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

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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And they ended up winning (getting the North to end reconstruction and replicatinf the former state of affairs as closely as possible).

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The south did not win at all I don't know where you are getting this.

The Compromise of 1877 is why reconstruction ended. Northerners wanted Hayes to be elected, when he actually lost, and they need the southern democrats support. So the agreement was get Hayes elected and they will take troops out the south and end reconstruction.

There were many reasons. The first being that the war was not very popular in England. They had a very difficult time enlisting Englismen to fight a war across the ocean against what the common man saw as Englishmen abroad. They were forced to hire mercenaries to fill the lack of home enlistments. The crown tried to hire mercenaries from Russia and Holland but they were rebuffed by the rulers of each nation. The only ones who were hired were Prussian Hessians. They had a loyalty to King George because he was of the Hanoveran Royal family.

The second was a terrible...comical in many cases.....war prosecution by the War Cabinet. One gaffe after another. They were months late in starting the New York caimpaign in 1775 due to mismanaged logistics. The delay bought the colonists a much needed extra 6 months to plan and mobilize. Also, the first Southern campaign was targeted at Cape Fear, NC instead of the Chesapeake Bay. After being defeated in an effort to invade via the NC coast, they moved down and tried to invade via Charleston Harbor....only to be rebuffed again. Based on faulty info from the Royal Govornors of both colonies, they way over estimated the loyalist sentiment in the coastal region. The War Department was assured they would have thousands of loyalist available to fight once their ships landed....but that number in reality was hundreds. The Chesapeake Bay approach would have been an almost certain success to isolate New England. Terrible miscalculation. Yet, this hubris and underestimating of all the dynamics in play in the colonies remained a constant throughout the war.

Third was the colonies ability to wage Naval warfare along our coasts and into the rivers and estuaries. We had little success in the open seas but our sloops, whaleboats and Row Galleys were critical in slipping in and out of places the larger British ships could not access. This allowed us to provision troops with European supplies brought up from the West Indies....particularly French St. Eustacious. They also enjoyed a hit and run capability against the larger British ships. Without "Washingtons Navy" as it was called, be lose.

Fourth, by invading Canada early on, the British had to worry about that region as opposed to concentrating their power and efforts in New England and the middle and southern colonies. It was a great diversionary tactic that paid dividends down the road.

Finally, the official recognition by France and Spain of our country after our victory at Saratoga eventually resulted in both countries declaring war on Britain. It had truly become a global war. They were ill equipped by that point to be in a war against the world. Make no mistake, Britain was held in disdain by every country in Europe. They had no friends or allies. The determining event took place in October of 1781 when the French fleet made haste from the West Indies and blockaded the Chesapeake Bay as Cornwalis and the British Navy desperately tried to evacuate the Yorktown Penninsula. Even though there would be additional fighting over two years....this surrender was basically the end for Britain.

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we didn't "win" it, we just made it more costly for them to keep fighting than to give us independence

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Yeah...we made them quit. That's a WIN.'Murica mf'er!

France. We don't like admitting it, but without the French, we wouldn't have won.

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France. We don't like admitting it, but without the French, we wouldn't have won.

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French naval support was very important in the later stages of the war. This, combined with our fighting on home soil and the British never really committing to the fight 100% (thus their extensive use of mercenaries over here) - the divided opinion in England on the prudence of the war, as well as having to divide resources among the vast British Empire during the period spread the Royal Army and Royal Navy quite thin.

logistics

See what had happened was the British were winning the war. All they had to do was effectively defend against the revolutionaries for a little while longer. Then, little known British General John Chavis showed up and blew the whole thing in the last two minutes.

Providence