New Country

The Continental Army suffered many losses in the autumn of 1776. In late December, the army was close to falling apart. Thousands of soldiers had already deserted, or quit the army. Many more were planning to leave at the end of the year.

Thomas Paine, a popular writer, was traveling with the army. In late December, he wrote an essay that later became famous. He began with the words, "These are the times that try men's souls." He reminded the soldiers that they were fighting for freedom, and that freedom was worth the struggle.

The Continental Army ended 1776 on a high note. But in 1777, the British leaders came up with a plan to quickly win the war. They decided to take control of the Hudson River.

Why did the British want to cut off New England?

Since the 1760s, New England had been a center of Patriot activity. The rebellion began in the largest colony in New England, Massachusetts.

If the British could control the Hudson River, it would be difficult for Patriots in New England to work with Patriots in the other colonies. This British strategy came to be known as the Saratoga Campaign. Saratoga is a city on the Hudson River.

The Saratoga Campaign ended with two battles called the Battles of Saratoga.

The British plan falls apart

The British never meant to fight the Americans at Saratoga. The British plan had been to move south to Albany, New York. From there, they hoped to take control of the entire Hudson River and split the colonies in two.

But the plan ended in disaster after the Americans stopped the British at Saratoga. The Americans defeated the British army and forced thousands of British soldiers to surrender on October 17, 1777.

Heroes of the Battles of Saratoga

The surprising American victory at Saratoga would not have been possible without the hard work of many soldiers and engineers. Read about two of these individuals below.

General Benedict Arnold

The British plan had been to unite two of their armies and surround the Americans. But Benedict Arnold led attacks that kept the British from combining forces. Benedict Arnold had also helped to capture Fort Ticonderoga in 1775.

Colonel Thaddeus Kosciuszko

Thaddeus Kosciuszko was a Polish engineer. He traveled to the Thirteen Colonies in 1776 to join the Continental Army. He designed the American fort and defenses near Saratoga. These defenses protected the Americans from British attacks from several directions.

Good news for the Continental Army

Before the Battles of Saratoga, the French did not think the Americans could win a war against Great Britain. But the American victory at Saratoga changed the French leaders' minds.

On February 8, 1778, France and the United States signed the Treaty of Alliance.

France declared war on Great Britain and promised not to make peace until the Americans gained independence.

George Washington knew that French help would give the Americans a better chance at winning the war. When he heard the news of the treaty, he wrote the following:

"No event was ever received with a more heart felt joy."

A miserable winter at Valley Forge

Over 2,500 soldiers died during the winter at Valley Forge. They faced many life-threatening challenges:

• Not enough food: Food was hard to find that winter. Many farmers in the surrounding area charged unfair prices or refused to sell to the army. The soldiers had to survive on "firecake," a tasteless mixture of flour and water.

• Disease: Two-thirds of the men who died at Valley Forge died of disease. Common diseases included pneumonia and the flu. Smallpox, a deadly disease that is easy to catch, was also common at the time.

• Cold: The weather in Valley Forge was often below freezing. Most men did not have warm clothing or blankets. There were not enough shoes for all the soldiers, so the soldiers had to take turns standing barefoot in the cold. Many soldiers froze to death over the winter.

What did General Washington think of Valley Forge?

George Washington also complained about the conditions facing his men at Valley Forge. In February 1778, he wrote a letter to a colonial leader.

For some days past, there has been little less than a famine in camp. A part of the army has been a week, without any kind of flesh, and the rest for three or four days.

famine: a shortage of food

flesh: meat

Even though the soldiers did not have enough food or warm clothing, many of them continued to follow General Washington. Later in this same letter, Washington wrote that he was proud of the soldiers for sticking together.

A Visitor at Valley Forge

Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben (SHTOY-ben) spent many weeks with the Continental Army at Valley Forge.

Von Steuben was a military officer from Prussia, a kingdom in present-day Germany. In February 1778, von Steuben began training a group of American soldiers to fight like Prussians. The soldiers learned to work together like parts of a machine. Then these soldiers taught the rest of the army their new skills.

Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, also known as the Baron von Steuben, entered the Prussian army when he was only 17. The Prussian army was famous for its excellent training and advanced fighting methods.

In 1777, he met Benjamin Franklin in Paris. Benjamin Franklin recommended him to George Washington. Later that year, von Steuben crossed the Atlantic to help the Americans. When he arrived in Valley Forge, one American soldier compared him to the "God of War."

Turning the colonists against each other

In 1778, the British plan was simple: make the colonists fight each other. British leaders believed that most people in the Southern Colonies were still loyal to Great Britain.

In fact, most people were not Loyalists. However, many Loyalists entered the war. Over the next two years, Great Britain won some major victories and took over much of the South.

Why did Benedict Arnold switch sides?

Benedict Arnold helped win the Battles of Saratoga. At that time, he was seriously wounded. Afterward, he never felt that he got the credit he deserved. He also disagreed with the way the Continental Congress was leading the war. So, in 1780, he offered to join the British in exchange for a large amount of money.

How do you think Benedict Arnold should be remembered?

Benedict Arnold was a hero until he became a traitor. To this day, Americans have complicated feelings about how he should be remembered.

This picture shows the "Boot Monument" at Saratoga. The monument stands near the place where Benedict Arnold was shot in the leg during the battle. It includes these words:

"In memory of the most brilliant soldier of the Continental army"

However, the monument does not mention Benedict Arnold's name.

In May 1781, Lafayette knew that his army could not afford to lose a single battle.

Lafayette said he would have been happy if his army were "equal to" the British army. But Lafayette's army was actually much smaller. He only had about 3,000 soldiers. The British army in Virginia was more than twice as large!

The American strategy

Lafayette knew that if he tried to fight a large battle, he would lose. If he lost, his army could be destroyed. So, Lafayette's strategy was to avoid large battles. He kept his small army moving so that it never had to fight the whole British army at once.

After a long summer of fighting in the South, the British General Charles Cornwallis received new orders. His orders were to pick a port on the Chesapeake Bay and defend it.

Why did Cornwallis choose Yorktown?

Cornwallis did not want to set up camp in Yorktown. He visited the port and decided it was too difficult to defend. Then he visited another option and discovered it was even worse! So, he went back to Yorktown.

Major General Lafayette had been fighting Cornwallis all summer. When he saw where Cornwallis had chosen, he had an idea. He wrote these words to a French leader:

If the French army could all of a sudden arrive in Virginia and be supported by a squadron, we would do some very good things.

What happened to the enslaved people who fought during the Revolutionary War:

• Some were granted their freedom as a reward for their service. After the war, some enslaved soldiers were awarded their freedom. For example, James Armistead was an enslaved man from Virginia who became a spy for the Continental Army. In 1786, he was set free by an act of Congress.

• Some were forced back into slavery. Most enslaved people who fought in the war were forced back into slavery. Enslaved people who fought for the British were treated especially poorly.

• Some left the United States forever. During the war, the British promised to free enslaved people who fought for Great Britain. After the war, the British kept their promise. The British helped more than 3,000 formerly enslaved people move to present-day Canada. About half of them later moved to West Africa.

Fighting for freedom?

The American Patriots often said they were fighting for freedom. But most enslaved people who fought in the war were forced back into slavery. Some of these people had even taken their owners' place in the fighting.

Who was James Armistead?

James Armistead was born into slavery, but he became a hero in the Revolutionary War by working as a double agent. He spied on the British for the Americans, and tricked the British with false information about the Americans. His information helped the Americans trap the British at Yorktown and win the war.

James Armistead had to return to slavery after the war. However, in 1786, he was set free by an act of Congress.

When formerly enslaved people left the United States, where did they go?

During the war, the British promised to free enslaved people who fought for Great Britain. After the war, the British helped more than 3,000 formerly enslaved people move to Nova Scotia, in present-day Canada. However, many of these people were treated poorly by the white colonists there. So, about half of them moved to the British colony of Sierra Leone, in West Africa.

After the Revolutionary War ended, the new country was deeply in debt.

France and Spain lent a large amount of money to help the Americans win the war. When the war ended, the United States had to figure out how to pay this money back.

Mistreatment of Loyalists

During the Revolutionary War, Loyalists were often persecuted, or treated unfairly. Sometimes Patriots attacked them by covering them in tar and feathers. State governments also took away a lot of Loyalists' property. Some Loyalists were even sent to prison.

Patriot father, Loyalist son

After the Revolutionary War, it became illegal to persecute Loyalists. But sometimes it still happened. Tens of thousands of Loyalists moved away from the United States. Most of them never returned. One of the Loyalists who never returned was Benjamin Franklin's son, William.

William Franklin had been the colonial governor of New Jersey. He was a strong Loyalist and often spoke out in support of Great Britain.

During the war, Patriots placed William in prison. He escaped to Great Britain in 1782, where he spent the rest of his life. Even after the war, William and his father never worked out their differences. Benjamin Franklin died a rich man, but he left almost nothing to his son.

The memory of British rule

Most early Americans did not trust powerful governments. They remembered how unfairly the British government had treated them. In the early years of the United States, the central government was weak. It could not collect taxes or force the states to follow national laws. Meanwhile, state governments had the most power.

Americans soon discovered that a weak central government led to new problems. So, in 1787, American leaders met in Philadelphia to write the United States Constitution.

The Constitution created the federal government that still exists today.