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Battles of Lexington and Concord
The British marched at night hoping to steal weapons from the colonist rebels, but Paul Revere and William Dawes, sent out by Joseph Warren, warned the patriots so that they could fight back. In the end, the patriots defeated the British soldiers. This battle was the start of the Revolutionary War. It also proved to the colonists that they could defend themselves, giving them a shot at independence. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
William Prescott, a patriot, sent out men to claim Bunker Hill because the British were trying to claim hills too. They claimed Breed's Hill instead. The British won under the command of William Howe and Robert Pigot because the patriots didn't have enough ammunition to continue fighting. Britain's military forces took control of the hills. However, this battle resulted in many British casualties, so the colonial rebels didn't feel defeated. -
Battle of Trenton
George Washington led the colonial rebels across the Delaware River to attack a Hessian military station. The patriots were split into groups led by Henry Knox, Nathaniel Greene, and John Sullivan. Johann Rall, leader of the Hessians, wasn't ready for his men to fight. The patriots defeated the Hessians and killed Rall during the battle. This battle united the colonists because the patriot fighters came from different colonies. -
Battle of Princeton
George Washington left and returned Trenton to fight the larger British force of Charles Cornwallis. Cornwallis thought he would win the battle. Washington marched to Princeton overnight and ordered Hugh Mercer's fighting unit to ruin a bridge. Charles Mawhood, a British Lieutenant, sent his men to attack. They were successful at first, but Washington defeated them in the end. Washington and his men gained confidence from this battle, and they wanted to continue fighting and winning. -
Battle of Saratoga
John Burgoyne's British troops defeated the patriot troops of Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold in the first battle, but eighteen days later, the patriots won the second battle. This battle led to France allying with the patriots. -
Battle of Yorktown
George Washington led a siege against Charles Cornwallis's British base in Virginia. Marquis de Lafayette, a french man siding with the patriots, led a force to keep the British in Yorktown so that they could be defeated. Cornwallis surrendered, and the Revolutionary War ended with the Treaty of Paris.
