DOCSLIB.ORG

Gentleman Johnny Burgoyne”

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Gentleman Johnny Burgoyne” BOOK OF THE WEEK. “GENTLEMAN JOHNNY BURGOYNE” The Dramatist-Soldier Who Helped Us Lose America. (JOHN O’ LONDONS WEEKLY – April 14, 1928) GENERAL JOHN BURGOYNE is one of those military figures who are not conspicuous in popular and patriotic histories. A famous soldier once said that luck was the first requisite of a successful general; Burgoyne had not luck. That is why we hear so little about him. Most of us knew that Burgoyne led one of the British armies against the American troops in the War of Independence that he was surrounded at Saratoga and compelled to surrender with 5,000 men. We also knew that he was a dramatist of some slight distinction, and that made it all the more difficult to take him seriously as a soldier. Moreover when we discovered that after his surrender he became Commander-in-Chief in Ireland and was buried in Westminster Abbey, we began to think that he had not been so unlucky after all. The villain of the piece. It has remained for the late Mr. F. J. Hudleston, formerly Librarian at the War Office, to disinter from the mould of forgetfulness and misunderstanding the gallant, likeable, and by no means incompetent soldier who was associated with one of the most epoch- making failures that ever attended British arms. And from Mr. Hudleston's book, “Gentleman Johnny Burgoyne,” we learn just the measure of his bad luck. We first meet Burgoyne when he is a youthful commander of light dragoons, sprinkling his recruiting advertisements with quotations from Shakespeare but licking his men into shape until George III. took such pride in them that he never wearied of inspecting them. Burgoyne with two other generals Howe and Clinton sailed for America on the Cerebus while London laughed over a wit's remark, “Our Generals may terrify the enemy, the. certainly terrify me.” They arrived at Boston to be greeted by another jest : Behold the Cerebus, the Atlantic plough, Her precious cargo, Burgoyne, Clinton, Howe. Bow wow wow! Not long after taking up his command in the field, Burgoyne fell into a curious correspondence with a rebel general, Lee, who had been a subordinate of his in Portugal and was later to be a traitor to the American cause. Burgoyne proposed a conference which Lee rejected in the highfalutin language of the day, as it “might create those jealousies and suspicions so natural to a people struggling in the dearest of all causes, that of their liberty, prosperity, wives children, anti their future generation.” “It is as well,” says Mr. Hudleston, slyly, “the conference did not take place. It could have only led to a long speech in Gentleman Johnny’s best, Parliamentary manner besprinkled with: ‘Good God, sirs.’ But Lee did not lose hope of converting his old comrade to the American point of View,” An eccentric commander. Blockaded in Boston Burgoyne wrote a farce to be performed by the soldiers: The Americans knowing when the performance was to start attacked the mill at Charlestown at that very moment. The alarm was given and a sergeant outside the playhouse door rushed in upon the stage, crying: “Turn out, turn out! They're at it hammer and tongs.” He was as vigorously applauded it, being taken as a character in the play. Burgoyne was later sent to Canada to carry out a southward advance from that country upon Albany in the State of New York, where he was to meet Howe and St. Leger, “a crazy plan,” as Mr. Hudleston tells us, which could only have succeeded had the gods been persuaded to annihilate time and space. But Burgoyne set out light-heartedly, as became the fine, full- blooded gentleman that he was. Often he was, as a disapproving Ger- man lady saw him on the eve of surrender, “very merry and spent the whole night singing and drinking and amusing himself with the wife of a commisary who was his mistress and who like him was fond of champagne.” The lady was very beautiful and her husband was doubtless advanced rapidly in, the Service. At first, Burgoyne's pedition was successful. The important fortress of Ticonderoga was takcn, and George III. “ran into the Queen’s room, crying : ‘I have beat them! Beat all the Americans.’ ” His Majesty was somewhat premature. Love and war. After this success all might have gone well with the campaign had Howe been instructed to march north and join forces with Burgoyne. As for Howe, he had no thoughts save for the lovely Mrs. Loring, whom the Army called “the Sultana.” In New York he missed a chance while lunching with a beauty Mrs. Lindly Murray, who detained him with “crafty hospitality” while the American General Putnam got away. Meanwhile the American forces were closing in round Burgoyne and his ill-assorted host of British and German regulars Canadians and Indians. The first of the Saratoga battles was on Bemus's Heights, “a very smart and honourable action,” as Burgoyne called it, but deciding nothing, unless perhaps the deadliness of the guerilla methods of the Americans. And Nemesis was waiting for Gentleman Johnny. His army was surrounded, his auxillaries the Indians were melting away. He called a council of war (it was interrupted by a cannon-ball which whizzed across the table) and sent Major Kingston to open negotiations with the American General Gates; When he met the American’s aide-de-camp, Major Kingston “expatiated with taste and eloquence on the beautiful scenery of the Hudson River and the charms of the season!” What a charming touch of Anglo-Saxon sangfroid that is! Britain lost her American colonies, but Burgoyne returned to become a dramatist and to write a vigorous apologia. GENTLEMAN AND SOLDIER “JOHNNY" BURGOYNE. Reviewed by CAPTAIN B. H. LIDDELL HART. GENTLEMAN JOHNNY BURGOYNE. By F. J. Hudleston, with a Biographical Note by Arthur Machen. (Cape. 12s 6d.) (Daily Telegraph - 24 April 1928) One of the wisest and wittiest men who ever sat in the War Office____he sat, often shivering, in an ice-cold basement____has here written, in historical form the most delicious of satires upon the military mind, and, indeed, upon the British character. And it is all the more deadly because Hudleston knew so well, and loved despite their faults, those at whom his almost caressing shafts are directed. In this book he deals ostensibly, of course, with eighteenth-century soldiers, but the reader needs little discernment to see how the author's modern experience, is reflected in the older mirror. As historical biography or as analysis of human nature it is equally good and doubly effective. Those who want to know why we lost the American colonies____both the causes of the revolt and the source of military failure____will find a better and truer answer in these pages than in all the musty tomes of excavated documents. Modern historians have laboured to show the falsity of the old legend of British oppression. And they have succeeded beyond question. But while documents will serve to bring out the unreality of concrete grievances they are essentially superficial and do not penetrate to the things of the spirit, which are far more galling and provocative of revolt than material disabilities. The probable real cause of the American revolution was not, British oppression, but British condescension, and nowhere has it been brought out so clearly yet subtly as in this book. THE WAR OFFICE LIBRARY For many years “Frank” Hudleston sat in his gloomy cellar____to which the library of the War Office, its mental provender, was relegated____and thither generations of soldiers descended to profit by his encyclopaedic knowledge of military literature. They came to learn, and they did learn both of literature and life, but they stayed to laugh. And while they laughed and read his books, he read them and laughed____ever so gently and kindly. He is gone____never a man more missed by his friends, and they comprised and over- flowed the establishment of the Army____but has left us a book which will never let his memory or his wit fade. If, his publishers had liked to copy the crudities of modern publicity they might have advertised it as a “laugh on every page.” Yet the laughs provoke reflection and self-questioning as he guides us through the course of Burgoyne's career from Boston to the surrender at Saratoga and thence to his decline as the scapegoat for “that man”____ the scoundrel Germains. Burgoyne, in contrast, is ably delineated as “pompous, he was a gambler, in morals a latitudinarian. and, I have left the worst for the list, he was a politician.” But he was a Gentleman. Even in the House of Commons he “voted according to his conscience,” which, on occasion, King George thought ‘so extraordinary’ that ‘I almost imagine it was a mistake.’ IRONY AND WIT. As a soldier he and his fellows lend point to many of ‘Mr. Hudleston’s ironical comments on the Army mind. “Circumlocutions! are all very well in a despatch, but ‘fetching a compass' in the field was (unfortunately) not the British way.” “And it is most probable that the generals were anxiously waiting each his turn, all queued up, to borrow the Quartermaster-General’s London Gazette, to see who had been promoted. ... “The principles of strategy are eternal”; those unprincipled warriors who monkey about with them and fight according, to the light of nature are iconoclasts, and, even if they win, deserve the heaviest censure for not conducting warfare à la Cocker Militaire, i.e., some old Prussian General von und zu Schmellfungus.” It is no small part of the book’s historical value that it puts the courage, skill, and generosity of the American troops in a far better light than has been done by previous military historians here.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Question Report
    Revolutionary War Review Page 1 1 Who created the image seen to the right? A John Adams B Thomas Jefferson C Ben Franklin 2 When was the image to the right published for the first time? A 1754 B 1763 C 1776 3 Which of the following best describes the intent of the cartoon seen below? A The colonies should support the British B The colonies would be stronger united C Snakes are evil and should be killed 4 English writer John Locke wrote about... A Natural Rights B Navigation C Door Locks D Scientific Methods 1/16/2013 9:00:26 AM Revolutionary War Review Page 2 5 This young African-American became a famous poet during the years of our revolution, and even Washington became a big fan of her writing. A Phyllis Wheatley B Eliza Lucas Pinckney C Molly Pitcher D Francois de Grasse 6 What increased political awareness in the colonies during the mid-1700's? A Television Commercials B Radio Commercials C Newspapers D Public Speeches 7 Who introduce the resolution to the Continental Congress to declare independence? A Richard Henry Lee B Thomas Jefferson C John Adams D Benjamin Franklin 8 Where did Washington attack the Hessians on Christmas... after crossing the icy Delaware River? A Princeton B Saratoga C New York D Trenton 9 Who led the Patriots to victory at the Battle of Cowpens in South Carolina? A Molly Pitcher B Daniel Morgan 10 Washington and his troops spent a harsh winter here during the winter of 1777 - 1778. A Trenton B Saratoga C Valley Forge D Yorktown 11 In the 1750's, the British sent G.
    [Show full text]
  • The Time Trial of Benedict Arnold 1 National Museum of American History
    The Time Trial of Benedict Arnold 1 National Museum of American History The Time Trial of Benedict Arnold Purpose By debating the legacy of Benedict Arnold, students will build reasoning and critical thinking skills and an understanding of the complexity of historical events and historical memory. Program Summary In this presentation, offered as a public program at the National Museum of American History from December 2010-April 2011, an actor portrays a fictionalized Benedict Arnold, hero and villain of the American Revolution. Arnold, in dialogue with an audience that is facilitated by an arbiter, discusses his notable actions at the Battle of Saratoga and at Valcour Island, as well as his decision to sell the plans for West Point to the British. At the conclusion of the program, audience members consider how history should remember Arnold, as a traitor, or as a hero. This set of materials is designed to provide you an opportunity to have a similar debate with your students. Included in this resource set are a full video of the program, to be used as preparation for the classroom activity, and Arnold’s conversation with the audience divided by theme, to be used with the resources offered below for your own Time Trial of Benedict Arnold. A full version of the program is available here. [https://vimeo.com/129257467] Grade levels 5-8 Time Three 45 minute periods National Standards National Center for History in the Schools: United States History Standards; Era 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820s); Standard 2: The impact of the American Revolution on politics, economy, and society Common Core Standards for Literacy in History and Social Studies: Speaking and Listening Standards Comprehension and Collaboration, standard 1: Grades 6-8: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher- led) with diverse partners on grade level topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
    [Show full text]
  • Guidebook: American Revolution
    Guidebook: American Revolution UPPER HUDSON Bennington Battlefield State Historic Site http://nysparks.state.ny.us/sites/info.asp?siteId=3 5181 Route 67 Hoosick Falls, NY 12090 Hours: May-Labor Day, daily 10 AM-7 PM Labor Day-Veterans Day weekends only, 10 AM-7 PM Memorial Day- Columbus Day, 1-4 p.m on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday Phone: (518) 279-1155 (Special Collections of Bailey/Howe Library at Uni Historical Description: Bennington Battlefield State Historic Site is the location of a Revolutionary War battle between the British forces of Colonel Friedrich Baum and Lieutenant Colonel Henrick von Breymann—800 Brunswickers, Canadians, Tories, British regulars, and Native Americans--against American militiamen from Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire under Brigadier General John Stark (1,500 men) and Colonel Seth Warner (330 men). This battle was fought on August 16, 1777, in a British effort to capture American storehouses in Bennington to restock their depleting provisions. Baum had entrenched his men at the bridge across the Walloomsac River, Dragoon Redoubt, and Tory Fort, which Stark successfully attacked. Colonel Warner's Vermont militia arrived in time to assist Stark's reconstituted force in repelling Breymann's relief column of some 600 men. The British forces had underestimated the strength of their enemy and failed to get the supplies they had sought, weakening General John Burgoyne's army at Saratoga. Baum and over 200 men died and 700 men surrendered. The Americans lost 30 killed and forty wounded The Site: Hessian Hill offers picturesque views and interpretative signs about the battle. Directions: Take Route 7 east to Route 22, then take Route 22 north to Route 67.
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of Weather on Armies During the American War of Independence, 1775-1781 Jonathan T
    Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2011 The Force of Nature: The Impact of Weather on Armies during the American War of Independence, 1775-1781 Jonathan T. Engel Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES THE FORCE OF NATURE: THE IMPACT OF WEATHER ON ARMIES DURING THE AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE, 1775-1781 By JONATHAN T. ENGEL A Thesis submitted to the Department of History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2011 The members of the committee approve the thesis of Jonathan T. Engel defended on March 18, 2011. __________________________________ Sally Hadden Professor Directing Thesis __________________________________ Kristine Harper Committee Member __________________________________ James Jones Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members. ii This thesis is dedicated to the glory of God, who made the world and all things in it, and whose word calms storms. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Colonies may fight for political independence, but no human being can be truly independent, and I have benefitted tremendously from the support and aid of many people. My advisor, Professor Sally Hadden, has helped me understand the mysteries of graduate school, guided me through the process of earning an M.A., and offered valuable feedback as I worked on this project. I likewise thank Professors Kristine Harper and James Jones for serving on my committee and sharing their comments and insights.
    [Show full text]
  • Trophies and Plunder: After the Battle of Bennington
    Trophies and Plunder: After the Battle of Bennington The seizure of “plunder” and its sale for distribution to troops routinely occurred during the Revolutionary War. The Battle of Bennington provides a closer look at how “plunder” worked and some of the complications it entailed. By Michael P. Gabriel1 s night fell on August 16, 1777, General John Stark’s militia and Green Mountain Boys army had won a resounding victory near Walloomsac, New York, defeating two German forces in what is known as the Battle of Bennington. In addition to capturing over seven hundred prisoners, Stark and his men recovered an enor- mous amount of equipment that littered the battlefield. While the main details of the battle are well known, what became of this equipment is less so. Many soldiers kept trophies of their participation in the victory, while Stark presented some items to Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire to commemorate the battle. He also sent some military equipment to the Continental Army. However, most of the items were sold as “plunder” at public auctions or vendue and the proceeds distrib- . Michael P. Gabriel is Professor of History at Kutztown University. He is the author or editor of three books on the American Revolutionary War, including The Battle of Bennington: Soldiers and Civilians (2012). Vermont History Vol. 87, No. 2 (Summer/Fall 2019): 111–125. © 2019 by the Vermont Historical Society. ISSN: 0042-4161; on-line ISSN: 1544-3043 112 . Southeast view from the Bennington Battlefield circa 1900. Note the Bennington Battle Monument on the far right. (From the author’s collection).
    [Show full text]
  • A Turning Point Americans and Why They Were Fought Into the Gun’S KEY QUESTION Why Has Saratoga Been Called a “Turning Point”? Where They Were
    CHAPTER 7 • SECTION 1 GEOGRAPHY for the British. Burgoyne realized that N War in the North 1777 Quebec the countryside was rising up against W E e . him. It was a lesson that other British CClicklick herehere yn e R CClicklick herehere to see the interactive map go nc r re S generals would soon learn: they were @ ClassZone.com u w B a . L not simply fighting an enemy army, St American forces GEOGRAPHY Montreal they were fighting an entire people. British forces 050100 miles War in the North 1777 American victory Britain’s Strategy Unravels Burgoyne 0 50 100 kilometers r CLASSZONE.COM ge still looked forward to the rendezvous, e British victory L Lake t. S Champlain or meeting, with St. Leger and Howe Connect Geography History MAINE in Albany. But on August 4, Burgoyne N.H. (Mass.) Ft. Ticonderoga, received a message that Howe would Lake July 6, 1777 ANALYZE Point out that the British, now in Ontario not be coming north; instead, he had Ft. Oswego M Saratoga, control of the strategic port city of New York, o Sept.–Oct., 1777 h a decided to try to capture Philadel- Oriskany, wk R. Bennington, shifted the battlefront to the inland frontier. Aug. 1777 phia—where the Continental Congress A Aug. 16, 1777 rno Ask students to consider what geographical ld Albany met. “Success be ever with you,” wrote NEW YORK Gates . MASS. Boston Howe. Yet Burgoyne needed Howe’s obstacles the troops might encounter in these R n o soldiers, not his good wishes. regions. (The areas were rough, mountainous, s PENNSYLVANIA d u CONN.
    [Show full text]
  • The Battle of Saratoga and the Case of Benedict Arnold by Ushistory.Org, Adapted by Newsela Staff on 06.07.19 Word Count 1,024 Level 1030L
    The Battle of Saratoga and the case of Benedict Arnold By USHistory.org, adapted by Newsela staff on 06.07.19 Word Count 1,024 Level 1030L The surrender of British General John Burgoyne as painted by John Trumbull in 1822. Depicted at center, General Burgoyne surrenders to Continental General Horatio Gates, who refused to take his sword. The American victory at Saratoga in New York on October 17, 1777, was a turning point in the Revolutionary War as it prevented the British from dividing New England from the rest of the states. The painting hangs in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. Image courtesy of The United States Architect of the Capitol The Battle of Saratoga proved to be a major turning point of the Revolutionary War. In October 1777, American forces defeated a major British campaign in New York, giving the American cause an important victory at a crucial time. Divide And Conquer British General John Burgoyne had presented a divide-and-conquer strategy to ministers in London. His plan was to attack the American colonies from Canada by advancing down the Hudson Valley. There, he would be joined by Sir William Howe bringing British troops from New Jersey and New York City. If all went well, they might crush the American forces between them. Burgoyne believed that this bold move would isolate New England from the other American colonies. It would also give British forces command of the Hudson River. A big victory might also This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. cause the Americans to lose hope, as well as scaring off potential allies, especially France, Britain's longtime enemy.
    [Show full text]
  • Decimation, Rejuvenation, Motivation: How Disease and Murder Set the Stage at Saratoga
    University at Albany, State University of New York Scholars Archive History Honors College 12-2015 Decimation, Rejuvenation, Motivation: How Disease and Murder Set the Stage at Saratoga Nicolas Soto University at Albany, State University of New York Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/honorscollege_history Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Soto, Nicolas, "Decimation, Rejuvenation, Motivation: How Disease and Murder Set the Stage at Saratoga" (2015). History. 8. https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/honorscollege_history/8 This Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Honors College at Scholars Archive. It has been accepted for inclusion in History by an authorized administrator of Scholars Archive. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 1 Nicolas Soto DECIMATION, REJUVENATION, MOTIVATION: HOW DISEASE AND MURDER SET THE STAGE AT SARATOGA Imagine your worst fear. Now imagine being killed and scalped in your wedding attire on the way to meet your fiancé. Your fear does not probably seem so bad now, right? Adding on to it, imagine that you were sick with smallpox while on your journey. You would be walking around with a terrible disease which eats away at the body and eventually kills you. These are not fears which we can imagine as vividly as the colonists in the 1770s could. Smallpox and being scalped were legitimate worries of the time for American colonists. Murder and disease ran rampant throughout the colonies. Not to mention the fact that they were embroiled in a revolution with the British Empire to pile on the misery.
    [Show full text]
  • 20. Common Sense 21
    HONORS US HISTORY Honors US History Chapter 8-America Secedes from the Empire A. Schedule: 9-15-14 to 9-19-14 1. Monday-Chapter discussion 2. Tuesday-Chapter discussion, work on items 3. Wednesday-Chapter discussion, terms due, partner work with questions 4. Thursday-Study questions due, discuss in class 5. Friday-OUT B. Chapter Learning Objectives: 1. Describe how America moved from engaging in military hostilities with Britain even while proclaiming loyalty after declaring its independence. 2. Explain the principle of “republicanism” developed by Thomas Paine and other American leaders. 3. Explain the specific reasons and general principles used in the Declaration of Independence to justify America’s separation. 4. Explain why some Americans remained loyal to Britain and what happened to them during and after the Revolution. 5. Describe how the British attempt to crush the Revolution quickly was foiled, especially by the Battle of Saratoga. 6. Describe the military and political obstacles Washington and his generals had to overcome before the final victory at Yorktown. 7. Describe the terms of the Treaty of Paris and explain how America was able to achieve such a stunning diplomatic victory. C. Vocabulary: (Define in the context of only 1775-1783) 1. George Washington 2. William Howe 3. Nathanial Greene 4. Benedict Arnold 5. John Burgoyne 6. Charles Cornwallis 7. Thomas Paine 8. Barry St. Leger 9. George Rogers Clark 10. Richard Henry Lee 11. Horatio Gates 12. John Paul Jones 13. Thomas Jefferson 14. Marquis de Lafayette 15. Admiral de Grasse 16. Patrick Henry 17. Comte de Rochambeau 18.
    [Show full text]
  • Revolutionary War Bibliography
    G. Kurt Piehler Center for the Study of War and Society, Department of History, University of Tennessee Knoxville, Tennessee Revolutionary War Bibliography Organization of American Historians and National Park Service 9/12/2003 The Broad Overview Even before the Revolutionary War ended in 1783, Americans and their British adversaries began efforts to document this struggle. Many of these early histories have been reprinted in modern editions and offer insights into how the Revolutionary generation saw the struggle for independence. Among the earliest general accounts of the conflict are David Ramsay’s History of the American Revolution (1789, Indianapolis: Liberty Classics, 1990) and Mercy Otis Warren’s three volume History of the Rise, Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution (1805, Indianapolis, Liberty Classics, 1988). A substantial number of Americans remained loyal to the British Crown, John Adams estimated the number as high as one-third of the population, and Peter Oliver’s Origins and Progress of the American Revolution (1781, San Marino: Huntington Library, 1961) wrote one of the earliest histories from the loyalist perspective. 1 There are several excellent general histories of the Revolutionary War. Among the best are Robert Middlekauff, The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789 (New York: Oxford University Press,1982) and Edward Countryman’s The American Revolution (New York: Hill and Wang, 1985). Ray Raphael, A People’s History of the American Revolution: How Common People Shaped the Fight for Independence (New York: New Press, 2001) account offers a narrative account that centers around the participation of laborers, African Americans, women, and Indians during the war for independence.
    [Show full text]
  • Hubbardton Battlefield Research
    Hubbardton Battlefield STORY OF THE BATTLE Hubbardton Battlefield is nationally significant as the site of an important military encounter during the Northern Campaign of 1777, and a formative event in the development of the Northern Department Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. A tactical loss for the American forces, historians conclude that, strategically, the battle was an American success because it allowed General St. Clair's withdrawing Northern Army to unite with General Schuyler’s forces near Fort Edward on 12 July, thus keeping alive the American army that blocked further movement south by British General John Burgoyne. The battle lasted more than three hours, probably closer to five, and involved soldiers from Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Several important Americans participated in the engagement, including Colonel Seth Warner of Vermont, and Colonel Ebenezer Francis of Massachusetts. Brigadier General Simon Fraser of the British 24th Regiment of Foot commanded the Advance Guard, while Baron Riedesel commanded the Royal Army’s Left Wing composed principally of Brunswick formations. The significance of this site is materially enhanced by the high integrity of its natural, cultural, and visual landscape as well as its archeological potential to improve upon or even radically change site interpretation. Archeological surveys conducted on the battlefield in 2001 and 2002 confirmed the presence of battle-related artifacts, such as lead shot, buttons, buckles, and other detritus of war. The Hubbardton Battlefield is an example of early attempts to preserve, and commemorate Revolutionary War battlefields, with a local grassroots effort that included veterans and eyewitnesses to the event. This initial mid-nineteenth-century effort was followed by official state involvement in the acquisition, development, and management of the site in the second quarter of the twentieth century as a historic site.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 7: the Road to Revolution: 1763—1775
    CHAPTER 8: AMERICA SECEDES FROM THE EMPIRE READING GUIDE TOPIC 8.1: THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION: EARLY DAYS (NB 135-140/OB 140-143) Congress Drafts George Washington Know: Second Continental Congress, George Washington 1. Why was George Washington chosen as general of the American army? Bunker Hill and Hessian Hirelings Know: Ethan Allen, Benedict Arnold, Fort Ticonderoga, Bunker Hill, Redcoats, Olive Branch Petition, Hessians 2. George III "slammed the door on all hope of reconciliation." How and why? The Abortive Conquest of Canada Know: Richard Montgomery 3. Did the fighting go well for Americans before July of 1776? Explain. Thomas Paine Preaches Common Sense 4. Why was Common Sense important? Paine and the Idea of "Republicanism" Know: Republic, Natural Aristocracy 5. Why did Paine want a democratic republic? TOPIC 8.2: INDEPENDENCE (NB 140-151/OB 143-151) Jefferson's "Explanation" of Independence Know: Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence, Natural Rights 6. What does the Declaration of Independence say? Patriots and Loyalists Know: Patrick Henry 7. What kinds of people were Loyalists? The Loyalist Exodus 9. What happened to Loyalists during the war? TOPIC 8.3: IMPT. BATTLES & STRATEGIES OF AMERICAN REVOLUTION (NB 151-159/OB 151-165) General Washington at Bay Know: William Howe, Trenton, Princeton 10. What were some of the flaws of General William Howe? Burgoyne's Blundering Invasion Know: John Burgoyne, Benedict Arnold, Saratoga, Horatio Gates 11. Why did the Americans win the battle of Saratoga? Why was it significant? Revolution in Diplomacy? 12. Why did the French help America win independence? The Colonial War Becomes a Wider War Know: Armed Neutrality 13.
    [Show full text]