Ryan Houghton: American War of Independence

 American War 

The below is an excert from an academic essay submitted during my undergraduate degree.

There have been several studies into the production of gunpowder in the colonies before the formal alliance with France, The precise figure and therefore the quantifiable impact of French imports to America varies by study. Some have suggested that the first study by Stephenson are too pessimistic and his lack of detailed sources discredit his calculations regarding domestic production. Stephenson’s study in 1925 into gunpowder supply resoundingly concludes that “there was no time during the first two and a half years of the Revolution when the colonies had nearly enough powder for their needs.” Even if one takes the view of Salay, who revises up Stephenson’s domestic production figures it is irrefutable that without French supply before Saratoga, “the revolution would have broken down long before that time”.

Fortunately for the Americans, the French were willing to spend money and a lot of it. Through their shell company established by the Comte de Vergennes, with the blessing of King Louis XVI, styled, Roderique Hortalez et Cie, the French gifted 1 million livre and had the Spanish match it. The money arranged was to be, as instructed by Vergennes to Beaurmarchais, “at your own risk and peril, you shall furnish to America arms and everything else necessary to sustain war.” 17Had this financial aid not been provided, it’s difficult to see how the American’s would have continued their revolution. Indeed it’s entirely plausible that the Americans unable to deviate from a war of attrition would have been forced to reconcile with Britain. By the end of the conflict, France through grants, loans and gifts poured over twelve million livre into the American cause.18 Through financial assistance manifest in supplies routed via a shell company the French intervention arguably saved the revolution from a false start. 

Though it was the first to recognise it in a legal capacity, France was not the only foreign power to aid the fledgling American nation. Initially the Spanish were hesitant. Spain would rather see a united effort with France against Portugal, or indeed even in Ireland. There was little appetite for this venture in France. Eventually, Spain agreed to support the French in their financing of the American cause, equal to the amount advanced by France. Perkins writing in 1911, reflects that there was lacklustre motive from Charles III who felt that “It was not befitting the dignity of the two nations to make common cause with apeople in revolt against their sovereign”.19 Perkins takes the view that Spain’s eventual donation equal to the French of 1 million livres, was “not given in order to secure their [America’s] success,” rather to keep the conflict going to exhaust both sides.More contemporary research, by those such as Yaniz, credit Spain with some semblance of an altruistic motive. It is difficult to see however on what evidence Yaniz substantiates this.

Whatever the motive, Spain was now involved. This advance of one million livre facilitated by the French was further supported by the actions of Spain’s Governor of Louisiana Luis de Unzuaga. The governor supplied a variety of munitions to the Americans via Havana.21These supplies would be carried into the colonies, protected by using Spanish marked merchant ships. Much of the gunpowder was sent to Fort Pitt, which served as the headquarters for the Continental Army in the west. This aid according to Chavez “saved Fort Pitt from British capture.”Without a single reference to the direct military assistance of the French and Spanish, it is becoming clear how effective this foreign intervention was. From strategic supply chains to outright financial support, the assistance of foreign nations ensured the survivability of the American cause.

Up till now, only soft power has been mentioned. Though this has been demonstrated as crucial in sustainment of the American rebels and safeguarded them against certain defeat, to swing the balance the other way and to make an American victory possible, more would be required. On February 6 th, 1778, France and the United States signed agreements in Paris. Under Article 8 of the Treaty of Alliance, France’s commitment and that of the United States to “not lay down their arms until the Independence of the United States shall have been formally or tacitly assured by the treaty or treaties that shall terminate the war.” was enshrined. 

One year later, the Treaty of Aranjuez between France and Spain, put Spain on a direct path for formal conflict, and months later in April, it declared hostilities against the British. Entry into the war by Spain and France robbed Britain of its one absolute advantage, naval supremacy. At the 6 th Military History Symposium held in 1974, Lieutenant Colonel Palmer in his presentation to the symposium highlights that “The only mobility edge they had ever held over the Americans was thus endangered if not lost altogether.” No longer could the British commanders move their troops up and down the eastern seaboard of the United States without risk of engagement. Nor could they continue a relaxed posture of defence for the other possessions of the empire. In essence, the entry of France and later Spain turned the “Revolution from a local uprising into a key element in an international war”.

Now a global conflict, Britain found itself under immense pressure. So much so that it would miss a series of chances to inflict heavy losses on America and hew new allies. As 1779 drew to a close, British success was looking ever more likely. Charleston fell in 1780 and later that year American forces under Horatio Gates were defeated at Camden. France prepared to send an expeditionary force to be led by General Rochambeau. The force which in total consisted of 8.000 mixed infantry managed to sail from Europe to the United

States without hindrance from the British. The reason the voyage went unhindered, as explored by Dull due to the British fleet of Thomas Graves being delayed for refitting in its support of operations in Gibraltar.26 This is symptomatic of the condition Britain found itself in. With her forces stretched thinly across broad geographical regions, her ability to hamper crucial reinforcements to the American theatre from France and Spain were severely limited. The ever present threat and actions of allied ships in European waters strangled Britain’s ability to project naval supremacy across the Atlantic Ocean. With the Spanish Siege of Gibraltar, Dutch activities in the North Sea and the possibility of a mixed Spanish and France crossing to attack the British mainland severe restrictions were placed on naval reinforcement of Britain’s North America fleet.

 It is hard to comprehend how real the threat was an invasion of Britain played on the minds of the government at the time. Communication between the Spanish King’s Chief Minister Florida blanca and the Count of Aranda reveal their concern was warranted. 28 Chavez sheds light on the correspondence showing that the chief minister was more interested in a potential British invasion than a continued Siege of Gibraltar. As allied forces continued to pour into the continental United States, British forces were becoming ever more stretched. Unable to drive out French and Spanish ships from the West Indies and the wider American coastline naval supremacy was never recovered. The stresses of fending off a possible invasion, keeping Gibraltar from Spanish hands and protecting her possessions in the Caribbean left Britain with little naval resource. On land to 1781 started poorly. 

By summer, Spain had captured Pensacola, as well as Fort San Jose at Lake Michigan. The French received financial assistance from the Spanish, and this enabled Admiral De Grasse to position his fleet at Yorktown. Grasse remarked that the financial support given from the Spanish in Havana was the “bottom dollars upon which the edifice of American independence was raised.” For the money enabled the French fleet to move to Yorktown while Washington and his French counterpart Rochambeau headed to hem in Lord Cornwallis. This combination of foreign financial aid and military was to be the key to trapping the British and forcing the surrender of Cornwallis on October 19th, 1781.

 Two years later, Britain and America alone would write their terms of peace, snubbing French attempts to act as the middleman and influence the outcome. In 2011, the then American President Barack Obama commented that “the best revolutions are organic”, implying their best conditions for a favourable outcome were without foreign intervention. President Obama was criticised rightly by historians, for his apparent ignorance of the role of foreign powers in America’s revolution.Foreign intervention was critical in the success of the American case for independence and the defeat of the British. Without the finance, procurement ability and later ships and soldiers, the Americans would not have had the capacity to bring about a British surrender. Moreover, the entry into the war by France and Spain in a formal capacity forced King George’s government to defend possessions that were otherwise secure by treaty. 

This combination of resource increase to the Americans and applied pressure to other British territories and resources was there an only way a decisive victory could have been brought about. A decaying American currency, combined with a land war of attrition leaves little doubt an unaided American Revolution would have failed. With the ongoing British naval blockade, it is not plausible that the Americans would have won and even if they had, that they would have won in a healthy condition. A substantial victory, with the continued support of France and Spain, and by the end, Holland too, made possible the favourable terms agreed in the Treaty of Paris 1783. The treaty concluded the war that gave birth to one nation and reshaped the world map for many others.

Ryan Houghton is an experienced  Councillor in Aberdeen and has an in-depth knowledge of UK issues including Brexit. Learn more about Ryan Houghton here. Connect with Ryan Houghton on his Linkedin page here. Alternatively, you can read the latest Ryan Houghton news here.