The American Revolutionary war pitted the forces of the English Army and Navy against the Continental Army, many of whom were part of the volunteer militia and were untrained. The full might of England greatly outweighed the colonials, and with the large size difference, the two sides came up with different tactics.
The English were trained in the traditional fighting sense that dated back centuries to the spear and shield style of fighting that Greeks and Romans used. It is a tactic that worked well with the muskets of the day, which were extremely inaccurate by today’s standards. The movements in formation are used to direct large groups of musket balls towards the enemy, much like a huge shotgun effect. The true mark of a good unit was how well it could take a volley of fire, rather than how well it could give one. Battles were won by mostly who survived, not by who killed the most troops. The distinctive uniforms of the era were designed to be associated with the fearsome reputation of English fighters, not just to make them stand out. The common strategy was to maneuver, fire, have the first rank of men drop back and load while the next rank fired, exchange volleys for a while, and then charge in with bayonets and sabers and finish off whoever was left. They used these older strategies of direct attack and inspiring fear because they were not expecting the Colonials to fight like Native Americans.
The colonials, many of whom had been born in America, were not accustomed to fighting like Alexander the Great, they had fought the Natives for years and had seen how well their guerilla strategies could hold off a larger and better equipped group. They used their surroundings to their advantage and did not have an identifiable uniform until late in the war. They also had the advantage of better firearms. The British used a style of musket commonly referred to as a “Brown Bess,” which was easier to load but less accurate than the American hunting rifles. The Americans compensated for this by staying out of range of the muskets and sniping at the Brits. Warnings were issued in England for officers to make sure they had their affairs in order, for they could be shot through the head when they thought they were out of range. Near the end of the war, the Continental Army adopted a mostly blue uniform and learned how to stand and fight like the British Army, and eventually beat them at their own game.
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