United States History Student Edition

08 The American Victory

Battlegrounds Shift GUIDING QUESTION

READING STRATEGY Integrating Knowledge and Ideas Read closely to identify why the British lost control in the Southern colonies. List those reasons in a diagram like this one. What new sort of warfare led to British defeats in the region?

How did the war develop in the West, in the South, and at sea? While most of the fighting in the Revolutionary War took place in New England and in the Middle Colonies, conflicts also took place west of the Appalachian Mountains, where Native American groups became involved, and in the Southern Colonies. In addition, the war was fought at sea, as Britain’s powerful navy looked to defend their cargo-filled ships against attacks from Patriot vessels. The British navy also sought to disrupt the colonies’ seafaring trade. Fighting in the West The Revolutionary War was of great interest to many Native American groups living in and around the 13 states. Some Native Americans helped the Patriots, but more sided with the British. For them, the British seemed less of a threat than the Americans, who lived in their midst and took their land. West of the Appalachian Mountains, the British and their Native American allies raided American settlements. Mohawk war chief Joseph Brant led a number of attacks in southwestern New York and northern Pennsylvania. Farther west, Henry Hamilton, British commander at Detroit, paid Native Americans for settlers’ scalps, a practice that earned him the nickname “hair buyer.” Virginia militia leader George Rogers Clark set out to end attacks in the West. In July 1778, Clark led a force of 175 westward down the Ohio River and over land. The Patriots captured a British post at Kaskaskia (ka•SKAS•kee•uh) in present-day Illinois.

British defeats in the South

FLORIDA BENCHMARKS

• SS.8.A.1.2 • SS.8.A.3.3 • SS.8.A.3.5 • SS.8.G.6.2

• MA.K12.MTR.2.1 • ELA.K12.EE.3.1 • ELA.K12.EE.5.1

American troops in the West under George Rogers Clark often marched through rugged terrain to attack the British.

North Wind Picture Archives/Alamy Stock Photo

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