Myths of the American Revolution

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/myths-of-the-american-revolution-10941835/?all ^ | JANUARY 2010 | John Ferling

[100American]

Link to Article: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/myths-of-the-american-revolution-10941835/?all

Throughout its deliberations, North’s government agreed on one point: the Americans would pose little challenge in the event of war. The Americans had neither a standing army nor a navy; few among them were experienced officers. Britain possessed a professional army and the world’s greatest navy. Furthermore, the colonists had virtually no history of cooperating with one another, even in the face of danger. In addition, many in the cabinet were swayed by disparaging assessments of American soldiers leveled by British officers in earlier wars. For instance, during the French and Indian War (1754-63), Brig. Gen. James Wolfe had described America’s soldiers as “cowardly dogs.” Henry Ellis, the royal governor of Georgia, nearly simultaneously asserted that the colonists were a “poor species of fighting men” given to “a want of bravery.”

Still, as debate continued, skeptics—especially within Britain’s army and navy—raised troubling questions. Could the Royal Navy blockade the 1,000-mile-long American coast? Couldn’t two million free colonists muster a force of 100,000 or so citizen-soldiers, nearly four times the size of Britain’s army in 1775? Might not an American army of this size replace its losses more easily than Britain? Was it possible to supply an army operating 3,000 miles from home? Could Britain subdue a rebellion across 13 colonies in an area some six times the size of England? Could the British Army operate deep in America’s interior, far from coastal supply bases? Would a protracted war bankrupt Britain? Would France and Spain, England’s age-old enemies, aid American rebels? Was Britain risking starting a broader war?

After the Continental Congress convened, King George III told his ministers that “blows must decide” whether the Americans “submit or triumph.”

Hmmmmm...

Gun rights and a whole lot more, informational and a good read

Enjoy

[100American]

Good to level set what was going on back then and the eerie reverberations today...

[Monterrosa-24]

This reminds me of when Playboy magazine ran an article that attempted to make a case that guns were not really important to colonial America. As always Playboy was pushing a Leftwing agenda. And its article was easily refuted.

As for those who said they only read that mag for its articles...the articles were the most subversive part. The written word in Playboy was constantly pushing hedonism, relativism, and socialism. By contrast photos of smiling nude young women were almost neutral and benign in comparison.

[dp0622]

Started reading it. GREAT read. Bookmarking it for this evening when fiance is watching silly reality shows :)

[C210N]

Thanks for posting... I find this stuff fascinating.

As a heads-up, I just finished a truly absorbing book - Spirit of 74, detailing what went on at the micro-level, at ground zero in Boston, and MA. A great deal of perspective is gained with this excellent book - eg, how the MA patriots essentially self-governed, outside of British-controlled Boston. The King's magistrates, judges, and so on, were made to recant their offices. Gov Gage, if he had his druthers, would have went to the hotbed of Worcester area, instead of Concord to de-arm the patriots.

[ETL]

LIBERTY! The American Revolution is a dramatic documentary about the birth of the American Republic and the struggle of a loosely connected group of states to become a nation. The George Foster Peabody award-winning series brings the people, events and ideas of the revolution to life through military reenactments and dramatic recreations performed by a distinguished cast.
_________________________

EPISODE 1: "The Reluctant Revolutionaries" 1763-1774
In 1763, the capitol city of America is London, George Washington is lobbying for a post in the British army, and no one thinks of Boston harbor when they hear talk of tea parties. In a dozen years, the colonies are on the brink of rebellion. What happens to bring this country so quickly near war with England?

EPISODE 2: "Blows Must Decide" 1774-1776
A total break from Great Britain remains hard for Americans to imagine, even after shots are fired at Lexington and Concord. Words push matters "Over the Edge" in 1776. Common Sense argues that it is the natural right of men to govern themselves. The Declaration of Independence declares this same idea a "self-evident" truth. For Americans, there is no looking back. There will be war with England.

EPISODE 3: "The Times That Try Men's Souls" 1776-1777
Days after the Declaration of Independence is signed, a British force arrives in New York harbor. Washington and his troops are driven to New Jersey. With only a few days of enlistment left for many of his volunteers, a desperate Washington leads his army quietly across the Delaware River on the day after Christmas, 1776, to mount a surprise attack on a sleeping garrison in Trenton.

EPISODE 4: "Oh Fatal Ambition" 1777-1778
The "united" states remain in dire need of funds and military support. Congress dispatches Benjamin Franklin to France in hopes of creating an alliance which will provide both. Meanwhile, a British army marches down the Hudson River trying to cut off New England from the other colonies. The British are crushed by Americans at Saratoga. The French enter the conflict on the American side.

EPISODE 5: "The World Turned Upside Down" 1778-1783
The British hope to exploit the issue of slavery and to enlist the support of loyalists in the south. They fail. After a series of brutal engagements, the British army heads for Virginia, only to be trapped by the miraculous convergence of Washington's army and the French fleet at Yorktown. The end of the war is at hand.

EPISODE 6: "Are We to Be a Nation? 1783-1788
Peace comes to the United States, but governing the world's newest republic is no simple task. Congress is ineffectual and individual states act like sovereign nations. By the time the Constitutional Convention convenes in 1787, many wonder if the country can survive. The long ratification process helps define what sort of nation the United States is to be—a process that continues to this day.

=====================================================================

EPISODE 1: “The Reluctant Revolutionaries” 1763-1774
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jR_lTDD6jpw

EPISODE 2: “Blows Must Decide” 1774-1776
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIT_GL-Y5hQ

EPISODE 3: “The Times That Try Men’s Souls” 1776-1777
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnELswbakFs

EPISODE 4: “Oh Fatal Ambition” 1777-1778
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae6XknOqceI

EPISODE 5: “The World Turned Upside Down” 1778-1783
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkjhu2GKYAs

EPISODE 6: “Are We to Be a Nation? 1783-1788
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-PShTiGk9g

[MUDDOG]

Was it possible to supply an army operating 3,000 miles from home?

In the later Peninsular War fought by Britain against Napoleonic France in Spain and Portugal, Britain enjoyed a great advantage in that it scrupulously paid the local population for supplies, while the French depended on confiscation, and consequently alienated the locals and had a harder time getting anything.

I don't know if Britain followed the same policy in America.

[thackney]

Thanks for posting that

LIBERTY! The American Revolution Bookmark

[Verginius Rufus]

Before the battles of Saratoga in 1777, General Burgoyne made a pompous announcement encouraging the Americans in that area to return to loyalty to Britain and hinting that he would unleash his Indian allies on them if they refused. Not exactly the way to win over the hearts and minds of the Americans.

France was trying to impose Napoleon's brother as king of Spain, whom the Spanish did not want, and they used harsh tactics to put down the Spanish uprising (see Goya's painting "The Third of May"). So it probably wasn't hard for the British to find willing collaborators among the Spanish people.

[Verginius Rufus]

Before the battles of Saratoga in 1777, General Burgoyne made a pompous announcement encouraging the Americans in that area to return to loyalty to Britain and hinting that he would unleash his Indian allies on them if they refused. Not exactly the way to win over the hearts and minds of the Americans.

France was trying to impose Napoleon's brother as king of Spain, whom the Spanish did not want, and they used harsh tactics to put down the Spanish uprising (see Goya's painting "The Third of May"). So it probably wasn't hard for the British to find willing collaborators among the Spanish people.

[100American]

Indeed, look what I found when doing my family tree, My Grandmothers Maiden name was DeWitt...

Charles De Witt was one of the most prominent men of Ulster County in the political events which preceded and accompanied the war of the Revolution. From 1768 to 1775 he was a member of the Colonial Assembly,and as a member of the last legislative body which sat under royal authority, was one of the nine resolute and patriotic men who voted to approve of proceedings of the Continental Congress, then recently organized in Philadelphia. He was a member of the Provincial Convention of April, 1775, and of the third and fourth Provincial Congresses, where he was associated with John Jay, William Duer, and others on the committee for detecting and defeating conspiracies, etc. On December 21, 1775, he was commissioned colonel of a regiment of minute men. When the State Government was organized, Colonel De Witt was made a member of the committee to draft a Constitution ; and from 1775 to 1785 he sat in the State Assembly. A sketch of Colonel De Witt, from which the above facts are mainly taken, may be found in the Ulster County Historical Collections. My ancestor helped craft and defend The Constitution... Wow

[100American]

Indeed, look what I found when doing my family tree, My Grandmothers Maiden name was DeWitt...

Charles De Witt was one of the most prominent men of Ulster County in the political events which preceded and accompanied the war of the Revolution. From 1768 to 1775 he was a member of the Colonial Assembly,and as a member of the last legislative body which sat under royal authority, was one of the nine resolute and patriotic men who voted to approve of proceedings of the Continental Congress, then recently organized in Philadelphia. He was a member of the Provincial Convention of April, 1775, and of the third and fourth Provincial Congresses, where he was associated with John Jay, William Duer, and others on the committee for detecting and defeating conspiracies, etc. On December 21, 1775, he was commissioned colonel of a regiment of minute men. When the State Government was organized, Colonel De Witt was made a member of the committee to draft a Constitution ; and from 1775 to 1785 he sat in the State Assembly. A sketch of Colonel De Witt, from which the above facts are mainly taken, may be found in the Ulster County Historical Collections. My ancestor helped craft and defend The Constitution... Wow

[MUDDOG]

Moreover, when Wellington carried the war into southern France in 1813-14, he continued the same policy, with the result that the local French people would supply the British, but not the French army!

[Sam Gamgee]

I think Edmund Burke was relieved that the US experience did not mirror the French one, which Thomas Paine praised. The difference is American championed to idea of being BORN equal, not EQUAL outcomes, as the French wanted. My understanding is many if not most Whigs opposed the war in the Americas, but somehow George III had packed the Parliament with Tories and worse – yes men. How and why that happened I am still not clear on, since the monarchy had gone into political decline since the Glorious Revolution. From what I read the militias of the northern colonies were completely ineffective and bungled their foray into Canada. Washington figured out that all he had to do was to keep an army in the field. Very few battles were actually won by the Patriots, but they continuously wore down British resolve. The most brutal part of the war was when the Patriots figured out the officers road in the front of the line and were mounted. Using frontiersmen sharpshooters they ruthlessly took out the officers. Towards the end it seemed the Patriot tactics were better suited for defending ones homeland.

[driftless2]

If that try would have failed, it's for sure at some point we would have gained our independence as all of Britains large colonies have done.

BUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!! we don't know what kind of constitution we would have had. As much as liberals would like to destroy it with a "living (or breathing) constitution), the Founding Fathers created a genius document that has stood the test of time. We don't know what a constitution would have looked like fashioned by different people.

[100American]

War of attrition, scorched earth, ungentlemanly practices on the field...

They could not count on Tories to keep them logistically supplied and as things wore on it was too much trouble and costly..

You do what you gotta do or lie down and take it...

[100American]

War of attrition, scorched earth, ungentlemanly practices on the field...

They could not count on Tories to keep them logistically supplied and as things wore on it was too much trouble and costly..

You do what you gotta do or lie down and take it...

[Sam Gamgee]

Oh I totally agree. I have learned we can’t judge the past from our norms today in many cases. The Patriots were technically “traitors” as far as the British Crown, and many loyalists, were concerned. This was life or death for them. Had they lost they would have been hung. If your enemy is dumb enough to expose his assets like that, well, why wouldn’t you take advantage of it. War isn’t nice.

[ebshumidors]

Bflr

[WhiskeyX]

What is often downplayed or missed altogether is the legal principle by which the American colonists relied upon as their authority for their actions. The English/British monarchy had already been reestablished as an authority limited by the previously established rights of all Englishmen. The King, his ministers, and his Parliament endeavored to usurp those already established rights by royal decrees and by public laws promulgated in an English/British Parliament where the American colonists were denied their rights as Englishmen. The conflict centered around which of the two parties was taking illegal actions, the monarchy and its parliament or the American colonists and their colonial governments acting pursuant to the rights in law granted by the prior English monarchs. When the King and his Parliament insisted upon abrogating the rights of the American colonial governments, those governments were ultimately compelled to defend themselves against such an abrogation regardless of the hazards in doing so.

[gtwizard]

Episodes 3 and 5 are private and inaccessible. At least to me.