1. Battles of the American Revolution

2. The British Armies British Army most powerful in world
Well-equipped with weapons
Highly trained and disciplined for war on land and sea
Carried three days provisions
British gear weighed about 100 pounds

3. British Military Leaders
General Charles Cornwallis
General John Burgoyne
Benedict Arnold
William Howe
All considered America one of the worst places to serve

4. The American Army
Had fewer weapons, but they had better guns, and were excellent shots.
They were quicker, and had great strength and endurance.
Revolutionary Army knew lay of the land
Used weapons appropriate for landscape
Wore pieces of different uniforms

5. American Military Leaders
George Washington: Commander of Americans Forces
Nathanael Greene: Top Strategist
Henry Knox: Artillery Expert
Benedict Arnold: Commander under Washington

6. Other Key People France, Spain, Germany and Poland
Hessian mercenaries from Germany
The Marquis de Lafayette: Frenchman who supported the American cause
Huge percentage of American gunpowder came from France
Bernardo De Galvez: Spanish lord in Mexico
Baron Friedrich von Steuben: German military commander who helped train American troops
Nathan Hale: American Spy “ I regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”

7. Major Battles Lexington & Concord Fort Ticonderoga Bunker Hill
Long Island
Trenton
Saratoga
Yorktown

8. Battles of Lexington & Concord
Troops were beginning to organize – Minutemen were colonists who had no military training who were ready and willing to fight at any minute
Parliament declared MA to be in a state of rebellion
April 18, 1775 British General Gage sent 700 soldiers to seize a supply of weapons the Patriots were storing in Concord
On the way they were supposed to arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock in Lexington
Paul Revere, Dr. Samuel Prescott, and William Dawes rode ahead to warn the Minutemen that the British were coming
Revere reached Lexington, but he and Dawes were captured on their way to Concord - Prescott made it

9. The Capture of Fort Ticonderoga 1775
Key strategic location in New York - overlooking the major route through the Hudson River Valley from the Canadian border
The Fort was not seen as very important by the British since the end of the French and Indian War
The British had only 2 officers and 46 men guarding it, and there were also 25 women and children living there.
The Americans saw the Fort as valuable because it stored heavy artillery.
Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys found only 1 guard on duty who ran away when his musket wouldn’t fire. The rest of the British soldiers were captured in their beds asleep.
Not a single shot was fired and no one was hurt during the capture.

11. Battle of Bunker Hill 1775
Fun Fact: Actually took place on Breed’s Hill in Boston
Was the first major fight between the British and the colonist troops
Minutemen dug in at the top if the hill and were ordered not to shoot until they saw “the whites of their eyes”
Minutemen stopped the British from advancing 2 times but ran out of ammunition and the British took the hill
British won the battle, but they lost nearly half of their men (over 1000 casualties)
The colonists lost about 400 men

13. Battle of Long Island 1776
New York was the focal point for communications between the northern and southern colonies.
Washington marched his troops from Boston to New York.
On August 22, 1776 the British landed on Long Island. British General William Howe defeated General Charles Lee at the Battle of Long Island. George Washington had lost almost a quarter of his entire command.
Washington’s army escaped at night while the British slept.

15. Battle of Trenton 1776
Was a surprise attack by General Washington the day after Christmas
Washington crossed the Delaware River in NJ
Approximately 1000 German soldiers fighting for the British were captured
Washington’s brilliant strategy led to a great American victory.

17. Battle of Saratoga 1777 The turning point of the war
The biggest American victory at the time
Approximately 5,000 British surrender to Washington
After the American victory France changed its policies.
Feb France and America formed an alliance
France declared war on Britain the next month
Spain declared war in 1779
Bernardo de Galvez chased British troops out of Louisiana and Florida (owned by Spain)

18. Valley Forge
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, saw the Americans in a battle not against the British but rather against nature.
The winter of was a time for Americans to regroup, re-supply, and train.
The American Army had run out of food and clothing, and Washington had to appeal to Congress for help because supplies were quickly used up at Valley Forge.
Baron von Steuban joined Washington as an aide.
The bitter cold added to the deaths of many exhausted, wounded, maimed, malnourished, and dispirited soldiers. The American Army reached a low point during this time.
Stayed until mid June 1778

19. “The army which has been surprisingly healthy hitherto, now begins to grow sickly…I am sick—discontented—and out of humor.”
—Albigence Waldo (1777)

20. Battle of Yorktown 1781 French blockade aided this final battle
Escape for the British was impossible because they were pinned in by American and French Naval fleets
British General Cornwallis faced American forces approximately twice his size
Approximately 8,700 British troops surrendered
General Benjamin Lincoln accepted the surrender sword at Yorktown, VA
British bands played “The World has Turned Upside Down”

22. Treaty of Paris 1783
Signed on Sept. 3, 1783 in Paris by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay.
Officially ended Revolutionary War
Terms:
Britain recognized the independent nation of the United States of America.
Britain agreed to remove all of its troops from the new nation.
Set new borders for the United States
The United States agreed to allow British troops still in America to leave and also agreed to pay all existing debts owed to Great Britain.
The United States also agreed not to persecute loyalists still in America and allow those that left America to return.

23. Effects of the American Revolution
13 colonies become independent nation, the United States of America
Britain gave the U.S. the land east of the Mississippi River, north to Canada, and south to the border of Florida
All British control of America trade was lifted
A new government with elected representatives was formed under the Articles of Confederation
The successful revolution encouraged other people, especially the French, to overthrow their governments