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Military Action
After the battles of Lexington and Concord, Benedict Arnold was allowed to raise a force of 400 to take Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain, because of it being strategically placed, and laden with supplies. He combined forces with Ethan Allen and attacked the fort. The garrison surrendered on May 10, 1775. Arnold later surrendered the fort of West Point to the British, and became a general in the British army. -
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The American Revolution
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Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress assembled on May 10, 1775 for the first time. Many people were not ready to separate from Britain, despite the fighting at Lexington and Concord. Many people from the First Continental Congress were in the Second Continental Congress. The Congress allowed money to be printed and set up a post office. They set George Washington to be the army's commander. -
The Battle of Bunker Hill
Colonel William Prescott, with 1,200 militiamen set up fortifications on Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill, across the harbor from each other at Boston. The British chose to get the Americans from the strategic locations. The next day, they lined up at the bottom of Breed's hill, and charged. With low ammunition, Colonel Prescott repeatedly told his forces "don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes." The redcoats had to retreat 3 times, but eventually took the hill. -
Colonies Take the Offensive
Patriots marched north from Fort Ticonderoga and captured Montreal on Nov 13, 1775. An American attack on Quebec failed when led by Benedict Arnold, and they didn't return to Fort Ticonderoga until 1776. Washington got to Boston in July 1775, and found the militia growing, but lacking discipline, so he trained them and deemed them ready in March, 1776. They attacked Boston and drove out the redcoats on March 17, 1776. -
The Declaration of Independence
The Second Continental Congress delegates were debating over whether they should go for freedom, or stop. As the delegates argued, the Congress chose to have Jefferson draft the Declaration of Independence. He decided to use ideas of thinkers like John Locke to argue for freedom. The Declaration of Independence has 4 major sections, a preamble, saying new countries give reason for separating, two paragraphs supporting the preamble, last paragraph saying existence of the new nation. -
Battle of Long Island
British General, William Howe, had 32,000 troops come to New York, hoping to scare the patriots off, and was dissapointed. The patriots were determined to fight, even with less than 20,000 troops. Nathan Hale, a teacher from Connecticut, volunteered to spy on British troops. He was discovered and hanged. The patriots had to flee due to loosing too many men. After this defeat, many free african americans were recruited. -
Patriots Prevent British Movements
British General Howe captured Albany in September, forcing the Continental Congress to flee. Howe stayed put there for the winter. British General Burgoyne was slow due to Burgoyne having 30 wagons of luxury goods, and was slowed even more by the Americans chopping trees in their path. British St. Leger was stopped at Fort Stanwix. Burgoyne had to flee to Saratoga, and was defeated due to not having the other forces to help him. He surrendered on October 17, 1777. -
The Battle of Princeton
General George Washington took troops across the Delaware River to attack British troops stationed in Trenton and Princeton on christmas night. The next day, he reached Trenton and captured 900 Hessians.The British sent Charles Cornwallis with reinforcements to get Washingtion, but they failed to catch Washington and his troops, who marched to Princeton and drove the British out of there as well. -
Winter at Valley Forge
Over the span of the winter, the soldiers in the Continental Army faced difficult issues, such as having nearly no blankets, shirts or shoes for the people. Many people deserted or resigned, but many people also stayed through the winter. In the spring of 1778, George Washington made the announcement to the soldiers that they had French support. This caused a boost in morale, and many soldiers joined to replace the other ones that deserted. -
Help from Overseas and Monney Problems
There are people that helped from France, Germany, and Spain. Marquis de Lafayette, a French man, helped via being a enthusiastic helper of George Washington, and brought along other French people to help. Friedrich von Steuben helped out by being a drill officer, making the army disciplined and more effective. Juan de Miralles, a Spain ambassador, got Spain, Cuba, and Mexico to send financial aid. Money was not enough to support the army, so they made money, but it caused inflation, and failed. -
Life on the Home Front
Many women, Loyalists, and African Americans were dealing with issues in their lives during the American Revolution. Women were having to try to put themselves intothe effect of the Revolution, making it that they would have equal rights. Loyalists were having to deal with being shunned, arrested, or even hanged. African Americans were trying to get equal rights from the Revolution as well, since they were having to put up with slavery, though slavery wouldn't be resolved for a while. -
Victory at Vincennes
George Rogers Clark, was a lieutenant colonel in the Virginia militia. He went to help in the British attacks. In the month of July 1778, Clark and 175 soldiers sailed Ohio River to the mouth of the Tennessee River. I nthe present-day Indiana the patriots captured the British town of Vincennes. -
Help From Spain
Spain was a neutral place when Bernado de Ga`lvez became a govenor. That didn't stop Ga`lvez from trying to help the colonists. So he loaned at least a couple thousand dollars to the Americans. Another thing he did was open the port of New Orleans to free the trade. -
John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones was a daring American naval officer. He sailed in an old French ship. In September 1779, when he was along the coast in Great Britain, he came across british merchant ships led by Serapis, a warship. John Paul Jones moved his ship close to the Serapis before attacking it. After being damaged majorly, John Paul in his ship, Bonhomme Richard, defeated the Serapis, even though John's ship sank not long after. -
Victory at Yorktown
This was the time where the Revelutionary War got critical. Both armies have to have a victory in order to win the war. Ships appeared in the water of Rhode Island in 1780. The ships with more than 5,000 soldiers were under the command of the French general, the Comte de Rochambeau. -
British Victories
In late 1778 General Henry Clinton sent 3,500 British troops from New York to take Savannah, the coast of Georgia. Charlestown surrendered in May. It was the worst American loss of the war. A British parliament meber said "We look at America as at our feet". The British won the attack and Cornwallis knew that he couldn't control the area he had ruled. -
British Retreat
Cornwallis marched north to Viginia in April 1781. His troops almost captured Thomas Jefferson & the Viriginian Legislature in June. After that Cornwallis set up the camp at Yorktown. it was located on the Virginia coast. The battle control in the South was entering its final phase. -
Change In Plans
In August 1781, Washington found out that Admiral Francois de Grasse had a change of plans to go to Chesapeake Bay instead of New York. Washington changed his plans quickly. Washington took steps to keep the new American strategy secret. He wanted Clinton to think the Patriots still planned the attack in New York. He hoped it would kep Clinton from sending special aid to Cornwallis. In July General had marched his troops from New Port to join General Washington in July. -
The Siege of Yorktown
Washington was wondering if his plan had fooled Clinton, and if the French fleet would reach Yorktown in time. On September 5 Washington found out that found out that Admiral De Grasse's ships were nearing Yorktown. The plan had worked just ow it was suppose to because the British were fooled and confused. -
Cornwallis's Defeat
The Americans and French began a massive bombardment on Yorktown. The British were running very low on supplies, and had many sick or wounded. Cornwallis realized how futile the situation was, so on October 19. -
The Newburgh Conspiracy
After the British surrendered at Yorktown, the Continental Army officers sent out a letter saying that if they did not get money, they would refuse to disband.Seeing this could cause a revolt, Washington urged the congress to give the money, and diffused the situation. -
Independence
The final Treaty of Paris was signed in on September 3, 1783. By that time Britain had finally became 'friends' with France and Spain. The Treaty of Paris was a triumph for the Americans. Great Britiain finally recognized the United States as a independent nation. -
The Influence On The American Revolution
In 1791 the ideas of the American and French Revolutions traveled across the Carribean and the Atlantic to the French-held island colony of Saint Domingue. The enslaved Africans were inspired by the talk of freedom and took up arms. Led by Toussaint-Louverture, they didn't follow the French rule.
