Major Logistical And Budgetary Problems Of The American Revolutionaries

What were the major logistical and budgetary problems that the British faced in prosecuting the war against the American revolutionaries?
The most striking logistical problem that the British faced was the fact that the war was theirs to lose from the onset. All the Americans had to do was ward off the British whereas the British had to cross seas and attempt to control the Americans. Additionally, the British army relied almost entirely upon Britain for supplies once they landed in America, making replenishing very difficult. A major reason for this, as discussed in class, was the need to prevent pirates from looting supply ships; shipping supplies from Britain required a massive military investment in the form of guard vessels. Another

Overall, the French gave the Americans 2.2 mil and 7800 troops, with a follow up loan of 10 mil coming from the French and Dutch after the Yorktown victory. This is considered to be a result of these countries seeking vengeance for their loss in the Seven years’ war 12 years prior. Another source of finances came from confiscation of British and Loyalist property and its resale. American raids and privateering of British war supplies also provided a useful stream of resources that saved the Americans a significant amount of money. IOU's were also utilized by field commanders as a form of payment. Additionally, Robert Morris, a wealthy Philadelphia merchant, had a pivotal role in the American financing effort. In addition to financing a large portion of American’s privateer fleet, Morris underwrote the costs of the American military in the 1781 Yorkshire battle, a time when funding was most critically needed due to hyper-inflation of American currency. Another large contributor to the financing of the war was Haym Soloman who facilitate funding by converting foreign loans into bills of

Individual states ended up printing large amounts of their own paper currency. By the end of 1775, the continental congress, which lacked authority to impose taxes, began to print its own standardized union-wide currency. As discussed in class, this money was printed in gross excess as the war dragged on. This excess was exasperated by dumping of counterfeit bills into the colonies by British agents attempting to sabotage the integrity of the American currency. This led to massive inflation that led people to actually burn the money for warmth. The states were actually hit the hardest by this inflation as they were required to accept the practically worthless continental currency. As discussed in class, the magnitude of the inflation reached its peak in 1780 when $168 of currency from 1775 was worth only $1. In 1781, the continental dollar was so worthless, it ceased to circulate as