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The French initially resisted a formal compact with the upstart patriots. Only after the patriot victory at Saratoga in October 1777 did the French king agree to an alliance. -
but many soldiers deserted believing New Yorkers should defend New York. Ultimately, Washington arrived in New York with 19,000 men, many of whom were poorly armed and poorly trained and some of whom were coerced into service by local committees of safety.
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housewives raided stores and warehouses and took the supplies they needed. Others learned as much as they could about finances, submitting reports to local officials when their family properties were damaged or looted
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Meanwhile, British ships sailed into New York harbor or anchored off the coast of Long Island. General William Howe, hoping to overwhelm the colonists, ordered 10,000 troops to march into the city -
On Christmas Eve, Washington’s troops crossed the river to attack(battle was agreed on to not take place during winter yet Washingtons fought anyway)
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The French initially resisted a formal compact with the upstart patriots. Only after the patriot victory at Saratoga in October 1777 did the French king agree to an alliance. -
Caused Britain to retreat to New York -
By mid-January 1777, the tide began to turn in favor of the Continental Army, but victory was far from certain.
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In August 1781, frustrated at the large amount of local support patriots carried in the South, Cornwallis hunkered down in Yorktown on the Virginia coast and waited for reinforcements from New York. In response, Washington coordinated strategy with French allies to cut off Cornwallis’s escape. -
Eventually U.S. delegates finalized a treaty that secured substantial benefits for the young nation. Its terms granted the United States control of all lands south of Canada and north of Louisiana and Florida stretching to the Mississippi River. In addition, the treaty recognized the United States to be “free Sovereign and independent states.”