After the American victory at Saratoga, the French decided to enter the war on the American side. The two nations signed military and political treaties. Historian Gordon Wood says this alliance created bigger problems for the British.
"Because, once the French were involved, it turns the thing from counterinsurgency for the British. They're now fighting a world war."
The British immediately sent a message to America's Continental Congress. They offered to go back to a time of better relations. The Americans rejected the British offer. The war would be fought to the end.
In seventeen seventy-nine, Spain entered the war against the British. And the next year, the British were also fighting the Dutch to stop their trade with America.
The French now sent gunpowder, soldiers, officers and ships to the Americans. However, neither the Americans nor the British made much progress in the war for the next two years.
By seventeen eighty, the British had moved their military forces to the American South. They quickly gained control of South Carolina and Georgia. But the Americans prevented them from taking control of North Carolina. After that, the British commander moved his troops to Yorktown, Virginia.
The commander's name was Lord Charles Cornwallis. Both he and George Washington had about eight thousand troops when they met near Yorktown. Cornwallis was expecting more troops to arrive on British ships.
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25