U.S Wars DVD No. 1

Program 1 - Wars for the Continent

At the Start of the 18th-century, two factors shaped the colonial approach to war.  First, early colonists found themselves isolated in hostile territory. If they were going to survive attacks from local tribes they would have to do it on their own. There would be no help from the mother country. So they had to develop unique tactics and strategies similar to the native populations they were fighting. It was the beginning of the self-reliant character that would define Americans.

Second, The colonists participated in the dramatic changes taking place in European weaponry that came with the introduction of gunpowder. Muskets, pistols and cannons replaced swords and other cutting edge weapons. However, the isolation from Europe ended when the four powers- the French, the English, the Spanish, and the Native Americans- vied for control of the North American continent.

1702 Queen Anne’s War
1713 Treaty of Utrecht Ends Queen Anne’s Wart
1739 War of Jenkins Ear Begins
1754-1763 French and Indian War
1763 Pontiac’s War
1770 Boston Massacre

Program Two – The Revolutionary War

The American Colonists, having rid themselves of the French and the Native Americans, found a new threat: their own mother country, Britain. The Boston Massacre, followed by the Boston Tea Party was the beginnings of a rebellion. Britain, with more than 3000 troops in Massachusetts colony, moved rapidly to put the rebellion down. Its strategy was to capture the leaders and munitions in the rebel center of Concord Massachusetts. This action led directly to the first battle of the Revolutionary War… One in which the colonists quickly learned their militia units could not stand up to the European style of fighting. Rather then fighting rows of soldiers against rows of soldiers, the colonists adopted the Native American strategy of fighting from concealment. Let’s look at how “the shot heard around the world” started the American Revolution.

1775 The Battle of Lexington and Concord
1775 George Washington Assumes Command of The Continental Army
1776 Washington crosses the Delaware
1777 Second Battle of Saratoga
1777 John Paul Jones sets sail
1777-78 The Winter at Valley Forge
1778 George Rogers Clark captures Kaskaskia
1781 Siege of Yorktown

Each DVD contains 2 Programs with running times of 28:00 minutes each