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Second Continental Congress
A meeting in Philadelphia to get the American colonies ready for war. It authorized the priniting of paper money to buy supplies for war, created a Continental Army, and established a commitee to supervise foreign relations with other countries. They appointed George Washington as the commander in chief of the new army. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle for Boston was callled Battle of Bunker Hill but the actual battle took place at Breed's Hill. The Americans got their cannons for the siege of Boston at Fort Ticonderoga. After the bloody battle the colonists were defeated, but the expense of nearly 1,000 British dead or wounded. -
Common Sense is published
A pamphlet published by Thomas Paine in 1776, Common Sense, attacked the system of monarchy. Paine listed the reasons for American Independence from Britain. Three months after the pamphlet was published 120,000 copies were made. Nearly every educated person in the colonies read the pamphlet which expressed American progression once it was an independent nation. -
The Declaration of Independence
A commitee of people were appointed to write the Declaration of Independence. The youngest member amid the commitee, Thomas Jefferson, was appointed to write the first draft. Jefferson used the ideas of the Enlightenment and argued that men had certain unalienable rights that government can not get involved with. These unalienable rights included: Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. -
British invasion of New York
After the British won the Battle of Buker Hill in Boston, they made their journey to New York. The British wanted to turn New York into one of their major military headquarters. General George Washington was hesitant to defend New York because he had no navy, New York is surrounded by water, and the British were dominant on the sea with their navy. Eventually Washington's army was chased back into Pennsylvania. -
Battle of Brandywine
On the morning of September 9, 1777, General Washington set his troops along the Brandywine river to guard the main fords. On the day of the fight, September 11, the morning fog cleared and Washington realized he was outnumbered by the British under General Howe. Even though the Americans lost the Battle of Brandywine, he was able to counterattack in the days following the battle, convinving the French that America had a chance to win their revolution. -
Saratoga
British General John Burgoyne led a large invasion army down from Canada. General Burgoyne was surrounded by American troops in upstate New York which led to his surrender and a victory for the colonists. After their defeat at Saratoga, the British abandoned their strategy of fighting in New York and New England and decided to concentrate their efforts in Southern colonies, where they imagined more Loyalists to live. -
Valley Forge
After the American victory at Saratoga, Washington's army camped at Valley Forge. Cold weather, malnutrition, and desertion hurt the army. This was a low point for the Continental Army. Regardless to the conditions, morale improved when daily drilling began under the leadership of Baron von Steuben, a Prussian who had volunteered to help the colonists. This resulted in the Continental Army emerging in the spring as a tougher and more disciplined unit. -
Battle of Yorktown
British General Cornwallis decided to abandon the southern strategy and went into Virginia, where he was ordered to take up a defensive position at Yorktown. Once the British troops began to dig in, they were cut off by a combination of French and continental forces. Cornwallis hoped to escape by sea, but ships of the French navy occupied the Chesapeake Bay. For three weeks Cornwallis tried to break the siege, but he finally surrendered. -
The Treaty of Paris
Great Britain formally recognized American independence. This brought the end to the American Revolution. After the war ended, British loyalists were exiled from America. Henry Knox, a leader of the Revolution, went on to become America's first secretary of war. However, Benjamin Rush claimed the American Revolution was not over until America had its own constitution.
