WASHINGTON AS COMMANDER

The British approach under General William Howe was to slowly move his army through the colonies, using the superior numbers of the British army to wear the colonists down. However, from the beginning things did not go as planned for the British. In March 1776, the British were forced to evacuate Boston. The British then went to New York, which they wanted to turn into one of their major military headquarters (a large number of loyalists lived there). Washington and his troops attempted to dislodge the British from New York in late August of 1776; Washington’s army was routed and chased back into Pennsylvania.

During November and December of 1776, Washington’s army faced daily desertions and poor morale. On Christmas night Washington boldly led the Battle of Trenton against the Hessian allies of the British, defeating them. On January 3 Washington defeated a small British regiment at Princeton. These victories bolstered the morale of the colonial army greatly.

Another tremendous advantage for the colonists were the arms shipments from the French that they began receiving in late 1776, French aid for the colonies did not come from any great trust that developed between the two sides; for over a century, France and Britain had been bitter rivals, and the French saw the American Revolution as another situation that they could exploit for their gain against the British. Massive British naval superiority in the Americans was at least partially counterbalanced by the entry of the French navy into the war.

The “British Blunder” of 1777

The British decided on a strategy to strike a decisive blow against the colonists in 1777. Three separate British armies were to converge on Albany, New York, and cut off New England from the rest of the colonies. The British effort is called a blunder because of the poor execution of military plans that might have been effective. An army led by General Howe headed toward Philadelphia for obvious strategic reasons it should have been heading toward Albany. Howe was intent on taking on Washington’s army in Philadelphia and decisively defeating it. An army under “Gentleman Johnny” Burgoyne carried much heavy equipment that could be carried in preparation for European battles but not through the forests of North America. On October 17, 1777, Burgoyne was forced to surrender at Saratoga, Some military historians claim this defeat was the beginning of the end for the British. The colonial victory convinced the French to send troops to aid the war effort.

Women became increasingly important to the war effort of the colonics. Women were prominent in the boycott of British goods, provided support services for the Continental Army, spied on British troops, and ran numerous households when the “man of the house” was off fighting the British. In a March 1776 letter to her husband John, Abigail Adams reminded him to “Remember the Ladies ... Do not put such unlimited power in the hands of the Husbands.”