The End of the American Revolution

1. The End of the American Revolution Don Troiani, The Battle of Cowpens. Fought between the British and American colonists on January 17, 1781. An important victory for the Americans.

2. The World Turned Upside Down? • Legend has it that at the British surrender at Yorktown, the British band was playing "The World Turned Upside Down.“ • If that is indeed true, why might they have played that song? If it is just a legend, why do you think it has been such a popular one?

3. After the failed British attempt at separating the colonies in the North, King George III was determined to crush the rebellion with a new strategy based on the southern colonies. The South, with its valuable crops and its large slave population were powerful items that might keep rebellious southerners in line. Georgia and the Carolinas also appeared to hold large numbers of settlers loyal to Great Britain. The British hoped to recapture these colonies one by one, then move back north to the Middle and New England colonies. This strategy seemed to work at first. But, after some costly defeats and the treachery of a high-ranking officer in the American army, a sort of “come on breh!” effect took place.

4. It is true that students love maps.

5. Benedict Arnold, an American officer who had once led the Americans in their unsuccessful campaign against Quebec, Canada, turned on his country after people he deemed inferior/unfit were given a higher command that he thought he deserved.

6. Americans won few major battles in the south, but were successful in harassing British forces and preventing them from scavenging for food. • British defeats at King’s Mountain, SC; and Cowpens, SC had General Cornwallis and his British troops reeling back to Virginia. • Cornwallis then marched to Yorktown, Virginia to await backup troops from NYC. • The problem? The French alliance came into play. French fleets headed to the Chesapeake Bay before the British ships arrived, preventing Cornwallis from getting his reinforcements. • Cornwallis and his 7,500 troops were now closed in at Yorktown and opposed by a combined Anglo/French force of 16,000. After twelve days of bombardment, Cornwallis surrendered. • October 19, 1781 the British formally surrendered and major military operations came to a halt.

7. Alonzo Chappel’s painting on the death of British officer Patrick Ferguson at the Battle of King’s Mountain. Notice the woodsy-ness of it all. Very typical of the fighting that took place in the South. Adan Garcia in disguise!

8. This sketch shows a French officer’s view of the French blockade near Yorktown, Virginia.

9. John Trumbull. The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. True story.

10. Why did the British Lose? • The British began this war convinced they could not lose: best-trained army and navy in the world; familiar with the landscape; alliances with Natives; easily captured every major port city; and 1/5 were Loyalist. • The problem of supplying their troops. • Failure to protect loyal settlers. • America’s foreign alliances. • Underestimating the Americans’ will to fight.

11. My World Turned Upside Down • Pretend that you are a British citizen or officer. See if you can pen around 10 lines of lyrics to accompany a song called “My World Turned Upside Down.” • Using what you remember from your notes, the film clip, and the photocopied excerpt. • If you wish, you can structure your lyrics around the melody of a pre-existing song. • Be sure your lyrics are appropriate. • You may do this alone or in pairs. • At the end of the activity time (about 30 minutes), it would be nice to have some volunteers to sing their song to the class!