Did Britain burn houses during the Revolutionary War?
On April 25, 1777, an army of British troops led by General William Tryon landed at Compo Beach, an area now part of Westport. Tryon launched the raid to destroy military supplies stored in Danbury. …
Why do the Patriots want independence?
Most Patriots supported independence because they felt that recent British laws on the American Colonies violated their rights as British citizens (e.g. taxing without consent, quartering soldiers in citizens’ homes, and denying colonists the right to a trial).
What caused problems for the British Army?
In 1775 the British Army was a volunteer force. The army had suffered from lack of peacetime spending and ineffective recruitment in the decade since the Seven Years’ War, circumstances which had left it in a dilapidated state at the outbreak of war in North America.
What happened to British troops at Concord?
Fighting Breaks Out in Lexington and Concord A British major yelled, “Throw down your arms! The militiamen hustled to Concord’s North Bridge, which was being defended by a contingent of British soldiers. The British fired first but fell back when the colonists returned the volley.
What were the weaknesses of the British?
The British fought a war far from home. Military orders, troops, and supplies sometimes took months to reach their destinations. The British had an extremely difficult objective. They had to persuade the Americans to give up their claims of independence.
How many people died during the Revolutionary War?
6,800 Americans
Why did many British not support the war?
It showed that the Americans could defeat the British. Why did many of the British people not support the war? The cost to taxpayers was too high.
What were British strengths and weaknesses at the outset of the war?
What were British strengths and weaknesses at the outset of the war? The British had a larger population (3:1). They were also richer and had a better naval power. Britain also had a much better trained army than the colonies.
What was a weakness of the British Army?
Another weakness of the British army was fighting on the unfamiliar wooded and hilly terrain of the American colonies. The British sought flat, open ground so that they could fight in the European style they were accustomed to, with lines of men blasting away at each other with muskets from 50-75 yards.
What percentage of American colonists supported the British?
At no time did more than 45 percent of colonists support the war, and at least a third of colonists fought for the British. Unlike the Civil War, which pitted regions against each other, the war of independence pitted neighbor against neighbor.
What were three advantages the colonists were supposed to attack the British?
As the colonists looked toward the last quarter of the eighteenth century, they might have given serious thought to at least three powerful reasons not to fight: they were safe, prosperous, and free.
What American battle victory led to the French alliance?
Covert French aid began filtering into the colonies soon after the outbreak of hostilities in 1775, but it was not until the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga in October 1777 that the French became convinced that the Americans were worth backing in a formal treaty.
What came first the Declaration of Independence or the Revolutionary War?
By June 1776, with the Revolutionary War in full swing, a growing majority of the colonists had come to favor independence from Britain. On July 4, the Continental Congress voted to adopt the Declaration of Independence, drafted by a five-man committee including Franklin and John Adams but written mainly by Jefferson.