American Revolution: Military Strategy and Colonial Loyalty

Origins of Colonial Discontent

The American Revolution had many causes, both economic and social in nature. It had also been brewing for many years, ever since the conclusion of the Seven Years' War with the French, in which the British government closed settlement of the West to the colonists. In doing so, the Crown posted soldiers on the western frontier to keep Americans out of it, and taxed the Americans to fund the standing army required to prevent American settlement of the West. Naturally, this did not sit well with the colonists, and it was the first real grievance against the British government — one that would eventually compound into the further grievances that finally resulted in the American Revolution.

The British government found it easier to raise the money it needed for various projects by taxing the colonists in America. After all, the colonists had no representation in Parliament, and they were three thousand miles away — not right at home, where outrage over taxes could be more directly expressed to those who were doing the taxing. A series of new taxes, plus the Quartering Act — which made it obligatory for colonists to house British soldiers in their homes if asked to do so, and to feed them at their own expense without reimbursement from the British army — made the colonists begin to seriously reconsider their relationship with Great Britain. It was becoming more expensive to be a member of the British Empire than it would have been to exist as an independent nation.

Of course, not everyone in the colonies agreed with this assessment. There were those who saw plenty of benefit in remaining part of Great Britain. There were protective benefits, as the mother country shielded the colonists from foreign invasion. There were also monetary and social rewards for many families. The Crown was notorious for generously rewarding those who helped it, and doing so was a reliable way to move up the social ladder in eighteenth-century America. Access to goods that the Empire imported from its trading partners — goods the colonists were not likely to be able to obtain on their own — was another point in favor of remaining British. That is why the initial negotiations with the Crown over the oppressive taxes and the Quartering Act were made not with the intention of breaking free of the Crown, but of simply obtaining fairer and more equitable treatment, as would be due any British citizen.

The War for Allegiance: More Than a Military Conflict

When these negotiations broke down and shots were fired at Lexington and Concord between the standing British army and the American militia, the Revolution and America's quest for independence began in earnest. However, rather than being simply a war for independence, the American Revolution was also a war for the allegiance of the American people. The Continental Army and the British Army were both fighting a traditional war and a simultaneous war for the loyalty of common people. After all, it would do no good for the Continental Army to win the war if the common people still remained loyal to the Crown, and the British Army would win no real victory on the battlefield if the people wanted them off the continent entirely. In order to truly win the American Revolution, the winning side had to also win the allegiance of the population at large (Kurland 1987, 10).

When it came right down to it, the military strategies employed by both sides determined the outcome of the war. Despite having a larger and better-trained army, the British were surpassed by American tactics for three distinct reasons. First, General Washington employed the use of surprise — also known as Fabian tactics — to a greater extent than had been seen before, and the British were not prepared for it. Second, General Cornwallis assumed that concentrating British war efforts in the South would make a positive difference for his army, because he believed the South to have more loyalists than the North. Third, the introduction of French troops in the later stages of the Revolution helped the Americans secure victory by giving them a naval advantage they had not previously enjoyed, as well as more troops, more money, and a legitimacy in Europe the war had previously lacked. It is due to these three strategies that the war was won by the Americans and the loyalty of the American people to their native land was secured.

Washington's Fabian Tactics and the Element of Surprise

General Washington was a master of surprise in battle. Because his army was smaller and less well trained than the British army, he found it advantageous to act in ways that caught the British off guard, and even used outright deception on occasion. The element of surprise always confers an advantage regardless of the enemy's strength, and the American Revolution was no different. Washington won many decisive battles simply by doing the unexpected. His tactics were often akin to raids, in which the army would divide into small units and make quick, decisive strikes on the enemy when they were least expecting it. After a swift engagement, the soldiers would withdraw before their opponents could capture them. The battles of Trenton and Princeton were prime examples of this approach, also known as Fabian tactics (Mahan 1957, 343). These tactics were used throughout the war by Washington and several commanders under his direct supervision. In a war in which one's army is outmanned and out-trained, the use of Fabian tactics is often one of the best ways to secure victory. The American army's greater familiarity with the terrain also helped them conduct surprise attacks and win more engagements than they otherwise could have.

Fabian tactics and deception sometimes go hand in hand, and they certainly did in the defeat of General Cornwallis. Washington used some of his troops as decoys, having them establish camps as if they intended to march on and attack New York City. This was, however, only a distraction. While British troops were focused on the decoy soldiers, Washington had already crossed the Delaware River and used his remaining forces to encircle General Cornwallis's army at Yorktown, forcing his surrender and bringing the Revolution to its effective end.