The Reasons Why the Patriots Won the Revolutionary War

The patriots won the revolutionary war due to many factors. The biggest reason being that they were backed by the military of the French. Also they were more emotionally involved, and because they lived on the soil they were fighting on, they had a better understanding of the lay of the land. The French supported the Patriots cause in part because they saw that as a way to get revenge on Britain for what they had done in the French-Indian war a few years before the start of the revolutionary war.

The French were able to lend a powerful navy, as well as ground troops and supplies. By sending a navy as well as troops, the French greatly aided the Patriots as the Patriots numbers were much smaller than the large army of the British. The supplies sent by the French allowed for troops to fight longer and kept morale up, and without morale the soldiers could possibly lose the will to fight, which in a battle is not good.

The British strong suit was their navy and that was also the Patriots weakness, so the French, by giving the Patriots aid with their navy greatly improved their track record in naval battles. Without this aid, the Patriots quite possibly could have lost the war. One of the most namely battles, the battle of the Chesapeake, was won with aid from the French navy, this battle shut off important trade routes for the British to get supplies which lowered British morale and helped to steer victory in the war toward the Patriots.

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The Patriots were more emotionally involved than the British in the Revolutionary war. They were fighting for their freedom which is a powerful cause, while most British soldiers were only fighting because it was a way for them to make an income thus they didn’t have an emotional attachment to their fighting and were not as devoted to the cause, meaning they did not perform as well as the Patriots who were fighting to make their lives better and have freedom to live their lives as they pleased for the most part.

The Patriots, due to their emotional involvement gave their all and were willing to die for their cause because the alternative was a way of life they couldn’t bear to deal with any longer. On the other side, the British soldiers would get paid if they won or if they lost, and their way of living wouldn’t change either way, so there was little incentive to go “all out” and really put as much hard work into their fighting as the Patriots did. The Patriots, having lived in the colonies for some time, were very familiar with the territory and so they had that advantage over the British soldiers. The Patriots were able to hide and ambush the British, as well as retreat and not be found, due to the British’ poor understanding of the layout of the land in America. By having a good understanding of the territory in the colonies, the Patriots were able to employ guerrilla warfare tactics. They could hide out in the woods, and ambush their enemies, and were difficult to see as they usually wore common earth colored clothing, not a military uniform.

The use of guerrilla tactics also had a psychological effect on the British. They had no clue when American Patriots may come out and attack, this method of warfare, playing to their knowledge of the land was very effective, namely in the Battle of Ticonderoga in 1775 when the British were ambushed by Patriot guerrilla fighters led by Benedict Arnold. Without this knowledge of the lay of the land, the Patriots would have been at a disadvantage but even though they had smaller numbers they were able to fight successfully against the British thanks to their use of guerrilla tactics. Overall, even though the Patriots had smaller numbers, they played to their strengths in order to be victorious. Having the French as allies, as well as a strong emotional attachment to their cause allowed for the Patriots to perform well and emerge victorious from the American Revolutionary War.