The American war exposed a command-quality gap

Would the American Revolution have been as successful against stronger British commanders?

Possibly not: North America seldom received Britain's best senior officers, and the defeat helped accelerate more professional staff and command practices.

The North American station rarely received Britain's strongest senior commanders because the assignment initially seemed unlikely to require them. Leadership quality may therefore explain part of Britain's difficulty, although changing one commander would not erase the war's political and geographic problems. Defeat reinforced a gradual professionalization already visible in the better units. Staff work, formal staff education, and a different generation of officers became more important after the American Revolutionary War.