Today, were going to focus on the Continental Army. And this is were situating this very much in the broad history. Of war and the military. And the Continental Army, a lot of ways, is different from other armies that have preceded it, largely because its one thats very much based on ideals and certain concepts and beliefs rather than sort of your traditional army. So, what is the Continental Army, what is it . America. America, okay. Continental army based in america. It electrical but first United States army, but before it is the u. S. Army it is the army of america, yes. But what element . Certainly part of the American Revolution. The united colonies. Yeah, the united colonies. So when does the Continental Army begin . Its not necessarily with the start of the revolution. But we are going to pick up the story with the beginning of the war. So, a couple classes ago, we were talking about the french and indian war. And the french and indian war was a world war that fundamentally altered several different nations, but primarily, france, moved from the north american continental, britain and the british colonies. And Many Americans had fought alongside british soldiers and british officers during the war. Does anyone recall what were some of the things that transpired when the two groups interacted . The british okay, a lot of ways, the british are looking down on the colonists for a number of reasons and that had to do with tactics. That had to do with lack of formal military training. Some of it had to do with how they dressed. So, we know theres lots of resistance. Theres also a large aspect over who holds the higher rank. Does a colonial officer outrank a british officer . As we call, the british officers lower rank, were saying they outranked a british officer and this infuriated George Washington. Our story begins at the start of the American Revolution. Who wants to give me the standard answer. What caused the American Revolution . The tea party. Well, thats part of it. Taxes and given the phrase taxation without representation. No taxation without representation. Or if you like taxation without representation is tyranny. Perfect. Okay. From there, from taxes, its also more than that, its about rights. Better about being treated as a full subject. Or full british subject. And this starts after the tea party. Theres the boston port. And a number of intolerable acts are going to shut down local government. Its going to bring in martial law over boston and massachusetts. And the british actually start, under thomas gage, whose military governor to start seizing weapons leading to aggression. This is going to lead to a chance to seize gunpowder at the town of concord. And maybe revolutionary figures. In lexington. And what results . Hmm. Is this. The shot heard round the world maybe. Concord also said the shot round the world happened in concord. One of the first shots of the American Revolution is fired when the British Regulars meet up with colonial militiamen. From massachusetts on to lexington grid. Shots are fired. Who fired the first shot . Nobody knows. Exactly. But who do the british say fired . The colonists . The colonist rebels. Who do the colonists say fired . Hanna. Good enough. The british. Murderers. The war begins. This is a militia unit. To refresh, a militia unit was basically anyone from the age of 16 to 60. They would meet up roughly once a month and drill and train in traditional trappings. Think of like the National Guard today. Most american colonists could have some experience with a gun. With a musket. More so than your average british soldier. Largely from hunting or fighting nativeamericans. But they dont have necessarily formal military training in fighting in ranks and lines. Shots are fired. Nonredded colinists moves in the british wing here. But this is the profound moment that is going to begin the war. And Thomas Jefferson is going to refer to this very specifically. Unprovoked murder. In ep violation of plighted faith and honor, in defiance of the sacred obligates of treaty which even savage nations observe. What is jefferson getting at here . Hes saying that the british, it was straightup slaughter. We didnt provoke them. It was ridiculous, even savages can predict that. Theres no fundamentals behind it. He uses it, that what the british has done is something so barbaric, to use the term, that this cannot be looked over. This is beyond rights now. This is a justification for the war. And weve talked about briefly the idea of a just war principle. And what makes a war just in almost every circumstance . It basically comes down to who attacks who. So the americans are presenting themselves as an aggrieved party. So, theyre finding a defense of war which means what . Theyre in the right. Theyre in the right. Their war is just. Largely based on everyones one of the theorists weve red in class. Swiss philosopher, who in his law of nations is very much going to cast the correctness or the morality or the honor of a war based on who starts it. So, if the british start the war, it justifies the american resistance. Meanwhile, we get another battle at concord bridge, named that because it has a bridge. So the americans are successful at concord bridge even against more trained, skilled British Regulars. So, why do you think this is, you may remember this from william lawless, scottish rebellion. You have to cross the bridge choke point. Meaning numbers dont matter. Dont matter. You have to funnel in. This is where you get the quote unquote traditional shot heard around the world. This is where americans under orders fired. Whereas, at lexington, both sides were under orders not to fire. So, when we think of american colonial militiamen fighting, we probably think of the romanticized notion of the minuteman. Okay, so what is a minuteman. Someone who is ready at the minute. Theyre going to jump out of bed, fully clothed. Put their hat on, grab their musket, ready to fight. Average musket at the time takes a minute and a half to load. So whats in a name. So, the idea is the militiaman is fighting in regular style, what we call today granada style. Why did the americans develop this style, as opposed to the british fighting very much open rank formation . They have had the defense also against the native people that were living and the americans that got there so they had to adapt from their tactics so they kind of learned from the indians. Exactly. They had adapted over century. The british werent equipped to fight in that style of warfare, so they would be marching in ranks. Exactly. So, weve seen this specifically, if you think back to the french indian war at the battle, where the british army is defeated by french and native allies using the same tactics. They get the british were high in numbers so they can adjust the fighting to accommodate to that. Okay. You have to accommodate and adapt to their enemy. Now, the proper perception on the march back from concord is sort of attack from the tree line. Youll see them all down here from hidden positions. On the exposed flank. The exposed side from the british army. Whats interesting, though, on this long march back. Now, think about this. The british army is marching back after doing an immediate march at night from boston to the outskirts and then marching back with limited ammunition. They can just be picked off. But what youll see on this map is, youll see these little explosion marks. And every time you see that, there was actually a moment where there was a battle. Despite the romanticized element of running behind the trees think like mel gibson and the patriot there are pitch battles along this. But basically its going to force the british to flee to boston and ultimately, they take four or five positions at bunker hill which every trivia fan knows is actually breeds hill. The americans lose but they inflict heavy, heavy casualties. But still, this is not the Continental Army. These are colonial militias fors. There have been pretty good win loss ratio. Win concord, and retreat to boston. Empiric sort of victory. The idea that the british win but lose heavy losses only due to the heavy ammunition. And its this fighting in massachusetts that ultimately is going to force a unified response by the colony. The question is, is this americas war . This massachusetts war . And the Continental Army is going to be formed by what do you guess hes going to head it. But under the continental congress, were going to get George Washington and commander in chief. Hes going to say, hes serving based on my countrys honor and my own character. Which is very different than the young washington we talk about in the early 20s. Where he actually resigns his commission and he says for his own honor and his country will be. So its a fundamental reversal of these roles. And washington is saying, i am taking this up for duty to the nation, enhancing civilian supremacy. Hes saying i take my orders from conquerors. I dont function as a military dictator. Meanwhile, theres opposition, and a lot of this comes from this man. His name is charles lee from that twosecond reference in the hamilton musical. Hes a general. Lee. Charles lee, british trained. Hed actually been all around europe to accumulate ranks. He thought hed be one of the people named commander in chief. There are others as well. And lee as well british trained doesnt think americans could be fighting in the traditional european style. And he thinks americans should be using this guerilla hit and run style. And making them chase them into the hinterlands. Washington is fundamentally opposed to this. Washington knows he uses multiple styles. Is very much trying to fight the war more on the traditional european style. And there are a few reasons why. And one of them is, hes concerned with the reputation and how this revolution will be viewed internationally. If theyre fighting as of the europeans, theyre fighting in a quote unquote, gentlemanly civilized way, it will be respected. If they are not, then they may not gain alliances or support from other nations. And so theres this difference of opinion. And these two will sort of clash many times throughout the revolution. Ultimately, washington will prove successful, but thats a story thats coming. Anyway, washington is going to take command. And hes going to meet the now Continental Army in boston late spring 1775. So, this is right after the battle of bunker hill. And at first, the two sides dont get along, particularly the militiamen of massachusetts. And if you think back when we talked about early colonial warfare, the massachusetts militia in particular elects their officers. In virginia, where washington is from, theyre appointed. So whats the problem with elected officers versus appointed officers . In any certifying force. Less popular. Many times, it becomes a palm later contest rather than skill. And people are able to order their friends into combat. Particularly when youre voting on who is going on, i feel like maybe more people dont run as much. Its or kind of like oh, im going to do this because it seems cool. Oftentimes, who would win is who had the most barbecue or whatever would happen. Washington is going to stack his army. And hes going to urge a certain type of individual to be officer, generally. Nowadays, every man is a gentleman. But in the 18th century, it meant something different. So a man of honor. A man of reputation. A man of rivalry and bravery. And washington is saying if youre a gentleman a man of civilian life we can translate that to the military. America doesnt have a military academy, they dont have a professional army. So, who are your officers, who are your soldiers . Just regular people. No formalized training. Yeah, some had dealt with the french american war. Very little training. Here is boston. Youll note that the british forever retreated. And any elevated positions, youd have american colonial excuse me, Continental Army canons. And they forced the british out from bombarding certain areas. And the british are going to evacuate boston. And they dated that actually two days ago, march 17th. So heres a big overarching map of the campaign. The wars go from 1775 to 1783. Technically, the last major battle is in 1771. And if you are the british, what are your tactics here . How are you going to beat the americans . Numbers. Whats that . Numbers. Okay. Superior army, hands down. You want to snuff them out. Like cut them off from the rest of the world. Okay. How do you cut them off from the rest of the world. Navy. There you go, blockade the coast. Then the british make another tactical decision. And they believe since the war has begun in massachusetts, if you cut off massachusetts, the what can be stopped . War. How do you cut off massachusetts . You like create like a border almost, you cut them off from the ocean and you bloc them. You blockade them. And . Dont you blockade the hudson . Yeah, you take new york, go up the hudson, you can split them all. Now, this is one of the worst kept military secrets. Washington knows theyre going to attack there. The british know theyre going to attack there. So why attack there . Its the only thing they can do. Well, the british know they have a good shot here. The harbor, they can use their navy. Washington is not always reluctant to defend this, but the continental congress, really, you must. Because what is the basic obligation of government . To protect its citizens. There you go. And if they dont do it, then they are failing just as the british had in attacking their citizens really in lexington and concord. The declaration of independence is read right before the battle of brooklyn, battle of long island. And these are the reasons theyre getting some of the chief reasons for breaking away from britain. The king, he, george iii had abdicated government out of his protection in waging war against us. So, how do you split with the king . Breakup letter. Youre no longer the king. Hes done something wrong. At the same time, americans are taking issue with the conduct of the war. Particularly, the british are going to hire mercenary commonly known as hessoms. Theyre from the hessica cell. The army is rented out by their prince so theyre fighting for their regular wages. Their regular wages, the prince of hessica cell is cashing in on this. Battle of new york does not go well. In fact, numerous retreats. So heres washingtons retreat from long island to manhattan island. Again, extremely difficult. Moving an army across any body of water. But washington proves quite successful. The british are easily going to take new york. And again, the Continental Army is forced to retreat. Literally crossing the bluffs of the palaisades. Traditionally, a defeat like this would be crushing to a commander. Its now washington interprets this, how washington uses this fundamentally changes the way we look at warfare. How does he do that . Well, he studies. Washington complains about his defective education his whole life. He never went to formal school. How did most american officers learn to become officers . Theres a handful like charles lee that had been trained by the british. How did they learn . Get a book. Yeah, they get a book. Two of the most successful generals, henry knox, and Benedict Arnold, an american hero, up to a certain time, anyway, both sold books. How do they making it a little simplistic, henry knox becomes the head of artillery because he read a book on it. And religion, and the idea that theres an ethical basis in the military is constant honor. Honor exists in the constant practice of duty of a soldier is honorable and honest where properly performed. The idea if you acted well in a campaign, a battle, youre doing your duty, youre doing your honor. James wolfe who had about british general that actually died during the frenchindian war in quebec, is going to say also the character of your army. He doesnt want a drunken army. The virtual and obedience of all troops are a sure guard. Why dont you want a vicious army raping and pillaging . Because you cant organize them. Right. They cant maintain organize. And the revolution is about ideas. So who do you want on your kid . The gentlemen. The gentlemen, but who else . The american. Yeah, you dont want to upset the potential balance between the potential patriots, potential loyalists or quote unquote neutralists. Frederick the great. We focused on him before. In this point, numbers are an essential point of var. And a jen who loves his honor and his republic operation will always take extreme care to conserve troops. When you think of it, whether in the british army or any european army, they were the dregs of society. The absolute lower class. You joined the military because you had no other choice. So, they were viewed as expendable. So what does frederick the great doing here that is fundamentally different . Hes talking about how like the numbers of your army is really important because each individual man can be the tipping point. Okay. Like a Single Person could make you win or lose. Okay. So youre gedependent on the conduct of your soldiers. At the same time for washington, what happens if the army is defeated if he loses too many men . Thats the whole country. Yeah, the revolution. The war is over. This is what he has. So theres an understanding that soldiers are something different. Humphrey bland, another british general, again, hes going to publish a book that the Continental Army takes seriously. When an officer has had the misfortune of being beat, his honorable suffered by it provided hes done his duty and acted like a soldier. Okay. Youre going to lose. At some point, an officer will lose. And it shouldnt be an officer chasing victory, or chasing the potential of victory. So long as they put in a valiant effort when the odds make sense, they can be honorable. They are performing their duty. And washington is literally going to relay this to marquis de lafayette. The general of the pseudo son. He says, no National Person will condemn you for not fighting with the odds against you and while so much is depending on it. What is washington getting at here . Basically, its okay, if you decide not to make if the odds are against you, dont do it. But if you have smail chance that the odds are with you and you just rush it then yeah, you have an obligation to preserve the army. And some of it is about maintaining the army in the field because the revolution will stay alive. Some of it is protecting the men. Not the complete ranked difference that you see in the british army where you still have aristocracy. Theres less sort of difference between your gentleman officer and your soldier. So, washington is going to use, again, going back to what is called fabian tactics. So, this is the moment general fabius. And their classic defensive tactics that are first employed against carthage in the classical era. And fabian strategy which we talked about long, long ago involved a defensive war also known as a war of posts. So a defensive war implies fighting when it makes sense for you, forcing the enemy to act. So, washington is only going to fight when it makes sense for him. Otherwise, hes going to retreat. Hes literally going to retreat from new york through new jersey. And hes going to have the british chasing him, particularly general cornwallis as you can remember from the film like the patriots. And he refers to washington as the fox. And he treats it that this is a game. This is a country. His literally hunting washington. Washington is literally running and hiding. Sol so, hes using these fabian tactics not as a coward. Hes using it to maintain the army. And when its in his favor, such as here, crossing the delaware, hes able to bring these very elaborate difficult silent night crossings of rivers, the delaware, and attacking heshams and keeping battles and preserving the war. Giving americans this big moral boost at the time when favor in the war is waning and commissions are running out. Its from fighting a war post, fighting in defensive ways rather than being ultra aggressive. So the idea of the older model, attack, attack, attack. And washington is going to view the army very differently. And hes saying i should hope every post would be deemed honorable which gave a man opportunity to serve his country. By this, he means soldiers, yes, he means officers, he means anyone can serve. He also expands it to anyone who is aiding the military, and that could be civilians. Providing food, clothing. It would be kim taking up collections to feed the army. It could be even africanamericans who were joining the army to serve in a variety of capacities. And expands the definition of who is a gentleman. We said that gentleman was really a hierarchical term. At the start of the war we have a new term created its called gentlemen soldiers. Its being used for the Continental Army. Its being used for the militias which are fundamentally different. Theyre still National Guard units. That gentlemen soldiers considered good conduct and noble character. Think of that word noble as a birth. And service of their country. So, they become honorable. They become these gentlemen by serving their nation. Duty to the nation, rather than to obtain or to allure as we talked about in earlier sort of times. Every soldier should be a gentleman. Had they advanced, and if you recall back to the french and indian war, the virginia militia under washington had started to promote based on merit. Rather than based on sort of status. And soldiers have to regard their duty to become honorable. It doesnt say they have to be deto detourent. This is carried on to other officers, general anthony wayne, john eager howard. Its not just for an individual. So how a person acts reflects their officers. How you behave would reflect your colonel or your general. And also the nation. Meanwhile, we do have africanamerican soldiers, both free and enslaved. So, does anyone know the first battle that africanamericans fought in the American Revolution . Trivia question. There are africanamericans at bunker hill but theyre even earlier. Lexington . Lexington, concord and bunker hill. The fact that the massachusetts ranks were not segregated. These were free africanamericans that fought. And the Continental Army as council of generals, he initially forbids enlistment of either not just enslaved but also free africanamericans. Hes ultimately going to move back. Hes going to allow freely africanamericans and ultimately enslaved africanamericans. And the question is why the change . Now, two schools of thought. One is the pragmatic. The british under lord dunmore who is the royal governor of virginia is going to issue a proclamation providing freedom for any slave that fights against the colonists. And washington is shocked with slaveholders and washington is responding with the same offer. So is this about men . Is this just about combatting this . The other possibility is maybe he has a change of heart when he starts getting reports like these. So, talk about salem laporte. Hes a character so brave a man who behaved like an experienced officer as well as an excellent soldier. So, not just any soldier, but an experienced officer, so elevating an africanamerican soldier. General john thomas saying theyre equally serviceable with other men. Not other black men, but other men. Looking at conduct and honorable natures. So it could be a little bit of both. But we do know theres roughly about 5,000 africanamericans who served in some capacity with Continental Army ultimately offered freedom for service in the army. Meanwhile, things dont go so well for washingtons army. In fact, in battles in and around philadelphia, washington is going to lose. And the capital is going to be occupied by the british army. So this is one of the major low points of the war. And it forces its going to force washington to go under the defense and retreat again. Meanwhile, further north, the british have a plan. And it involves this man. Gentlemanly john ny. He gets the name gentlemanly johnny because of his love for finery. He loved champagne, fine clothes. Hes said to be a ladies man and he was a playwright. So the mission is for burgoyne to march south of canada. And another from new york city, and go along the hudson and cut off new england. Problems with this march through treacherous terrain now means forests and he has an exceptionally baggage train. Hes lugging a lot of stuff. He has a cart just dedicated to his champagne. Now that may sound ridiculous. Why are you dragging yochampagn in the upstate new york, you ask . Is it doesnt sound so strange. Thats because british officers particularly of high rank were expected to entertain. Their other officers but the officers wives who would come on campaign. They would stop and requisition a house and have a party. And if you cant throw these parties its really calling into question your sort of character. So, hes moving along with native allies. And the native allies are getting terrified and saying is this not good tactics. We have to be aware of ambush. Oh, nonsense. And they march further north. Ultimately, the american army, Continental Army led by Horatio Gates, britishtrained officer, also fought with washington back in the frenchindian war are going to manage to cut off burgoynes army. And gates will say he singlehandedly won the victory. But theres another man who says he singlehandedly does. And that is Benedict Arnold, american hero. Arnold, despite defying orders, Horatio Gates and orlanarnold h this ongoing feud about command and rank. Largely arnold had been loyal to general philip skylar. You probably remember his daughters from again another musical. And hes really resistant to gates. Arnold is actually ordered by gates to leave the battlefield. But he deal withes orders and singlehandedly charges in and stops the potential retreat. And he pushes it forward. And ultimately, theres a victory in saratoga. And arnolds going to be wounded. Hes going to be shot in the leg. Hes going to fall back, and his horse is going to fall on top of him. And his men are going to rush to him and carry him off the field as if he was a spartan soldier. And hes asked, general, how are you . He goes, youre wounded in the leg. He says, id rather it had been my heart. So hes looking for this glorious end. This romantic, sort of classical death. And had he died right there, he is probably one of the greatest american heroes of all time. Nowadays, the saratoga battlefield, they just have a statue of hwhere he got shot. Its a patriotic leg. The rest of him is a problem. But burgoyne surrenders the army. And among other things theres negotiations going on with the french. And it proves that the french are willing to win. The french are getting into the war because they dont like the british. Other reasons are they hope to gain back some of the land they may have lost during the french and indian war. So the french come in. And theres an alliance formed. The treaty of 1778. And its an alliance between the americans and the french. So the french are going to send money, supplies. Ultimately, an army. Its going to take a little bit. But more importantly, what is frances most important contribution to the American Revolution . The louisiana thats later. Thats later. The navy. Because the American Navy cannot stand up to the british navy. The french navy is comparable in many respects. And this is whats going to cut off a lot of the british advantage. So, as news of saratoga spreads, washington is at the darkest period of war. Hes in valley forge, encamped, in snow, short on supplies. Short on clothing. Meanwhile, Horatio Gates has won a grand victory. And gates becomes the hero of the north. And he starts potentially conspiring. Washington is just lost. Washingtons just allowed the capital to fall. Maybe washington isnt right to lead the army, some say. And this is going to be during this period of victory in the north and defeat in around philadelphia. Its going to lead to an attempt to unseat washington. But before we come to this, the winter encampment in valley forge is crucial. One of the reasons its crucial is, armies of the 18th century dont frighten in wintertime. We have campaigning seasons. We fight in the spring, the fall, the summer, but not in the winter. So its during the winter that the army is able to actually train itself. Theyve had a hard fight since this war began. And who helps train the army, washington also has been performing plays in the off time. Why not, got to do something extracurricular, the barren von steven. Hes responsible for the drill masters concept. The problem is, he doesnt speak any english. And most americans dont speak any german. So how hed do it, he would create one model unit and he would basically yell at them and berate them in german and scream at them and show them what to do. One model unit would show the other unit what is they needed to do. Its in this unitbyunit basis thats Continental Army was trained to fight like the european army. And through him, theres actually a creation of this regulation which is basically a code of conduct and drilled for the Continental Army. They create a book. As many of them had learned so theyre sort of creating the basis, or forming this sort of europeanstyle army. Heres images of von steuben drilling. Meanwhile, back to conspiracy, comes to be known as the conway cabal. So this man is general conway. He was irish. We ha foreigners join the Continental Army. Ah, you have an accent. You could rise very quickly in the war. And heres gates. Gates and conway, i mean, theres questions of what actually transpires. But there is a potential attempt to maybe put gates in command. Based on his record. And its largely was nothing, but the thing is washington believed it to be true. But he still trusted civilian supremacy. Ultimately, though, this is sort of found out and gates is sort of shamed and he has to sort of back away. Meanwhile, charles lee comes back. Where was charles lee . Well, he had been captured. And he had been a prisoner of the british army, where he may or may not have committed treason. In the late 19th century a document was found that lee had drawn up a plan to sort of tell the british how to defeat the americans. The question is, was this done for false information or was he literally trying to betray the americans . I leave it for you to judge. No one knew it at the time. Lee has been out of touch. Hes been a captain for two years. The war has passed him by. These this constant adversary of washington. Hes british trained. Hes fought europe. And this all comes to a head at the bottle of monmouth in new jersey and lee is given command of the vanguard initially which is a prestigious position, leading with the army in front with orders to attack. He turns it down. I shall not dare to accept that. So washington appoints lafayette. Lafayette accepts. Lee is now upset that a junior officer has been placed in command, rather than him. And he demands the position. So, he accepts it. And he marches out. And his force is facing british grenadiers. And ultimately, hes under orders. The question is is it direct orders or implied orders but the sense is hes supposed to attack, and he retreats instead. Washington catches wind of this. Its actually a drummer running back. And washington grabs him what are you doing . I dont know, sir. Were retreating. What do you mean washington lunges forward. And he says to lee, what are you doing, sir, paraphrasing a bit. Um, your excellence, he calls him you damn patroon. What does that mean . You damn coward. All of this, that the trees shook with washington swearing. Anyway, washington leaves him of command and personally charges in riding a potential a potential retreat. This basically stops and he sort of challenges to washington, a sort of political side to him also. Lee is going to actually demand a courtmartial saying that his honor has been infringed on. Hes been insulted by washington. But the courtmartial finds in washingtons favor, finds against lee. So lee starts publishing all sort of pamphlets how hes been wronged. He actually challenges a woman to a duel. In jest, he says she got the color of his pants correct me if im wrong, therefore, what else did she get wrong . There ultimately is a real duel to defend washington. But washington is fervently opposed to this. But its basically the end to charles lee. And its basically the end of any sort of push against washington. And they began to arrive under general dechambeau. And is this going to aid the Continental Army immensely. Not just men, but equipment, training. Meanwhile, philadelphia is going the british are going to evacuate philadelphia. And it had been under occupation. Now, the question is who is going to be placed in command there . Perhaps the recovering battlefield hero known for this gallantry and selling of books, benedict orlandarnold. So Benedict Arnold is recovering and hes given this prestigious command. Arnold doesnt want it. Hes a battlefield commander. He wants to fight but not ready yet. Hes given this prestigious honor and he accepts it. The problem he talks a lot, he talks too much and he runs his mouth. Congress does not like him. He feels hes constantly passed over by other lesser officers, inferior officers that have been promoted over him. And hes been brought up on charges before, sort of using government property, pillaging. Some other charges that no one knows about until after the war. And its hes placed in charge here. But the Congress Demands he swear an oath of loyalty to them first. And arnold until din disgust, h you look what ive given to this country. Hell only take it to his friend, another officer, henry knox. Arnold set up as military governor, what is his first act . Well, he throws himself a party where he invites no members of the Continental Army. And he ends up marrying who is right there in the corner, Peggy Shippen who is from a loyalist family. And its true her that he may or may not make the acquaintance of a british major named john andre. And potentially start a correspondence that openly leads to treason. Arnold gives himself the code name of gustavis. After gustavis adollfis. And the british have a new commander, go south, young man. The british are constantly chasing loyalists. They feel if they can link up with sort of loyalists in america that will help turn the tide in the world. They really have faulty intelligence some dating about to 1784 Thomas Hutchinson thats a few rabblerousers, thats a few colonies. And who is going to be sentenced, charles corn wwallis. Hes first in command, during the early days particularly at the battle of camden is going to be Horatio Gates. The Great Northern hero goes south. And its at this crushing defeat at the battle of camden that gates is going to retreat. Some reports say 180 miles further than his army. How does he do that . He literally runs away. Runs from the british. Its actually about 70 miles, but this is basically the end of horrib Horatio Gates because its viewed as cowardly. Its viewed as ineffective. This is just proving everything that was sort of in some way duplicitous about the conway cabal. Alexander hamilton famously jokes hes not shocked that gates physically did this, but a man of gates age is capable of riding so far and so fast. So thats the end of Horatio Gates. Who is put in charge instead and this is conwallace. General Nathanael Greene. Hes a fighting quaker. Quakers are using passivists against war but he was very much in favor of resistance of in fighting the defensive war. And hes going to be your chief generally in the southern campaigns. And the south particularly on the frontier is very much dictated by partisan fighting. And by that i mean loyalist versus patriot. So not necessarily traditional Continental Army, with British Regular army, but different bands of loyalists. So, this is where you get mel gibson and the patriots or the old disney movie like the swamp fox. Fighting in guerilla styles. And it makes very difficult to know who is who. And also leads to heightened degrees of atrocities in cases. Where you can brutal reprisals against loyalists and patriots. And in one case, you have one commander grifford rutherford in this area, with uses of Nathanael Greene of violations of hammer coming to loyalist women, homes and property. And he is denouncing this further saying is this not the war were fighting. Were fighting a war based on principle. A war of ideology. A war that shows were behaving better, ethically, proper treatment of prisoners, proper treatment of civilians. And this is something that washington advanced. It comes to be known, sort of highlighted by, again, this individual, banister dalton. Hes a british officer. Hes tabbington in the patriot. You may know him, hes also in harry potter. Jason isaacs, blonde hair, cane yeah that guy. A young teenager goes on to become president , literally refuses as an officer says to clean an officers boot and get a saber to the side of his head and vows to fight the british for the rest of his live. Anyone . Andrew jackson. Andrew jackson. So, you have all sorts of ages, fighting, engaged in combat. Mean, further to the north, whispers and plotting. After philadelphia, arnold is ready to return to command. And he had been brought up on courtmartial charges while in philadelphia. And hed been found guilty. And his reprimand was relatively light. A public censure from washington that basically boiled down we have witnessed the generals conduct and it will change in future. A little light cap. Arnold was furious. His last protector, protector, has betrayed him. America has offended his honor. Hes lost to all. So hes going to plot to make a daring change detect to the british. Hes going to angle to be placed at west point. West point before its a military academy was a fort. And washington is shocked by this. Why does he want an outpost . But he agrees. And west point is crucial for this right here. And its along the hudson. What that is, is literally a chain, a big, thick chain, about this thick. It stretches across the hudson river. What do you think its meant to do . Keep out ships. Literally tear the hulls open. Would it work . What do you think . I say no. Okay. Anyone say yes . Bottom line, no one knows because it was never tested. You have batteries on either side of cannon. The british never tested it. But if west point falls and the chain and the garrisons and batteries are removed, what can the british do . Take the hudson and therefore divide the colonies which theyve been trying to do. So andre this is his selfportrait. Hes a very fashionable gentleman. Hes going to arrange to meet with arnold and do it under secret. Andre is a british major. Hes an aide to general clinton and arnold wants to meet with him and meet with him on past american lines. If a british officer in his red coat was meeting with Benedict Arnold, the commander in west point, that would look a little suspicious, dont you think . He tells andre to take off his uniform. Problems, what happens the moment he takes off that red coat . Hes a spy. So ultimately this correspondence and andre is caught by a roving band of militiamen. Are they loyal . Of questionable loyalty . They become celebrated as great heroes and andre identifies himself as major john andre of his kings forces and the sort of shocking display of, theyre not british loyalists. Arnold is discovered. Andre is going to be hanged as a spy. But washington uses this great moment. There have been waning difficulty between the continent Continental Army and the civilian population at this point where the army had been complaining, the civilian population isnt supplying the army properly. Wheres the food . Wheres the clothing . Meanwhile, the civilians were saying how come you havent won this war . You let the capital fall. You havent been winning. But its this moment that sort of shocks all of america together. Its a moment like 9 11 or pearl harbor that brings everyone back. And the question is why . And its this galvanizing moment. If we have not virtue enough among ourselves, we ought to suffer. Meaning that we need to rise above this. If we cannot, we would lose. Washington is going to spin it. Hes going to say this is a great thing. How is this a great thing . Because its never happened before. How dedicated are americans that this is the first instance of its kind when, you know, more to be expected. And this proves the value of the army and the devotion to the cause. Within a year, we have a march on yorktown which is going to be the major final battle. And weve talked about this before, way do you not want to put yourself on a peninsula if youre an army . Theres only one way out. Why does he do it . He thinks the navy can retrieve him. A late march of french and americans jointly, theyre going to surround corn wallace and the navy is going to cut off the british navy. Youre going to have a siege of yorktown and corn wallace doesnt have a way out. And hes going to be forced to surrender. And the british ban plays the song the world turned upside down. This is the last major battle of the revolution. It will carry on for a couple more years, but this is it. Why do the british stop fighting . They could continue this war. Theres a full army in new york. There was nobody left that was loyal to them in the. You still have loyalists but you have to not only defeat the army, you have to win over the hearts and minds of americans and thats problematic. This is costly. Wasnt there issues in france okay. So now, by this point, the french are in, the spanish are in. This has become app wor world w many respects. Its not in the best interest so yorktown is going to be the last major battle. There could be small skirmishes here and there. And nathaniel green is going to be worried about a lone figure carrying on and going past the terms of duties, like a rutherford or arnold, exceeding what they should be doing and dragging the conduct of the war downward. As peace starts coming to an end, rumors start circulating of peace. And washington has one last battle to fight. Its with his own officers. This is new york. Its not far from west point. Its along the hudson. The british army is still in new york city and theyll remain there until after the war. And the Continental Army is checking them and watching over them. And the problem was, the officers had not been paid. Why hadnt they been paid . They hadnt set up money they dont have money. They have worthless continental dollars. They had also been promised half pay for life. A pension. Problems . Same one as before. Thats a lot of money. And congress doesnt have it. So theres rumblings. Especially if a peace comes, what do you think these officers are afraid of . They dont have any other means of getting money. Yeah. Theyre not needed. Or if they were injured in the war they cant work theyre not needed and the congress may never pay them. What comes to be known as the newburgh affair or conspiracy, continental officers are going to secretly meet and two things theyre going to discuss, one, potentially a coup on congress. Take over congress until they get paid or retreat behind the mountains. What mountains . Those mountains. And let the british march out of new york city and do what . Take back whatever. Until . Until congress pays them. Fundamentally, both of these are problematic and both of these go against the American Revolution. So what washington is going to do, to show hes in charge is cancel their meeting and call his own meeting. You cant meet, youre going to meet with me instead. He didnt sound like that, but he might have. Hes going to appeal to them based on what comes to be known as the newburg address. As you value your own sacred honor to express your horror of the man who wishes under any pretenses to overturn the liberties of our country. March 15th, that was only four days ago. What is washington saying here . If you do this, youre dishonored. Youre dishonoring not only yourself, but the country. What will this become . And he uses the term sacred honor. Aside from me babeling about honor. Where have we seen these words . Trivia. Like american text . The declaration of independence. Our lives are fortunes in our sacred honor. Washington using words from the declaration to link this back, civilian supremacy. The ideals of the revolution over the needs of the individuals. The greater good of society. Saying that its about the country. Think of what weve accomplished. This has never been done before. And youre going to give it up. So what usually happens after a civil war or a rebellion or some sort of conflict like this . How do they usually end . Think about in the classical era or english civil war . You have a treaty or a contract okay. Or a cease arms who takes control . Maybe a king or from where this new ruler king come from . The winning side. Think about oliver or napoleon, you have military figures seizing power. And this will not happen. And ultimately this is going to appeal to them and washington does a personal thing. He has a letter hes going to read. Washington has been losing his eyesight. And most people dont know this, but he wore glasses but he doesnt want anybody to see them because theyre not cool. He didnt want to show weakness. What he does is, he pulls them out and he puts them on and he reminds them of what hes given, that hes also given his sight and the officers start crying and they embrace this as washington showing this sort of humility and weakness. Its a appeal to their ideals. And the revolution is preserved and they come out as champions of liberty. But the last act and probably the most important in American History, in my opinion, and certainly one of the last major acts of the Continental Army is this. Annapolis in december, 1783. Peace has been announced and washington is going to surrender his commission, his commander in chief, to the continental congress. Now what is so what is so different, what is so shocking about this . Because he thought that he would be sort of in a position to be the king. Thats kind of where away came from. So the sense that this has always resulted in some sort of with a dictator, king, lord, protector, this never ends well. And washington is literally giving up power. This is a man who would not be king. And this is where we actually get the term george the iii actually is expecting washington to name himself king. Why . Because thats what he understands. What hes going so hes ultimately going to be told that washington is actually giving up power. Hes shocked. He stops and he says, if he does that, then he shall be the greatest man in the world. Dramatic pause. So the thats what im writing my new book on and among other things. This is what seals washington. We talked about the roman well, i guess in january, maybe . Cinncinatis had been powers and he gave them back and returned to his farm and became russell crowe. So washington surrenders his commission here and this preserves civilian supremacy and it maintains for all after that the army serves the civilian government. It wont be a dictator ship, a monarchy, it would be civiliancontrolled. It would embrace the ideals of the revolution. This moment in a lot of ways proves that the ideals that the Continental Army was based on actually helped. And thats whats so profound and different in the history of warfare when were looking at armies prior to the Continental Army and those after the Continental Army. We see ideological focus. We see it again later in the french revolution as well, but we see in the french revolution the rise of knneopolin. Since the classical era, washington was the first to do it and one of the few individuals to do it at all. Lets end there for today and thanks, everyone, for coming. We can nights this month, were featuring American History tv programs as a preview of whats available every weekend on cspan3. Tonight, university of maryland professor teaches a class about the concept of power in antebellum slave societies. He explores the ways people expressed their will and looks at how these dynamics played out on plantations. He also discusses how the invention of the cotton gin and resulting expansion of slavery and the cotton industry affected the relationship between owners and the enslaved. Watch tonight beginning at 8 00 eastern. Enjoy American History tv this week and every weekend on cspan3. Now, on American History tv a lecture from the university of pittsburgh about the origins of the atlantic slave trade, how slave traders captured slaves on africas west coast and details about the trip across the atlantic ocean. Greetings. Good morning. Our subject for today is the atlantic slave trade. And the first thing i want to say about it is that we have a big subject, a tremendously important subject, and truly