-
Concord
The colonist were waiting for the British to come. Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott told the colonist that about 700 British troops were on their way there. They signaled with church bells and gunshots that the British were coming. -
Lexington
The kings troops showed up at Lexington to see 70 minutemen drawn up in lines on the village green. They were told to leave and drop their weapons but someone fired a shot and 8 minutemen were killed no one died on the side of the British. The battle lasted only 15 minutes. -
Bunker Hill
General Thomas Gage decided to attack the colonist with 2,400 British troops. The colonist fought until they could not fight no more before retreating. The colonist lost 450 men while then British lost 1,000 men. -
New York
The British tried to take New York City. They came to New York with about 32,000 troops. The colonist were unprepared and were pushed all the way to Pennsylvania. -
Trenton
Washington led an army of 2,400 men. They were faced with a fierce storm. Washington continued on because the goal was to march to Trenton, New Jersey to defeat a garrison of Hessians in a surprise attack. -
Saratoga
American troops surrounded Burgoyne and he surrendered. Burgoyne did not have help since his troops were in Philadelphia. When Burgoyne surrendered it helped France belief that the Americans could win the war. -
Period: to
Valley Forge
Washington and his army were fighting to survive in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. 2,000 soldiers died but the ones who survived did not leave. Washington wrote to Congress and his friends about the suffering and what they were experiencing. -
Marquis de Lafayette
Lafayette helped the French reinforcement. He led a command in Virginia in the last years of the war. With help the Continental Army became and effective fighting force. -
Philadelphia
The British captured Philadelphia. The congress appointed a merchant as superintendent of finance. The troops of the United States received one months pay in coin. -
Yorktown
The British general took an army of 7,500 to camp at Yorktown. His plan was to protect Yorktown and take Virginia, Washington and Lafayette's armies heard of the plan and started moving south towards Yorktown. The British general surrendered and America defeated the British. -
Treaty of Paris
America had a negotiating team that consisted of Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay of New York. They signed their independence and set the boundaries of the new nation. It stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River and from Canada to the Florida border.
