Learning Goals
Students will understand some aspects of the American War of Independence as part of a longstanding rivalry between the global superpowers, France and Great Britain. The conflict between these two adversaries played out mainly at sea and its outcome was heavily influenced by naval power. Students will learn about the staggering power of both the French and British navies and understand the role of the much smaller Continental Navy in the war. Students will also learn about the various locations of important naval battles, which will expand their perspective of where the American War of Independence was fought.
Essential Questions
1. How did the longstanding rivalry between Britain and France affect the American Revolution?
2. How did British, French and American naval power compare?
3. Where did important naval battles occur during the American War of Independence?
Part I: French, British and American Naval Powers in the American Revolution
The War of the American Revolution involved the two greatest naval powers in the world—Britain and France—in a maritime conflict of unprecedented scale. The two navies deployed more than 1,200 warships, 25,000 naval cannons and more than 300,000 sailors in a conflict that spanned the globe. The power of the naval forces deployed by Britain and France was staggering. One ship of the line could concentrate more firepower than the entire Continental Army. The British navy deployed more than one hundred of these ships. The fleet commanded by Admiral de Grasse at the Battle of the Chesapeake could deliver more than twenty times the firepower of the combined armies of Washington and Rochambeau. The strategic importance of naval power was clear to the war’s greatest leader. “Without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive,” George Washington wrote to Lafayette. “And with it, everything honorable and glorious.”
Marine Royale de France
After suffering a crushing defeat in the Seven Years’ War, France launched an ambitious effort to build a new, more powerful navy for a renewed war with Britain—a war of revenge that would establish France as the preeminent naval power in the Atlantic world, restore balance among the European powers and secure long-term economic advantages for France by depriving Britain of its colonial possessions.
Supporting the American rebellion offered France an opportunity to deprive Britain of valuable colonies without the risks and expense of conquest or the danger of arousing the other Continental powers. With a large share of its ships committed in North America, the British navy—still larger than the French navy—would be on the defensive in the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean and might be defeated by concentrating French naval power.
King George’s Navy
The British Royal Navy was the largest navy in the world. It had to be. It was responsible for protecting Britain from the predatory powers of Continental Europe and defending an empire spread from Hudson Bay to the coast of Africa and from the Caribbean to the Bay of Bengal.
Despite its size, the Royal Navy was ill prepared for a naval war with France. The British fleet, victorious in the Seven Years’ War, was aging. British shipwrights made irregular use of the new mathematical foundation of naval architecture and lagged behind their French counterparts in the quality of their designs and the pace of new construction. The war in America had compounded this problem by disrupting the supply of masts, planking, hemp, tar and other naval stores upon which the fleet relied.
The Royal Navy nonetheless possessed certain advantages. British naval officers were accustomed to victory and were trained to employ more aggressive tactics than their opponents. British naval gunners were superior to their rivals. On the eve of the war Britain began coppering the bottoms of warships to repel worms and marine growth—an improvement that incidentally increased the speed of British ships.
Americans at Sea
On October 13, 1775, Congress authorized the purchase of two merchant vessels to be fitted out as warships. Four weeks later, on November 10, Congress authorized the addition of “two battalions of American Marines.” These were the first steps in the development of the United States Navy—now the most powerful navy in world history—and of the United States Marine Corps—now the most effective amphibious force ever known. About seventy vessels—mostly converted merchant ships—were commissioned in the Continental Navy. About 3,500 men served in the Continental Navy and Marines during the war. The chief purpose of the Continental Navy was to intercept British supply ships and to defend merchant convoys—missions for which it proved well suited. Continental Navy ships also challenged British cruisers off the American coast.
Questions
1. How many British ships of the line could concentrate more firepower than all of Washington’s army? How many of these ships did the British deploy?
2. What did George Washington think about the importance of foreign naval support?
3. What motivated France’s interest in the American War of Independence?
4. Why was the British Royal Navy the largest navy in the world?
5. How many sailors served in the Continental Navy and Marines during the Revolutionary War?
6. What was the chief purpose of the Continental Navy during the Revolutionary War?
Charting British and French Naval Power
Success and failure in the struggle for naval supremacy could be measured in the strength of the opposing fleets. Explore the French-made chart “Marine Royale de France Comparée a celle d’Angleterre . . . Juin 1782” (Royal Navy of France Compared to that of England…June 1782) for information about the strength of the British and French navies. It demonstrates how closely balanced these navies were in June of 1782.
Explore the chart by finding these items:
1. The French vaisseaux de ligne (ships of the line) are listed in the chart at far left and at the bottom of the column the number 89 indicates the total ships of the line in the French fleet. The British ships of the line are listed at the far right of the chart. The total number of ships of the line in the British fleet is listed at the bottom at 104.
2. Under the vaisseaux de ligne (ships of the line) section, the first column with numbers lists the number of cannon on ship. The 74-gun ships of the line were the most numerous for both navies.
3. Under the French vaisseaux de ligne (ships of the line) listed on the far left, locate the 114-gun first rate Royal Louis.
4. Under the British ships of the line listed at the far right, locate (featured in the magnified inset) the first rates Britannia, Royal George, Royal Sovereign and Ville de Paris—the last captured from the French at the Battle of the Saintes.
5. The bottom center of the chart provides a general overview of both navies. The section shows the tremendous firepower of the opposing fleets, with 9,934 cannons on French warships and 13,974 cannons on British vessels, as well as the vast number of men required to man the opposing fleets: 109,755 French and 123,020 British sailors.
Weapons of Mass Destruction: Royal Geoge and Ville de Paris
Explore the 1756 engraving of The Royal George. Then answer the questions below.
1. According to the engraving, what is the Royal George?
2. How many cannon and men did the Royal George carry?
3. What might the images in the upper right and left corners be? Why might they be included?
4. Why might this engraving have been circulated?
After analyzing the broadside, read the background information below about the Royal George.
HMS Royal George was the largest warship in the world and the pride of the Royal Navy when she was launched in 1756. She was the British flagship at the decisive Battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759 during the Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War in North America). By 1765 she was joined by Britannia and Victory—massive first rates with three-gun decks and ninety-eight or more guns. British naval construction slowed thereafter.
Royal George took part in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent near the southwestern point of Portugal in January
1780 and then sailed to the relief of Gibraltar. Her bottom was coppered later that year, increasing her speed
and maneuverability. She sank in April 1782 while being heeled over for repairs, resulting in the drowning of
over nine hundred people.
Explore the image of the French ship, Ville de Paris. Then answer the questions below.
1. How many decks is the Ville de Paris?
2. As an estimate, how many cannon did the Ville de Paris have?
3. What observations can be made about the sails?
After analyzing the image, read the background information below about the Ville de Paris.
The Ville de Paris first launched from Paris in January of 1764 and was refitted to be the largest warship afloat in 1781. She carried 104 guns and was manned by 1,200 sailors. With her as his flagship, French Admiral Count de Grasse entered the Chesapeake Bay off the coast of Yorktown, Virginia with 28 ships from the West Indies on August 30, 1781. On September 5 the British fleet, commanded by Lord Graves, appeared with ammunition, reinforcements, and supplies for Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. The French fleet defeated the British fleet in an engagement that came to be known as the Battle of the Chesapeake. Lord Graves and his fleet were forced to return to New York and the battle gave the allied FrancoAmerican forces command of the sea. Without reinforcements, Lord Cornwallis capitulated at Yorktown on October 19, 1781 after a twenty-day siege. In the days following the surrender, George Washington came aboard the Ville de Paris twice to congratulate Admiral de Grasse.
After the British surrender at Yorktown, de Grasse and his fleet sailed for the Caribbean where the French sought to capture British sugar islands. In March, de Grasse joined forces with a Spanish squadron and a fleet of transports to launch an invasion of Jamaica, the largest and richest of Britain’s Caribbean colonies. The loss of Jamaica would be a major blow to Britain’s colonial empire. The British fleet under Admiral George Rodney intercepted the French near the Îles des Saintes, a group of small rocky islands just south of Guadeloupe, in early April. The ensuing battle was a disaster for the French navy. Rodney captured Admiral de Grasse and the Ville de Paris and thousands of Frenchmen were killed, wounded or captured. Now taken over by the British, only a few months later the Ville de Paris was caught in a storm near the Azores, erupted with fire and sank.
Part II: Locating Notable British Naval Engagements During the American Revolution
Carte Réduit de l’Ocean Occidental (Reduced Western Ocean Map)
Britain’s naval war during the American Revolution reached from the Caribbean to the Bay of Bengal and from the North Sea to the South Atlantic. The highest priority for deploying naval vessels and men was defense of the homeland against the French and her allies near the English Channel. The next order was to protect the highly profitable sugar islands in the Caribbean, which was then followed by concern with suppressing the rebellion in the American colonies.
This map of the Atlantic was the work of Jacques-Nicholas Bellin, one of the most distinguished cartographers of the eighteenth century. He was appointed hydrographer to the French navy in 1721. In 1741 he was named ingénieur de la marine of the Depot des Cartes et Plans de la Marine and official hydrographer to the king.
Read about the naval battles below and locate where they occurred on the map above. Summarize each battle in 2-3 sentences.
Battle of Ushant
July 27, 1778
Location: Off the northwestern coast of France near the English Channel
The Battle of Ushant was a tactical stalemate, but a strategic victory for the French. It occurred soon after France publicly announced its alliance with the United States during the Revolutionary War. The British, with their military assets stretched thin by the war in America and forced to defend their empire against French attack, needed to achieve a tactical victory over the French navy in order to secure the English Channel. A decisive victory at Ushant would have freed the British to send more ships to the Caribbean. The tactical stalemate forced them to keep a large part of the Royal Navy in home waters. The British lost the Battle of Ushant by not winning. The French won by not losing. The result of the battle forced the British to commit vital resources in the English Channel to protect against the possibility of a French invasion.
Siege of Gibraltar
June 24, 1779-Feb. 7, 1783 (Royal George involved in 1780)
Location: Southern tip of Spain guarding the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean
The Siege of Gibraltar is among the longest sieges in the last 500 years and the longest ever endured by the British army. Gibraltar is a tiny bit of land that sits in a highly strategic location on the southern tip of Spain. It guards the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean. Gibraltar was captured from Spain by the British fleet in 1704 during the war of the Spanish Succession. Fifteen months after France declared war on Great Britain in 1778, Spain became allies with France and made winning back Gibraltar a high priority. The allied forces laid siege on the British held Gibraltar for several years and in late 1782 launched a grand attack with 13,000 men, 20 warships and 10 floating batteries armed with cannon. During the ensuing attack, the batteries ignited and began an exploding chain reaction. The crews of the remaining batteries abandoned and scuttled them. The ships withdrew, the soldiers stood down and the assault was over. Gibraltar still stood firmly in British hands. This stalwart defense of Gibraltar required large shares of British men and resources, which prevented their deployment to the rebelling American colonies and the British Caribbean.
Battle of the Chesapeake
Sept. 5, 1781 (Ville de Paris involved)
Location: Off the coast of Yorktown, Virginia in the Chesapeake Bay
The Battle of the Chesapeake was a tactical stalemate, but a decisive strategic victory for the French. The British fleet, commanded by Lord Graves, appeared in the Chesapeake Bay with ammunition, reinforcements, and supplies for Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. In the naval engagement that ensued, Admiral de Grasse and the French fleet defeated the British fleet, forcing it to return to New York. The battle gave the allied Franco-American forces command of the sea. Without reinforcements, Lord Cornwallis capitulated at Yorktown on October 19, 1781 after a twenty-day siege.
Battle of the Saintes
April 9-12, 1782 (Ville de Paris involved)
Location: Off the coast of Guadeloupe in the Caribbean
The British fleet under Admiral George Rodney clashed with the French fleet commanded by Admiral de
Grasse near the Îles des Saintes, a group of small rocky islands just south of Guadeloupe in the Caribbean.
The battle was a disaster for the French navy. The French fleet lost its commander, including the flagship
Ville de Paris, along with nine captains and thousands of sailors. The French effort to strip Britain of its
Caribbean colonies ended in defeat. British history often ends the story of the American rebellion with victory at the Battle of the Saintes where Rodney triumphed against de Grasse, a retaliation for British losses at
Yorktown.
