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The military part of our rebellion was won by the Continental Army and French regulars. And a timely intervention by a French fleet.
The Continentals were our regulars. They were armed with muskets, not rifles. The musket was the superior weapon as it could be loaded and fired much more quickly. Firepower. Note that when Daniel Boone went off with the militia to fight Caldwell’s raid into Kentucky in 1782 he took his smoothbore not his rifle. (Note too that at Blue Licks the Kentuckians were ambushed and whipped in the own country by Caldwell’s British and Indians who’d come down from Detroit. One of Boone’s sons was killed in the fight.)
The British army in America was very effective. It had adapted to American conditions during the French and Indian War and fought in a very open 2 rank order that moved quickly over rough terrain. The British also had swarms of light infantry trained in skirmishing and flanking movements. The British moved swiftly and aggressively on the battlefield and the soldiers wore a light kit—coats were cut down to light jackets or coat sleeves were sewn on to vests and worn as jackets, practical slouch hats and caps were worn, hair was cropped short and tomahawks were commonly carried. Sometimes musket barrels were cut shorter to make them handier. But we don’t see this in movies, do we?
Last edited by Irishtom29; 08-19-2018 at 07:41 AM..
The military part of our rebellion was won by the Continental Army and French regulars. And a timely intervention by a French fleet.
The Continentals were our regulars. They were armed with muskets, not rifles. The musket was the superior weapon as it could be loaded and fired much more quickly. Firepower. Note that when Daniel Boone went off with the militia to fight Caldwell’s raid into Kentucky in 1782 he took his smoothbore not his rifle. (Note too that at Blue Licks the Kentuckians were ambushed and whipped in the own country by Caldwell’s British and Indians who’d come down from Detroit. One of Boone’s sons was killed in the fight.)
The British army in America was very effective. It had adapted to American conditions during the French and Indian War and fought in a very open 2 rank order that moved quickly over rough terrain. The British also had swarms of light infantry trained in skirmishing and flanking movements. The British moved swiftly and aggressively on the battlefield and the soldiers wore a light kit—coats were cut down to light jackets or coat sleeves were sewn on to vests and worn as jackets, practical slouch hats and caps were worn, hair was cropped short and tomahawks were commonly carried. Sometimes musket barrels were cut shorter to make them handier. But we don’t see this in movies, do we?
The British had some very good special operations units including Roger's Rangers.
Units descended from Roger's Rangers include the U.S. Army Rangers, 1st Battalion 119th Field Artillery of Michigan and the The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) of the Canadian Army.
It's a wonder they didn't all freeze to death. Very poorly equipped for severe cold.
But there were battles where they just stood out in the open and shot at each other. I think the Native Americans helped us out a bit with our technique.
Folks were seriously more stout in those days. For starters, they walked everywhere. Maybe 5% of us kicking around today would last a month in the circumstances the Continental Army faced every day, every month, every year. The war lasted eight years.
The British had some very good special operations units including Roger's Rangers.
The British army has always been adept at adapting. During our rebellion almost all the British regulars were acting as light infantry if needed, even line and grenadier companies. (A British battalion infantry having 8 to 10 companies, one of light infantry, one of imposing grenadiers and the rest being line companies.) The Brits were fond of using ad hoc combat groups of all light infantry for raiding or extra speed and of all grenadiers for heavy hitting.
As the Continentals gained in experience and discipline they were sometimes able to turn the British speed and aggression against them, as at Cowpens. The Continentals eventually were the equal of the Brits but it was a hard road getting there. I think they were the toughest, most dedicated and most important army in our history.
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