will be surrounded by American forces under the command of Horatio Gates

After several weeks of fighting, Burgoyne will be forced to surrender his army to GatesSlide16

Saratoga (Fall 1777)

Saratoga is the turning point

Greatly alters the course of the war

First time the Americans will defeat a major British regiment

They won without GW having to be there

The loss will drastically alter British war strategy

Most importantly, the victory at Saratoga will secure us a big time ally: France

The French had been secretly helping us since 1776, but now they will completely support our effortsSlide17

Valley Forge (Winter 1777-1778)

The British will settle down comfortably for the winter in Philadelphia

The Americans will have to brave it in the extreme conditions of Valley Forge

Many American soldiers lack provisions; very tough to get resources in the given economic climate

Harsh conditions and climate; Americans will lose 20% of their soldiers as a result of exposure to the elements

Two important additions to the military: Marquis de Lafayette and Friedrich von Steuben