Could America Have Lost the Revolutionary War?

National Security Journal ^ | 11/16/2025 | Robert Farley

[Libloather]

Gangs of New York: America’s revolution was fought across the city — intimately and ferociously

https://nypost.com/2025/11/16/entertainment/gangs-of-new-york-americas-revolution-was-fought-across-the-city-intimately-and-ferociously/

[FLT-bird]

Easily. The secessionists only won because the other super power of the day, France weighed in so heavily on their side.

The odds against the colonial secessionists of 1776 were far longer than the odds were against the Confederates - ie the children and grandchildren in many cases of the 1776 secessionists - in 1861. In the latter case, they just didn’t get a major foreign power jumping in on their side.

[DeplorablePaul]

Agreed. Guerrilla movements need to be stripped of material support. Sherman invented the seek and destroy strategy against the Indians and wiped out their villages. Kept them on the run until they starved. It takes extreme violence and cruelty to end a war. Grant vs Lee is another example. Anything short of that is a waste of time.

[C210N]

Could America Have Lost the Revolutionary War?

Imagine what could have been...

People are reading your question as a "what if". I'm reading it as a reality, in the sense that since war victors write the history books of the conquered, we actually did lose the Revolutionary war.

Although, I'd qualify that to say patriots won the war for about 20 years, until the first Central Bank (Hamilton). We became beholden to London bankers at that point, continued the war during 1812, and bankrupted causing severe dependence on the bankers after the Civil War.

[teeman8r]

“The Colonial army could have been snuffed out in August of 1776 on Long Island if not for a fog bank. And any other number of battles and events.”

not just a fog bank, but brave soldiers from the Old Line state that sacrificed for freedom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa1aZyYYm2k

[Ditto]

Imagine if he had held out through the night at Ft Necessity/Great Meadow and outlasted/defeated the French who were running out of ammo….with Gen Braddock dead George Washington might have become a British war hero.

The battle at Great Meadow, in 1754( Fort Necessity) was a year before General Braddock ever set foot on American soil. It was the Battle of the Monongahela in 1755 where Braddock and most of his officers got killed and Washington had to lead the retreat.

[Pelham]

You know your history. Admiral de Grasse turned back the British fleet and 3,000 French marines gave Washington a professional reinforcement he badly needed.

I had a Virginia militia Colonel ancestor in charge of a blocking force on far side of the York in case Cornwallis tried escaping by that route.

[Retain Mike]

I read that Britain also had to consider its presence in India. Both used a huge number of resources. I could understand a faction saying the colonies were not worth it.

[Thud]

It’s been done by Robert Sobel in his novel, For Want Of A Nail published in 1997. It’s available on Amazon.

[silverleaf]

My bad…confused the death and burial site of Braddock near Ft Necessity, with him being in command of that battle. That later Great Meadow battle was on Washington himself.

Just visited Ft Necessity and Braddock’s gravesite last weekend.

[silverleaf]

Earlier…not later…

Interesting the park historian at Necessity opined that had Washington not surrendered, he would have outlasted the French who were running low on dry ammo in the pouring rain while Washington had a large store of dry ammo protected in his tiny stockage …he also opined that the military battle prep lessons Washington learned stayed with him all of his life

[ifinnegan]

Makes sense.