Ill-clothed, poorly fed, barely trained, and often unpaid, the American soldiers went up against the finest fighting force in Europe—and triumphed. In the end, the Americans had lost more battles than they had won.
They achieved victory by following a strategy devised by General Washington after his defeat on Long Island in 1776. From that time on, he fought a defensive war. He avoided large battles and wore the enemy down. Finally, Britain got tired of throwing men and money into what seemed like an endless conflict. Washington’s strategy succeeded. The end of the war, however, was just the beginning of the battle to forge a new nation based on the ideals that had carried the Patriots to victory.
