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Moving the War
The British had retreated from Boston in March 1776, moving theater war to the middle states -
Howe brothers
Two brothers General William Howe and Admiral Richard Howe joined forces on Staten Island and sailed into New York harbor in the summer of 1776 with largest british expedition force ever assembled- 32,000 soldiers and 1,000 german mercanaries. -
Battle for New York comes to an end
The battle for New York ended in late August with an American retreat following heavy losses. Micheal Grahm, a Continental Army volunteer describede the chaotic withdrwal on August 27, 1776 -
Washingtons sneak attack
Washington resolved to risk everything on one bold stroke set for Christmas nigh, 1776. In the face of a fierce storm, he led 2,400 men in small rowboats over the Delaware River. -
Washington and his men attack!
By 8 o'clock the next morning, the men had marched 9 miles through sleet and snow to Trenton, New Jersey, held by garrison of Hessians.The Hessians had drank too much the night before and were still sleeping it off. In a suprise attack, the Americans killed 30 of the enemies and took 918 captive and 6 Hessian cannons. -
Washington losing men
The vast majority of Washingtons men had either deserted or had been killed or captured. Fewer than 8,000 men remained under Washingtons command, and the terms of their enlistment were due to end on December 31. -
Victory after victory
The Americans were rallied by another astonishing victory 8 days later agaisnt 1,200 British stationed at Princeton. Encouraged by these victories, Washington marched his army into winter camp near Morristown, New Jersey. -
Allies with the French
Still bitter from their defeat by the British in the French and Indian War, the French had secretly sent weaponds to the Patriots since early 1776. The Saratoga victory helped earned French trust in the american army and they now agreed to support the Revolution. -
General Howe wishes to seize American capital
In the spring of 1777, General Howe began his campaign to seize the American capital at Philidalphia. His troops sailed from New York to the head of Chesapeake Bay, and landed near the capital. -
Victory at Saratoga
Massed American troops finally surrounded Burgoyne at saratoga, where he surrendered his battered army to general gates on October 17, 1777 -
Valley Forge
Valley Forge just outside of Philidalphia, served as a site of the Continental Army in the winter of 1777-1778 -
Fredrich van Steunben
in February 1778, in the midst of the frozen winter at Valley Forge, Amberican troopsbegan an amazing transformation . Fredrich von Steuben a Purssian captain and a talented drill master, volunteered his services to General Washington and went to work . Von Steuben taught many things such as: standing at attention, fire and relond quickly and wield bayonets. -
British making up for loss
After their devastating defeat at Saratoga, the British changed their military strategy; in the summer of 1778 they began to shift their operations to the South. The British hoped to reclaim their former colonies in the region and then slowly fight their way back North -
British take savannah
At the end of 1778, a British expedition easily took Savannah, Georgia -
Commanding Georgia
By the spring of 1779. A royal governer once again commanded Georgia -
Marquis de Lafayette
Marquis de Lafayette, a brave, idealistic French aristocratic, offered his assistance. The young Lafayette join Washingtons staff and bore the mystery of Vally Forge, lobbied for French reinforcements in France 1779 and led a command in Virginia in the last year of war -
Capturing Charles Town
In their greatest victory of the war, the British captured Charles Town, South Carolina in May 1780 and marched 5,500 American soldiers off as prisoners of war -
General Clinton and Cornwallis sail
In 1780, General Henry Clinton who had replaced Howe in New York, along with the ambitious General Charles Cornwallis sailed with 8,500 men -
Cornwallis and his army smash Americans
In August, Cornwallis's army smashed American forces at Camden , South Carolina and within three months the British had established forts across the state -
The British focus South
In 1780, a Frenxh army of 6,000 had landed in Newport Rhode Island right after the British left the city to focus on the South -
Americans fight back
When General Daniel Morgan and his 600 men meet with Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton and his men meet at Cowpens, South Carolina in January 1781, the British expect the outnumbered Americans to flee; but the Continental Army fought back and forced the redcoats to surrender -
Cornwallis fights back
Angered by the defeat at Cowpens, Cornwallis attacked two monthes later at Guilford Court House, North Carolina. Cornwallis wins this battle but victory cost him nearly a fourth of his troops. 93 were killed over 400 were wounded and 26 missing -
Greene ask for Lafayette
Greene had weakened the Britisbut he worried about the fight for the South. On April 3, 1781 he wrote a letter to Lafayette asking for help -
Morris and Salmon help econimically
In 1781, the Congress appointed a rich Philidalphia merchant named Robert Morris as superintendent of finance. His associate was Haym Salomon. Him and Haym begged and borrowed on their personal credit to raise money to provide salaries for the Continental Army -
Morris and Salmons efforts pay off
Due to the efforts of Morris and Salmos, on september 8, 1781, the troops were finally paid in specie, or gold coin. -
Cornwallis Surrenderes
The siege of Yorktown lasted about 3 weeks. On October 7, 1781, with his troops out numbered by more than two to one and exhausted from constant shelling, Cornwallis raises the white flag to surrender -
formal British Surrender
Colonel William Fontaine of the Virginia milits stood with the American and French armies loning a road near Yorktown, Virginia, on the afternoon of October 19, 1781, to witness the formal British surrender. The French were dressed in bright blue coats and white trousers, while the American troops, standing proudly behind their general, wore rough hunting shirts and faded continental uniforms -
Washington and French accept British surrender
On October 19, 1781 a triumphant Washington, the French generals and their trops assembled to accept the British surrendered -
Peace talks
Peace talks began in Paris in 1782. Representatives of four nations, with each nation looking out for its own interest -
Treaty of Paris
In September 1783, the delegates signed the Treaty of Paris which confirmed U.S. independence and set boundaries of the new nation
