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Concord
The British marched on to Concord, where they found an empty arsenal. After a brief skirmish with minutemen, the British soldiers lined up to march back to Boston, but the march quickly became a slaughter. British soldiers fell by dozen. Colonists had become enemies of Britain and now held Boston and its encampment of British troops under siege. -
Lexington
Paul Revere, William Dawes and Samuel Prescott rode out to spread word that 700 British troops were headed for Concord. The king king's troops, known as "redcoats" because of their uniforms, reached Lexington, Massachusetts, five miles short of Concord, on the cold, windy dawn of April 19. The battle of Lexington lasted only 15 minutes. -
Bunker Hill
British General Thomas Gage decided to strike at militiamen on Breed's Hill, north of the city and near Bunker Hill.The colonists had lost 450 men, while the British has suffered over 1000 casualties. -
New York
As part 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 -
Trenton
Desperate for an early victory, Washington risked everything on one bold stroke set for Christmas night. They marched and defeated a garrison for Hessians, and in September 1777 they captured the American capital at Philadelphia. -
Saratoga
As Burgoyne traveled through forested wilderness, militiamen and soldiers from the Continental Army gathered from all over New York and New England. American troops finally surrounded Burgoyne at Saratoga. The surrender at Saratoga turned out to be one of the most important events of the war. -
Valley Forge
Washington and his Continental Army desperately low on food and supplies fought to stay alive at winter camp in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. More than 2,000 soldiers die, yet the survivors didn't desert. -
Marquis de Lafayette
Marquis de Lafayette also arrived to offer their help. Lafayette lobbied France for French reinforcements in 1779, and led a command in Virginia in the last years of the war -
Philadelphia
The Second Continental Congress met to fund the military. -
Yorktown
The British general chose to move the fight to Virginia, He led his army of 7,500 onto the peninsula between the James and York rivers and camped at Yorktown. Cornwallis planned to fortify Yorktown, take Virginia, and then move north to join Clinton's forces. -
Treaty of Paris
In September 1783, the delegates signed the Treaty of Paris, which confirmed U.S. independence and set the boundaries of the new nation. The United States now stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River and from Canada to the Florida Border.
