# If You Were Alive During the American Revolution **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 29, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-alive-during-the-american-revolution/551842 "2010-08-29T00:40:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-alive-during-the-american-revolution/551842/21 "2010-08-29T21:11:58Z")
The revolutionaries at that time were the commie pinko hippies of today. ---
**Author:** ![Gestalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90ced4/32.png) [@Gestalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gestalt)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-alive-during-the-american-revolution/551842/22 "2010-08-29T21:27:20Z")
> [@Hades](#): > > Funny words for a Tory. Tee-hee ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-alive-during-the-american-revolution/551842/23 "2010-08-29T21:50:52Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > I hope those not on our side all got sent back to England. Estimates are that about 90% of them stayed in the U.S. after independence. Their descendants live among us today, secretly worshipping at their hidden shrines to the House of Hanover. Most of the ones who left went to Canada, others to the Caribbean, and a lesser portion did go to Britain. I don’t think there are any good estimates of how many of the Loyalists were born in Britain, but I would guess that most of them were born in America. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-alive-during-the-american-revolution/551842/24 "2010-08-29T22:03:18Z")
OMG, they birthed anchor great great great great grand babies who are even now preparing to commit sabotage in the name of the Queen of England and the religious perversion than is Anglicanism. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-alive-during-the-american-revolution/551842/25 "2010-08-29T22:24:12Z")
I’d be on the side that hid and fired from behind rocks and trees and stuff… Those guys who wore red and marched in straight lines were foolish. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-alive-during-the-american-revolution/551842/26 "2010-08-30T02:06:21Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > I’d be on the side that hid and fired from behind rocks and trees and stuff… Those guys who wore red and marched in straight lines were foolish. 😃 Exactly! …and werent most of those redcoats actually German people? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-alive-during-the-american-revolution/551842/27 "2010-08-30T02:33:13Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Most likely I would have believed that we did have the inherent right to representation and that a Monarchy was an unethical method of government. But I would probably have believed that the correct answer would be to foment for a national vote (where “national” includes England) on whether to continue as a monarchy, with the King losing all power if he loses. I probably wouldn’t advocate war as life simply wasn’t all that bad. Going to war and getting a lot of people killed simply wouldn’t be worth it. That’s pretty much where I’d have been. Sure, the King and Parliament were being jackasses, but it’s hard to see just what they did that was worth killing anyone over. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-alive-during-the-american-revolution/551842/28 "2010-08-30T02:35:14Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > Exactly! > > …and werent most of those redcoats actually German people? The Hessians, you mean? Their Steppin’ Wolf Brigade was the pride of central Europe. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kombatminipig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5ac83/32.png) [@kombatminipig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kombatminipig)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-alive-during-the-american-revolution/551842/29 "2010-08-30T12:05:25Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > > [@jasg](#): > > > > I’d be on the side that hid and fired from behind rocks and trees and stuff… Those guys who wore red and marched in straight lines were foolish. 😃 > > Exactly! > > …and werent most of those redcoats actually German people? Nope, regular British infantry. Hessian auxiliaries wore their own colors (green, if I remember correctly), and operated in their own units. Anyway, you guys had help of plenty of French troops, as well as ample use of their navy (without which Cornwallis probably wouldn’t have lost the battle of Yorktown). And no, marching in a straight line wasn’t foolish in the least. Musket fire in this day and age was far too inaccurate and slow to have any effect on the enemy; the only way of breaking the enemy (short of slaughtering them to the man) was to mass infantry in formation, fire en masse and then charge with bayonets, hopefully breaking morale. Both the British army and the Continental Army fought this way with small variations, as did the rest of the western world until the advent of rifles and breach loaded small arms. Range was short, and black powder burns with so much smoke that camouflage would only hide you until the first shot was fired. In a melee (which was a regular part of warfare in this day and age), easy identification was far more important than camouflage. Excuse the sentiment, but oh how poorly don’t you know your own history? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-alive-during-the-american-revolution/551842/30 "2010-08-30T12:09:47Z")
My ancestors fought for the Americans. I would imagine, given the time and place, I would’ve done the same. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-alive-during-the-american-revolution/551842/31 "2010-08-30T12:26:27Z")
> [@kombatminipig](#): > > > [@Susanann](#): > > > > Exactly! > > > > …and werent most of those redcoats actually German people? > > Nope, regular British infantry. Hessian auxiliaries wore their own colors (green, if I remember correctly), and operated in their own units. Dark (Prussian) Blue: [http://www.vondonop.org/hkuniforms.html](http://www.vondonop.org/hkuniforms.html) (there were Hessian Jaegers (riflemen) who did wear green, however) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-alive-during-the-american-revolution/551842/32 "2010-08-30T12:27:20Z")
An interesting question, and the answers are interesting because they assume that the person has been sent back to 1776 with his opinions intact instead of being born in say 1750. I can’t come up with a definitive answer. It would all depend on my age, my occupation, my location, my religion, and many other factors. Assuming I was my current age and location, I probably would be a supporter of the revolution, but I would be too old to fight. Maybe. ---
**Author:** ![MegaBee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f0a364/32.png) [@MegaBee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MegaBee)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-alive-during-the-american-revolution/551842/33 "2010-08-30T12:47:02Z")
Neither. This hay’s not going to bale itself, and I’m really not up to being whipped again. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-alive-during-the-american-revolution/551842/34 "2010-08-30T12:53:22Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > That’s pretty much where I’d have been. Sure, the King and Parliament were being jackasses, but it’s hard to see just what they did that was worth killing anyone over. [/QUOTE] 2 words: Gun Control. After first disarming/prohibiting the people in the City of Boston from owning guns, and after an attempt to seize arms in Salem, General Gage in April of 1775 next went to disarm the people in the suburbs of Lexington and Concord. When Gage ordered the people on Lexington Green to lay down their arms on April 19 the war started. ---
**Author:** ![History\_Geek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b19c9b/32.png) [@History\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/History_Geek)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-alive-during-the-american-revolution/551842/35 "2010-08-30T13:17:07Z")
This is a hard question to answer. It would depend on where I lived, I suppose. If I was a Bostonian, I would certainly be a revolutionary. The same if I was a Pennsylvanian. But if I lived in Georgia or the Carolinas? Maybe not so much, certainly not as quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-alive-during-the-american-revolution/551842/36 "2010-08-30T13:26:53Z")
> [@kombatminipig](#): > > > [@Susanann](#): > > > > Exactly!..and werent most of those redcoats actually German people? > > Nope, regular British infantry. Hessian auxiliaries wore their own colors (green, if I remember correctly), and operated in their own units. Excuse the sentiment, but oh how poorly don’t you know your own history? > **[American Revolutionary War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolutionary_War)** > > American and allied victory > The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which American Patriot forces organized as the Continental Army and commanded by George Washington defeated the British Army. The conflict was fought in North America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean. The war's outcome seemed... \*Early in 1775, the British Army consisted of about 36,000 men worldwide, but wartime recruitment steadily increased this number. Over the course of the war, Great Britain signed treaties with various German states, which supplied about \*\*30,000 soldiers. \*\*Germans made up about one-third of the British troop strength in North America. Hesse-Kassel contributed more soldiers than any other state, and German soldiers became known as “Hessians” to the Americans. Revolutionary speakers called German soldiers “foreign mercenaries,” and they are scorned as such in the Declaration of Independence. By 1779, the number of British and German troops stationed in North America was over 60,000, although these were spread from Canada to Florida. About 10,000 Loyalist Americans under arms for the British are included in these figures.\* ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-alive-during-the-american-revolution/551842/37 "2010-08-30T14:14:15Z")
Not fighting seems to have worked out okay for Canada. ETA: if we’re assuming the war is going to start no matter what, I’d be taking up arms to defend my home - but I’d be rather pissed off at my fellow Americans. ---
**Author:** ![kombatminipig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5ac83/32.png) [@kombatminipig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kombatminipig)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-alive-during-the-american-revolution/551842/38 "2010-08-30T14:49:32Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > > [@kombatminipig](#): > > > > Nope, regular British infantry. Hessian auxiliaries wore their own colors (green, if I remember correctly), and operated in their own units. Excuse the sentiment, but oh how poorly don’t you know your own history? > > [American Revolutionary War - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolutionary_War) > > \*Early in 1775, the British Army consisted of about 36,000 men worldwide, but wartime recruitment steadily increased this number. > > Over the course of the war, Great Britain signed treaties with various German states, which supplied about \*\*30,000 soldiers. \*\*Germans made up about one-third of the British troop strength in North America. Hesse-Kassel contributed more soldiers than any other state, and German soldiers became known as “Hessians” to the Americans. > > Revolutionary speakers called German soldiers “foreign mercenaries,” and they are scorned as such in the Declaration of Independence. By 1779, the number of British and German troops stationed in North America was over 60,000, although these were spread from Canada to Florida. About 10,000 Loyalist Americans under arms for the British are included in these figures.\* Indeed. Your exact words were _“most of”_. _How does “about one-third of the British troop strength”_ equal \*“most of” \*? This is notwithstanding the fact that about a quarter of the Continental Army spoke French and were loyal to French crown, nor that it was little more than a mob before von Steuben came a long. And as I mentioned, the Continental Army did receive some slight help in Chesapeake Bay. Foreign mercenaries, eh? > [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > > [@kombatminipig](#): > > > > Nope, regular British infantry. Hessian auxiliaries wore their own colors (green, if I remember correctly), and operated in their own units. > > Dark (Prussian) Blue: > > [http://www.vondonop.org/hkuniforms.html](http://www.vondonop.org/hkuniforms.html) > > (there were Hessian Jaegers (riflemen) who did wear green, however) I stand corrected =) ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-alive-during-the-american-revolution/551842/39 "2010-08-30T16:01:20Z")
Since I fight for the French in the earlier conflict, I am guessing I would have sided with the rebels but its hard to say. Girty made me some interesting observations in a bar once but I will admit to having been a little drunk at the time. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-alive-during-the-american-revolution/551842/40 "2010-08-30T16:37:28Z")
Grab your coat and grab your gun, march with General Washington. Just like my grandpa did. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-alive-during-the-american-revolution/551842.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-alive-during-the-american-revolution/551842.md?page=3)