George Washington Secures American Liberty
Courageous: Washington dedicated himself to never giving up. He was set on victory.
Things were not looking good for Washington and his Continental Army. The Continental Army had decreased in size and was low in confidence after these defeats. Few believed that the Patriots could defeat the British to secure independence, but Washington was not ready to give up.
On December 19, Thomas Paine published a pamphlet called The American Crisis.
Washington ordered this to be read to his soldiers, which included:
“These are the times that try men’s souls; the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country, but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
A much-needed victory
After reinforcements and being resupplied, Washington had 2,400 men to start the fight back.
When Washington’s army had crossed from New Jersey into Pennsylvania, they took or destroyed all boats anywhere near their crossing so that the British could not follow them.
On Christmas Day, 1776, the Continental Army left camp and marched back to the Delaware River. Washington was with the first soldiers to cross. They formed a ring around the landing area. The Hessians were taken by surprise when Washington and his Continental Army attacked.
Washington and his men captured 1,000 British mercenaries and much-needed supplies. This was a much-needed victory for the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War.
After many hardships and struggles during the course of the war, Washington and his men were finally getting some much-needed victories.
The Turning Point
The British, having been defeated for the third time, retreated nearly all the way back to New York. The British decided they would try to divide Washington’s armies by attacking them from three different directions – from the north, the south, and the west – before meeting in Albany, New York. However, the southern and western forces never arrived, and the northern forces were defeated at the Battles of Saratoga in October 1777. The victories at Saratoga were the turning point of the war and convinced France to fully support the American cause for independence.
The French had secretly been shipping supplies to Washington’s army, but in 1778 after Saratoga, they signed a Treaty of Alliance with the Colonies. The French sent a force of 6,000 soldiers that landed at Newport in 1780, which was then moved to White Plains, New York, and placed under Washington’s command. They began a march to Virginia, and on September 13, 1781, Washington’s forces arrived at Williamsburg, Virginia. After further reinforcements arrived, Washington now had under his command a force of nearly 18,000 soldiers.
On October 14, 1781, with the British weakened by the heavy bombardment, Washington sent his troops to attack the outer defenses of the British.
This allowed Washington to move his heavy guns closer to the British, and after even heavier bombardment, the British concluded that their situation was hopeless.
They surrendered, and nearly 8,000 soldiers were captured.
The Commander of the British force, Lord Cornwallis, refused to attend the surrender ceremony claiming that he was sick.
His second in command, Charles O’Hara, was instead left to lead the British forces in the surrender ceremony.
Washington refused to accept his sword, instead directing him to his second-in-command Benjamin Lincoln, believing that the British second-in-command should surrender to the Patriots’ second-in-command.
News of Washington’s victory was met with much celebration in Philadelphia, where the Continental Congress was now located. The British Parliament soon after voted to end the war, and the Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783, to formally end the war. Article 1 of the treaty identifies the United States of America as free, sovereign, and independent states. Having secured America’s freedom, Washington ended his military career by resigning as Commander-in-Chief in December 1783.
Let’s Reflect
Think about something you feel strongly about. What could you do to change something you really don’t like? How far would you go to make a change?
