Famous Revolutionary War Battles

What a mistake is to a blunder, a battle is to a war. Blunders are not spontaneous occurrences; they are consequences of accumulated mistakes. Wars too do not emerge suddenly. They too culminate from small conflicts in the background which give rise to battles and then to wars, though exceptions are there when wars are declared first with battles to follow.  The American War of Independence, also known as the Revolutionary War, was prompted by the imposition of the Stamp Act by the British, considered unconstitutional by the Americans. It was fought from 1775 to 1783 between the Kingdom of Great Britain and United States along with its allies France, Netherlands, Spain, and many other co-belligerents. The Americans fought under the command of George Washington, and their strength was 53 ships and over 1 million soldiers including continentals, militia, and the French and Spanish in America and Europe. The British fought under the command of Lord North along with the strength 78 Royal Naval ships and over 1 million soldiers including the British Loyalists and Germans and sailors. The war ended with the Peace of Paris agreement, and America emerged as the victor winning  American independence. The British lost America, the eastern area of the Mississippi River, and the southern part of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River.

1. The Battle of Lexington

The Battle of Lexington was fought on April 19, 1775 in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay. The British had information that the Massachusetts militia had stored military supplies in Concord. The British were given secret orders to seize and destroy these supplies. The revolutionary patriot colonials came to know of the British plans  as a result of their effective intelligence and did not allow the British plans to succeed. The first shots were fired just at the time of sunrise in Lexington. The British reached and searched north bridge in Concord, but 500 militiamen defeated 3 companies of the King’s troops. The militia inflicted heavy damage to the British troops which were later on rescued by reinforcements under command of Brig. General Hugh Percy. This was the first battle fought between the British and the Kingdom of Great Britain and the 13 colonies in British, North America.

2.  The Battle of Saratoga

The Battle of Saratoga started on September 19 and ended on October 17, 1777 after the surrender of the British General John Burgoyne. The battle was fought 9 miles south of Saratoga, New York for 18 days and proved to be a turning point in the war. The British General planned to separate New England from the southern colonies and did achieve little success in the beginning of the battle of Freeman’s Farm on September 19. However, on October 7, the battle of Bemis Heights, a portion of the British defense, was captured by the Americans, and the British troops were surrounded by a much larger American force compelling the British to surrender. France openly joined the Americans in the war after this battle.

3. The Battle of the Saintes

The Battle of the Saintes, also known as the Battle of Dominica, was fought for 4 days from April 9, 1782 to April 12, 1782. It was won by the British fleet that fought under command of Admiral Sir George Rodney against the French fleet fighting under the command of Comet de Grasse. The French and Spanish had to abandon the planned attack on Jamaica. The battle was named after the Saints Islands between Guadeloupe and Dominica in the West Indies.

4. The Siege of Boston

Following the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the New England militiamen, later known as the Continental Army, surrounded Boston, Massachusetts to stop the movement of the British Army. This also limited the military supply for the British naval operations. The Continental Congress unanimously elected George Washington as its Commander-in-Chief. In June, 1775, the British captured Bunker and Breed’s Hill at the cost of heavy losses and casualties, but could not break the siege. The British Commander William decided to evacuate the town on March 17, celebrated now as Evacuation Day.

5. Second Battle of Savannah

The second battle of Savannah, also known as the Siege of Savannah, was an American encounter launched on September 16, 1779 and ended on October 18, 1779. Under the command of Lt. Colonel Archibald Campbell, the British Expeditionary corps had captured the city of Savannah, Georgia. A major attack on October 9 against the British siege failed, and they remained in control until July, 1782. Admiral d’Easting was wounded twice, and the second assault was conducted under the command of the Swedish Count Curt Von Stedingk who also failed. He wrote ”¦ forced back by overwhelming numbers of British troops and was pushed back with only some 20 men left in all, including myself wounded. The moment of retreat with the cries of our dying comrades piercing my heart was the bitterest of my life.’

6. The Battle of Fort Charlotte

The Battle of Fort Charlotte was fought by General Bernardo de Galvez against the British guarding the Port of Mobile. The Spanish reached near Fort Charlotte, and the British troops offered them great resistance. The Spanish bombardment breached the British fortification, and the garrison Commander Captain Elias Durnford, was forced to surrender. Fort Charlotte was the last British frontier post, and its fall practically drove the British out of Western Florida minimizing the British presence in the area and opened the way for future Spanish advancement.

7. The Battle of Mobile

The battle of Mobile was initiated by the British in attempt to regain control over the town of Mobile in the British province of West Florida. Mobile had been captured by the Spanish, and an earlier attempt by the British to regain its control had been repulsed by the Spanish. The German leader of the attack was fatally wounded in this encounter. The British forces nearest to Mobile were in West Florida’s capital of Pensacola. The commander, General John Campbell, was encouraged by a previous disaster of the Galvez-led expedition against Pensacola.  Campbell attempted the recapture of Mobile by sending a 700-men-strong expedition under the command of Captain Johann Von Hanxleden who was killed in the battle followed by the British disengagement and retreat.

8. The Battle of Newtown

The Battle of Newtown, also known as the Battle of Chemung, was led by General John Sullivan as ordered by the Continental Congress to get rid of the Iroquois threat. The Iroquois was a league of six indigenous tribes including: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca nations, and the Tuscarora nation. These tribes stood with the British in the revolutionary war. Both the British and the Iroquois on their side were defeated in this battle. The battle was fought at the foot of a hill alongside the Chemung River just outside the area currently known as Elmira, New York.

9. The Siege of Pensacola

After Spain entered the revolutionary war, Bernardo de Galvez, the active governor of Spanish Louisiana, started offensive advancements taking full control of the lower Mississippi River by seizing Fort Bute. Following this, he forced the remaining British to surrender in the battle of Baton Rouge. In his next move he captured Mobile on March 14, 1780. Having conducted the series of successful offensive moves, he planned an attack on Pensacola, the capital of Florida. The Spanish forces sailed from Havana on February 13 and arrived outside Pensacola Bay on March 9. After the explosion of their ammunition depot, the British hoisted the white flag at 3:00 p.m. on May 10, 1781 and surrendered formally. More than 1,100 British were made prisoners of war. The Spanish lost 74 men.

10. The Battle of Valcour Island

The Battle of Valcour Island was fought on October 11, 1776 on Lake Champlain. The battle was mainly fought in Valcour Bay which is a narrow strait between New York and Valcour Island. The British forces captured or destroyed many American ships. On October 12th, the battle turned  in favor of the British as most of the ships were damaged or were sinking, and 60 Americans were killed. Valcour Bay is listed as a National Historic Landmark.

Conclusion:

The British self-righteousness and overconfidence upon its might were the primary causes of its failure against the American will for freedom during the Revolutionary War. The same self-righteousness and extreme pride on its being the sole Super Power in the world is being demonstrated by the U.S. presently. Only history will reflect upon its consequences if they are different in the case of America. Another lesson learned during the Revolutionary War is that concessions given under constraints, like those given to the slaves during this war to get their willful participation in the war, are, in fact, no concessions at all and never yield the desired results.