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Turning point
Still bitter from their defeat by the British in the French and Indian war, the French had secret sent weapons to the patriots. -
The Siege of Boston
It was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War, in which New England militiamen. Later became part of the Continental Army and surrounded the town of Boston, Massachusetts, to prevent British Army from getting more troops. -
Defeat in New York
General Walliam Howe and Admiral Richaerd Howe, joined forces on Staten Island and sailed into New York Harbor with the largest British Expeditionary force ever assembled. -
Continental Army Volunteer
Washington rallied 23,000 men to New York's defense,but he was vastly outnumbered. Most of his troops were untrained recruits with poor equipment. The battle for New York ended in late August with an American retreat following heavy losses. Michael Graham, a Continental Army Volunteer, described the chaotic withdrawal. -
Christmas Night
Washington resolved to risk everything on one bold stroke set. In the face of a fierce storm, he lead to 2,400 men in small rowboats across the ice-choked Delaware River. -
8 o'clock the next morning
The men had marched nine miles through sleet and snow to the Trenton, New Jersey, held by a guardians of hessians. most of the hessians had too much rum the night before so they were drunk and couldn't fight. The Americans killed 30, kept 918 captive, and took 6 of there cannons. -
December 31
Fewer then 8,000 men remained under Washington's command, the terms of their enlistment were due to end. Washington desperately needed some kind of victory for his men to keep them from going home. -
8 days later
The Americans were rallied by another astonishing victory against 1,200 British stationed at Princeton. Washington matched his army into winter camp in north New Jersey after the victory. -
Winter of 1777-1778
Albigense Waldo worked as a surgeon in northwest of Philadelphia where the American Continental Army spent the winter of 1777–1778 during the American Revolutionary War. Starvation, disease, and under killed more than 2,500 American soldiers by the end of February 1778. -
Spring of 1777
General Howe began his campaign to seize the American capital at Philadelphia. His troops sailed to New York. The Continental congress fled the city while Washington's troops un successfully tried to block the redcoats at nearby Brandywine Creek. -
Saratoga
Massed American troops finally surrounded Burgoyne, where he surrounded his battered army to general gates. The surrender at Saratoga dramatically changed Britain's war strategy. -
Turning Point
The French recognized American independence and signed he alliance, or treaty of cooperation, with the Americans. According to the term, France agreed not to make peace with Britain unless Britain also recognized Americans independence. -
European Allies
In the middle of the winter at Valley Forge, American troops began an amazing transformation Friedrich von Steuben a Prussian captain and talented drillmaster, volunteered his services to General Washington and went to work to make regular soldiers out of country bump- kins. -
British Move South
After their devastating defeat at Saratoga, the British changed their military strategy. They began to shift their operations to the South. There, the British hoped to rally Loyalist support. Then plan to slowly fight there way back up north. -
British success into the south
A British expedition easily took Savannah, Georgia. -
Lafayette and The French
Around the same time, another military leader, the Marquis de Lafayette a brave, idealistic 20-year-old French aristocrat, offered his assistance. The young Lafayette joined Washington’s staff and bore the misery of Valley Forge. -
Commanding South
A royal governor once again commanded Georgia. -
Sailing South
In 1780, General Henry Clinton, who had replaced Howe in New York, along with the ambitious general Charles Cornwallis sailed south with 8,500 men. -
Leaving the North
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 South and North Carolina. -
Joining Slaves
As the redcoats advanced, they were joined by thousands of African Americans who had escaped from Patriot slaveowners to join the British and win their freedom. -
Smashed Americans
Cornwallis’s army smashed American forces at Camden, South Carolina, and within three months the British had established forts across the state. When Cornwallis and his forces advanced into North Carolina, Patriot bands attacked them and cut British communication lines and forced the redcoats to retreat to South Carolina. -
British Losses
Morgan and his men led the British on a grueling chase through rough countryside. At the Cowpens, South Carolina, the British expected the outnumbered Americans to flee; but the Continental Army fought back, and forced the redcoats to surrender. -
Needing Help
Greene had weakened the British, but he worried about the fight for the South. He wrote a letter to Lafayette, asking for help. -
Financing the War
the congress appointed a rich Philadelphia merchants named Robert Morris as a superintendent of finance. His associate was Haym Salomon, a jewish political refugee from Poland. They both Baged and borrowed on their personal credit to raise money. -
Finally Payed
Due to the effects on Morris and Salomon, the troops finally got paid in specie, or gold coins. -
Surrendering
With the troops outnumbered by more than two to one and exhausted from constant shelling, Cornwallis finally raised the white flag of surrender. -
Yorktown
Colonel William Fontaine of the Virginia militia stood with the American and French armies lining a road near Yorktown, Virginia. British surrender, and the French were dressed in bright blue coats and white trousers. -
Victory at Yorktown
A triumphant 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. -
Seeking Peace
Representatives of four nations: the United States, Great Britain, France, and Spain have joined the negotiations, with each nation looking out for its own interests. -
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.
