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Lexington
As the king’s troops neared the town of Lexington, they saw 70 minutemen drawn up in lines on the village green. The British commander ordered the minutemen to release their firearms and dispatch. Someone fired and 8 minutemen were killed and 10 wounded. The Battle of Lexington, the first battle of the Revolutionary War only lasted 15 minutes. -
Concord
The British continued onto Concord, where they were able to locate an empty arsenal. After a brief battle with minutemen, the British soldiers prepared to return to Boston, but the march became a slaughter. British soldiers fell by the dozen and the remaining of them, humiliatingly returned to Boston. Colonists became enemies of Britain and held Boston and it's encampment of British troops under siege. -
Bunker Hill
British general Thomas Gage sent 2,400 British soldiers up the hill. The colonists held their fire until the last minute and then began to mow down the redcoats before retreating. By the time the smoke cleared the colonists lost 450 men, while British suffered over 1,000 casualties. The misnamed Battle of Bunker Hill would prove to be the deadliest battle of the war. -
New York
As a part to stop the rebellion by isolating New England, the British sailed into New York harbor with a force of approximately 32,000 soldiers. Unfortunately, the untrained and poorly equipped colonial troops retreated. -
Trenton
Desperate for an early victory, Washington put everything at risk on one bold stroke set for Christmas night. In the face of a fierce storm, he led 2,400 men in small rowboats across the ice-choked Delaware River and then marched to Trenton, New Jersey. They defeated a garrison of Hessians in a surprise attack. -
Philadelphia
General Washington positioned 11,000 men between Howe and Philadelphia but was outflanked and driven back at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777 and suffered over 1,000 casualties, while the British lost about half that number. -
Saratoga
American troops surrounded Burgoyne at Saratoga. Saratoga turned out to be one of the most important events of the war. Although the French secretly aided the Patriots, the Saratoga victory bolstered France's belief that the Americans could win the war. As a result, the French signed an alliance with the Americans and openly joined them in their fight. -
Valley Forge
While a hopeful turn of events took place in Paris, Washington, and a Continental Army- low on food and supplies- fought to stay alive at winter camp in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. More than 2,000 soldiers lives were taken, yet the survivors did not desert. Their endurance and suffering filled Washington's letters to the Congress and his friends. -
Marquis de Lafayette
Lafayette lobbied France reinforcements in 1779 and led a command in Virginia in the last years of war. With the help of European military leaders, the raw Continental Army became an effective fighting force. -
Yorktown
Despite several defeats, colonists continued to battle Cornwallis, hindering his efforts to take the Carolinas. The British general chose to move the fight to Virginia and led his army of 7,500 onto the peninsula between James and York rivers and camped at Yorktown. Cornwallis planned to fortify Yorktown, take Virginia and eventually move north to join Clinton's forces. -
Treaty of Paris
In September 1783, delegates signed the Treaty of Paris which confirmed the United States 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
