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Battles of Lexington and Concord
-First battle of the Revolutionary War
-British troops were marching to Concord to seize rebel weapons
-Colonists won and British retreated to Boston
Important people:
Rebels- Samuel Adams & John Hancock (British wanted to capture them), Paul Revere & William Dawes (sounded alarm)
British- Major John Pitcairn (Lexington) & Colonel Francis Smith (Concord)
Importance:
-Beginning of the war
-Showed the colonists weren't going to be brushed off, but were going to fight for what they believed in -
Battle of Bunker Hill
-British won
-In Massachusetts
-most of the fighting occurred on Breed's Hill
Important people:
British- Major General William Howe & Brigadier General Robert Pigot
Colonists- William Prescott
Importance:
-British firmly held control of Charlestown Peninsela
-Significant morale-builder for inexperienced colonists -
Invasion of Quebec
Important people:
Colonists- Colonel Benedict Arnold & General Richard Montgomery
British- General Guy Carleton(governor of Quebec)
-Colonists went to capture the British city of Quebec
-Wanted to win support for American cause in Canada
-Failed
-Montgomery died
Before:
-Montgomery captured Montreal on Nov. 13th
-Arnold led his men through wilderness of present-day Maine
-Arnold had to wait for Montgomery to arrive to attack
Importance:
-1st major defeat of war for Colonists -
Battle of Princeton
Important people:
Colonists- General George Washington "W"
British- General Charles Cornwallis "C"
-W evades conflict with C & leaves Princeton for Trenton, NJ
-C was sent to "bag" W
-On Jan 2, C arrived in Trenton & wants to overwhelm W's troops
-C known W will try to escape, but how
-C thinks he will go back over the Delaware River that he crossed on Dec 25
-W leaves fires going & sneaks around British camp
Importance:
-Another win fro Colonists
-C leaves NJ to W -
Battle of Savannah
Important People:
British-Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell "C"
Patriots-Major General Robert Howe "H"
-C had 2500-3600 troops & launched a surprise attack on forces defending Savannah, GA
-H had 650-900 troops
-H ordered the city to be evacuated &army to withdraw
-Heavy losses for H when men were cut off; lost 83 men & 483 were captured
-British lost 3 men & 10 were wounded
Importance:
-Savannah stayed in British control until July, 1782 when they left by themselves
-many casualties for us -
Battle of Yorktown
Important People:
British- General Cornwallis "C"
Patriots- George Washington "W" & French General Comte de Rochambeau "R"
-C had retreated to Yorktown in June 1781
-W was outside NY
-34 ships were coming from French West Indies to help
-W closed of C's escape on land& R on sea
-W & R began their final attack on Oct 14; captured 2 British defenses & leading to surrender from C & 9,000 troops
Importance
-final battle of American Revolution
-British began peace negotiations after American victory
