Many people, including many historians, believe that the American and French allied victory at Yorktown was a “miracle” and that the battle there ended the American Revolution. In fact, my research suggests that these conclusions are overstated. The victory at Yorktown was the realization of a series of events that happened to work in favor of the allies (and against the British). Some of them might be considered the result of “luck,” but most of them were the result of either human attributes or failings. Further, while Yorktown was certainly a turning point in a war that up to that point had been virtually a series of British victories, it did not assure that the British would admit defeat in the war. After Yorktown, the Colonies were …show more content…
still struggling with support for the war and the British were still in control of much of America. Scholar Barbara Tuchman in “The First Salute” has said of Yorktown that the first necessity [of the Yorktown campaign] was to arrange the meeting of French naval and American land forces on the Virginia coast at a specified time and place.
The junction in Virginia had to be coordinated by two different national commands separated across an ocean without benefit of telephone, telegraph or wireless. That this was carried out without a fault seems accountable only by a series of miracles." A “miracle” is defined as “a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency,” but the story of Yorktown is not really a miracle, it really is in large part the story of four generals; Washington and Rochambeau on the allies side and Clinton and Cornwallis on the British side. The generals’ traits and how they worked together helped shape the battle. Washington and Rochambeau were opposites in many ways. Washington was self-taught in military tactics but his sheer determination had carried the American army through six years without a decisive victory. Rochambeau was a battle-scarred veteran of many European conflicts, in other words a professional soldier. One of the keys to the two generals’ success at Yorktown is likely this combination of traits and the fact that they worked well together. On the other hand, Clinton and Cornwallis actually disliked and distrusted each other. Cornwallis was arrogant and ambitious. He had weakened his own army by trying to take South and North Carolina but was outsmarted by the local commanders there, losing many men and supplies. His arrogance caused him to retreat to Yorktown where he waited for rescue by Clinton. Clinton too mismanaged the campaign. He was cowardly and believed that he had to remain in New York rather than attempt to rescue
Cornwallis. Washington and Rochambeau were strategists and knew that Cornwallis had backed himself into a weak position. They combined their armies on the Hudson near New York, fueling Clinton’s belief that he had to remain there to protect the city.
Against all Odds is a very interesting Documentary that follows the early settlement of Jamestown in the 17th century .With endless against the odds situations thrown out in from of the people of Jamestown left and right things seemed bleak. But a lot of perseverance from the early settlers including the Documentaries depiction of the original leader John Smith things seemed to resolve themselves. In Documentary there were several parts where it conceited with what is in chapter three of the Textbook the American Promise. For example, In the Documentary when the subject of the Tobacco business came up it was exampled in the same way as the first page of chapter three. With examples of how the product was grown and distributed out into the world. Making it a very valuable trade to be doing although very labor intensive, which is why it would soon lead into the slave trade. Something that was briefly shown in the documentary mainly to show what lengths the people of Jamestown were willing to go to make things work out in their new home.
McCullough describes washington as a leader of many qualities in which makes him successful. After making the British evacuate from Boston, washington is praised for being such a courageous and smart leader, therefore lifting morale around American troops. The war most likely would not have been won without George Washington's help most likely due to his incredible leadership skills. The colonies are virtually nothing without George Washington because he keeps them together by asking congress to support them and as McCullough describes, is relentless about doing so as we're Knox and Greene later on. George Washington was so important that even the loyalists plotted to assassinate him with hopes to derail the American rebellion. However, the colonies success wasn't just off George washington. Mccullough describes the average british soldier as strong and more fit compared to the colonial soldier, superior and overall well trained.The fact that the colonies were untrained made the British cocky, Making them think they didn't have to use their superior weaponry thinking the Americans would surrender out of free will. McCullough gives us an insight to how the Americans tried new things using their resources making great things with what little they
It could be said that if Howe and the British continued the attack, this rebellion could have been put down right away. This will not be the first time that Howe fails to do this, and it will lead to him being replaced later in the war by Sir Henry Clinton. Even though his army was thoroughly defeated, Washington is able to get his troops off of Long Island back to Manhattan in the middle of the night, this will also not be the last time that Washington is able to get his &n The author briefly discusses the troubles at Kip’s Bay and Fort Washington. The next subject that Buchanan goes into is Washington’s retreat through the state of New Jersey. The key part of this retreat is when Washington crosses the Potomac River he collects all boats from both shores of the river.
In 1776, David McCullough gives a vivid portrayal of the Continental Army from October 1775 through January 1777, with sharp focus on the leadership of America’s greatest hero, George Washington. McCullough’s thesis is that had not the right man (George Washington) been leading the Continental Army in 1776, the American Revolution would have resulted in a vastly different outcome. He supports his argument with a critical analysis of Washington’s leadership during the period from the Siege of Boston, through the disastrous defense of New York City, the desperate yet, well ordered retreat through New Jersey against overwhelming odds, and concludes with the inspiring victories of Trenton and Princeton. By keeping his army intact and persevering through 1776, Washington demonstrated to the British Army that the Continental Army was not simply a gang of rabble, but a viable fighting force. Additionally, Mr. McCullough supports his premise that the key to the survival of the American Revolution was not in the defense of Boston, New York City, or any other vital terrain, but rather the survival of the Continental Army itself. A masterful piece of history, 1776 is not a dry retelling of the Revolutionary War, but a compelling character study of George Washington, as well as his key lieutenants, and his British adversaries, the most powerful Army in the 18th Century world. When I read this book, I went from a casual understanding of the hero George Washington to a more specific understanding of why Washington was quite literally the exact right man at the exact right place and time to enable the birth of the United States.
...e gun, it seemed, the greater the owner‘s pride in it.” (McCullough 33) The Continental army certainly did not look like an army yet these people were brought together in this fight for freedom and prevailed even winning the support of Americans who had no hope the British would be defeated.” Merchant Erving had sided with the Loyalists primarily because he thought the rebellion would fail. But the success of Washington‘s army at Boston had changed his mind as it had for many” (McCullough 108). The reader must comprehend the power of this accomplishment for the rag-tag army. “Especially for those who had been with Washington and who knew what a close call it was at the beginning-how often circumstance, storms, contrary winds, the oddities or strengths of individual character had made the difference- the outcome seemed little short of a miracle.” (McCullough 294).
The drama of the American Revolution and the birth of a great nation come to life at Yorktown Victory Center. In provocative indoor galleries, witness the Revolution through the eyes of those who were there—from soldiers on the battlefields to women on the home front, from American Indians to African Americans. The evocative film, A Time of Revolution, places you in a Continental Army encampment where soldiers spend an evening reminiscing and musing on their lives and the war that has brought them together. Outdoors, experience the sights and sounds of the Revolutionary War in the re-created Continental Army encampment.
In the second half of the eighteenth century, the British were faced with rebelling colonies. Finally realizing that they had to fight to keep their colonial possessions, the British sent troops to America. Once the battles began in America, the British were not impressed with the colonial military, but the weak militias soon proved to be effective. With foreign aid from France, American devotion, and the lack of British vigor, the Americans soon discovered the open doors of independence. In my opinion, the American advantages and the British disadvantages proved to be the downfall of the English in the American Revolution.
... divide, tire and elude the British by conducting long marches. When engaged in combat, Greene emphasized placing heavy losses on the British, even at the expense of the success of the battle. Greene masterfully coordinated his subordinate officers and relied on them to produce results. He freed the south of British control and helped to set up the surrender at Yorktown.
...e. On the other hand, the British had up to the Battle of Lexington had colonist’s rebellion as a simple nuisance. However, as the American colonists retaliated and killed British soldiers, the British knew they had to use a stronger hand to force the colonies into submission. Thus the point of no return had finally been reached and the American Revolution began.
... that ended the revolution with an American victory. The English finally surrendered after many years of fighting. Britain had significant military disadvantages. Since they had to cross a sea, their information and resources were delayed. Since the colonies had not been unified under one central government before the war there wasn’t a central area of any kind of significance. This ensemble of factors caused the British to fail.
Many suspect that they were with Washington only to maximize the hate on both sides of the battle. They went against Washington’s orders to not be the aggressors. Soon large units of British and American soldiers were sent to settle what should have been small battles. The French however were prepared to fight back and even had the Indians as allies to help with upcoming battles. In July, Braddock’s army which consisted of over 2000 British soldiers rode west with George Washington and came upon 250 plus French soldiers with over 600 Indians allies. Nearly 1000 British were killed, unlike George Washington who was unhurt during the battle was soon promoted to commander of the Virginia army for his bravery. (Roark 146)
The plans for Yorktown actually started up in May of 1781 when General Washington joined up with French General Rochambeau. The American forces at this time were stationed in the area of New York City closely watching British General Clinton’s forces. Washington knew that General Cornwallis who had been dominating in the south would soon be moving northward to rendezvous with Clinton’s and General Nathaniel Green’s forces. He also knew that if this happened it would be near impossible of defeating the British. As Cornwallis continued his northern track he ran into trouble at the Battle of Cowpens. In fact he lost much of his light infantry and cavalry in the Carolinas. He did score a victory at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, but this would prove to not help him much as he took severe losses and consumed a lot of time.
Late in the war, 1778, was the point of Britain being close to defeat. Current commander of British forces was Lt. General Henry Clinton trying to stop this rebellion. He was thinking on how to do this with the North of America under Patriot control. Clinton then decided on turning to the South of the United States (www.theamericanrevolutiong.org). Fighting was becoming heavy between the militia and the United Kingdom’s forces (www.theamericanrevolution.org). However, General Clinton had once been to the South of the U.S. before, but failed in taking a key city (Charleston, South Carolina) by sea on June 28, 1776 (www.theamericanrevolution.org).
The French Navy had decisively defeated the British Navy. Consequently denying escape for the British both by land and sea. On September 29, 1781, the Battle of Yorktown began. As Washington moved his Army closer to the British lines, the British would engage them from their cover and concealed positions. Over the next 6 days, the French and Continental Armies would establish their trenches needed to begin the siege. The French and Continental Armies moved artillery pieces into position to engage the British. On October 9, 1781, the siege of Yorktown against General Cornwallis would officially begin. All French and Continental guns were in place. “Both Army’s had plenty of artillery, cannons and other big guns at Yorktown. The British was equipped with 65 artillery pieces, however, Washington’s Army had 124, almost twice as many” (Fradin, 2013, pg.26). At 1700 hours on October 9, Ready says, “George Washington himself fired the first American cannon toward Yorktown” (Fradin, 2013, pg.35). Both Rochambeau and Washington envisioned the battle would last more than one day. The Continental and French Armies completely surround Yorktown before the British surrendered. The Continental and French guns would pound British defenses all night, not allowing time for the British to make
Once upon a time, long long ago, there were many people that were living in Yorktown village. At the time there was no windstorms nor rain. The land was very dry and barren. The ocean sat right at the edge of the village. There was no way to moisten the land other than irrigation. All of the farmers prayed that there may be rain so they can grow their crops. This prayer was not going to get answered anytime soon because it was year 100 A.D. and it still hadn’t rained unto the village land. The village had a very cool climate.