JP Hayes Essays - 2nd Millennium, Military Personnel,

JP Hayes Mr. Mckenzie US Honors history 21 September 2017 Strengths/weakness in Revolutionary war Both the Americans and British had weaknesses and strengths while fighting the revolutionary war. One of the British strengths was of course having one of the biggest armies and navies in the world at the time. They also had a lot of money coming from their country and they had experience in winning wars unlike the Americans. The American army was made up of a bunch of regular colonist with no military training. At the same time the unprepared soldiers had limited amounts of supply like guns, ammo, and food because no one is giving them money. As well every one in 5 colonist was a loyalist meaning they were on the British side. The British also had weaknesses which were a long supply line to America, fighting with no cause, and did not know the land well. The Americans had an upside to their weaknesses which are knowing the territory, a cause to fight for, a great leader like Washington, and the French alliance. For the Americans because of their weaknesses they needed to win battles quickly and retreat a lot because of their limited supply. They were also able to hide and surprise the British because they knew the land unlike the red coats who most likely just marched around their huge army looking for Americans. The British had help from the Indians because they promised to not expand west. This was great for them because the Indians knew the land and added extra soldiers. Having a cause to fight for was great for the Americans because it gave them motivation when they needed it. For example "American Crisis" was just the motivation the Americans needed to keep fighting and win. The British could not create any motivation like that because they had no reason to be fighting which makes every defeat more and more difficult. Finally when the American's had the French alliance they had the advantage because they knew the land and now had an army that could match up in numbers to those of the British. These were all factors that played into the revolutionary war a nd the final output of it.