Comparison of the Battles of Bunker Hill, Ft. Moultrie, Saratoga, and Yorktown
There are a lot of battles that took place in the American Revolution. While some of these battles were indeed significant for the whole American Revolution, some of the battles significance was being questioned up until this point. The battle at Bunker Hill was significant so far, thanks to Sir Thomas Gage (A British war commander) over his enemy who was Colonel William Prescott (MiddleKauff, 1985). This was a battle won by the British and not the Americans.
The battle at Fort Moultrie on the other hand was a battle wherein William Moultrie, defended the said fort, which was later named after him. The battle was one of the many ones that had an objective of guarding Charleston at South Carolina. On the other hand, battle of Saratoga was one of the most decisive ones. It was a battle that lasted for 18 days and it is generally considered a great turning point for the whole American Revolution.
There were a lot of casualties in this battle both from America and British’s side. Lastly, the battle of Yorktown; this perhaps was one of the most important battles ever fought in the war for it was marked as the last major battle fought during the American Revolution.
The battle was fought by the Americans, who were allied with the French (their number in some 16,000) against the greatly outnumbered British with only as few as 6,000 soldiers. At the end of this tremendous battle, the British forces, having been outnumbered, marched out to surrender and end the battle of Yorktown once and for all; thus, ending the American war for independence (BB, n.d.).
Are These Battles Victories or Losses for the Americans?
If we are going to look at it as a whole, the battles could generally be considered a victory for the Americans since they were able to get a hold of independence against the British colonizers after all. If in case, they were to remain under the sovereignty of the British Empire, then perhaps that could be classified as a great loss for them, considering the immeasurable amount of blood, resources and effort they have spent just to start a large-scale revolution such as their war for independence.
The Consequences of the Battles
There are a lot of consequences that not only America but also France (America’s ally in most of their battles against the British Forces) suffered from in the course of the American war for Independence. There were also positive effects of the battles of course but let us focus more on the consequences that it brought first. First and foremost, there were a lot of American and French soldiers who died fighting for their independence.
A few thousands of soldiers have surely died in some of the most remarkable battles alone. According to PinkyMonkey.com (2004), between American and France, the latter was the one who suffered more. France lost majority of its naval and military units in during the American Revolution.
It was believed that they spent a lot during the Revolution and considering the fact that they have vast amounts of resources from the Royal Treasury, they still grew bankrupt. Aside from the huge casualties from both sides (England, France and America), increase in national debts were also experienced since it really is expensive to wage a large-scale war such as this one (Brown, 1992).
References
BB. n.d. The Battle of Yorktown. British Battles. Accessed January 2011. Available at http://www.britishbattles.com/battle-yorktown.htm.
TAR. (2008). Stories From the Revolution; Consequences of the Revolution. The American Revolution. Accessed January 2011. Available at http://www.nps.gov/revwar/about_the_revolution/consequences_war.html.
The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789. ISBN13: 9780195315882. Robert MiddleKauff. Oxford University Press Publishers. 1985. Print.
Brown, R. (1992). Major Problems in the Era of the American Revolution, 1760-1761: Documents and Essays. Lexington, Mass. Print.
