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Revolutionary War Timeline
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Sugar Act
The Sugar Act was passed to help Great Britain pay off their war debt from the French and Indian War. The act set duties on sugar and molasses imported by the colonists. This was Britain's first attempt to tax the colonies. -
Stamp Act
This act required for the colonists to pay for a stap for any paper documents when they bought it. This angered the colonists and the soon began to protest. From this act, the Sons of Liberty was formed. This society tried to scare tax collectors from coming back to collect the taxes again. -
Townshend Act
The Townshend Acts placed duties on paper, lead, paint, glass, and tea. The British officers were also later on alowed to search ships for smuggled goods. Many colonist began to boycott a lot of British goods. Because of this act, the Daughters of Liberty was formed. This group supported the boycotts. -
Boston Massacre
Enraged with the fact that the Great Britain was keeping soldiers in the colonies in times of peace, they rebeled. On March 5, 1770, a Bostonian got into a fight with a British soldier. Soon after, the numbers of both the Bostonians and the soldiers increased. (More Bostonians than soldiers) The crowd started to through things at the soldiers and dare them to fire their guns. Finally one soldier fired and the others followed. In total, 5 Bostonians were killed. -
Tea Act
Because of the boycotts, Parliament repealed most of the Townshen Acts except for the tax of tea. The Tea Act cut off all importations of tea except from the British East India Company. Although the tea was, in the end,cheaper even with the tax, the colonist didn't like that this act was passed without their representation. The colonists rebeled by dressing as indians, sneaking onto British tea ships, and dumping over 340 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party occured in response to the Tea Act. To rebel, the colonists dressed as indians, snuck onto British tea ships, and dumped over 340 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor.
Because the colonists did so, the Parliment passed the Intolerable Acts as a form of punishment. -
Intolerable Acts
As a form of punishment for the Boston Tea Patry, the Intolerable Acts were passed. Some of these acts are as follows, 1. Boston Harbor was closed until Boston paid for the ruined tea. 2. Massachusetts's charter was canceled. 3. Royal officials accused of crimes were sent to Britain for trial. 4. A new quartering act required colonists to house British soldiers. These acts enraged the colonists. -
The First Continental Congress
Many of the colonists believed that Great Britian was abusing its powers so they set up a meeting to discuss the matter. All colonial leaders ,except for one from Georgia, met at Carpenters' Hall in Philidelphia. Some of the leaders thought that they should try to make peace with G.B. while others thought that there would have to be battle. Here they created the Declaration of Rights to the king stating their concerns and asking the king to fix them. They also made plans for a second meeting. -
The Declaration of Rights
The Declaration of Rights was created at the First Continental Congress. This document stated the colonists concerns about the British government and asked that the king would fix them. They also included what they believed were to be their rights, and these were the rights to "life, liberty, and property." -
Lexington and Concord
This event took place in Boston, Massachusetts.This was the first engagement of the revolutionary war.The Massachusetts militia's goal was to take back control of Boston. The militia soldiers stormed the city. This they did to prevent the British from sending reinforcements to their troops aid. The Americans found this victory inspirational and it gave them confidence. -
The Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress took place in the state house of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The president of the Continental Congress was John Hancock. Delegates from the 13 colonies met to discuss the matter of breaking away from Great Britain. They also decided to form an army called the American Continental Army to help defend the colonies. John Hancock alongwith the rest of the delegates decided to write the Declaration of Independence, which stated their separation from Great Britain. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought around Breed's Hill. William Prescott and his colonial soldiers secretly occupied parts of Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill after hearing that British forces were planning to send troops to occupy these hills surrounding Boston. The British caught wind of this and planed out an attack on the colonial soldiers. After a couple of assaults on the colonial soldiers, they ran out of ammunition and were forced to retreat. This was not a victorious win for the British. -
Common Sense
Common Sense was witten by Thomas Paine on February 14, 1776. The purpose of this document was to influence the colonist to join the fight to gain independence and freedom from Great Britian. He wanted to give the people something simple to read so that they would understand, he wanted to give them something with common knowledge in it. Many, but not all, colonists joined the fight because they felf that they were understood and were reached to on a level that they understood. -
The Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was created at the Second Continental Congress and written by Thomas Jefferson. This document announced that the colonies were breaking away from Great Britain, that all people have unalienable rights, and that King George III violated the colonists rights. The United States of America was created! -
Battle of Trenton
The Patriot forces rowed across the Delaware River. Washington's goal was to attack the Hessians at Trenton, New Jersey in hopes of getting soldiers moral up so that they would reenlist into the army. The Hessians, who were up all the past night celebrating, were ambushed by the Patriots. Before the Hessians could get to their feet, they were surrounded. Americans took around 900 prisoners. This was a victorious win for the Patriots. -
Battle of Brandywine Creek
This battle took place at Brandywine Creek, Pennsylvania. Britain's goal was to defeat Washington and move onto capture Philadelphia. George Washington placed his Patriot army behind Brandywine Creek at Chad's Fort in hopes of protecting Philadelphia. Instead, British General Howe's army of British and Hessian soldier encircled Washington, forcing the Continental army to retreat. -
Battle of Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga was the turning point in the Revolutionary war. The British were longing for a victory and were determined to get one. The British army's strategy was to cut of New England from the other colonies. (They were lead by general John Burgoyne.) Burgoyne and his army succeeded in doing so and taking Fort Ticonderoga. When he moved on the Saratoga, he found himself surrounded and was forced to surrender to General Horatio Gates. -
Siege of Charleston
Major General Henry Clinton and his British army moved onto South Carolina. Their goal was to capture Charleston, South Carolina. He then began a siege. The British dug siege trenches close the city. From time to time, the British got ever closer to the city. Once they got close enough, both sides started to fire. Their artillery fire soon became deadly and many of the houses in Charleston were set on fire by the weaponry fire. The Patriots finally surrendered. -
Battle of Yorktown
The Battle of Yorktown was the last battle of the Revolution. When George Washington found out that British general Charles Cornwallis was moving his troops to Yorktown, Virginia he took action. He combinded his army with Comte de Rochambeau and surrounded Cormwallis. After weeks of combat, Cornwallis surrendered to Washington. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris was a peace agreement between Great Britain and the United States. The treaty stated that Britain saw the United States as an independent country. It also set the borders of America and said that British leaders accepted American rights to trade and settle west of the original thirteen colonies. The was was finally over!
