British Victory Dbq

In April 1775 British soldiers, called lobsterbacks because of their red coats, and minutemen—the colonists' militia exchanged gunfire at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. Described as "the shot heard round the world," it signaled the start of the american Revolution and led to the creation of a new nation.
Bunker Hill, June 1775
This costly British victory helped shape the early course of the war by proving that intimidating force alone would not bring about victory. It also proved that there was no going back: the war would be a long one with no immediate diplomatic solution. “I believe the regulars will hardly venture out, for they must lose a vast many men if they should, and they cannot afford to purchase every inch of ground as they did at Charlestown.Quebec, December 1775 A series of American victories along the waterways from Lake Champlain into Canada ended at Quebec. Had Americans seized the city, the entire northern theater of the war would have been different. “A heterogeneal concatenation of the most peculiar and

unparalleled rebuffs and sufferings that are perhaps to be found in the annals of any nation…Yorktown, October 1781 Not a pitched battle but a protracted siege that ended in the surrender of a substantial British army, this operation was the zenith of French-American cooperation and the end of major British military operations in America.

“The annals of history do not exhibit a more important period than the present.It would be fair to say that America did not so much win the war as allow Britain to lose it. Facing an expensive conflict on a distant continent, the British wanted a short war that would not be yet another drain on national finances; however the tactics employed by Washington and other generals failed to create a situation where a decisive victory could be achieved by either side. As time dragged on and the

Continental Army either survived major battles or avoided them, the British military commanders realised they faced a significant dilemma: exactly what were they in America to do? How were they expected to subjugate an entire nation, a large proportion of whom were against them? How could they defeat an army that would not fight on their terms? If they could not control cities politically, were they there to destroy them? The British had no clear military objectives and lacked inventive generals to come up with ideas and tactics.America would have still received some kind of independence after 1776. Much like Canada received in the mid 19th century after Britain put down successive rebellions and uprisings there. Most likely, win or lose after 1776, Parliament would have had to compromise with the colonies. So the 13 colonies would have had some form of extra autonomy devolved to it as well as reforms to bed in British victory in 1776. In British colonial policy the carrot always seemed to work much better than the stick.