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<v Speaker 1>Hello, and Welcome to Western civ Episode four hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>eighty four The American Revolution, Part two. By early seventeen

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<v Speaker 1>seventy seven, war planners in Great Britain believed they could

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<v Speaker 1>win by isolating New England, the cradle of the rebellion,

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<v Speaker 1>from the Middle and southern colonies. The idea was to

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<v Speaker 1>seize control of the Hudson River corridor in New York,

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<v Speaker 1>linking forces in Canada with those in New York City.

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<v Speaker 1>Once the Hudson was in British hands, New England could

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<v Speaker 1>be cut off, starved a supply, and forced into submission.

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<v Speaker 1>The plan had three moving parts. General John Burgoyne would

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<v Speaker 1>march south from Canada through Lake Champlain along the Hudson

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<v Speaker 1>River route with about eight thousand men. Colonel Barry Saint

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<v Speaker 1>Leisure would move east from Lake Ontario down the Mohawk

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<v Speaker 1>River Valley, rallying loyalists and Native allies. Jenior William Howe,

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<v Speaker 1>commanding New York City, was expected to move north of

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<v Speaker 1>the Hudson, where he would rendezvous with Burgoyne. It was

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<v Speaker 1>a bold plan, but its coordination, or lack thereof, would

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<v Speaker 1>prove its undoing. Burgoyne began his advance in June seventeen

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<v Speaker 1>seventy seven. Moving down Lake Champlain, he captured for Tykwonderoga

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<v Speaker 1>on July the sixth without a major fight, when American

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<v Speaker 1>forces under General Arthur Saint Clair abandoned it in the

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<v Speaker 1>face of British artillery placed on nearby Mount Defiance in London.

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<v Speaker 1>The victory was hailed as a sign that the campaign

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<v Speaker 1>was on track, but Burgoyne soon encountered problems. His army's

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<v Speaker 1>progress was slowed by wilderness terrain in the need to

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<v Speaker 1>haul heavy baggage and artillery, much of it his own,

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<v Speaker 1>the Americans felled trees, destroyed bridges, and harassed the enemy's

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<v Speaker 1>supply lines the entire way. In August, seeking provisions, Burgoyne

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<v Speaker 1>sent a detachment toward Bennington, Vermont. There, on August the sixteenth,

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<v Speaker 1>New Hampshire militia under General John Stark, reinforced by SETH

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<v Speaker 1>Warner's Green Mountain Boys, crushed the British force, capturing or

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<v Speaker 1>killing nine hundred men. Stark famously told his men before

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<v Speaker 1>the fight quote, there they are boys, we beat them today,

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<v Speaker 1>or Molly Stark sleeps a widow tonight. Meanwhile, Saint Leger's forces,

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<v Speaker 1>made up of British Regulars, Loyalists and Mohawk warriors led

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<v Speaker 1>by Joseph Brandt, laid siege to Fort Stannix in present

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<v Speaker 1>day Rome, New York, but the defenders, under Colonel Peter

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<v Speaker 1>Grants vout held firm. A relief column of militia under

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<v Speaker 1>General Nichos Harkener fought a bloody engagement at Arkenay on

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<v Speaker 1>August six, one of the war's most brutal encounters. Though

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<v Speaker 1>technically a British tactical success, heavy casualties weakened Saint Leger's position.

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<v Speaker 1>Rumors of a large American force approaching, spread in part

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<v Speaker 1>by the bold deception of one Benedict Arnold, caused Saint

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<v Speaker 1>Leger's Native allies to abandon him. He retreated to Canada

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<v Speaker 1>without linking up with Burgoyne. By September, Burgoyne had now

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<v Speaker 1>reached the Hudson River near Saratoga, but was dangerously isolated.

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<v Speaker 1>How instead of marching north to meet him, had sailed

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<v Speaker 1>south to capture Philadelphia, leaving Burgoyne to face the main

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<v Speaker 1>American army alone. General Horatio Gates, newly in command of

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<v Speaker 1>the Colonial Northern Department, established a strong defensive position at

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<v Speaker 1>Beamis Heights south of Saratoga, with fortifications designed by Polish

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<v Speaker 1>engineer Thadeus Kutskoff. Gates's army was swelled by militia inspired

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<v Speaker 1>by recent successes, including aggressive field actions under leaders like

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<v Speaker 1>Benedict Arnold and under Daniel Morgan. On September the nineteenth

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<v Speaker 1>Burgoyne tried to turn the American left flank at the

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<v Speaker 1>First Battle of Saratoga, located on Freeman's Farm on September

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<v Speaker 1>the nineteenth, seventeen seventy seven. His troops clashed with advanced

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<v Speaker 1>American units in the farm fields of John Freeman's property.

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<v Speaker 1>Daniel Morgan's riflemen poured accurate fire into British columns, while Arnold,

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<v Speaker 1>although technically under Gates command, rode along the line's urging attacks.

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<v Speaker 1>The fighting raged on for hours. The British held the

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<v Speaker 1>field at day's end, but suffered nearly six hundred casualties,

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<v Speaker 1>losses that Burgoyne could ill afford. The Americans lost around

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<v Speaker 1>three hundred, but crucially they retained their defensive position, leading

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<v Speaker 1>to the Second Battle of Saratoga on Beamus Heights on

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<v Speaker 1>October seventh, seventeen seventy seven, with Burgoyne's supplies now nearly gone,

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<v Speaker 1>and desertion growing among his native allies, Burgoyne needed to

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<v Speaker 1>do something, and so on October the seventh, he launched

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<v Speaker 1>a reconnaissance in forced to test the American lines. Gates

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<v Speaker 1>ordered Morgan's riflemen and other units to counter the attack.

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<v Speaker 1>In the fierce fighting, American troops broke through the British right.

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<v Speaker 1>Benedict Arnold, still without a formal command, after clashing with Gates,

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<v Speaker 1>rode into the battle anyway, rallying soldiers and leading a

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<v Speaker 1>charge that overran key positions, including the fortified redoubt held

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<v Speaker 1>by Hessian troops. Arnold was wounded in the leg, but

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<v Speaker 1>his intervation was decisive. Burgoorne's army, now totally totally demoralized

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<v Speaker 1>after this devastating defeat, retreated all the way back to Saratoga,

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<v Speaker 1>surrounded with no prospect of relief. We're going open negotiations.

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<v Speaker 1>On October the seventeenth, he surrendered his entire army of

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<v Speaker 1>about five and eight hundred remaining men to Gates. The

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<v Speaker 1>quote unquote Convention of Saratoga allowed the British troops to

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<v Speaker 1>return to Europe, but unfortunately, the Continental Congress later voided

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<v Speaker 1>that battlefield decision, and the British soldiers were held as

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<v Speaker 1>prisoners of war. Saratoga would prove to be the turning

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<v Speaker 1>point of the American Revolution. Militarily destroyed a major British army,

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<v Speaker 1>and it secured the Hudson Valley for the Americans. Politically,

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<v Speaker 1>as I'll get into next week, it convinced France that

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<v Speaker 1>the United States could win this war. In early seventeen

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<v Speaker 1>seventy eight, France entered the war as a formal ally,

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<v Speaker 1>soon followed by Spain and the Dutch Republic. As the

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<v Speaker 1>French Foreign Minister Regaines put its, burgoyne surrender was proof

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<v Speaker 1>that quote England's cause is lost in America. From the

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<v Speaker 1>smoke choked fields of Freemen's Farm and Beeman's Heights came

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<v Speaker 1>not just an American victory, but the birth of an

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<v Speaker 1>international war for independence, one that Britain could no longer

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<v Speaker 1>fight on its terms alone. At the same time, however,

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<v Speaker 1>George Washington and his army had been pushed to the limit.

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<v Speaker 1>By mid seventeen seventy seven, Britain had two major campaigns

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<v Speaker 1>in motion. In the North, General John Burgoyne was marching

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<v Speaker 1>from Canada toward Albany, hoping to meet the forces from

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<v Speaker 1>New York City he wouldn't and cut New England off

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<v Speaker 1>from the rest of the colonies. He didn't, But in

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<v Speaker 1>the south, General William Howe, commanding the main British army,

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<v Speaker 1>had his own plans. Rather than march north to link

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<v Speaker 1>up with Burgoyne, which he should have, how decided to

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<v Speaker 1>capture Philadelphia, the seat of the Continental Congress. How believed

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<v Speaker 1>that taking the rebel cap capital would cripple the revolution's

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<v Speaker 1>political leadership, undermining public morale, and perhaps bring the war

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<v Speaker 1>to a quick and decisive end. In late July, How's

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<v Speaker 1>army of about fifteen thousand men set sail from New

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<v Speaker 1>York City. Washington, uncertain of his destination, kept his army

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<v Speaker 1>ready to shadow the British. Once they landed. On August

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<v Speaker 1>the twenty fifth, how Does embarked at head of Elk, Maryland,

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<v Speaker 1>placing himself about fifteen miles southwest of Philadelphia. Washington moved

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<v Speaker 1>quickly to block his advance, choosing to make a stand

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<v Speaker 1>at Brandywine Creek near Chadsford, Pennsylvania, a series of fords

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<v Speaker 1>that controlled the main roads to the capitol. On the

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<v Speaker 1>morning of September eleventh, Washington deployed his fourteen thousand men

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<v Speaker 1>to guard the Fords. How employing attack similar that he

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<v Speaker 1>had us used in New York, launched a diversionary attack

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<v Speaker 1>at Chad's Ford while sending the bulk of his army

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<v Speaker 1>under Lord Cornwallis on a long flanking motion and marched

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<v Speaker 1>to the north. By afternoon, Cornwallis's column struck Washington's right

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<v Speaker 1>flank near Birmingham Meetinghouse. Despite really strong and spirited resistance

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<v Speaker 1>from divisions under both John Sullivan and Nathaniel Green, the

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<v Speaker 1>American lines ultimately broke under the pressure. Washington's army retreated

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<v Speaker 1>in good order towards Chester, leaving the British with the

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<v Speaker 1>clear path to Philadelphia. American casualties numbered about eleven hundred

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<v Speaker 1>compared to about six hundred losses. The defeated Brandywine opened

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<v Speaker 1>the road to the capitol. On September twenty sixth, seventeen

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<v Speaker 1>seventy seven, British forces marched into Philadelphia unopposed. The Continental

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<v Speaker 1>Congress had fled to York, Pennsylvania, and now the city's occupation,

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<v Speaker 1>of course, how believed would be a huge political blow,

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<v Speaker 1>but it didn't work. Out that way. Honestly, the center

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<v Speaker 1>of resistance never really collapsed. The Continental Army remained in

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<v Speaker 1>the field. And this continues to illustrate the British misunderstanding.

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<v Speaker 1>Here in the beginning, it's all a Boston problem. Let's

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<v Speaker 1>just take out Boston and New England. That didn't work,

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<v Speaker 1>so okay, Well, let's go after Philadelphia and that'll take

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<v Speaker 1>care of the situation. Well, that didn't work either, And

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<v Speaker 1>so as a consequence, with Washington still in the field,

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<v Speaker 1>How had accomplished very little, and unbeknownst to him, he

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<v Speaker 1>had sacrificed Burgoyne and his army, which would prove to

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<v Speaker 1>be the decisive turning point of the American Revolution. Washington

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<v Speaker 1>was also unwilling to let How's army rest easy in Philadelphia.

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<v Speaker 1>Learning that the British had posted nine thousand troops at Germantown,

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<v Speaker 1>a few miles north of the city, he devised an

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<v Speaker 1>ambitious attack. The plan called for four separate American columns

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<v Speaker 1>to converge on Germantown in a pre dawn assault. At first,

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<v Speaker 1>the attack on October the fourth went well, driving back

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<v Speaker 1>the initial British pickets, but morning fog, complex coordination, and

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<v Speaker 1>a stubborn British defense inside the Chew House, a solid

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<v Speaker 1>stone mansion, disrupted the advance. Confusion spread, friendly fire, incidents occurred,

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<v Speaker 1>and the British counterattacked. American forces retreated after several hours

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<v Speaker 1>of fighting, leaving about one thousand casualties on the field. Still,

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<v Speaker 1>the boldness of the attack impressed foreign observers, especially those

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<v Speaker 1>in France, showing that the Continental Army could take the

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<v Speaker 1>offensive against seasoned British troops. Through October and November, Washington

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<v Speaker 1>shadowed House forces, preventing them from breaking out of Philadelphia

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<v Speaker 1>to raid the countryside. In early December, at the Battle

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<v Speaker 1>of White Marsh, the British probed the American position, but

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<v Speaker 1>decided against a full scale attack. With Drawing back to

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<v Speaker 1>the city. With winter closing in and supply shortages worsening,

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<v Speaker 1>Washington made the fateful decision to encamp his army at

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<v Speaker 1>Valley Forge, about twenty miles northwest of Philadelphia. It would

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<v Speaker 1>be a defensible position from which to watch the British,

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<v Speaker 1>while also allowing the army to recover and reorganize. It

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<v Speaker 1>would also prove to be a decision that would remake

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<v Speaker 1>the Continental Army in many ways, and build on the

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<v Speaker 1>already growing reputation a myth of the greatness of George Washington.

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<v Speaker 1>The Fall campaign of seventeen seventy seven had been tough sledding,

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<v Speaker 1>to say the least. Washington had lost the Battle of

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<v Speaker 1>Brandywine in September, allowing British General William Howe toure Philadelphia.

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<v Speaker 1>An American counterattack at Germantown in October had failed, and

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<v Speaker 1>now the British wintered comfortably in the occupied city. Washington

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<v Speaker 1>needed a position close enough to monitor the enemy, but

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<v Speaker 1>far enough to protect his army from a sudden attack.

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<v Speaker 1>On December nineteenth, seventeen seventy seven, about twelve thousand Continental

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<v Speaker 1>soldiers and camp followers tramped into the Valley Forge, twenty

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<v Speaker 1>miles northwest of Philadelphia. The land offered defensible high ground

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<v Speaker 1>and access to nearby farms, but there was no reality

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<v Speaker 1>to the name. It wasn't a valley, just open fields

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<v Speaker 1>an ice cold wind. The winter of seventeen seven to

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<v Speaker 1>seventy eight at Valley Forge was not the coldest on record,

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<v Speaker 1>but for an army lacking food, clothing, and shelter, it

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<v Speaker 1>was beyond brtle. Soldiers built log huts and neat rows

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<v Speaker 1>using whatever tools they had. Some slept under canvas or

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<v Speaker 1>in makeshift lean tos until the huts were finished. By February,

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<v Speaker 1>about four thousand men were listed as unfit for duty

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<v Speaker 1>due to sickness, with diseases like smallpox, typhus, and dysentery

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<v Speaker 1>spreading rapidly. Shortages in the continental supply system meant that

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<v Speaker 1>men often meant days without meat, and even bread was scarce.

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<v Speaker 1>On December the twenty third, Washington wrote to the Continental

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<v Speaker 1>Congress in York in despair, quote, we have by a

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<v Speaker 1>field return this day made no less than two thousand,

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<v Speaker 1>eight hundred and ninety eight men now in camp unfit

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<v Speaker 1>for duty because they are barefoot and otherwise naked. I

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<v Speaker 1>am now convinced beyond doubt that some great and capital

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<v Speaker 1>change suddenly takes place in the Quartermaster's department. This army

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<v Speaker 1>must be reduced to one or other of these three things, starve, dissolve,

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<v Speaker 1>or disperse. Now the army, of course did not dissolve,

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<v Speaker 1>but only because the men captured, by loyalty to the

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<v Speaker 1>cause and perhaps loyalty to George Washington, endured more than

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<v Speaker 1>they could beyond reasonable limits. A soldier in the eighth Connecticut,

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<v Speaker 1>later recalled quote, the army was poorly supplied with provisions, clothes, shoes,

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<v Speaker 1>and tents. We were obliged to do our duty barefoot

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<v Speaker 1>and almost naked in the cold and snow. Washington himself

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<v Speaker 1>bore the political strain of the so called Conway Cabal

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<v Speaker 1>of faction in Congress and the officer Corps, who whispered

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<v Speaker 1>about replacing him with General Horatio Gates, the great Victor

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<v Speaker 1>of Saratoga. But Washington handled the issue with calculated restraint,

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<v Speaker 1>letting his quiet, persistence and concern for the army speak

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<v Speaker 1>louder than any intrigue could. In fact, Washington never looked

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<v Speaker 1>out for himself. He only looked out for his army.

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<v Speaker 1>He spent that winter lobbying Congress and state governments for supplies,

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes riding out personally in the bitter cold to inspect

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<v Speaker 1>supply routes. His presence in camp, sharing the soldier's hardships

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<v Speaker 1>helped to cement his reputation as a leader who endured

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<v Speaker 1>alongside of his men. Then, in February seventeen seventy eight,

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<v Speaker 1>a Prussian officer named Friedrich Wilhelm VN Steuben arrived at

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<v Speaker 1>Valley Forge, recommended by Benjamin Franklin. No less, ben Steuben

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<v Speaker 1>brought European millilitary expertise and a flare for the dramatic.

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<v Speaker 1>He would swear at the troops in a mix of

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<v Speaker 1>French and German, with aids hurriedly alongside of him, translating

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<v Speaker 1>into English. He began drilling selected units, teaching them standardized maneuvers,

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<v Speaker 1>bayonet techniques, and battlefield discipline. Rather than lecture, he demonstrated

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<v Speaker 1>turning training into action. As one soldier would later write, quote,

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<v Speaker 1>he taught us to use our arms properly and made

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<v Speaker 1>us soldiers. Indeed, by spring, ben Steuben's methods had transformed

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<v Speaker 1>the Continental Army from a collection of militia companies into

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<v Speaker 1>a more cohesive, professional fighting force. Now. Valley Forge, to

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<v Speaker 1>be fair, was not a frozen healscape of constant starvation,

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<v Speaker 1>as myth would sometimes suggest. Supply issues did finally ease

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<v Speaker 1>in late winter, but it was a place where endurance

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<v Speaker 1>became the measure of your commitment to the cause. Washington

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<v Speaker 1>framed the army suffering as part of the desire for

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<v Speaker 1>independence itself in his General Orders of February sixteenth, seventeen

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<v Speaker 1>seventy eight, he wrote, to see men without clothes to

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<v Speaker 1>cover their nakedness, without blankets, to lay on, without shoes,

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<v Speaker 1>and submitting without a murmur is a mark of patience,

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<v Speaker 1>an obedience which, in my opinion, can scarce be paralleled.

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<v Speaker 1>By June of seventeen seventy eight, as the British prepared

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<v Speaker 1>to evacuate Philadelphia, the Continental Army broke camp at Valley Forge.

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<v Speaker 1>The men who marched out were not the same as

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<v Speaker 1>those who went in. They were more disciplined, and they

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<v Speaker 1>were hardened by months of adversity, and they knew for

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<v Speaker 1>the first time how to execute European battle maneuvers thanks

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<v Speaker 1>to Van Stuiben. And as we'll see next time, they'll

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<v Speaker 1>prove this almost immediately, meeting the British and open battle

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<v Speaker 1>at Monmouth, New Jersey and holding the field against one

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<v Speaker 1>of the world's best armies, a performance unthinkable without the

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<v Speaker 1>prior winters crucible