John Shy and Revolutionary War

John Shy raised the question of how the American Revolution could have been successful at all against the greatest military and economic power of the 18th Century and one that had a longer imperial reach than any other. Yes in the end Great Britain gave up its North American colonies after the defeat at Yorktown in 1781 and the collapse of Lord North's ministry. Over 200,000 men fought in the Continental Army at one time or another and perhaps even more in the local at state militias, an enormous number in a country with a white population of only about two million. In addition to the conventional battles that have been well-covered in the traditional histories, there were a far larger number of skirmishes and ambushes by local militias and irregular forces that made British control impossible outside of large towns and garrison areas. Throughout...
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