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=__ Chapter Overveiws: ﻿ __=


 * Chapter 1:** Chapter one was about the beggining of the Revolutionary War. The Revolutionary War was started becuase the thirteen colonies in North America wanted to become their own independant nation. Over in England, Parliament and King George III were very confused as to why the colonists were rebeling. Keep in mind the whole time this is going on England is constantly taxing them on everything becuase they have to ship it all the way across the Atlantic Ocean. The only thing they knew that had to happen was that they had to try to keep the colonists happy and under control. Once word about the "shot heard around the world", or the frist shot of the Revolutionary War at the Battle of Lexington finally reached England, about 2 monthes after the event had occured, the British quickley realized that the Atlantic Ocean would be a huge obsticle to overcome in order to keep their soldiers supplied during the war.


 * Chaper 2: ** Chapter two was about the unorganization of the American soldiers.Other than a few generals and officers, no one really had any idea what they were supposed to be doing. George Washington was by far the most experienced of them all. He became the commander of the American Army on July 3, 1775. One other general that had done a great deal of studying and knew what his job was, was Nathanael Greene. Not only was he one of the most brilliant generals**,** but was only 33, making him the youngest general to be in the Continental Army. Most of the soldiers were just enlisted farmers with guns. Most people had a 5 foot long muskets but, some people had shotguns. There were many things that happened that were not in the Americans favor. They included very inexperienced soldiers, a lack of supplies, and wilding spreading diseases. Because the Americans were going to war with the their own people in a way, the British stoped sending more supplies over. So the Americans could only use the supplies they had at the time, which was not very much. Disease was also a huge problem. This was a problem mostly because of the soldiers ego's. They rarely washed their clothes becuase that time washing clothes was considered a womens job, so none of the men would wash their clothes. being out in the woods during winter, going several weeks without bathing or a change of clothes quickly spread diseases throughout the camps.


 * Chapter 3:** Chapter three was about the Americans finally coming up with some sort of stratagy. They knew that the British had control of Boston, but were running low on supplies. They also knew that they must keep control of New York, which is where Washington thought the British were headed next. Washington sent soem of his men to go reinforce New York so that there was an extremly slim chance that it would be taken over. When Washington realized the oppertunity at hand, he wasted no time in taking it. The Americans attacked Boston on January 8, 1776, and took the city over. This was a key part in the war because it continued to move the Bristish soldiers farther Northeast. This gave the Americans the lead, and took a tough toll on British forces becuase at the time they were experiencing the harsh New England Winter.


 * Chapter 4:** Chapter 4 started off by talking about the hard travels for both armies. Because the only way to get from one one place to another was by foot the soldiers really only moved about 20 miles per day. When the Winter months hit, and soldiers began to gte sick and diseases were spreading, and conditions were practically impossible to travel in the miles traveled per day went way down. When that happened traveling took an extremly long time. This took a toll on both armies because they were both suffering from Mother Nature. When it came down to the next battle at New York, the British had a huge advantage. Because Long Island was surrounded by water the British could move in their skilled navy and attack from all directions, land or water. Things were looking bad for the American troops. General George Washington had approximatly 6923 soldier ready for combat out of his total 8880 soldiers. They were already afraid because the British had the element of surprise on their side, being able to attack from the water, but also they heard that Germany was sending reinforcements to help the British. They sent 17,000 german soldiers to help putting the total of British soldiers to nearly 30,000 soldiers. The British became extremly confident while staying on Staten Island becuase they knew that the tables had turned and things were in their favor. From July 5, when there were only 5 British ships, they kept coming until August 4, when there was about 54 ships. Becuase the British could wait for the most perfect opportunity to strike they waited for several weeks. during this time the continential army was able to recruit more and more soldiers putting their army up to about 42,000 men.


 * Chapter 5:** On August 21, 1776 a monsterous storm hit. It was the worst that anyone had ever seen. The lightning alone killed several soldiers from both armies. Then the next day, on a fair weather day, the long awaited British invasion finally begun. The British sent out waves of 4,000 soldiers. Finally after a few days the British defeated General Washington at the Battle of Long Island. The American soldiers backed off and escaped. They wanted to avoid more battle so they would not loose anymore soldiers and that New York would still be standing, as it was one of the largest cities in the nation. Becuase the Maericans knew that the British forces would have to move their ships they retreated back through Brooklyn and back across the East River. All in that one night all 9000 of Washingtons men escaped, and the British now had control over a main American city.


 * Chapter 6:** Soldiers were always writing back to their families to keep them updated on how they were doing and important news during the war. The Soldiers also had to be constatly armed becuase battles were very spontanious and they had to be ready for anything. Although the British had took over control of New York, the New England Winter was again, right around the corner. During the winter the Americans went on a pretty successful winning streak. The winter was a huge factor becuase it initially weaked the british forces and then the Americans would attack.

I think you did an awesome job breaking down each chapter but I need some sort of prediction. I want proof that you actually put some thought into the book as you read it. 35/50
 * Chapter 7:** Chapter seven was about the conclusion of the war. The war was going strong and showed no sign of ending anytime soon. No one ever really had complete control, and the lead was held equally between the American and British armies. Then Washington, being the amazing stratigic leader that he was came up with a plan. This plan was to cross the Delaware River and suprise attack the British in Boston. His plan worked perfectly, and the British were caught toally off guard. There was no way they could have fought at all so there only other option was to escape Boston. Washington and his army moved General Cornwallis' elite soldiers all the way down to Trenton. This was the largest part of the British forces and the Americans had them completly surrounded and begging for mercy. The Americans finally earned their complete independence on July 4,1776, when the Declaration of Independence was signed. Although the Americans had technically already won the war their were still smaller British brigades trying to fight. The war was called to an offical end when the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783.