The Crossing

COMPARING THE ARMIES

BRITISH ARMY STRENGTHS
• CONSIDERED ONE OF THE MOST

POWERFUL ARMIES IN THE WORLD

• 50, 00 EXPERIENCED SOLDIERS AND

USED MERCENARIES (HESSIANS)

• HAD BETTER SUPPLIES (FOOD,

CLOTHING, AND WEAPONS)

• MOST NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES SIDED

WITH THE BRITISH

• 1 IN 5 AMERICANS OPENLY FAVORED

THE BRITISH

CONTINENTAL ARMY STRENGTHS
• HAD A GRAND CAUSE: FIGHTING FOR

THEIR RIGHTS, THEIR INDEPENDENCE,
AND THEIR LIBERTY

• FIGHTING ON HOME TERRITORY: KNEW

THE LAND, PROBLEM AREAS, AND WHERE
TO HIDE

• HAD MILITIAS WITH FIGHTING STYLES

OF HIDING BEHIND ROCKS AND TREES

• OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP: GEORGE

WASHINGTON

Open Ended

Name 2 strengths of the British Army.

COMPARING THE ARMIES

BRITISH ARMY STRENGTHS
• CONSIDERED ONE OF THE MOST

POWERFUL ARMIES IN THE WORLD

• 50, 00 EXPERIENCED SOLDIERS AND

USED MERCENARIES (HESSIANS)

• HAD BETTER SUPPLIES (FOOD,

CLOTHING, AND WEAPONS)

• MOST NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES SIDED

WITH THE BRITISH

• 1 IN 5 AMERICANS OPENLY FAVORED

THE BRITISH

CONTINENTAL ARMY STRENGTHS
• HAD A GRAND CAUSE: FIGHTING FOR

THEIR RIGHTS, THEIR INDEPENDENCE,
AND THEIR LIBERTY

• FIGHTING ON HOME TERRITORY: KNEW

THE LAND, PROBLEM AREAS, AND WHERE
TO HIDE

• HAD MILITIAS WITH FIGHTING STYLES

OF HIDING BEHIND ROCKS AND TREES

• OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP: GEORGE

WASHINGTON

Open Ended

Name 2 strengths of the Continental Army.

COMPARING THE ARMIES

BRITISH ARMY WEAKNESSES

• FIGHTING A WAR TO DENY

INDEPENDENCE (LESS MOTIVATING)

• HAD TO WAIT A LONG TIME FOR

SUPPLY AND SOLDIER REPLACEMENTS
DUE TO DISTANCE FROM HOME

• FIGHTING ON UNFAMILIAR

TERRITORY

• RED UNIFORMS MADE THEM EASY

TARGETS

• HAD BEEN AT WAR FOR MANY YEARS;

CITIZENS WERE TIRED OF WAR AND
TAXES

CONTINENTAL ARMY WEAKNESSES

• BRAND NEW ARMY WITH NO

UNIFORMS

• 15,000 MOSTLY INEXPERIENCED

SOLDIERS

• CONGRESS COULD NOT RAISE ENOUGH

MONEY TO PROVIDE FOR THE ARMY

• SOME NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES

SIDED WITH THE COLONISTS

• HALF THE POPULATION WANTED TO

AVOID CONFLICT ALTOGETHER

Open Ended

Name 2 weaknesses of the British Army.

COMPARING THE ARMIES

BRITISH ARMY WEAKNESSES

• FIGHTING A WAR TO DENY

INDEPENDENCE (LESS MOTIVATING)

• HAD TO WAIT A LONG TIME FOR

SUPPLY AND SOLDIER REPLACEMENTS
DUE TO DISTANCE FROM HOME

• FIGHTING ON UNFAMILIAR

TERRITORY

• RED UNIFORMS MADE THEM EASY

TARGETS

• HAD BEEN AT WAR FOR MANY YEARS;

CITIZENS WERE TIRED OF WAR AND
TAXES

CONTINENTAL ARMY WEAKNESSES

• BRAND NEW ARMY WITH NO

UNIFORMS

• 15,000 MOSTLY INEXPERIENCED

SOLDIERS

• CONGRESS COULD NOT RAISE ENOUGH

MONEY TO PROVIDE FOR THE ARMY

• SOME NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES

SIDED WITH THE COLONISTS

• HALF THE POPULATION WANTED TO

AVOID CONFLICT ALTOGETHER

Open Ended

Name 2 weaknesses of the Continental Army

BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND

• BOTH ARMIES ATTEMPTED TO GAIN CONTROL OF NEW YORK (IT WAS AN IMPORTANT POINT OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN COLONIES)
• AFTER GREAT LOSSES, WASHINGTON AND HIS ARMY RETREATED TO NEW JERSEY AND EVENTUALLY TO PENNSYLVANIA.
• MANY SOLDIERS LEFT AFTER THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND AND MORALE WAS LOW.

Multiple Choice

Morale after the battle of Long Island was _______?

• High

• Low

CROSSING THE DELAWARE

• AT THIS TIME PERIOD, MOST ARMIES DID NOT FIGHT BATTLES IN

WINTER.

• ON (Dec.25) CHRISTMAS NIGHT, 1776, WASHINGTON AND HIS ARMY

CROSSED THE DELAWARE RIVER AND MARCHED 9 MILES TO TRENTON.

• THEY SURPRISED THE SLEEPING HESSIAN TROOPS AND ENDED WITH AN

AMERICAN VICTORY.

• THE VICTORY AT TRENTON GAVE AMERICAN SOLDIERS HOPE FOR THE

FUTURE AND RESTORED MORALE

Multiple Choice

After the battle of Trenton, the armies morale was _______.

• increased

• decreased

What do

you

notice?

Crossing the Delaware

You may recognize the
figures in these
paintings, and may
even laugh. But even
the real image is not as
logical or realistic as it
could be.

LEUTZE PAINTING 1851:
Washington Crossing the Delaware

The oil-on-canvas painting illustrates
George Washington, then a general in
the American Revolutionary War,
crossing the Delaware River with his
troops on the night of Dec. 25-26,
1776. The crossing was right before
Washington's surprise attack on the
Hessian forces in the Battle of Trenton
in New Jersey.