Chapter 6 Lesson 3 Notes

Chapter 6 Lesson 3 Notes “Battlegrounds Shift”

Fighting in the West

 The Revolutionary War was of great interest to the Native Americans

 Most Native Americans sided with the British because they thought they were less of a threat

 The British and Native Americans raided American settlements west of the Appalachian Mtns.

 July 1778: VA militia leader George Rogers Clark set out to end attacks in the West

 Clark led a force of 175 westward down the Ohio River and over land

 Patriots captured the British post at Kaskaskia and the town of Vincennes

 British troops under Henry Hamilton recaptured Vincennes in December

. Clark vowed to get the town back and in February 1779, Clark and his troops surprised the British and forced their surrender

. This victory strengthened the American position in the West

The War at Sea

 The British enjoyed a major advantage at sea due to their powerful navy

 The British were able to blockade American harbors limiting delivery of supplies and troops

 The American navy was too weak to operate effectively against the British

 Congress allowed 2,000 ships to sail as privateers

 Privateer: privately owned merchant ship outfitted with weapons

. Goal was to capture enemy merchant ships and cargo

 Sailors from the whaling and fishing ports of New England made up the crews

 John Paul Jones

 American navy hero

 1st successes occurred while raiding British ports

 September 1779: Jones’s ship the Bonhomme Richard met the British warship the Serapis

. The ships fought for hours . When asked to surrender, Jones is said to have answered, “I have not yet begun to fight.”

. Eventually, the Serapis surrendered.

. Victory made Jones a hero

Fighting in the South

 In the early years of the war, the Americans won several battles in the South

 Patriots saved the key port of Charles Town from the British

 By 1778, the British had a new plan for ending the war. This plan focused on the South.

 British hoped to use their sea power and support from Loyalists to win in the South

 Late 1778: British general Henry Clinton sent troops to take Savannah. The British took the city and controlled most of the state.

 May 1780: Clinton attacked Charles Town and the city surrendered (British took thousands of prisoners)

 Worst American defeat of the war

 Clinton returned to New York after victory at Charles Town. He left General Charles Cornwallis in command of British forces in the South

 Congress sent troops under Horatio Gates to face Cornwallis

 August 1780: the two armies meet at Camden, South Carolina

 British won but Cornwallis soon learned he couldn’t control the area he conquered

 Hit and Run Tactics

 In the South, British troops were attacked by Patriot forces while moving through the countryside

 The Patriots would appear, fire, and then disappear

 Francis Marion a.k.a. the “Swamp Fox” was a successful Patriot leader that used these tactics

. Operated out of the swamps of eastern South Carolina

. Movie the “Patriot” based off of him

 American Successes  September 1780: British moved north through the Carolinas after their victory at Camden

 Along the way, the British warned people to join the British or else

 Americans who received this message were mountain people who were extremely dependent.

. Warning angered them and they formed an army and set out to force the British off their land

 Kings Mountain: militia force killed or captured British led force of about 1,000

 October 1780: Nathanael Greene replaced Gates as commander of the Continental forces in the South. He divides his forces

 January 1781: once section of Greene’s army defeat British at Cowpens, South Carolina

. Other section joined Francis Marion on his raids

 March 1781: Greene joins his forces and met Cornwallis at Guilford Courthouse.

. Greene forced to retreat but the British sustained heavy losses and gave up the campaign to conquer the Carolinas

 Cornwallis Retreats

 April 1781: Cornwallis marched north to Virginia

 Washington sent Lafayette to push Cornwallis back and Cornwallis took shelter at Yorktown