"Capt. Mooron" wrote
Correct me if I'm wrong... but wasn't the "American" army in plain
civilian
clothing during the revolution?

Nope.

The colonies went to some trouble & expense to get uniforms for their
militia, and so did the Continental Congress. Of course, contracting to
uniform suppliers was one way of tossing a profitable bone to the
politicians buddies.

http://www2.powercom.net/~rokats/contarmy.html


... Didn't the British refer to them as rebels
and possibly terrorists.

Yes. There was a good deal of what we would call 'terrorism' on both
sides. By this I mean deliberately killing unarmed civilians, partially
to steal food & military supplies. and partially to deprive the enemy of
support. Also, there was a fair bit of private revenge killing.

If you want to read a really hair-raising story, check out the biography
of David Fanning, from right near here. He was not much interested in
politics which got him labelled a Tory (loyalist). Some revolutionaries
killed his family and burned his house. So he went on a long series of
reprisal raids, eventually recruiting a regiment of Americans loyal to
the crown and fighting to the bitter end.

... Weren't the British easier to target due to their
uniforms?

Umm, yeah, prob'ly. Somebody should have told them that bright red is
not good camoflage.

... Didn't the American soldiers hide among the population?

Not to any significant extent that I know of, unless you mean militia
men going home to their families after their service was up.



Vito wrote:
Yup!

Sigh...

... And the Brits responded by burning towns and plantations, firing into
crowds and hanging suspects - adding to rebel strength every time.

That wasn't a "response" that was British policy from the git-go. There
was a low-level insurgency (ie resistance to paying taxes) in many parts
of the British Empire at all times, often flaring up.

The British burned most of the towns in coastal NC, and did a few more
during the War of 1812.

... Them who
forget history are indeed doomed to relive it.

Indeed.


BTW - regarding "coalitions"... didn't the British get other countries to
aid in it's war on the Americans?


Naw, just the Indians .... (c:


Kind of depends on how you classify "allies." None on the scale that
France helped the U.S. though.

DSK