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OUTCOME OF WAR OF INDEPENDENCE

OUTCOME OF WAR OF INDEPENDENCE: DID THE BRITISH LOST IT OR THE PATRIOTS WIN IT?

This essay and supporting research addresses the question --is it more insightful to suggest that the patriots won the War of Independence (1775-1781) or the British lost it? There is considerable merit to the argument that political and military blunders by the British played a major role in determining the outcome of the Revolutionary War. These consisted of errors in the formulation and central direction of the strategy for conducting the war and its execution and failures in command, tactics, and logistics. Above all, the British failed to mount in the early stages of the war the kind of determined war effort which could have won it before the patriots could have mobilized and trained an effective army. On the other hand, such an either-or proposition is an oversimplification which neglects the importance of (1) the success achieved by the patriots, in the face of extraordinary adversity, to survive long enough to win a war of attrition and in carrying out George Washington's sound defensive strategy; and (2) French arms, financial and naval assistance to the Americans which proved to be a decisive factor in the achievement of American independence.

According to Seymour, after 1760, "the British army and navy had been allowed to decline." In early 1775, Great Britain had only 48,647 regular troops worldwide, including 8,850 in America. Its American forces would be reinforced to an eventual 25,000 plus an estimated 30,000 of Loyalist forces and other irregulars, mostly friendly Indians. This was a highly disciplined, trained and experienced force. Until France intervened, Great Britain had command of the seas, thus ensuring its ability to transport and provision its troops from England. Against this force, the Patriots began the war with no navy and a few thousand untrained and ill-disciplined militia and volunteers which over time became, a...

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OUTCOME OF WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 06:19, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1707670.html