1776 Summary

As the troops are traveling to Boston McCullough tells about the troubling conditions happening in America in this time. McCullough also depicts how terrible the America’s soldiers are and tells the points of view of the leader of the colonies. General Washington troops faced Boston Harbor, in early March 1776. Washington had a huge problem with the men in his army as they were suffering through winter months with lack of food, diseases and even homesickness.

During this conflict, the British had 7,213 regular soldiers the Americans had 3,000 soldiers. Fort Ticonderoga which is located between Lake George and Lake Champlain in upstate New York was seen important by the Continental Army and the British. Whoever controlled the fort controlled the waterways which could be used

“Washington wrote in his Memorandum for Concerning a Plan of Operations “In any operation, under all circumstances, a decisive Naval superiority is to be considered a fundamental principle and the basis upon which every hope of success must ultimately depend”” (Nelson) The battle in the Virginia capes was a battle that American forces did not even participate in. This battle is still considered one of the biggest victories that happened throughout the Revolutionary war. “This battle — called variously the “Battle of the Chesapeake,” or the “Battle of the Virginia Capes” — is one very few Americans have even heard of. This is probably due to the fact that no Americans took part in the battle — or even witnessed it (except perhaps from afar) — because it was a slugfest between the British and the French navies” (Weigant).

The town of Yorktown was founded in 1691 and is mostly known for the battle that occurred on the lands. On September 28, the battle of yorktown takes place in Virginia. George Washington and General Nathanael Greene were in command of the American Force and the British were led by General Charles Cornwallis. One of many significant battles in the revolutionary War, however this one ended the war. The Americans and French were able to surround the British.

In David McCullough’s national bestseller, 1776, he illustrates the struggles that the colonial army went through in facing the powerful british army lead by General William Howe. The American army faced dark times: suffering food shortages, rough weather, and undisciplined troops. Yet under the leadership of General George Washington the colonial troops were able to clash with the British army to establish their independence as a nation. Throughout the novel, the underlying theme was perseverance emphasised by the various obstacles that General Washington and his army had to overcome during the year 1776. Even though George Washington lead the army of common folk to the best of his abilities he was still ill-prepared to battle the British

The Battles of Lexington and Concord signaled the start of the American Revolutionary war on April 19, 1775. The British Army set out from Boston to capture rebel leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock in Lexington as well as to destroy the American's store of weapons and ammunition in Concord. The colonists were warned however, by riders including Paul Revere, that the British Army was approaching. Sam Adams and John Hancock were able to escape and the local militia was able to hide much of their ammunition and weapons. Battle of Lexington Engraving by Unknown Battle of Lexington The Battle of Lexington was a very small fight.

Washington later helped ​trap the British in a battle that would later end the war and give freedom and liberty to the United States of America. Washington later retired again, but later needed more help from him. George Washington watched as the colonies became corrupt with no leader. He soon became the 1st President of America. He led the new found country to prosperity and led it with pride.

Valley Forge was the winter quarters of the army in 1777, there wasn 't a battle fought there and winter made it hard to find food and forage for the troops, they nearly starved. The Second Battle of Saratoga was also known as the Battle of Bemis Heights. The Americans were above the British and could see the location of the British troops, they could easily send their troops to the right spot to stop the British, this lead to the American victory. The swamps in the south made it easy for the Americans to fight a "guerrilla war" against the British there.

In the starting years of the war, the British generally won most battles due to their far superior sea power. After the invasion of Canada, the American colonist rebellion invasions and attacks continued. Battles after battles were being fought and everywhere the anger and the revenge taking nature was visible in both the colonists and the British officials’ eyes. The next 2 battles occurred in Trenton and Princeton of New Jersey. The Battle of Trenton occurred 26 December 1776.

Washington’s army had lost more than half of its men to capture, illness, desertion and enlistment expirations at the end of the year. Faltering morale needed a boost, and it came from Thomas Paine who was serving as a volunteer aide; the stirring words of his pamphlet The American Crisis were read to the soldiers on Washington's orders. He also wanted to end the year on a positive note so, George Washington—Commander in Chief of the Continental Army—devised a plan to

As previously stated, George Washington and his troops had been stationed in New York, since June, because he was certain an attack would come in Manhattan. In early July, British troops arrived in Staten Island, commanded by Gen. William Howe. When they arrived, Howe offered the American troops a pardon, to which Washington replied “Those who have committed no fault want no pardon.” Washington sent more troops to Brooklyn for defence, even though he was convinced there would still be an attack in Manhattan. George Washington sent out troops to guard different areas, placing General Israel Putnam in charge of Brooklyn heights, sending Gen. John Sullivan to the south and William Alexander, Lord Stirling, to the southwest in the Heights of Guan.

Early in March 1776, using cannon brought down from Ticonderoga by Henry Knox, Washington engaged Dorchester Heights, effectively imposing the city and forcing the British to leave on March 17. He then encouraged to guard New York City against the combined land and sea forces of Sir William Howe. In New York he committed a armed blunder by occupying an untenable position in Brooklyn, although he saved his army by proficiently retreating from Manhattan into Westchester County and all the way through to New Jersey into Pennsylvania. In the last months of 1776, badly needed men to fight and supplies, Washington almost departed. He had lost New York City to the British; the recruitment was almost up for a number of men in the troops, and others were deserting in droves; civilian morale was declining rapidly; and senate, faced with the possibility of a British attack on Philadelphia, had withdrawn from the city.

After destroying Washington, the capital, the British continued towards Baltimore, seeking revenge for the 500 ships they lost to the city’s privateers (Poole). Following its successful attack on Alexandria, Virginia, the British naval force entered Baltimore Harbor and prepared to attack Fort McHenry (The Star-Spangled Banner Project), located in the Baltimore Harbor (Edwin). During a battle with American troops, British General Ross was killed, forcing the British to delay their attack until the night of September 13 to attack again (The

The winter of 1777-78 was terribly cold, bitter, and harsh. These conditions made things very difficult for General Washington’s military unit. The unit’s morale and physical strengths were severely tested throughout this challenging and historical time. On December 19, 1777, General George Washington, the Commander of the U.S. Continental Army led the troops to Valley Forge in Pennsylvania for a few different reasons.

As dawn approached, he and his army would attack Trenton with all the force that they had at the time. The author stated that Washington had thought the battle was already lost because they would lose the element of surprise as the weather slowed them down which was pushing them into the daylight. According to Fischer, Washington and his army arrived to Trenton at around seven-thirty in the morning. They succeeded in using the element of surprise and the weather helped the colonial army and they took Trenton.