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The Battle of Lexington & Concord
This battle started the American revolution. At night on April 18th, Paul Revere and William Dawes rode through Lexington and Concord to tell the colonists that the Redcoats were coming. There were 70 minutemen waiting for the British. The Americans were about to surrender, then a bullet was shot, but they didn't know where or who it was from. When the shooting ended, eight minutemen were dead. -
The Battle of Fort Ticonderoga
After the battles at Lexington and Concord, there were more problems with the British. Benedict Arnold got an army of 400 to attack Fort Ticonderoga. He found out that Ethan Allen from Vermont also planned to attack the fort, so they decided to work together. They took the British by surprise. Fort Ticonderoga surrendered on May 10, 1775. Later, Arnold became a traitor to the patriots. He sold information to the British. When they found out about his crime, he ran to New York City. -
The Battle of Bunker Hill
After Lexington and Concord, more people joined the militias. Soon they had about 20,000 people. On June 16, 1775, the militia commanded by William Prescott set up posts on Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill. The next day, the redcoats gathered at Breed's Hill. The Americans fired, and the redcoats charged 2 times. Finally, the Americans ran out of gunpowder and had to surrender.The battle of Bunker Hill was a British victory. They learned that defeating the Americans would not be quick or easy. -
The Battle of Long Island
There were only 20,000 soldiers and Washington with the Patriots. Patriots and the British fought in the Battle of Long Island in August 1776. The British defeated the smaller Continental Army. A patriot named Nathan Hale disguised himself as a Dutch schoolteacher and spied on the British. They caught him and hung him. He went to his death saying, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” As winter approached, the Patriots were failing. They had less than 5,000 soldiers. -
The Battle of Trenton
When the Patriots were going through bad times in winter, the biggest British army was in NY. The British also had troops in Princeton and Trenton, NJ. Washington wanted to take them by surprise so he camped in Pennsylvania. On Christmas night he led 2,400 troops across a frozen river. In early 1777, the British began a 3 pronged battle plan. They wanted to seize Albany, NY, and control the Hudson River. If they got that, they would cut off New England from the Middle Colonies. -
The Battle of Saratoga
In July General Burgoyne captured Fort Ticonderoga, but he needed supplies. He sent a force to the American supply base in Bennington, VT. The Green Mountain Boys defeated them. Burgoyne left to Saratoga, NY. He was in trouble there. American troops under General Gates command surrounded Burgoyne's army. He made an attack on October 7. He surrendered on October 17, 1777. The Continental Army won a huge battle. -
The Battle of Monmouth
Sir Henry Clinton, the new British commander, retreated from Philadelphia to New York. When he was leading the British army across the Jerseys, George Washington decided to attack. It was very hot, and it took it's toll on both sides and many soldiers suffered from heatstroke. It was so hot both sides stopped fighting, and when it got dark, the British snuck away. -
The Battle of Cowpens
General Nathanael Greene was sent to the south to take charge of General Cornwallis. He gathered soldiers and marched to General Cornwallis. Greene divided his army into 2 parts and sent General Daniel Morgan to threaten Cornwallis from 1 direction, while he threatened him from another. Cornwallis sent Colonel Banastre Tarleton to attack Morgan and his soldiers. The soldiers with Morgan met the enemy at Cowpens and killed or captured almost all of the British who were badly trained. -
The Battle of Yorktown
The British got surrounded at Yorktown and they were outnumbered by the French and Americans. The Patriots fought the British for eleven days. Finally, Cornwallis sent out a white flag for surrender. He tried to made a lot of orders to George Washington for his surrendering, but Washington disagreed. The American troops started to prepare for another attack, so Cornwallis agreed and the battle was done.