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Lexington and Concord
This was the first battle of the Revolution. The British troops were marching towards Concord, and this was when Paul Revere went through town warning people that they were coming so that the minutemen could get ready. They intercepted the British in Lexington, and were trampled by the British at first. They were able to launch a counter attack with more militiamen once the British entered Concord and they forced the British to retreat. -
Bunker Hill
This was a British defeat of the Colonists, but the colonists were able to damage the British troops pretty heavily. This battle was known as one of the major confidence boosters for the colonists because it gave them a sense that they could actually win the war. -
Saratoga
There were two different battles that were fought within 18 days of each other. The first was won by the British at the expense of many casualties, but the Americans got their revenge in the second battle forcing the British to surrender. The Americans were led by Benedict Arnold and Horatio Gates. This battle was huge for the Americans because it made France recognize the colonists troops as something serious and they joined the war on our side after this. -
Siege of Charleston
The British turned their focus to the south because they believed that they could still get some loyalists to back them down there. They began the Siege in 1779, but it lasted until 1780 because they had to get in sync with their naval fleet. The British troops stayed 30 miles south until the naval fleet was close to the Charleston port, then they attacked and forced General Lincoln and his troops to surrender. This cut off the major port for goods to the southern colonies. -
Cowpens
This battle was fought in South Carolina and was won heavily by the American forces. This was one of the more demoralizing defeats for the British because they suffered great casualties as well as this reignited the American force in the south. More than 800 British troops were killed as the Colonists attacked the British lines at Cowpens. -
Yorktown
George Washington led 17,000 French/American troops against the 9,000 British troops under General Cornwallis. Washington directed the troops to attack the British at Yorktown, but when the British tried to escape they cut them off, and they had them cut off with their fleet on the Atlantic Ocean. This resulted in an American win and eventually a the end of the British rule in the Americas.
