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Concord
Colonists in Boston were watching and on the night of April 18, 1775, Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott rode out to spread word that 700 british troops were headed for Concord. The darkened countryside rand with church bells and gunshots-prearranged signals, sent from town to town, that the British were coming. -
Lexington
The king's troops, known as the "redcoats" because of their uniforms, Reached Lexington, Massachusetts, five miles short of Concord. They were met by 70 minutemen drawn up in lines on the village green. -
Bunker Hill
Cooped up in Boston, British general Thomas Gage decided to strike at militiamen on Breed's Hill, north of the city and near Bunker Hill. Gage sent 2,400 British soldiers up the hill and the colonists held their fire until the last minute and then began to mow down the advancing redcoats before finally retreating. Colonists lost 450 men while the British suffered over 1,000 casualties. -
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New York
As part of of a plan to stop the rebellion by isolating New England, the British quickly attempted to seize New York City. The British sailed into New York harbor in the summer of 1776 with a force of about 32,000 soldiers. -
Saratoga
General John Burgoyne planned to lead an army down a route of lakes from Canada to Albany, where he would meet British troops as they arrived from New York City. As Burgoyne traveled through forested wilderness, militiamen and soldiers from the Continental Army gathered from all over New York and New England. American Troops surrounded Burgoyne at Saratoga, where he surrendered -
Valley Forge
More than 2,000 soldiers died, yet the survivors didn't desert. Their endurance and suffering filled Washington's letters to the Congress and his friends. -
Yorktown
Shortly after learning of Cornwallis's actions, the armies of Lafayette and washington moved south toward Yorktown. Meanwhile, a French naval force defeated a British fleet and then blocked the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay, thereby obstructing British sea routes to the bay. -
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Treaty of Paris
Peace talks began in paris om 1782. The American negotiating team included John Adams, John Jay of New York, and Benjamin Franklin. In September 1783, the delegates signed the Treaty of Paris, which confirmed U.S. independence and set the boundaries of the new nation.
