°Battle of Bunker Hill°

    “Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes!” Colonel William Prescott, commander of the American force, shouted to his 1200 minutemen standing upon Breed's Hill. The Battle of Lexington and Concorde is the battle that kicked off the American Revolution, however the first large-scale engagement of the war and also one of the bloodiest battles of the American Revolution, was The Battle of Bunker Hill. The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775 in Charlestown, Massachusetts across the Charles River from Boston and the Boston Harbor. Many people tend to call the battle, the Battle of Bunker Hill, but the fighting really took place on Breeds Hill, which was right next to Bunker Hill. 

    Five days before the battle at Breeds Hill, General Thomas Gage would declare martial law. Stating to give pardon to anyone who would lay down their arms and pledge himself to King George. He did this to avoid further uprisings and armed conflict. Unfortunately, this had the opposite effect and upset many of the colonists. On June 16, 1775 the Americans became aware of the British plan to take control of Bunker and Breed’s Hills, so the rebels decided to invade the area before the British in a hope to fortify it and be prepared for the Redcoats.

    Soon after the order was given by General Gage, the British started moving troops to the east of Breed's Hill from Boston. General Howe's men lead the attack with 5,000 troops up the hill, but they were not alone; cannon fire from British ships in the river also covered them. While this was going on, some of the British ships loaded their cannons with incendiary shells and destroyed completely Charlestown, where a fraction of American troops were shooting fire at the British soldiers on the battlefield. This first attack failed and the British retreated. The British attacked for a second time, but their second attempt to take the hill failed. The British attacked for a third time, and this time the British soldiers came as close as forty yards before the patriots opened fire.

    The effect of this battle was to electrify both sides of the Atlantic. The Yankee farmers had held their ground. They had been defeated, not by the professional soldiers drawn up against them, but by a lack of ammunition. Throughout the colonies, Americans began to believe that independence from Britain was not only desirable but possible. The official British report of the battle arrived almost two weeks after the American version and so dull that almost no one paid any attention to it.

*Battle of Saratoga*

 

War: American Revolutionary War

Date: 17^th October 1777

Place: Saratoga on the Hudson River in New York State

Combatants: British and German troops against the Americans

Generals: Major General John Burgoyne commanded the British and German force. Major General Horatio Gates and Brigadier Benedict Arnold commanded the American army

    Throughout the American Revolutionary war there were many key battles taking place. Each of the battles was important in their own aspects. Some of them prevented British troops from advancing while others pushed the British back and restored land previously lost. The Battle of Saratoga goes down in history as one of the most important battles of the war; considered by many to be the turning point of the American Revolution. It helped to prove to the world that the American army was a powerful fighting force capable of defeating the dominant British force in a major battle. The leader of the American force during this battle was Major General Horatio Gates and the leader for the British force was Major General John Burgoyne. As a result of this battle, European countries began to take interest in the Americans cause it proved that an American victory was possible.

    The Battle of Saratoga was a major victory for the American forces and a key turning point in the war. The effects of this battle were larger than either side could have imagined. One effect was that it was their first major victory against the British. It was a huge moral booster and it sent a message to other European powers that America could defeat Britain. Other countries soon began taking serious interest in what was going on over there. Once they heard about the victory, they declared war on Britain and finally officially joined the war. Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Portugal also entered the League of Armed Neutrality, so Britain was fighting most of the western world. The victory also made General Gates very popular and he became known as the “Hero of Saratoga.” The loss weakened the British government. It was the beginning of the end of the war for the British.

    As a result, the Battle of Saratoga became one of the most decisive victories in American history as well as world history.

The Battle of Bemis Heights in the second Battle of Freeman's Farm

”Fear to achieve discipline”

     Being a newcomer to the Revolutionary cause in America, Baron von Steuben was in a position to see many of the deficiencies in military discipline and their causes. The reasons for his unique insight may have been due to the fact that he was distanced from the revolutionary ideals in America. As a result, he was able to better observe and understand them; and use them to shape his new and successful form of discipline in the Continental Army.

     Most of the commanders of the Continental Army, had subscribed to the traditional European method that relied on fear to achieve discipline. This method of fear was probably not essential, and had little effect in the early days of the war because the soldiers were mostly fighting for their own ideologies. The soldiers were going to fight their own fight, and leave the battle when they felt it necessary. Soldiers saw themselves as volunteers; a citizen fighting in a group of citizens, and as a result it did not respond well to the traditional forms of discipline. They knew it wasn't necessary for them to serve, and knew they would not be looked down upon for not serving or leaving the army by his fellow revolutionaries. Every soldier had the freedom to choose how he wished to serve the revolution, and military service was not an obligation.

     One aspect of the traditional European system that Baron von Steuben felt needed change was the relationship between the officers and the soldiers. Officers in the Continental Army felt it was necessary to distance themselves from the common soldiers, as an officer had an obligation as a gentleman as well. This division was along social lines, and by separation, the officers felt the common soldiers would show even greater respect.

*Washington Crossing the Delaware*

The American Revolution?? XD

Women are NOT the weak, frail little flowers that they are advertised

       To succeed, the continental army needed the support of the civilian population. Throughout the war women took an active role. Most were the wives or daughters of officers or soldiers. These women, who maintained an almost constant presence in military camps, were known as "camp followers" or as "necessary nuisances." Their duties consisted primarily of cooking, mending, laundry, childcare, nursing the sick, and fabricating blankets and shoes for soldiers. As a camp follower a woman was paid a small wage and was supplied with a half ration of food for herself. Women joined up with army regiments for various reasons: fear of starvation, rape, loneliness, and imminent poverty either as a last resort or following their husbands.

      Woman found herself placed in extraordinary circumstances. Some even serve and dress up as soldiers and fired cannons. One of the most remarkable individuals of the Revolution was a young lady by the name of Deborah Sampson. It was her desire to avoid hard labor on the family farm that led her to impersonate a man and join the American army. Sampson first enlisted under the name Timothy Thayer, but her true identity was discovered. Later she participated in several battles, but shortly was honorably discharged from the army recieving a pension from the congress for her service.

      Mary Ludwig Hays, accompanied her husband John, into the Monmouth, New Jersey Campaign of 1778. During the battle she supplied water to the troops, thereby receiving the name "Molly Pitcher." When Mary's husband was wounded, she assumed his duties assisting the other artillerymen in the Company. Unlike Sampson, Mary never received a military pension.
      
     These accounts are only a few of the many examples of women who have served their country since its beginnings, something to be proudly remembered during History.