Patriots in the American Revolution
Patriots played a very large role in the American Revolution and gaining Americas independence from Britain and the king. They contributed a large amount to the success of America. For example, Paul Revere alerted the town of the Redcoats (British) attacking during what we call The Midnight ride of Paul Revere. A patriot in the American Revolution was someone who loves, supports, and defends his country and its interests with devotion. Patriots are also known as Whigs, Congress-Men, Rebels, and Revolutionaries. These Patriots were able body man who fight for their country against the British for independence. The English also fought back in instances like the Boston Massacre, where Boston citizens were shot at by soldiers and seven were killed. One instance was the Boston Tea Party, where colonists poured British tea into the Boston River is anger at the many laws and acts the British were creating. If the Boston Tea Party hadn’t happened, there would be no new laws created, and the Declaration of Independence would not have been made, therefore we would still be under British rule. The rebellion of America was based off of the idea of republicanism, which was first presented by people like Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Thomas Paine. Patriots represented a large variety of social, economic, ethnic, and racial groups. The earliest use of the word “Patriot” in writing was in a letter in 1773 written by Benjamin Franklin. In the Revolutionary War period, people in Britain thought of being a patriot an offense to the king. In that time, a patriot was someone who was a “factious disturber of the government”. This was considered outlandish and bad by the people of Britain and the king. Although it was very rare, there were even patriots before 1775, like the Sons of Liberty. These patriotic groups rebelled against the king and Britain, causing problems. The most important figures of the Patriots are called the Founding Fathers of the United States. There are also other famous Patriots such as Thomas Jefferson, Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, Ethan Allen, Patrick Henry, Ben Franklin, and Georgia Washington. Without these important leaders, the American Revolution would not have succeeded. The Patriots greatly opposed the taxes and laws put in play by the king. They especially disliked those taxes in which the tax-payer had to representation. The saying “No taxation without representation” refers to the lack of a representation in the British Parliament concerning the laws and taxes placed on the colonies. This was one of the main reason for rebellion and discontent in the colonies. There were also some patriots who said they were loyal to the king. They simply believed that the colonies should run their own affairs separate from Britain and the king. There were also those radical Patriots who poured tar and feathers onto the British tax collectors and custom officers. As you can see, there are different kinds and meanings of Patriots. The Patriots also had some outside help in the Revolutionary War. Other European countries sent military leaders who provided training and leadership for the troops. George Washington greatly appreciated the help and support for his cause. Some other Patriots included Nathan Hale, Marquis de Lafayette, and Baron von Steuben. Patriots were also involved in a number of events that happened in America. One example was the Battle of Bunker Hill. During this battle, on June 17, 1775, on Breed’s Hill, the Patriots were outnumbered, about 2,400 to 3,000. In this battle, the British took heavy losses, about 1,000 but still won the battle and captured the Charlestown peninsula. However, this was a bittersweet victory, as the British lost over a third of their troops to the American soldiers. The Americans lost only about a fifth of their men but lost the peninsula. This would be called a pyrrhic victory for the British. At the start of the decade, 1770, there were about 50,000 people living in the colony of Georgia. About half of these were slaves working for rich farmer on the plantations. Most of the colonists at the time were living near the coast. As battles started against the British in the North, Georgia got rid of the Royal Governor, James Wright and created a new government. When the time came for the colony representatives to meet in Philadelphia, Georgia and their new government joined the Continental Congress. Later, in 1776, this same Congress signed the Declaration of Independence. The Georgians who signed the document were Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, and George Walton. In Savannah, British warships arrived on the Savannah River on January 1776, the first crisis arose. From fear of a British attack on Savannah, The Council of Safety put Governor Wright under house arrest. They then put Colonel Lachlan McIntosh in the city to defend it. This was called the Battle of Rice Boats on March 2-3, 1776. The battle gained its name because British marines took control of rice-carrying boats in the harbor of Savannah. The marines sailed away with some of the rice and Governor Wright and his head councilors. Another incident was the three invasion of Florida. Led by Charles Lee, Georgians invaded British Florida. Lee hoped to impress the Indians with his battle tactics, realizing the low probability of conquest. However, he was called north, taking the troops he had from Virginia and North Carolina with him. As a replacement, Georgians under the command of Lachlan McIntoshs skirmished with Rangers from Florida and the Indian allies they had, abandoning the southern borderlands. The first two attempts to invade Florida were failure but that did not persuade the Georgians to give up. In 1778, the Georgians invaded once more and were successful, commanded by Governor John Houston. Sources;
1)http://www.ourgeorgiahistory.com/history101/gahistory04.html 2)http://www.ushistory.org/us/11b.asp 3)https://www.boundless.com/u-s-history/textbooks/boundless-u-s-history-textbook/the-american-revolution-1763-1783-7/patriots-and-loyalists-66/ 4)http://www.sonofthesouth.net/revolutionary-war/patriots/patriots-american-revolutoin.htm 5)http://www.aboutnorthgeorgia.com/ang/Georgia_and_the_American_Revolution |