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King George III
-ruled Britain from 1760-1820-viewed as an evil tyrant by the Patriots of the American Colonies-mentally unstable because of porphyria http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon55.html -
Period: to
American Revolution
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First Continental Congress
-This congress was a response to the Intolerable Acts.
-Delegates from the Thirteen Colonies met in Philadelphia in September 1774.
-Delegates included Samuel and John Adams, George Washington and Patrick Henry. http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/congress.htm -
Colonel Francis Marion
-“the swamp fox”
- courageous and deadly soldier used and Indian style of warfare
-delegate in 1775 to the South Carolina Provincial Congress. He was named a captain in the 2nd South Carolina Regiment.
-promoted to major in February, 1776, he participated in the defense of Charleston on June 28
-later in 1776, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel -October, 1779, he led his command in an unsuccessful assault against Savannah
-he was spared capture in Charleston due to a broken ankle
incident -
Quebec Military Campaign 1775-1776
-1775-76, two pronged attack-the first up to Lake Champlain, first to Montreal and then onto Quebec
-second attack left Boston to travel straight to Quebec
-they feared British attacks from Quebec after the Declaration of Independence http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/americanrevolution/a/amrevearly_2.htm -
Lexington and Concord
-General Thomas Gage (Brit. Governor of Mass.) grew alarmed by actions by the Committee of Safety in Boston who were organizing local militias -April 18 Gage sends 700 redcoats to seize weapons in Concord-when the British passed through Lexington they found the minutemen blocking their path → 10 Americans dead -destroy gunpowder supply in Concord; return trip to Boston minutemen attack → 300 Redcoat casualties -revolution begins http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312848/boflandc.htm -
Second Continental Congress; May 1775
-looked to provide aid to Massachusetts -appointed George Washington as head of new Army of the Continental Congress-Congress tried to find peaceful resolutions http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312848/ccs.htm -
Army of the Continental Congress
-American Army-mostly unmarried, poor men that were in it for the promise of wages and the grant of land that was promised if they were to win the war-1777 most deserted the army (30-40%) because the food and pay was unreliable-also lacked supplies, resources (adequate clothing for winters) http://www.army.mil/article/40562/ -
Battle of Bunker Hill
-British charged the Americans 3 times, 2 were unsuccessful-on the third charge, the Americans ran out of ammunition, lost the hill-1000 British casualties (40% of their forces)-the fighting failed to lift the siege → Redcoats abandoned Boston after General Washington arrived with reinforcements in 1776 http://www.charlestownonline.net/bunkerhillbattle.htm -
Olive Branch Petition
-final appeal sent by Congress to restore colonial liberties-Britain then placed more restrictions on fur trade http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/olive-branch-petition.html -
General Lord Charles Cornwallis
-British general who was leading during the Revolution-fairly successful but couldn’t hold off French or American forces-ended up being responsible for the entire British campaign in the South-in 1781 he was in Yorktown waiting for reinforcement when the British had no other choice but to surrender to the Americans and French-this surrender signalled the end of the Revolutionary War http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312848/lccornwallis.htm -
Common Sense Published
-1776 Thomas Paine publishes pamphlet titled Common Sense with an easy to understand defense of the Revolution-criticised King George (violation of citizens rights)-argued that America could be economically independent if they broke away from Europe -
Declaration of Independence
-written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776-explained that all men have equal rights/liberties and that it is the duty of the government to protect these
-most decorated artifact in nations history http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/ -
Trenton
-December 25, 1776 General Washington led 2500 soldiers across the Delaware-the caught the British in Trenton, NJ sleeping-killed 100+ men and taking over a thousand prisoner-no American casualties http://library.thinkquest.org/10966/data/trenton.shtml -
Battle of Princeton
-Following victory at Trenton on December 26, 1776, Washington decided to use his momentum and grab another victory-December 30, he crossed the Delaware River back into New Jersey-1 A.M. on January 3, 1777 the rest of Washington's force set out- in Princeton, Lt. Cornwallis had left 1,400 British -Washington was able to attack and defeat the troops at Princeton
and get out before General Cornwallis could arrive with reinforcements. http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/americanrevolution/p/princ -
Valley Forge Dec 1777-June 1778
-Valley Forge was an encampment of the Continental Army in Pennsylvania-General Washington's troops stayed there from December of 1777 to June of 1778. -crossed the mighty Delaware River, then fought the Battle of Trenton -terrible first three months, very bad weather, very little supplies http://www.ushistory.org/us/11f.asp
