At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, the British had set some goals. One goal was to blockade the colonial coastline. The British wanted to use their navy, which was a big strength for them militarily, to prevent supplies from entering and leaving the colonies. The British hoped that by cutting off the trade of the colonists that they would weaken the colonists and force them to surrender. John Paul Jones was involved in fighting the British navy. He had some success against the British navy, but, overall, the colonial navy was not a factor in this war.

The primary land goal of Great Britain at the start of the Revolutionary War was to cut the New England colonies off from the rest of the colonies. The British planned to have the three armies arrive near Albany, New York. General Howe led one army, but he went south to Philadelphia instead of north to Albany. Thus, he never arrived in Albany. General Burgoyne would lead another army out of Canada, and Lieutenant General St. Leger’s army would meet his army there. However, St. Leger’s army was defeated, so only General Burgoyne arrived at Albany. He was greatly outnumbered and lost at the Battle of Saratoga.

The British were successful at sea but not on land in the beginning of the Revolutionary War. Eventually, the British moved the fighting to the south and the frontier later in the war as the whole empire had to be defended. In the beginning of the war, the focus was on gaining control of New England and controlling the waterways.