SPONGE

1. Chapter 6, Section 5 SPONGE At which battle did General Morgan used clever tactics to defeat the British? (p.192) What played the most important role in the American victory over the British? (p.194)

2. Winning the War in the South Chapter 6, Section 5

3. The War Moves South (1779) • In 1778, a new British Commander was chosen: General Henry Clinton. • Clinton moved the war to the South, where the British hoped loyalists would join with his troops to defeat the revolutionaries. • Clinton’s plan worked at first; the British captured Charlestown and Savannah in the South.

4. The War Moves South (1779) Things looked so bleak that General Washington wrote in his journal, “I have almost ceased to hope…” • To make things worse, Benedict Arnold, the best American field general, betrayed his countrymen and joined the British. Arnold conquered Richmond and burned it to the ground.

5. British Disadvantages • The war turned especially cruel in the South, and included torture, burning farms and killing civilians. British attacks became so nasty that many neutral colonists turned against England. • Clinton also offered freedom to any slave that would join the British Army, turning Southerners against him.

6. Greene and Morgan Turn the Tide • General Cornwallis led the main British army in the South, where Patriot Nathaniel Greene joined Washington in commanding the American army. • Greene knew the South well, and only fought the British when he had the better ground. • In 1781, General Daniel Morgan used unconventional tactics to win the Battle of Cowpens.

7. The Battle of Cowpens • Morgan hid half of his soldiers far behind the front line. He ordered the front line to retreat after firing. • The British thought the Americans were retreating and charged forward – right into another American line. • And here’s what it may have looked like if the soldiers had light sabers.

8. Hit and Run • In South Carolina, Francis Marion, the “Swamp Fox” led a small band that slept by day and traveled by night. • His soldiers used guerilla tactics (hit and run) to harass the British, quickly disappearing back into the swampland. • In fact, the primary reason for British defeat in the South was the superiority of Patriot Generals.

9. Victory at Yorktown • By 1781 the war had turned in favor of the Americans. • General Cornwallis abandoned plans to take the Carolinas and marched back north toward Virginia. He then waited along the Yorktown Peninsula for supplies. • At that moment, Washington received word that the French Navy was sailing to help the Americans.

10. Victory at Yorktown (1781) • Washington rushed his army to Yorktown and immediately laid siege to the English, pounding them with cannon for weeks. • The English built defenses, waiting for their navy to save them. Instead, At the Battle of Yorktown (the final conflict of the revolution) the French navy trapped the British by sea while combined American and French armies trapped the British by land. • Completely surrounded, Cornwallis surrendered his entire army to Washington. • As they surrendered, the British band played the song, “The world turned upside down.”

11. VA PA INF VA INF MD NY RI NJ VA VA

12. The Treaty of Paris (1782-3) • Congress sent John Adams, Ben Franklin and John Jay to work out a treaty to end the war. • Under the Treaty of Paris, the United States expanded from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi River. Canada stayed in British hands and Florida was given to Spain. The treaty doubled the size of the United States! • After 8 years the war was finally over. The British diplomats at the treaty signing were so embarrassed that they left before the artist could finish the painting.

13. Why the Americans Won • Geography played the most important role in the American victory. Americans were familiar with the land and used it to their advantage often. • Also, the British were fighting thousands of miles from home over a huge area of land. • Foreign help (training, supplies, soldiers.) • A growing patriotic spirit throughout the war. • Improved training throughout the war from quality leadership.

14. Washington’s Farewell • In 1783, with the war officially over, General Washington stepped down as leader of the Continental Army. Crowds cheered him on his journey home from New York to Virginia. • This “indispensable man” had held the nation together during the war. Little did he know he would again have to use all his power to hold his new country together.