Analyzing British Victories and King Philip's War in American History

This essay delves into two significant periods in American military history: the British victories from 1758 to 1760 over the French in North America and King Philip's War. Regarding the British victories, it highlights key military figures like Edward Braddock and discusses the impact of these victories, secured through strategies combining naval strength and exploiting French ineffectiveness, on the American colonies, particularly the tensions arising from British taxation policies. The essay also analyzes King Philip's War, emphasizing the strategic approaches employed by the colonials, the major figures involved, and the events that led to the conflict, including land disputes and cultural encroachment. It underscores the initial successes of Philip's forces due to strategic planning and alliances, while also noting the devastating consequences and casualties suffered during the war. The essay concludes by referencing sources that provide further insights into these historical events.

Running head: AMERICAN MILITARY HISTORY
Answering questions on American Military History
Name of the student:
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Author note:

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AMERICAN MILITARY HISTORY
Answer to Question 1
British Government sent Edward Braddock as General Commander of the North
American forces in British. Braddock died after facing a mortal wound during a failed
expenditure for the capture of Fort Duquesne, which is currently in Pittsburgh. This war
transformed in to a stale mate during the upcoming years (Schmidt, 2014). However, in
Europe, the French accounted for an important victory and captured the Minorca in
Mediterranean which was a British possession in 1756. In North America, the naval strength
of the British combine with the ineffectiveness of the French. The British one by one seized
the Caribbean Islands under the French, Cuba under Spain and also the Philippines.
The treaty of Paris helped the British to secure significant gains in North America
which included possession over all the French territories to the east of the Mississippi and
also Florida.
However, it was unfortunate that the British victories over the French in North
America brought them in to direct confrontation with the British colonists in North America.
As an outcome of the long waged war with the French the British planned to extract wealth
by imposing high rate of tax from the colonists (Grimsley, 2015). This severely enraged the
colonists in North America and disputes spurred up. After that the massive colonial rebellion
took place and ultimately the American war of independence happened.
Answer to Question 2
King Philips’ war is considered as one of the bloodiest conflicts in the American
history. Plymouth Colony’s execution in June 1675 of one of the three Philip warriors ignited
a spark to King Philips’ war. Philip accused John Sassamon of spying and murdered him.
This murder turned the relationship between the Indians and the whites into a hostile one.
Along with this, land disputes, interracial insensitivities and cultural encroachment were the

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agents, which degraded the stability in the relationship between the two countries (Grimsley,
2015).
Strategic approach towards war enabled Philip to attain success. At the initial stage,
plans were made for raiding the colonies over Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.
The plans also included raids in the coasts of Maine. Clandestine participation in the raids
helped the warriors to expose determined approach towards the opponents. One of the other
aspects here is deeming the violation of the treaties. This is in case of the United colonies of
Massachusetts. Presence of 1000 militia and 150 Indian allies helped Philips and the armies
to take control over the colonies. Mention can be made of November 1675, when Josiah
Winslow of Plymouth Colony conquered the territories of Rhode island (Fisher, 2017). Here,
the objective was to acquire control of Narragansett. The outcome of this incident was
burning the abandoned villagers alive.
Strategic planning towards overpowering the enemies enabled Philip’s militia to
conquer forts, food supplies and properties of the Indian defenders. Due to the incapabilities
towards determining the number of casualties, most of the women, children and elderly
encountered tragic fate of death (Anderson, 2017). Alliance with the partners and discussing
the war strategies seemed beneficial in terms of yielding positive results in war.

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References
Anderson, V. D. (2017). King Philip’s herds: Indians, colonists, and the problem of livestock
in early New England. In Colonial America and the Early Republic (pp. 57-80).
Routledge.
Fisher, L. D. (2017). “Why shall wee have peace to bee made slaves”: Indian Surrenderers
during and after King Philip’s War. Ethnohistory, 64(1), 91-114.
Grimsley, M. (2015). The American Military History Master Narrative: Three Textbooks on
the American Military Experience. JOURNAL OF MILITARY HISTORY, 79(3), 783-
802.
Schmidt, H. (2014). Maverick Marine: General Smedley D. Butler and the Contradictions of
American Military History. University Press of Kentucky.