Chapter 6 The American Revolution (1776-1783)

Lesson 4 The Final Years

The French Arrive

• July 1780- French warships appeared off the coast of Newport, Rhode Island
• Carrying needed aid: soldiers commanded by Comte de Rochambeau
• The British soon arrived and trapped the French troops
• Autumn 1780- Washington waited for a second fleet of French ships
• Washington also kept an eye on the British army in New York that General Clinton commanded
• Washington planned to attack the British when the second French fleet arrived
• The French fleet did not set sail until summer of 1781

Washington’s Plans

• Washington heard that Cornwallis was camped at Yorktown, Virginia
• Lafayette kept them on the Yorktown peninsula
• Washington also learned that Admiral Francois de Grasse, the French naval commander, was heading toward Chesapeake Bay instead of New York
• Washington changed his plans and headed south to Yorktown
• Washington kept his new strategy (plan of action) secret

Washington’s Secret Plan

• Washington wanted Clinton to think the Patriots still planned to attack the British in New York
• This would keep Clinton from sending aid to Cornwallis
• Rochambeau joined with Washington in July and the two armies moved south
• The soldiers did not know where they were heading
• Troops marched 200 miles in 15 days
• General Clinton didn’t detect the forces leaving
• Three groups (Wahington’s, Rochambeau’s, and de Grasse’s) would meet at Yorktown

The Siege of Yorktown

• The plan worked perfectly
• The British were confused
• End of September 1781- 14,000 American and French troops trapped Cornwallis’ 8,000 British and Hessian troops at Yorktown
• De Grasse’s fleet kept the Cornwallis from escaping by sea
• Clinton’s and the rest of the British army was still in New York

Battle of Yorktown

• October 9- Americans and French began a bombardment
• A Hessian soldier said “One saw men lying everywhere… whose heads, arms, and legs had been shot off”
• British supplies began to run low
• British soldiers were wounded and sick
• Cornwallis realized that the situation was hopeless
• October 19- Cornwallis surrendered his troops to the Patriots at the Battle of Yorktown
• Patriots took 8,000 British prisoners and more than 200 guns

After Yorktown

• Fighting did not end
• The British still held Savannah, Charles Town, and New York
• A few more battles took place, but the victory at Yorktown convinced the British that the war was too costly to pursue (continue)
• Both sides sent delegates to Paris to work out a treaty
• The United States were represented by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay
• The American congress ratified (approved) the preliminary treaty in April 1783 and the final version of the Treaty of Paris on September 3, 1783

The Treaty of Paris

• Triumph for the Americans
• Great Britain recognize the US as an independent nation
• The British agreed to withdraw all their troops
• The US also got fishing rights off the coast of Canada
• The US agreed that the British merchants could collect debts that Americans owed them
• Loyalist property was also to be returned

The Newburgh Conspiracy

• Washington’s army was headquartered in Newburgh, New York
• The Congress refused to fund the soldiers’ pensions and failed to provide them with other pay
• The army got mad and said they would use force against the Congress
• Washington knew this was dangerous and he persuaded the angry soldiers to be patient
• Washington urged Congress to meet their demands
• Congress responded to Washington and met the demands

Washington Resigns

• November 1783- British troops left New York
• December 4, Washington said farewell to his troops
• Washington formally resigned three weeks later
• “Having now finished the work assigned me I retire… and take my leave of all the employments of public life”
• Washington returned home to Mount Vernon, Virginia in time for Christmas
• He planned to remain and live quietly with his family

Why the Americans Won

• They were fighting on their own land
• The British had to send troops from thousands of miles away
• The British depended on the sea and once the French blocked their ships they were helpless
• Americans knew the local terrain and where to lay an ambush (Surprise attack)
• The British had trouble controlling the American countryside once they occupied the cities

More of Why the Americans Won

• Help from other nations
• The French and Spanish helped the American cause
• The American Revolution was a peoples movement
• It depended on the determination and spirit of all Patriots

Influence of the American Revolution

• The ideas of the Declaration of Independence influenced other revolutions
• The French Revolution
• The French Colony of Saint Domingue
• The principles that “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights” guided these revolutions