Britain's Role In The American Revolutionary War

Britain had a few goals when it switched focus of the American Revolutionary War from focusing on the north to moving down south. The strategy was to defend the West Indies and capture the tobacco and rice growing areas in Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. Another strategy was to raise for loyalist troops to help fight the Patriots. At the time this may have seemed like a good idea, but with the French becoming a more important role in the war Britain underestimated the Patriot French alliance. The war in the south was about trying to protect the sugar islands (West Indies) from French forces. When France joined the war in June 1778 they hoped to capture some of the islands from Britain. While Britain was busy fighting the ground war in the north and trying to defend the sugar islands from the French with their ships. In 1779 Spain started a campaign to take control of Florida and the fortress of Gibraltar to control the Mediterranean Sea. With all these battles going on and being spread out Britain had to make a decision, and the decision was to move the major ground war with the Patriots to the south. Britain’s southern campaign was handed …show more content…
Cornwallis then made a decision that would turn the tide of the war, he decided to move the battles to Virginia. Cornwallis met up with traitor Benedict Arnold in Virginia. While Cornwallis was fighting in the south the French had built a 5,500 strong force in Rhode Island. Washington and Lafayette moved to take on Cornwallis and Arnold all while Washington had known about the French fleet moving from the West Indies to capture the Chesapeake Bay to cut off British reinforcements and deny the ability for the British to retreat. Cornwallis was surrounded and outnumbered 2 to 1 on ground forces, realizing that there was no way out Cornwallis surrendered on October