The British Army in America 1776 to 1781


Tables produced from Colonial & War Office records, give a yearly snapshot of the numbers & distribution of British & Allied troops in American colonies during the main period of conflict of The Revolutionary War
State of the British Army in America on :- 17th March 1776
Force/Area
Fit for Duty
Miscellaneous
Prisoner
Sick
Wounded
TOTAL
Boston
British 8,150 419 31 236 358 9,194

Although the British had built up their presence in Boston they were forced out 3rd June 1776

State of the British Army in America on :- 24th Dec 1776
Force/Area
Fit for Duty
Killed/Missing
Prisoner
Died
Wounded
TOTAL
New York
British 7,536 83 - 3 0 5 112 7,741
Hessian 10,763 65 - 15 1 492 316 11,652
TOTALS 18,299 148 - 18 1 497 428 19,393

With most of their own troops and best commanders needed elsewhere, the British, if they
were to come to the aid of the Loyalists, had to ask Hanover for the additional men required
to take on Washington's army at Long Island. Although Hanover obliged, their men, mainly
Hessians were to suffer grievously from the bad water & diseases prevalent in America














The war was going badly for Washington until he struck at a British weak spot i.e. a Hessian forward outpost at Trenton not only already weakened by disease but by most of them still being drunk from their traditional Christmas celebrations. This reversed fortunes and put the British on the back foot for months.


State of the British Army in America on :- 7th July 1777
Force/Area
Fit for Duty
Died/Missing
Prisoner
Sick
Wounded
TOTAL
New York
British 12,270 541 - 31 47 157 38 13,084
Hessian 6,848 785 - 1038 986 8 61 9,726
Loyalist 2,949 17 5 2 14 2,987
Rhode Is
British 1,203 36 15 159 1,413
Hessian 1,586 416 0 124 2,126
TOTALS 24,856 2,864 1,053 450 113 29,336













With Loyalists constantly attacked by the rebels and no more Hessians being made available, the British were forced to cannibalize other theatres of operations for men, in order to punch a hole into the rebel's lair in Philadelphia, although the British knew they lacked the men to finish Washington off themselves, they were reasonably confident that the winter would do it for them, giving rise to the legend of Valley Forge.


State of the British Army in America on :- 23rd May 1778
Force/Area
Fit for Duty
Miscellaneous
Prisoner
Sick
Wounded
TOTAL
Philadelphia
British 12,050 645 814 1,504 * 15,013
Hessian 5,022 49 1,080 295 * 6,446
Loyalist 1,216 27 41 158 * 1,442
New York
British 1,727 42 129 349 * 2,234
Hessian 1,663 129 106 94 * 1,992
Loyalist 2,550 268 352 579 * 3,749
Rhode Is
British 1,425 31 13 135 * 1,617
Hessian 2,018 329 0 98 * 2,445
Loyalist 64 27 1 7 * 99
TOTALS 27,735 1,547 2,536 3,219 * 35,037

* Not given and seems to be in with other figures I've grouped under Miscellaneous.












With France entering the war and the British getting no where in the north, Archibald Campbell and 3500 men set sail for Georgia to rally the Loyalists there, who in turn drove the rebels from all but the furthest reaches of the back country (where most came from) and in doing so, denied France a valuable trading port.


State of the British Army in America on :- 1st Dec 1779
Force/Area
Fit for Duty
Killed/Missing
Prisoner
Sick
Wounded
TOTAL
New York
British 10,162 984 544 2,473 9 14,172
Hessian 7,923 442 137 1,638 39 10,179
Loyalist 2,758 562 359 545 19 4,243
Georgia
British 427 10 34 124 0 625
Hessian 152 3 11 42 0 208
Loyalist 2,437 52 179 663 0 3,331
Florida
British 1,264 206 7 170 0 1,647
TOTALS 25,123 2,259 1,271 5,655 67 34,375













The British hoped to repeat their Georgian success in the Carolinas but despite plenty of Loyalist support, they were ruthlessly suppressed by the rebels, tending to cause some of the bloodiest and sickening battles.


State of the British Army in America on :- 8th March 1780
Force/Area
Fit for Duty
Killed/Missing
Prisoner
Sick
Wounded
TOTAL
New York
British 6,311 933 469 1,101 314 9,128
Hessian 6,910 884 111 455 312 8,672
Loyalist 2,450 659 332 410 179 4,030
S Carolina
British 4,415 461 66 221 4 5,167
Hessian 2,604 116 34 169 1 2,924
Loyalist 70 25 8 7 0 110
Georgia
British 621 83 53 133 20 910
Hessian 713 0 49 99 13 874
Loyalist 1,778 127 192 202 4 2,303
E Flordia
British 450 34 0 55 0 539
W Florida
British 362 33 168 42 3 605
Hessian 262 2 242 59 0 565
Loyalist 269 29 1 42 0 341
TOTALS 27,215 3,386 1,725 2,995 847 36,168













Although Cornwallis's surrender at Yorktown on 19th Oct 1781 was a military setback for the British, they were far from beaten as the table below indicates, however Loyalist confidence had been shaken and this tended to diminish their further support, also public opinion in Britain had then turned against the war.


State of the British Army in America on :- 15th Nov 1781
Force/Area
Fit for Duty
Killed/Missing
Prisoner
Sick
Wounded
TOTAL
New York
British 4,953 606 103 579 55 6,296
Hessian 7,609 184 267 1,335 10 9,405
Loyalist 1,468 136 331 306 25 2,266
Virginia**
British 3,573 152 358 1,220 262 5,565
Hessian 1,708 106 36 363 38 2,251
Loyalist 607 88 297 151 6 1,149
S Carolina
British 4,077 289 233 545 61 5,205
Hessian 1,444 16 48 137 16 1,661
Loyalist 2,393 254 272 357 36 3,312
Georgia
Hessian 288 29 0 181 0 498
Loyalist 413 44 45 91 14 607
E Flordia
British 514 12 22 24 0 572
W Florida*
British 42 26 253 8 3 332
Hessian 154 4 310 91 1 560
Loyalist 46 1 150 23 4 224
TOTALS 29,289 1,947 2,725 5,411 531 39,903

** The British had enough rebel prisoners to exchange for all those captured at Yorktown.
* The British lost West Florida on 9th May 1781 to the Spanish





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