Tactics of the Revolutionary War

Many of the strategies which the Americans used against the British are similar in many ways to the strategies now being used against us around the world. The British got a taste of how the Americans fought on the very first day of the Revolution. The Americans did not gather in front of them but instead chose to separate and fire from behind trees and stone walls. The British underestimated the U.S. that took a devastating toll on the British Army.  

​​​​​​​The soldiers would form rows of long lines. They would approach the enemy to get within a range of 50 yards. Then each row would fire a round at the enemy in unison. The first row would fire and then start to reload. Then, while the first row was reloading, the second row would fire and so on. Fighting in lines like this is called linear tactics. This might seem silly at first but muskets were horribly inaccurate, so instead they would shoot together and send a wall of musket balls flying at the enemy. By firing in rows, each row had time to reload while the others were firing. 

The next tactic we are going to talk about is called Guerrilla Warfare. This is arguably one of the tactics that changed warfare and won us the war. Guerrilla Warfare is what is most commonly known as a “hit and run.” The Americans would hide in the trees and then the British would be walking by then they would attack then go back to hiding in the trees before the British would be able to fire back.