"Of Rocks, Trees, Rifles, and Militia" Topic

"Maybe you remember that early Bill Cosby routine about American history. It began like this:

"Suppose way back in history if you had a referee before every war, and the guy called the toss. Let's go to the Revolutionary War."…."
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Amicalement
Armand

Debunking "the myth" has almost become a cottage industry.

It's a myopic view of the conditions of the American landscape – that controlling the urban centers after brilliant open field battles was going to defeat an army able to retreat rearward to bases of safety, and that winning the hearts and minds of the folk who populated the lands in between would naturally follow these conventional successes – the actual myth (and flawed strategy) ……that follow-on "Tory uprisings" would create the conditions for an inevitable victory.

Geography played a contrasting affect in this North American war, that would set different conditions for achieving victory [control].

The ad nauseam debunking of "the myth" is to ignore the war that was fought in the area "between the great open field battles" – one fought behind the rocks, in the trees, down the lane at the mill, or over vasts forests, that often pitted wholly irregular forces waging unconventional warfare, and denied that ultimate control [and its victory].

My recent delving into the "petite guerre" of the AWI makes me agree with FlyX. Many of us are aware of the near perpetual guerilla war in NJ, and the whaleboat war on LI.
But what opened my eyes was the work of the militia in NJ in controlling areas for Congress, arresting or driving out Tories, and suppressing disloyalty.
Its not pretty. And it looks alot like what happened in France, Russia and China. More so than I like to admit.
But it worked. It was our luck that such behavior ended with the war, rather than escalating out of control a la "the terror". Given the historical record in so many other nations, why it didn't is amazing. Hence, I'm still
looking to read about it.

Good point.

Amicalement
Armand