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Concord
The British marched to Concord and found empty arsenal. They lined up to march back to Boston, but were became a slaughter. 3,000-4,000 minutemen had assembled, they fired on the troops behind stone walls and trees. The British fell and became humiliated. Any of the remaining soldiers head back to boston. -
Lexington
This was the start of the Revolutionary War. In Lexington 70 minutemen were drawn up in lines. The British commanded them to lay their arms and leave. They began moving out and laying down their muskets. Someone fired, causing the British soldiers to shot. This then causing 8 minutemen to be killed and 10 more were wounded. -
Bunker Hill
Known as the deadliest battle of the war. While being kept in Boston, a British general (Thomas Gage) had decided to strike ae militainmen on Breeds Hill. Gage sent 2,400 British soldiers up the hill. Colonists held fire until the last minute and began to mow on the advancing redcoats before they finally retreated. Colonists lost 450 men, and the British 1,000 casualties. -
New York
To stop the rebellion, the plan was to isolate New England. The British attempted to seize New York City. They sailed into NY harbor with a force of 32,000 soldiers. The British had pushed Washington and his army across the Delaware river into Pennsylvania. -
Trenton
Because of Britain's victory in New York City, Washington risked everything on a bold stroke. They were faced with a fierce storm, in which he led 2,400 men in a small rowboat across the ice-choked of the Delaware River. They marched to Trenton, New Jersey. They defeated a garrison of Hessians with a surprise attack. -
Valley Forge
Washington and his Continental Army, were desperately low on food and supplies. They fought to stay alive at winter camp in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. 2,000 soldiers died, but the survivors did not desert. The endurance and suffering filled Washington's letters to the Congress and his friends -
Saratoga
Most important event in the war. British general (John Burgoyne) was marching into the jaws of disaster. His plan was to meet with the British troop and two would join forces, to isolate New England from the rest of the colonies. As he traveled through the forested wilderness, militiamen and soldiers from the Continental Army gathered, but while he was fighting he did not realize that his British officers were holding Philadelphia. So, American troops surrounded him causing him to surrender. -
Marquis De Lafayette
The American troops began an amazing transformation. A Prussian caption and talented drillmaster (Friedrich von Steuben) helped to train the Continental Army. Other foreign military leaders (Marquis de Lafayette) arrived to offer their help. Lafayette lobbied France for French reinforcements in 1779, and led a command in Virginia. With the help of such European military leaders, the raw Continental Army became an effective fighting force. -
Yorktown
Colonists continued to battle Charles Cornwallis, hindering his efforts to take the Carolinas. The British general chose to move the fight Virgina. He led an army of 7,500 onto the peninsula between the James and York rivers and camped at Yorktown. Cornwallis had planned to fortify Yorktown, take Virginia, and then move north join Clintons forces. -
Philadelphia
The British regrouped, and they captured the American capital at Philadelphia in 1777. Congress appointed a rich Philadelphia merchant (Robert Morris) as superintendent of finance. With a Jewish political refugee from Poland (Haym Salomon) Morris begged and borrowed on their personal credit to raise money to provide salaries for the Continental Army. Raised funds from Philadelphias Quakers and Jews. -
Treaty of Paris
In September 1783, the delegates signed the Treaty of Paris. This confirmed U.S. independence and set the boundaries of the new nation. The U.S. now stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River and from Canada to the Florida border.
