People who were helpful
-Guerrillas
Guerrilla warfare was used by the American side. It is a form of fighting that involves soldiers stealthily attacking the enemy. The British wanted to fight the Continental Army head on in an organized fashion, as was the norm of that period. This however was very difficult for the Americans to work with as they were very few in number, very short on supplies, and not trained very well. So when Washington applied guerrilla tactics on the battlefield, the British were caught off guard. The marching redcoats and their amount of supplies dwindled in number as the guerrilla fighters gradually unleashed their tactics on the enemy. This ultimately had a gigantic role to play in the American victory as the lack of supplies and troops gradually wore down the British. It's in the definition of guerrilla not to participate in large battles, but it can be assumed they helped the Americans defeat the British with the carnage they left in their wake.
The British called guerrilla warfare "dishonorable" and derided the Americans for using these tactics. They adamantly stuck to their archaic style of open field battle while the Americans evolved. If the British had been more open-minded and started using these tactics, they might've had a chance of winning but, as it happened... only the being that can adapt the best to its environment and situation will survive.
The information about the British never evolving was moreso me looking between
the lines than an actual source. Nowhere did it mention that the British used
guerrilla tactics, even after it proved to be a success, so the natural
assumption was they never evolved as an army and thus never used it. The natural
selection comment was just a thought from me that I'd thought would make
the page more "professional", so to speak. The dirty fighting comment, however, was not mine, so I don't where that came from. I'm pretty sure a handout stated that though. The rest should've been from school. - Sean
Guerrilla warfare was used by the American side. It is a form of fighting that involves soldiers stealthily attacking the enemy. The British wanted to fight the Continental Army head on in an organized fashion, as was the norm of that period. This however was very difficult for the Americans to work with as they were very few in number, very short on supplies, and not trained very well. So when Washington applied guerrilla tactics on the battlefield, the British were caught off guard. The marching redcoats and their amount of supplies dwindled in number as the guerrilla fighters gradually unleashed their tactics on the enemy. This ultimately had a gigantic role to play in the American victory as the lack of supplies and troops gradually wore down the British. It's in the definition of guerrilla not to participate in large battles, but it can be assumed they helped the Americans defeat the British with the carnage they left in their wake.
The British called guerrilla warfare "dishonorable" and derided the Americans for using these tactics. They adamantly stuck to their archaic style of open field battle while the Americans evolved. If the British had been more open-minded and started using these tactics, they might've had a chance of winning but, as it happened... only the being that can adapt the best to its environment and situation will survive.
The information about the British never evolving was moreso me looking between
the lines than an actual source. Nowhere did it mention that the British used
guerrilla tactics, even after it proved to be a success, so the natural
assumption was they never evolved as an army and thus never used it. The natural
selection comment was just a thought from me that I'd thought would make
the page more "professional", so to speak. The dirty fighting comment, however, was not mine, so I don't where that came from. I'm pretty sure a handout stated that though. The rest should've been from school. - Sean
-Spies
Washington needed a way to communicate and gather information without the British knowing. He implemented a classic war tactic; the application of spies. He used methods like having his men act as if they were British soldiers and using the common misperception of women and African-Americans having lower intelligence than white men to their advantage by placing them near officers without even a disguise. To communicate information, he used tactics like scrambled messages, invisible ink, and hidden symbols. This allowed Washington to know exactly what to expect from the British, impacting the war very much because he could plan in advance with a good deal of information rather than just thinking on the spot.
The British used spies as well, but it appears they did not have as much success in this field as the Americans did. While hardly any British spies were discovered because of how thorough Henry Clinton was in his record-keeping, information gathered seems to be relatively scarce when compared to the Americans since there is hardly any record about what the British spies did compared to the American spies. Spies were one of the main facets of the American victory and yet spies were mentioned only in passing on the British side. Regardless, spies must have helped the British as much as it did the Americans, if only slightly less so.
http://www.revolutionary-war.net/revolutionary-war-spies.html (Henry Clinton's meticulous record keeping)
The rest of the information should be from school.
Washington needed a way to communicate and gather information without the British knowing. He implemented a classic war tactic; the application of spies. He used methods like having his men act as if they were British soldiers and using the common misperception of women and African-Americans having lower intelligence than white men to their advantage by placing them near officers without even a disguise. To communicate information, he used tactics like scrambled messages, invisible ink, and hidden symbols. This allowed Washington to know exactly what to expect from the British, impacting the war very much because he could plan in advance with a good deal of information rather than just thinking on the spot.
The British used spies as well, but it appears they did not have as much success in this field as the Americans did. While hardly any British spies were discovered because of how thorough Henry Clinton was in his record-keeping, information gathered seems to be relatively scarce when compared to the Americans since there is hardly any record about what the British spies did compared to the American spies. Spies were one of the main facets of the American victory and yet spies were mentioned only in passing on the British side. Regardless, spies must have helped the British as much as it did the Americans, if only slightly less so.
http://www.revolutionary-war.net/revolutionary-war-spies.html (Henry Clinton's meticulous record keeping)
The rest of the information should be from school.
-Women
Other than spying, women also took care of and nursed injured men on the battlefield. They also were forced to do other "female" work such as being laundresses, water bearers, seamtresses, cooks, and maids. This took the workload off of men and let the low-ranking soldiers who would normally be forced to do these jobs to actually fight.
However, some women were discontent with this sexism and decided to disguise themselves as men and actually fight. One woman with a special sense of patriotism did just that and fought in the war. Her name was Deborah Sampson, and she risked her life for her country. Back in colonial times, men wore their hair long, so if a girl were to do her hair right and wear special clothing, she could pass herself off as a man. This, is precisely what Deborah Sampson did. She gave herself the alias "Robert". "Robert" frequently volunteered for dangerous missions. "He" was considered to be a hero. Deborah kept the act going till a leg injury revealed her to be a woman, but instead of imprisoning her, they honored her for her service and even paid her normal insurance pensions, more than some others received. There were almost definitely more hidden women in the Continental Army and they all affected the war just as much as any male soldier.
http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312848/dsampson.htm (Deborah Sampson information)
The rest of the information should be from school.
Other than spying, women also took care of and nursed injured men on the battlefield. They also were forced to do other "female" work such as being laundresses, water bearers, seamtresses, cooks, and maids. This took the workload off of men and let the low-ranking soldiers who would normally be forced to do these jobs to actually fight.
However, some women were discontent with this sexism and decided to disguise themselves as men and actually fight. One woman with a special sense of patriotism did just that and fought in the war. Her name was Deborah Sampson, and she risked her life for her country. Back in colonial times, men wore their hair long, so if a girl were to do her hair right and wear special clothing, she could pass herself off as a man. This, is precisely what Deborah Sampson did. She gave herself the alias "Robert". "Robert" frequently volunteered for dangerous missions. "He" was considered to be a hero. Deborah kept the act going till a leg injury revealed her to be a woman, but instead of imprisoning her, they honored her for her service and even paid her normal insurance pensions, more than some others received. There were almost definitely more hidden women in the Continental Army and they all affected the war just as much as any male soldier.
http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312848/dsampson.htm (Deborah Sampson information)
The rest of the information should be from school.
- African - Americans
Like women, African - Americans didn't just spy. Many of them joined the actual battle. More slaves joined the British side compared to the American side because the British promised freedom and eventually granted it, but the ones who joined the Americans made up about 75% of the Continental Army. Washington was originally reluctant to allow "black men" to join the army. He presumed they would use the weapons and start an uprising, but they didn't. They fought with pride and dignity and were given hardly anything in return. African Americans affected the war a great deal for without them, a full 75% of the army would've been lost. They all fought valiantly and changed the world as it is today, as much if not more than their white companions.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part2/2narr4.html (African-Americans in the war)
The rest of the information should be from school.
Like women, African - Americans didn't just spy. Many of them joined the actual battle. More slaves joined the British side compared to the American side because the British promised freedom and eventually granted it, but the ones who joined the Americans made up about 75% of the Continental Army. Washington was originally reluctant to allow "black men" to join the army. He presumed they would use the weapons and start an uprising, but they didn't. They fought with pride and dignity and were given hardly anything in return. African Americans affected the war a great deal for without them, a full 75% of the army would've been lost. They all fought valiantly and changed the world as it is today, as much if not more than their white companions.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part2/2narr4.html (African-Americans in the war)
The rest of the information should be from school.