Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Mr. Gillard
A.P. US History
30 September 2006
The Outcome of the War
The Revolutionary War could not have been won without the help and contribu
tions of three very important men. There were others that played an important role, but
three revolutionaries stood out among the rest.
Of the three men, George Washington was by far the most important. Washington,
who became the countries first president, was a welltodo general fighting on the side of
the revolutionaries. Throughout the battles that he fought, he never gave up without a
fight. In March 1776, he forced the surrender of the British at Dorchester Heights, a land
in which he and his men occupied for a time. He then moved to defend New York City
against Sir William Howe. In New York he committed a military blunder by occupying an
indefensible position in Brooklyn, although he managed to save his army by retreating
from Manhattan into Westchester County and through New Jersey into Pennsylvania.
Washington turned morale around and raised the hopes of his troops by the capture of
Trenton, New Jersey, which is where the famous “Crossing the Delaware River” picture
came from. Washington even planned and executed the attack on Yorktown against Gen
eral Cornwallis, securing the victory of the war.
Another important individual of the war was Benedict Arnold. After the news of
Lexington and Concord reached the ears of Arnold, he marched off to join in the war. He
received permission to capture Fort Ticonderoga, and that was exactly was he did. When
Arnold was sent to try and capture Quebec, his campaign failed in the long run, but not
before Arnold showed that he would not give up without a fight. After a legal battle of
1776, Arnold took a small fleet of ships to Ticonderoga. Though not successful, it showed
that the Americans were fighters and weren’t willing to give up. After “syking” out the
British at Fort Shuyler, Arnold led an attack on Saratoga, which brought the French into
the war.
The third, but not the in least important man was Nathaniel Greene. Commis
sioned as the youngest Brigadier General in the Continental Army, Greene led a siege on
Prospect Heights during the Siege of Boston. After Prospect Heights, Greene took com
mand of Long Island. After that battle, Greene was placed in charge of guarding the
shores of New Jersey at Fort Lee. Though it was a loss, Greene still managed to stay
afloat in the war. After the loss, Greene commanded the right wing of Washington troops
during the Battle of Trenton in 1776. At the Battle of Brandywine, Greene set up a defens
ive line that allowed General Sullivan to retreat, giving the revolutionaries more of a
chance in the war.
Though there were quite a few important figures in the Revolutionary War, it
could not have been won without the assistance and contributions of these three men.