The Unites States of America (part 1)

The United States of America (abbreviated USA, US, and very rarely USOA), is the world’s third largest nation by population and land. This may be a multi-part article, as it is a huge subject.

The War of Independence (American Revolution)

The War of Independence was the first war the USA was involved in. It began in 1775 and formally ended in 1783, and was between the British Empire and the 13 of the British North American colonies.

The Revolution also spread to Europe, with Spain and France declaring full support for the Revolutionaries, as well as the Dutch supplying them.

The Americans had mainly two military groups: The Continental Army (a more unified group), and the State Militias. As for the British, they had the support of groups of Americans, who called themselves Loyalists, as well as the British army and the British Navy, which was considered the mightiest seafaring force on Earth at the time.

One of the most famous battles in the American Revolution was the Battle of Yorktown.

In 1781, after nearly six years of fighting, the last major showdown began. American General George Washington and his French ally Lt. General Comte De Rochambeau decided to march their combined armies down to attack the British held city of Yorktown, Virginia, where they would have naval support from a French fleet in the area.

The fight engaged around 28,000 soldiers, both British, French, and American, with 19,900 American and French troops and only around 9,000 British troops. On October 9, the Americans and French began to bombard Yorktown with artillery.

On October 14, American forces attacked garrisoned British troops in Yorktown. The battle formally ended on October 19, 1781, with the British and their allies surrendering to George Washington.

One day, on September 3, 1783, the American Revolution ended with the Treaty of Paris. During the Revolution major papers such as the Declaration of Independence were written and signed. I might write a more detailed article on the Revolution at some point 🙂

The War Against Tripoli

It was the he first formal war declared against the brand new United States. After the Revolution, the Barbary States (Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli) were to give the Americans safe passage into and out of the Mediterranean Sea. However, the Tripolitans began to seize American ships and take their crews prisoner (many of them were turned into slaves until the end of the war).

The Americans were ordered to pay a heavy tribute to Tripoli to stop the raids. However, President Thomas Jefferson refused. Eventually, in 1801, the Pasha of Tripoli declared war on the United States.

Immediately, the Americans sent Naval Commodore Edward Preble to lead a squadron of ships (including the USS Philadelphia, USS Constitution, USS Essex, and various other ships). Preble soon blockaded the city of Tripoli, and launched several successful attacks.

After several years of stalemate, the Americans agreed to pay a small tribute in exchange for all American prisoners be released and all American ships be granted safe passage. Edward Preble is today one of the most famous American Naval commanders in history, and “Preble’s Boys,” as they were called (Stephen Decatur, James Lawrence, Isaac Hull, Thomas Macdonough, and various others), became well respected American politicians and military commanders.

That is all I can fit in this article. I will try to finish it in future posts. If you want to learn more about the forgotten American war (the Tripoli War), there are various good sources out there. I will try to give some at the very end.