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Battle of Lexington and Concord
On the night of April 18, 1775, the British were marching towards Concord, but the colonists were already prepared for them to come. As the British came, 70 minutemen tried to shoot them down but they were outnumbered. The British marched on, with some soldiers dead/injured. As they tried to burn most of the weapons, the British met minutemen at North Bridge and got badly wounded. Going back to Boston also killed many British. -
Battle of Fort Ticonderoga
Benedict Arnold (Captain in the Connecticut militia) raised a force to seize Fort Ticonderoga, since it had a key location and lots of military supplies. Arnold also learned that Ethan Allen of Vermont (Green Mountain Boys) wanted to attack the fort, so they both joined forces attacked the British at the fort by surprise. It surrendered on May 10. But later, Arnold became a traitor and joined to fight for the British. -
The Battle of Bunker Hill
After the Battle of Fort Ticonderoga, more colonists joined in the army. The British were still in control of Boston and decided to attack Colonial Prescott's army at Bunker Hill. The next day, British charged at the colonists, but they fired back. They had to charge at least twice into battle until the colonists ran out of gunpowder and retreated. This battle was British victory, but more than 1000 British got injured. -
The Battle of Long Island
During the summer of 1776, British Commander Howe sent 32,000 troops across the Atlantic to New York in order to make the Patriots retreat. The Patriots were determined to fight, but they were soon defeated and outnumbered by the British (even when Nathan Hale tried to spy on the Loyalists). Winter was coming and a British officer noted that the Patriots might not survive. Washington retreated to New York, but his army was chased off into Pennsylvania. -
Battle of Trenton
Main British force was settled in New York, but some in Trenton and Princeton. Washington saw a chance of a surprise attack. On Christmas night, Washington led 2,400 troops across icy rivers to surprise Loyalists at Trenton. Soon Washington marched to Trenton, and his army scattered the British force. -
The Battle of Saratoga
In early 1777, British planned to take over Albany, New York, to gain control of Hudson River and cut New England off Middle Colonies. The plan was failing because Patriot patrol stopped British Lieutenant at Fort Stanwix. British General Burgoyne didn't reach Albany yet, and his army ran out of supplies. He sent a Force for supplies, but they were defeated. Burgoyne tried to go to Albany, but his group was surrounded, and he tried attacking, but then surrendered. -
Battle of Monmouth
Washington had ordered General Charles Lee and his group to harass the British until Washington arrived with the rest of the army from Valley Forge. As Lee was fighting, the British set off and Lee retreated. When Washington finally met up with him, he yelled at Lee. Washington decided to attach retreating British. Both armies fought until exhaustion, and the Patriots declared victory. -
Battle of Cowpens
In October 1780, Nathanael Greene became commander of Continental forces in the South. Greene decided to split his army into two sections, to attack the British. During battle (January 1781), one section won against British at Cowpens, South Carolina. The other section joined Marion's raids in Greensboro, North Carolina. Greene's army had to retreat, since British General Cornwallis gave up the fight. British suffered many casualties. -
Battle of Yorktown
Washington was waiting for two French fleets of soldiers to arrive so he could attack Clinton at New York, but the second never came. But Cornwallis and his army were moving to Virginia so Washington sent two Generals to block. Soon the French army did arrive in Virginia, and the whole American army went towards Yorktown. The Americans soon surrounded and trapped British. Cornwallis surrendered and after a few battles, Patriots finally won the War. After, Britain agreed the U.S as Independent.
