How the American Colonist Won the Revolutionary War

Posted by Rachel Braun on May 7th, 2019

The fact that the British had for the past 100 years been triumphant in all their battles with powerful nations like Spain and France made it seem unlikely that the Americans stood any chance against them in the revolutionary war, since all the odds were stacked against them. Some of these underlying issues include facts like the British soldiers were well disciplined, well equipped, well fed and well paid compared to the Americans. At that time, the British military was considered to be the best globally and their naval prowess enabled them dominate the seas.

The American Continental Congress found it challenging to raise funds compared to the vast British Empire, which used their funds to hire missionaries to help in their fights. In addition, the British promised to protect the tribal lands of the Indians made which made them side by side with them, and with their tradition of constant wins made most of the locals favor the British crown rule openly. This was approximately one in every five of them with half of the population opting for the conflict to be avoided altogether.

It is with this understanding of the odds against the Americans, that this article highlights the factors that made the Americans who were the underdogs emerge victorious in the revolutionary war against the British. It was an impossible task for the colonies to be conquered mainly due to their geographical sizes, which were vast and this presented a challenge for the British to stay in the countryside, so that this made it hard for them to protect and control it. This was an advantage for the patriots since they could effectively manage to single out the remaining crown loyalists, which frustrated the British. In addition, the fact that the colonies never had a single strategic national capital, which the British could target to quickly end the fight, also worked for advantage of the colonies.

The terrain also worked as an advantage for the colonies since they lived there and were familiar with it; this made it easier for them to develop strategies on how to hide, fight, and maneuver. This worked as an advantage when the Marion Brigade used their implemented guerrilla tactics of warfare since they could hide and hit without being caught by the British troops.

The British mistrust of the 70 regiments formed by the approximately 50,000 loyalists made them alienate; if they had used it effectively, they would have been able to maintain their colonies under control. They never respected or recognized their abilities to fight in an overall view, which was a major mistake by the British since they did not capitalize on possible potential supporters.

During the Indian wars, the Americans effectively learned guerrilla tactics, which proved very helpful in the fight with the British army. The American troops wore ordinary clothing, which made it hard to distinguish them from the British loyalists. Due to this tactic, they could easily strike at the British army and quickly retreat into the forest. That proved an advantage for their movements compared to the formations that the British marched in; since the colonists were not trained, the formations proved to be easy targets for their guerrilla tactics.

The British royal army also found it difficult to deliver finishing blows to the colonists since they deliberately avoided large scale confrontations. This strategy implemented by Washington saw the colonists lose only once to the British during the whole conflict; this is in 1780 at Charleston S.C. where they had to surrender. The patriots opted to attack the Bahamas basing supply ships of the royal army rather than attacking the main force of the naval British ships. Consequently, this affected the British since it not only delayed their attacks, but also caused great damage to their forces.

Netherlands, France, and Spain intervention in the conflict turned the tides of the revolutionary conflict greatly. Without the main assistance by Spain, Holland and France, it was highly improbable that the Americans could have emerged victorious in the conflict. In addition, the fear by the British of losing control of their West Indies, sugar plantation colonies made it hard for them to fully concentrate their main military force in the American colonies.

Another important advantage the colonists had over the British is the fact that compared to them who had the home advantage, the British had to send supplies and troops over longer distances. Therefore, they left their country unaware of what was happening in the front lines for weeks and it cost them a lot to facilitate the transportation of the troops over the ocean. The threat of emancipation by the slaves made many slaveholders in the south revolt which opposed to the initial purpose of the British such as to use the freed slaves to fight for their cause in suppressing the revolution.

The single most significant aspect for the colonist’s triumph in the war is on the breath of revolutionary support becoming popular. It is evident that the revolution would not have succeeded if the ordinary artisans, farmers, and laborers did not participate as they often put themselves in direct line of fire. The support for the revolution cut across social ranks, religion, and various regions. The political participation growth saw many Americans actively participating in politics mainly in non-exportation and non-importation campaigns. These and other initiatives effectively helped link the citizens, due to whom they formed groups that protested against the encroachment of.

Writen by a writer Rachel Braun, who is the specialist in this sphere of literature and history, works at the site https://exclusive-paper.net/