British strategy

[keldoll532]

The British strategy before 1778 during the first half of the Revolution was to?

and the British strategy during the second half of the war was to?

and the river the formed boundary between the two parts in the first half of the war was?

[Johnmof]

The river might be the Delaware. There's a famous painting of Washington crossing it at a crucial stage in the war.

[Clanad]

The river in question is the Hudson running from Lake Champlain to New York harbor. It is also the key to the changing strategy of the British which evolved late in 1777 and into 1778. Prior to that time, the Britis held the Continentals in utter contempt and hurled the full strength of the forces, both land an naval, at the colonist forces commanded by Washington. When this failed and the French (and the Dutch) entered the War in support of the rebellion, the British shifted their strategy to the southern part of of the new Union. (This, by the way, is the central theme of the Mel Gibson movie Patriot of a few years ago.)

[mike b]

For heaven's sake. don't bring Mel Gibson into any discussion of history!