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British Withdraw From Boston
General Howe (the leader of the British troops) decided to abandon Boston with his troops and head to Canada because George Washington and his army had come while they were sleeping to attack them. The Americans lined the fields of the city scaring the British off. -
Lexington and Concord
General Gage found out that the colonists were hiding guns and gunpowder in a village in
Concord, so he decided to attack them to get the weapons. But as soon as the British soldiers left, a few people went to warn the colonies that the British were coming. The British won the first battle in Lexington. In the second battle, the British soldiers went to Concord to find the guns and gunpowder, but the colonists had hidden them again. They got so mad that they couldn’t find them, so they set the -
Period: to
The Revolution
Many happenings throughout the Revolutionary time period. -
The Second Continental Congress Meeting
The Americans drafted the Olive Branch Petition, selected George Washington as commander in chief, and started making the Declaration of Independence. This took place in Philadelphia. -
The Capture of Fort Ticonderoga
George Washington had only a little bit of gunpowder, so he lied to Boston by saying he had 1,800 barrels of gunpowder. He did this so that he could keep them from attacking. But, he wanted to attack the British in Boston so he sent someone to go to Fort Ticonderoga to get some big guns and other artillery. They came back to Washington with lots of cannons and weapons. They decided to attack Boston in the near future. -
Washington was chosen Commander in Chief
George Washington was chosen commander in chief during the second Continental Congress Meeting because he had the most military experience. He was in the French and Indian War, which had occurred many years before. -
The Battle of Bunker Hill
On the top of Breed’s Hill, the colonists constructed a fort that worried the British troops. This fort led to the British attacking the colonists on top of the hill. The British had won, but more than 1000 British troops were killed and about half that many Americans. This battle was later misnamed the Battle of Bunker Hill. -
Declaration of Independence Issued
During the first Continental Congress meeting, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin wrote up a draft of the Declaration. In the second Continental Congress meeting, they had a vote for independence and they approved the Declaration. John Hancock and Charles Thomson signed the Declaration on July 4. The Declaration contained the preamble which describes the rights of the people, and the declaring of independence from Britain. -
Battle of Quebec
British General Montgomery took his troops to Canada while Benedict Arnold took his troops to Maine. He did this in hopes that the Canadians would join their army and allow them to win. Arnold led several attacks on the British during the night of December 31st, 1775. This caused Arnold to become wounded and General Montgomery to die. In the end, British troops and Canadians hadn’t lost nearly as many men as the Americans had, so they won the Battle of Quebec. -
The Battle of Long Island
George Washington expected that General Howe was going to attack New York with his troops. Washington lined up many forts along Manhattan and Long Islands to prevent the attack on Manhattan. The British traveled to Long Island and found out that three roads of the Northern section weren’t being guarded, so they took those routes while German armies attacked the Americans in the front.The British won because of their larger army, and their professionality. British troops lost about 400 people whi -
Washington Crosses the Delaware River
On Christmas, Washington and his army crossed the Delaware River to attack Trenton. They brutally attacked the Hessians, and killed their leader. They they captured a lot of prisoners that would now be on their side of the war. -
Battle of Brandywine
General Howe wanted to capture Philadelphia, so Washington’s troops lined up right and left of Chad’s Ford to warn Americans when the British were approaching. Hessian Lieutenant General Knyphausen led the British and Loyalist troops to the opposite side of the Americans on Brandywine River, and started shooting cannons. The other part of the British army was being led by Cornwallis and General Howe, and they decided to cross the river at a different spot and attack the Americans from behind. Th -
Battle of Saratoga
Burgoyne, who wanted to separate New England from the southern Colonies, attempted to attack Bemis Heights. But, Benedict Arnold knew that this was coming, so he kept bringing in militia forces and reinforcements from New York. Then, on October 7, British General Sir Henry Clinton tried to divert the Americans’ attention from Burgoyne because he went to attack Bemis Heights again. So the British soldiers were back in their previous positions. This convinces France to become our ally. -
British Occupy Philadelphia
Patriots and businessmen fled the city of Philadelphia when they heard the British troops were approaching to occupy the capital. The only people who were left there were Loyalists, Quakers, and the poor. The British had no competition, which let them enter Philadelphia without a single gun shot. -
Encampment at Valley Forge
It was very harsh weather and people were hungry and disease was spreading. Many people didn’t survive, and just went home. But some did stay ready to fight. They stayed for about six months. No battles were fought here, but it is a very important place, especially in America, because it has a lot of history. -
France becomes an Ally
France was already at war with Great Britain, so when the Colonies asked them to be their ally, they didn’t refuse because they could help each other defeat Britain once and for all. The Battle of Saratoga convinced them to become an ally to us. -
Battle of Monmouth Courthouse
Henry Clinton started to evacuate his troops out of Philadelphia to move to New York City in hopes that the French Navy wouldn’t cut off Philadelphia. Washington thought that Clinton was going to move his army in a more southerly route to New York, and he was right, so he prepared for that. Eventually, the Americans proved that they could stand up to the British army, by winning. -
Spain Becomes an Ally
Spain had been an ally of France, so when France became an ally of America, Spain automatically qualified as America’s ally. Spain was also highly against the British because they took their land. -
French and British Battle in Chesapeake Bay
The British and French met in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. They started to battle with the ships in line, and eventually the British had lost. More men and ships were killed and damaged then the French. -
Battle of Yorktown
Cornwallis traveled to Virginia and seized Yorktown. Americans and the French had joined, marched to Yorktown, and put the British under siege. After a few days, Cornwallis and the British marched out of Yorktown and surrendered. -
Cornwallis Surrenders
The American and French troops had joined together. Cornwallis tried to negotiate with the Americans and they reached a conclusion after two days. He surrendered with his troops by marching out of Yorktown.
