Tuesday, May 19, 2015

The Advantages and Disadvantages of the American and British Army During the American Revolution -by Miriam Chen


          A bang was heard. The war of 1775 started. Is Britain stronger or is America stronger? Who will win? Britain was making unfair taxes and laws on the Americans, and because of this, war started. Americans said that they had the right to govern themselves. On the other hand, Britain disagreed and fought. In the American Revolutionary War, there were many advantages and disadvantages for both American and British armies, which affected the course of the war.

            For Britain, they had many advantages and disadvantages. The British had many advantages. First, they had enough money to hire foreign troops. They were a strong nation at that time and could afford to hire others to fight for them. Also, the army that they had were well trained. Most were experienced fighters that fought the war for Britain while the woman helped cook and send in supplies. Finally, they had the best navy, which protected the coastlines and supply lines. In the textbook History Alive! by Bert Bower, it stated that "Britain had one of the strongest armed forces (military) in the world. The British navy controlled the seas with 270 war ships. Britain’s shipyard built another 200 warships before the war was over." Britain had a lot of advantages that helped them during the war. Despite these advantages, Britain also had many disadvantages. Since the British army had to travel a long distance to fight in the American Revolutionary War, they lacked sleep, were homesick, and were exhausted. The guns that they prepared for the battle were smooth bore muskets, which took longer to load than the American guns, so by the time they reloaded their muskets, they might have been shot at already. Bower mentioned in his book that "soldiers from America also captured cannons and muskets from Britain.” Even though the British had a big strong army, they still had many disadvantages and problems that contributed to their losing the war.

The American Continental Army also took part in this war. Apparently similar to the British army, the Continental Army had advantages and disadvantages. The Continental Army had advantages such as they were able to fight on their own land, which helped them know the areas. Also, they had widespread knowledge of  firearms. In the book History Alive! it said that “The Continentals could fight a defensive war. They did not have to destroy the British army, instead hold them off.” In America, the Continental Army had many motivations and assistance from France to help them fight the British army. Even though Britain was big and strong, America had great strategies and courageously fought Britain. Sadly, America also had a few disadvantages. The Continental Army lacked training and discipline. They also had shortages of ammunition, food, clothing, and medicine. Also, some men fled the army because of starvation and weather. In the book History Alive! it mentioned that “During the winter of 1777-1778 the men in Washington’s army suffered from freezing conditions and starvation, yet they refused to give up.” The Americans faced advantages and disadvantages in the war.  

In conclusion, there were many advantages and disadvantages for both American and British armies during the American Revolutionary War, which affected the course of war. Even  though Britain had a strong and well-trained army, America eventually won the war and was recognized as an independent nation.



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