HY 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Model Treaty, Hudson Valley, Olive Branch Petition
29 May 2018
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Chapter 08 - America Secedes from
the Empire
I. Congress Drafts George Washington
1. The Congress selected George Washington (43 years) to lead the hastily improvised army
besieging Boston. He had never risen above the rank of a colonel in the militia. He was
gifted with leadership and a strong character. He was a moral force rather than a military
mind.
2. His selection was largely political. Already wealthy he couldn't be accused of being a
fortune-seeker. He was from Virginia and as an aristocrat he could be counted on to check
the "excesses of the masses."
II. Bunker Hill And Hessian Hirelings
1. The clash of arms continued on a contradictory basis. On one hand, Americans were
emphatically affirming their loyalty to the King and earnestly voicing their desire to patch
up difficulties
2. On the other hand, they were raising armies and shooting down his majesty's soldiers.
3. May 1775 - A tiny American force under Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold surprised and
captured the British garrisons at Ticonderoga and Crown Point (New York)
• They secured a store of gunpowder and artillery for the siege of Boston.
1. June 1775 - Colonists seized a hill, now known as Bunker Hill (actually Breed's Hill) British
blundered bloody when they launched a frontal attack with 3,000 men
Americans mowed down the British but they ran out of ammo and they ran away. It was
defeat but the Americans won because the British would have no army left in America
2. July 1775 - The Continental Congress adopted the Olive Branch Petition, professing
American loyalty to the crown and begging the King to prevent further hostilities
3. But following Bunker Hill, the King slammed the door to all hope of reconciliation.
• Because most of these soldiers-for-hire came from the German principality of Hesse, the
Americans called all Euro-mercenaries Hessians.
• Hessians hirelings proved to be good soldiers but many wanted money than duty.
III. Burgoyne's Blundering Invasion
1. London officials adopted an intricate scheme for capturing the vital Hudson River Valley in
1777. The main invading force, under an actor - playwright - soldier, General John
Burgoyne, would push down the Lake Champlain route from Canada.
General Howe's troops in New York could advance up the Hudson River to meet Burgoyne
near Albany.
2. Colonel Barry St. Leer would come in from the west by way of Lake Ontario and the
Mohawk Valley. While the British stopped to construct a sizeable fleet, the tireless Arnold
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