1. The Revolutionary War

2. The Divided Colonies 1/3 Patriots- Support Independence*
1/3 Loyalists or Tories- Loyal to GB*
(Middle and Southern Colonies)
1/3 Undecided- Lacked Commitment*
A Civil War

3. Great Britain’s Strengths
Professional Army*
British Naval Tradition*
Loyalist Support/ African American
Native American Support
Hessians- Mercenaries*

4. Great Britain’s Weaknesses
Unpopular War in Great Britain*
Long Supply Lines*
Fight in Hostile Country*
Wrong Tactics*

5. Colonial Strengths Fought on their Own Ground*
French and Indian War Tactics*
George Washington*

6. Colonial Weaknesses Never Enough Supplies* No Navy*
Desertion/ Constant Turn Over of Troops

7. The Major Events of the War
Lexington and Concord
The Battle of Bunker Hill
Princeton/Trenton
The Battle of Saratoga
The Winter at Valley Forge
The Battle of Yorktown

8. Lexington and Concord April 1775 Stockpiles of Ammunition at Concord
(20 Miles from Boston)
American Victory*
Beginning of the Revolution*
“The Shot Heard Around the World”*

9. The Battle of Bunker Hill
June 1775
Actually Breeds Hill
British Looking for an Easy Victory/ Show of Force
Patriots Fight Tenaciously*
Victory for the British*
1,100 Redcoats Killed or Wounded

10. The Crossing of the Delaware
Christmas 1776

11. Trenton and Princeton Winter 1776 Americans Defeated in Battle of NY
Many American Soldier Desert
Washington Attacks in Winter
Crosses Delaware River*
Caught by Surprise in Trenton*
1,200 Hessians Captured*
Morale Boost*

12. The Battle of Saratoga September 1777 The Turning Point of the War*
Gen. Burgoyne (GB) Tries to Cut Off NE
Gen. Gates (A) Surrounds Burgoyne at Saratoga
Decisive American Victory*
Help from Abroad
France Enters the War for the Colonies*
French Money, Troops, and Navy
Marquis de Lafayette – Assisted Washington *
Baron von Steuben - helps train troops*

13. The Winter at Valley Forge
Disease/Starvation/Desertion*
Continental Congress Could Not Tax
Supplies Could Only Be Requested From the States
British Warm and Supplied in Philly
Showed Washington was great leader*

14. The Battle of Yorktown October 1781
Cornwallis Moves to Yorktown to be reinforced with Troops and Supplies
Trap is Set
French Navy Cuts Off the Chesapeake
Lafayette is Reinforced by Washington
“The World Turned Up-Side Down”*
Last Major Engagement of the War*

15. The War is Over The Treaty of Paris (1783)
Great Britain Recognizes United States*
Boarder Between Canada and US Estab.
Mississippi River Boarder Between Spanish Territory and New Nation
The United States of America
Florida Returns to Spain*
Great Britain Removes Troops*
Rights and Property of Loyalist Restored