re: History thread: How did we win the Revolutionary War?

Very good points.

2. The Howe brothers (General and Admiral) actually had a tender place in their hearts for Americans. They had a sense of gratitude due to how The Colonies had honored their father with statues and plaques in various cities for his service and leadership during the French-Indian War. They tried to handle the Patriots with kid gloves and often held back when they had the strategic initiative. They were probably the wrong guys for the Crown to have conducting operations from late 1775-1778 due to their affection for America.

3. The propaganda point you made was spot on as well. We were always one step ahead. News of Lexington and Concord reached Philadelphia first by way of Patriot propaganda. That was crucial because the 1st Continental Congress was divided. New England Colonies were the most boisterous about the inevitable conflict but the middle colonies were very uncommitted to raising troops to fight. They said they would only do so if the British initiated the war. The Patriots controlled the narrative by claiming the First shot was fired by a Redcoat. Adams, Revere and Warren were master propagandists who realized the importance of controlling the narrative. The Patriot angle of an event or battle always reached England 2-3 weeks before the official British account by way of smaller, faster sloops. Their side was always heard first.

There are hundreds of examples but my favorite is the account of the burning of Norfolk. The British were bombarding many cities up and down the coast to punish and intimidate the locals who were giving aid to the Patriots. While bombing the city of Norfolk from their large ships, the city caught on fire and 80% of the town burned. What was not known at the time was that Patriots actually stoked the fires and caused most of the destruction. It was strategically done to frame the event as an atrocity and to further galvanize the Colonies. The Patriots decided it would be better to do that instead of have Norfolk fall into British hands and become a major seaport for their Navy in The Chesapeake Region. This info was kept secret until made public record almost 50 years later.

Another good point.

When Spain declared war in 1779, Louisiana Govornor General Bernardo De Galvez prosecuted a crucial Southern strategy. He captured one British fort after another. Manchac,Natchez,Baton Rouge,Mobile and Pensacola before joining with an American force to capture the Bahamas. He used the frigate [South Carolina] as his flagship on the Bahamas mission. The Bahamas was important because it all but insured that in order to get them back, the British would have to cede British East and West Florida at the peace negotiating table.

Oh you mean our CIA funding the mujahideen to beat the already broke down Russians.

Or the fact we are using our politicians policies to fight haji and the roe is heavily suited for gaijin Afghanistan

Britain was very alienated during this period of history. Since late in the Seven Years War, Britain had offended almost every nation in Europe except Portugal and the North German Principalities. Georges connection to the Hessians was because he was from the House of Hanover. Those were the only mercenaries he was able to hire.

There were many in power in London more than willing to turn their backs on the old European power balancing strategies and Hanoverien connections that had been successful under the previous Hanoverien King George II. These included a benign treatment of the North American Colonies and productive anti-French alliances with the Dutch Republic and the German States.

From about 1760, British arrogance had just about pissed off every Monarch and Foreign ministry in Europe. They were viewed as insular and arrogant. France and Spain were rather revenge minded and a The Bourbon Compact of 1761 was a very strong link. They knew that Britain would be in a very vulnerable position if and when their North American colonies ever took up an armed rebellion. While they were the two biggest nations at odds with the British, they had many like minded allies. From Sweden, Holland, Russia, Austrian Netherlands,etc..They all had their own grievances , from British meddling in their politics or interference with trade and shipping, etc.. They all had an interest in seeing Britain taken down a notch or two.

It was evident by 1775 that these Nations were eagerly abetting the North American upheaval. There was a large quantity of gunpowder and arms crossing the ocean from these nations and all types of provisions and goods were being shipped via the West Indies trade route and transported to the back water estuaries on our coast that the large British ships could not access.

And it is hard to ignore how the British were declined in their request for mercenaries from every Monarch in Europe with the exception of those few German Principalities. The Dutch would not allow them to borrow their Scots Brigade. Catherine of Russia said no to their request to contract 20,000 Russian soldiers. Frederick of Prussia, who George had insulted repeatedly, not only encouraged Catherine's refusal but worked to damage George's relations with the German Princes. Austria tried to block George from using his dual role as Elector of Hanover to recruit soldiers within the Holy Roman Empire.

All of these European powers either tolerated or favored their merchants covert selling of arms to the Americans while simultaneously rejecting their efforts to procure mercenaries. Britain stood alone without a single ally when the Revolution began in earnest.

Especially when the British had to pretty much fight the French navy all the way across the Atlantic.

To the OP: many historians consider the Am. Rev War as simply another theatre in the longstanding conflict bt France and Britian. It often goes unmentioned that most of the Continental Army's munitions were supplied by the French.
During the Rev War, the majority of Britain's military resources were spent fighting France, not the Colonists...

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British General John Chavis showed up and blew the whole thing in the last two minutes

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THEN, he had the audacity to turn around and sue the British for some bullshite reasons that even his own mother probably doesn't understand.

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Don't forget the Spanish Militia from La.(including about 600 revenge seeking Acadians), marched on West Florida, capturing Baton Rouge, Mobile, and Pensacola. This ended English occupation in the Deep South. 

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My great, great, great, great, great grandfather was one of those Acadians. He was a member of Judice's Militia in St. James parish and he participated in this campaign under Governor Galvez.

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THEN, he had the audacity to turn around and sue the British for some bull shite reasons that even his own mother probably doesn't understand.

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There were many factors:
1. The american people did not have to arm themselves, they were already armed. The people had long kept rifles and pistols in the home and the recent French & Indian war meant there were tons of experienced veterans, munitions, and even artillery lieing around.
2. Washington was an escape artist. No matter how many time he was forced to retreat (and no one retreats like Washington), he always kept his army together, preventing the British from ever landing a decisive victory or destroying the continental army.

3. Supply lines. British supplies had to come thousands of miles across the atlantic or hundreds of miles from Canada. Communication was just as slow.

4. The french. The French and Spanish engaged the British abroad, preventing them from being able to focus on only America. India, the Caribbean, Africa, and the Gulf Coast were all active theaters outside of the colonies.

5. Lack of political will. Since the French & Indian War, the colonies had been costing the crown more than they were making. As british losses mounted and the war continued to drag on, many members of parliament questioned why Great Britain should bother exhausting men and treasure to keep an unprofitable colony. Political will in England slowly dried up.

While Britain did in fact continue the war after Yorktown, the political climate was such that the crown refused to commit any more sizable ground forces to the war. The fighting at the end of the war was largely carried out on Great Britain's behalf by Native American tribes (who were promised that a British victory would keep white settlers out of Ohio) and loyalist colonists. British regulars were content to hold New York and Canada while engaging the French and Spanish globally.