Weapons

During the American revolution, there were a lot of common weapons. For example, the flintlock pistol. The flintlock pistol is normally only used by officers or cavalry, and if that, only as a secondary weapon. The flintlock pistol is most commonly used as an embellishment due to the fact that it was so inaccurate.

The Muzzle Loaded Musket was one of the most commonly used weapons during the revolutionary war. It was mostly used in close combat and in cavalry. The Muzzle Loaded Musket took 13 steps all together to load and fire one bullet. The musket was also not very accurate so by the time that you finally loaded the gun, your chances of actually hitting your target are slim.

Another commonly used weapon was the Bayonet. This was a long sharp piece of metal that attaches to the top of a musket so as to turn it into a spear or sword. The bayonet at first was pushed inside the barrel of the musket, but this soon became impractical because you could not fire with it on, so they replaced it with a socket bayonet which fit over the barrel. This way, with the blade to the side, you could fire the musket with the bayonet on the barrel.

A cannon was complicated. It took anywhere from seven to fourteen men to load and fire it. Each of the men have there own job and if they do not know how to do it, the canon does not fire. All though the canon is very complicated to fire, when fired, it is extremely efficient. Canons have two different main types of ammo. One is a large ball of explosives that detonates on impact, the other is called grape shots, which is a bag of small projectiles that can take out half a dozen to 15 men in one shot(though it is very inaccurate).

Other weapons used during the American revolution include the sword, the saber, and submarines (which mostly only the British had).

African Americans In the Revolutionary War

On July 9Th of 1776, General George Washington declared that blacks would not be able to enroll in the continental army, but soon after(December 31st), he reviewed his decision and reversed the law.
a total of 5,000 free and enslaved blacks participated in the war on the side of the continental army, while tens of thousands enrolled in the British army, but unfortunately, an estimated number of 100,000 African Americans escaped, died or were killed during the American Revolution.

Unfortunately, African Americans are not given any credit for the winning of the revolutionary war. But if you look at the facts, why did they even participate at all. They were fighting for a society that had enslaved there race for decades. Even before it was declared that any slave who enlisted would be free after they served, still had enlisted without being forced to.

Without blacks helping us in the revolutionary war, we would have lost countless more battles. One particular African American who contributed extreme amounts of help to the war is a man named Salem Poor. Salem Poor was born free in Massachusetts in the 1750s. He married and had one child but left them in 1775 to join the Massachusetts militia. His attitude and conduct in the war was so exceptional that a letter was written to George Washington saying how great a soldier he was and was signed by fourteen of his officers including Samuel Prescott. Salem Poor was given credit for shooting down a high ranking officer Lt. Col. James Abercrombie.

In short, Blacks contributed massive amounts help to both the continental army and the British.

Different Uniforms

Women

During the American Revolution, women were not permitted to enlist in the army. Women were the financiers of the war. They helped raise money to buy uniforms and ammo and weapons. Lots of women volunteered to help out in camps. they would bring water to the soldiers or tend there wounds. Most women did not pick up a musket, but some would fire arrows or help load cannons in the far back ranks. There are a lot of stories of women sneaking into the ranks and posing as men so that they can serve for there own cause. Women contributed a lot to the American Revolution without anyone knowing it until a long time afterwards.