Introduction George Washington was many things, from the first Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army to the first President of the United States of America. He was a Founding Fathers of our nation and considered the Father of American Intelligence. Throughout his military career, he had many successes and an equal number of defeats. One such defeat almost cost him the Revolutionary War while still in its infancy, the Battle of Long Island. This paper will analyze the battle and the misuse of intelligence assets using the four-step method: define the subject, review the setting, describe the action, and assess the significance by offering an alternate outcome.
Defining the Subject The Battle of Long Island, fought on August 27, 1776, was the first battle as a unified Continental Army and largest engagement of the Revolutionary war. Also called the Battle of Brooklyn, given its location on Long Island, the battle was the first in the British campaign to capture the key port of New York from the Continental Army. New York was the gateway to the Hudson River, which the British sought to control dividing the colonies in two and cutting supply lines.
Set the Stage
Background
Bunker Hill. On June 17, 1775, as part of the Siege on Boston, the British found themselves squaring off with the
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The weather the night of August 29 was favorable to the Americans, a dense fog rolled over the East River and Brooklyn. Under this cover, General Washington ordered his soldiers to keep their fires burning, while evacuating the island by boats across the East River. This mass evacuation lasted throughout the night. When the British realized the deception come morning, they made it to the river just as the last boat carrying General Washington himself set off. Nearly 9,000 American soldiers successfully evacuated from Long Island to the safety of
When the british army won the battle of long island and took control of New York, Washington knew it was
Book Review This book is about the spy ring used by George Washington during the Revolutionary War. He used these spies to gather information on where the British were located and what they were planning to do next. The success of the Culper Ring was able to help George Washington as he was getting important intel on British strategy and it helped him prepare for the British attacks. The authors of the book were able to use both primary and secondary sources in writing this book which was made to be read by the average American instead of something written for the scholars on the subject to read.
One of the problems that he faced outside of Boston was that he did not know the lay out of the land; it was very different from any military experience. Other problems that he faces included a lack of troops that had gathered outside of Boston, there was only sixteen thousands troops not enough for a regular army nor that within his entire army there was not one trained engineer to overlook the design and the defense and he knew that winter was fast approaching and knew that his troops were without firewood and barrack and that there was still a lack of supplies. Another problem that he faces was that there was a loss of men and there was still a lack of gun powder, but there still was enough for an attack, another problem that he face was that the army did have little artillery, another problem that he face outside of Boston was that it was easy for the British to bottle up the American from the neck to keep from coming in. Another problem that George Washington faces outside of Boston was that the weather brought few ships with supplies because many of the lakes were frozen over; one of the problems that George Washington face outside of Boston was that many of his men was getting sick and dying from
After the revolution was beginning in 1775-1776, the middle years brought the Americans rebels the knowledge that their struggle for independence would not be a quick and simple war. The most fearfully enemy of George Washington in the war was General Cornwallis. Maybe, if Washington would have attacked Clinton’s army in New York, the finish of the war would have been not in his favor, but Rochambeau had another idea: take Cornwallis on Virginia’s Yorktown peninsula. Thus, for the first time in the long war, Washington saw the opportunity to use naval superiority to his advantage. They send a message by frigate to admiral de Grasse in the West Indies, acting autonomously; he made one of the momentous decisions of the war.
Spirits were high until the British kept arriving in large numbers. Washington had to split up his army numerous times to keep the New York defended. Spirits began to fall and disease set in once again. Washington had to plan to retreat, which is no easy task with an army of any size. However, the retreat was perfectly executed with a thick fog settling in as dawn came to conceal the soldiers.
The Battle of Trenton was a significant battle in the American Revolution. The reason for this is General George Washington decided that on December 25, 1776 he and his men would cross the Delaware River and attack the Hessians. Washington tricked and trapped the Hessians by attacking them from behind. Since the battle lasted less than an hour, Washington and his army defeated the Hessians. These are some key points on why the Battle of Trenton was so significant.
5 days later the Long Island battle was lost by the Continental Army. The continental army wasn’t ready for
During the Revolutionary War, the still fragmented and unformed United States faced a highly superior foe, with many European countries, for a time including France, doubting even the smallest change of the States’ success. Washington recognized the military superiority of the British due to their higher amounts of manpower, training, and resources, and dedicated a substantial amount of both time and money into intelligence in an attempt to lessen Britain’s advantage. For the 1770s and 1780s, Washington employed significantly advanced forms of spycraft , including the use of codes and dead drops, within the spy rings he created throughout the States. One of Washington’s most effective, complex, and useful spy rings was the Culper Spy Ring,
In the fall of 1781, Colonial and French troops attacked to the British Army at Yorktown, Virginia. Led by George Washington and French General Comte de Rochambeau, they began their final attack on October 14th, capturing two British defenses and leading to the surrender, just days later, of British General Lord Cornwallis and nearly 9,000 troops. Yorktown proved to be the final battle of the American Revolution, and the British began peace negotiations shortly after the American
This battle took place after a demoralizing defeat at Long island. George Washington was forced to retreat all the way across New Jersey back in Pennsylvania. Due to the cold and harsh winter and the defeats in the previous wars, the Continental Army was one the verge of abandoning the rebellion act. Therefore George Washington needed to find something to build up the spirit in his troops. As such he then decides to cross back over the Delaware River and attack the Hessians (German hired troops) at Trenton, New Jersey.
Washington ordered what was left of his army to retreat across the Delaware
Yorktown or Bust: Barker, Robert J. Becker, Joshua D. Behrens, Bryce E. Beier, Jared B. Noncommissioned Officer Academy On 17 Oct 1777, the colonist victory at Saratoga was a morale boost for the colonial army and a blow to the ego of the English. Early 1781 most of the war in northern colonies had grown stagnant. General George Washington and General Sir Henry Clinton were at a stale mate in New York.
Despite their loss, the inexperienced colonial forces inflicted considerable casualties against the invading British, and the battle provided them with an important confidence boost. Colonel Prescott’s leadership throughout the battle is an excellent example of good mission command. Upon receipt of mission from higher and given limited resources, Colonel Prescott effectively issued orders to his soldiers, which ultimately led to
In 1776, one of the most popular and well known founding fathers led the fight for independence in the royal colonies. In David Hackett Fischer’s book, “Washington’s Crossing”, he describes the troubles and even the unknowns of Washington’s experiences during the Revolutionary War. Fischer goes into detail about the first approach of the British as their massive naval fleet surrounds the state of New York all the way up to the point when the British became the defensive force rather than the offensive. “Washington’s Crossing” illustrates how the American Revolution wasn’t just pure success as at the beginning of the war, the Americans took many losses that almost completely crushed the revolution entirely. However, eventually the tides would
The Battle of Saratoga in September and October of 1777 is the turning point of the Revolutionary War because the French joined with allies, British troops surrendered their arms, and the Patriots had crucial victories. It was a victory for the Patriots in the American Revolution and is the most decisive battles in history. The Battle began as a plan by the British to control New York and isolate New England from the Southern colonies and put an end to the Revolution. Which ended as an opportunity for the Patriots.