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Lexington and Concord
• It was the first battle between the colonists and the British, the spark that set off the war. The British forces, about 700 British army regulars under Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith, set out for Concord to destroy military supplies the colonists where hiding. On the way they were diverted to Lexington where Jonas Parker and 75 minute men where rallied to meet the British. The British fired on the minute men killing 8 and injuring 10.
http://www.kidport.com/reflib/usahistory/americanrevol -
Battle of Bunker Hill
This battle took place on the Charlestown Peninsula on the north side of Boston Harbour. There were 2,400 British troops against 1,500 American. The British led by Major General Howe made a full frontal assault on the entrenched American forces who were waiting for them on top of Bunker Hill. In the end the British defeated the American forces and took the hill, but to great cost. Where the Americans suffered around 450 med killed or wounded, the British had 1,150 men killed or wounded. -
Olive Branch Petition
This petition was the last attempt by the American colonies to gain independence without starting a war. It was signed by representatives of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina and presented in front of King George the third. This was rejected, forcing the Colonists to resort to violence. -
Qebec Military Campaign
This attack was to take the battle to the Canadian colonies to damage the British more. The Governor of Canada, Guy Carleton and Colonel Allen Maclean commanded the British forces, while Major General Benedict Arnold and Brigadier Richard Montgomery commanded the American troops. The British and Canadians where able to fend off the American attackers and stopped the threat of the Americans seizing control of Canada. -
Common Sense pamphlet published
The Common sense pamphlet was written by Thomas Paine, which said that they should have independence from British rule. This Got printed all over the American Colonies as well as throughout Europe. -
Decloration of Independence
The declaration showed that the American colonists regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. Thomas Jefferson created the original draft of the declaration. -
Trenton
This battle took place in Trenton, New Jersey on the Delaware River. This was one of the first great victories for the Continentals under the command of George Washington. The Famous picture of Washington crossing the Delaware was a depiction of how he led his troops on a surprise attack against the unsuspecting British forces. -
Princeton
General George Washington defeated the Major General Lord Cornwallis and his British forces near Princeton, New Jersey at Princeton on January 3, 1777. The Continental army had 7,000 troops compared to the British 8,000. There were not many casualties, the British lost only 40, with 58 wounded, and the Americans had only 40 casualties. The Americans fought this battle to clear most of New Jersey of their British oppressors. -
Saratoga
Saratoga, which is on the Hudson River in New York State, became a battle ground in October 17, 1777. The Americans had a decisive victory over the British starting with their 14,000 militia against the British force of 5,000, British, Canadians and Indians. -
Valley Forge
Valley Forge is the camp where George Washington and his army camped for the winter. It is in Pennsylvania. They camped there from December 19, 1777 to June 19, 1778 through bitterly harsh winters where many men deserted or froze to death. "Naked and starving as they are we cannot enough admire the incomparable patience and fidelity of the soldiery." –General George Washington at Valley Forge, February 16, 1778. It was a constant battle between low morale and freezing and starving men. -
France's involvment
In 1776 the Colonists where able to negotiate a Treaty of Amity and Commerce and a Treaty of Alliance with France. In 1778 French troops joined the fight. The French decided to help the Colonists because after the battle of Saratoga they realized that the British could be stopped and by helping the colonists they could weaken their British enemies. -
Capture of Savannah
On December 29, 1778, in Savannah, Georgia, American commander Brigadier General Robert Howe with 700 men tried to defend the city of Savannah. But in spite of all of his efforts, Robert Howe lost 550 men to Colonel Archibald Campbell and was forced to retreat to South Carolina. The British held Savannah for the rest of the war. They used as a base to conduct coastal raids from Charleston, South Carolina to the Florida coast. -
Siege of Charleston
Major General Benjamin Lincoln and Commodore Abraham Whipple had 5,500 men garrisoned in the town of Charleston versus the superior British force of 10-14000 men under the command of Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton. The Americans lost Charleston with 92 men killed, 148 wounded, and 5,266 captured. The defeat of the battle at Charlestown was a crushing blow to the American forces on the south as the main American force in the region. -
Yorktown
This was one of the last deciding battles in the war of Independence. It took place in Yorktown, Virginia. This is where General George Washington with the help of Lieutenant General de Rochambeau commander of the French fleets put Yorktown under siege with Major General Lord Cornwallis and his British forces inside. It was a long siege but finally on 19th October 1781, Cornwallis surrendered to the French and British forces. -
Treaty of Paris
This treaty formally ended the War of Independence. John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and John Jay represented the United States in front of King George III. It stated that Britain would, established U.S. boundaries, specified certain fishing rights, allowed creditors of each country to be paid by citizens of the other, restored the rights and property of Loyalists, opened up the Mississippi River to citizens of both nations and provided for evacuation of all British forces.
