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The War moves to the Middle states
The British had previously retreated from Boston moving the theater of war to the Middle states.As part of a grand plan to stop the rebellion by isolating New England, the British decided to seize New York Cit. -
The Summer of 1776
General William Howe and Admiral Richard Howe joined forces on Staten Island and sailed into New York harbor.With the largest British expeditionary force ever assembled-32,000 soldiers. -
The Battle of Long Island
In late August,1776 Washington rallied 23,000 men to New York's defense,but was out numbered.Most of his troops were untrained recruits with poor equipment.The battle for New York ended with an American retreat with a heavy loss.It was chaotic.The Americans won. -
The Battle of Trenton
Washington resolved the risk everything on one bold stroke set for this day.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.In a surprise attack the Americans killed 30 of the enemy,took 918 captive and 6 Hessian cannons.American victory. -
Washington struggles with his men
Fewer than 8,000 men remained under Washington's command.The terms of their enlistment were due to end on December 31.Washington needed some kind of victory for his men to keep them from going home.Because the British punished Washington's army across the Delaware River to Pennsylvania by late fall before. -
Going north of New Jersey-The battle of Princeton
The Americans rallied by another astonishing victory against 1,200 British stationed at Princeton.Encouraged by there victories Washington marched his army into winter camp near Morristown in northern New Jersey. -
Spring of 1777 - The fight for Philadelphia
General Howe began his campaign to seize the American capital at Philadelphia.His troops sailed from New York to Chesapeake Bay and landed near the capital in late August.Continental Congress fled the city while Washington's troops unsuccessfully tried to block the redcoats at nearby Brandywine Creek.The British captured Philadelphia -
Lafayette and the French
Marquis de Lafayette joined Washington's staff and bore the misery of Valley Forge,lobbied for French reinforcements in France in 1779.Led a command in Virginia in the last years of the war. -
Turing Point
The Battle of Saratoga was the turning point of the Revolutionary war.American troops surrounded Burgoyne at Saratoga and he surrendered his battered army to General Gates.The surrender at Saratoga changed Britain's war strategy. -
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Winter in Valley Forge
It would take months for French aid to arrive.While the British troops occupied Philadelphia and found quarters inside warm homes,the under clothed and underfed Patriots huddled in makeshift huts in the freezing,snow covered Pennsylvania woods.Washington and his meager Continental Army to stay alive amidst bitter cold and primitive conditions at winter camp Valley Forge,Pennsylvania.Soldiers suffered from exposure and frostbit. -
French changing their mind
The Saratoga victory bolstered French trust in the American army and France now agreed to support the Revolution.The French recognized American independence and signed an alliance with the American.France agreed no to make peace with Britain unless Britain also recognized American independence. -
European Allies Shift the Balance
American troops began an amazing transformation.Fedrich von Steuben taught the colonial soldiers strategies.The Continental Army was becoming an effective fighting force. -
The British move South - In the Summer of 1778
The British began to shift their operations to the South.There,the British hopped to rally Loyalist support,reclaim their former colonies in the region then slowly fight their way back north. -
The Battle of Monmouth
Was a military conflict between the kingdom of Great Britain and its 13 colonies in North America.The British and American forces fought in Monmouth,New Jersey.It was inconclusive but ended in a long term victory for the American colonists.The significance of this conflict was that the American retreat ordered by General Charles Lee allowed Clinton's army to continue to New York City. -
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British expedition
At the end of 1778 a British expedition easily took Savannah,Georgia by the spring of 1779 a royal governor once again command Georgia. -
The British surrender Yorktown-IN 1780
A French army of 6,000 had landed in Newport,Rhode Island after the British left the city to focus on the South,The French had stationed one fleet there and were operating another in the West Indies.When news of Cornwallis's plans reached him,the Marquis de Lafayette suggested that the American and French armies join forces with the two French fleets and the attack the British forces at Yorktown. -
The Battle of Charles Town
The battlefield which the British and American forces fought was located in Charleston,South Carolina.The siege of Charleston ended in victory for the British -
British success in the South
General Henry Clinton and general Charles Cornwallis sailed south with 8,500 men in their greatest victory of the war the British captured Charles Town,South Carolina and marched 5,500 American soldiers off as prisoners of war.Clinton then left for New York leaving Cornwallis to command the British forces in the south and to conquer the South and North Carolina. -
Cornwallis succeeded
Cornwallis's army smashed American forces at Camden,South Carolina.Within 3 months,the British had established forts across the state.But when Cornwallis and his forces advanced into North Carolina,Patriot bands attacked them and cut British communication lines.The continues harassment forced the redcoats to retreat to South Carolina. -
Battle of Camaden
British army under Lieutenant General Charles,Cornwallis routed the American forces of Hartio Gates. -
British Looses in 1781
Washington ordered Nathaniel Greene to march south.Greene divided his force into 2 groups sending 600 soldiers under the command of General Daniel Morgan to South Carolina.Cornwallis in turn sent Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton,his troops to pursue Morgan's soldiers.Morgan,his men led the British on a grueling chase through countryside.Met at Cowpens,South Carolina the British expected the outnumbered Americans to flee but the Continental Army fought back,forced the redcoats to surrender. -
In 1781-Raising money
The Congress appointed a rich Philadelphia merchant named Robert Morris as superintendent of finance.His associate was Haym Salomen.They both begged and borrowed on their personal credit to raise money to provide salaries for the Continental Army. -
Cornwallis attacked back
Angered by the defeat at Cowpens,Cornwallis attacked Greene at Guildford Court House,North Carolina.Cornwallis won the battle but the victory cost him nearly a fourth of his troops-93 were killed,over 400 were wounded and 26 were missing. -
Greene weakened
Greene had weakened the British,but he worried about the fight for the South.He wrote a letter to Lafayette,asking for help. -
Paying the troops
The efforts of Morris and Salomon the troops were finally paid. -
Lafayette's plan
The Americans and the French closed in on Cornwallis according to Lafayette's plan.A French naval force defeated a British fleet then blocked the entrance to Chesapeake Bay preventing a British rescue by sea.About 17,000 French and American troops surrounded the British on the Yorktown peninsula and bombard them.With his troops outnumbered by more than 2 to 1 and exhausted from constant shelling,Cornwallis finally raised the white flag of surrender. -
British surrender
Colonel William Fontaine of the Virginia militia stood with the American and French armies lining a road near Yorktown,Virginia to witness the formal British surrender. -
Victory At Yorktown
Washington,the French generals and their troops assembled to accept the British surrender.After General Charles O'Hara representing Cornwallis handed over his sword,the British troops laid down their arms. -
Peace talks began in 1782
Representatives of 4 nations the United States,France,Britain,Spain joined the negotiations each nation looking out for its own interests.Britain hoped to avoid giving America independence.France supported American independence but feared America's becoming a major power.Spain was interested in acquiring the land between Appalachian Mt. and the Mississippi River.The Continental Congress chose John Adams,Benjamin Franklin,John Jay of NY.They demanded that Britain recognize American independence. -
Treaty of Paris
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.
