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Lexington and Concord
When British troops are sent to confiscate colonial weapons, they run into an untrained and angry militia. This army defeats 700 British soldiers and the surprise victory boosts their confidence for the war ahead. Colonel Smith, Major Pitcairn and Lord Percy commanded the British Troops. Paul Revere and William Dawes rode to warn the villages on the route to Concord and the Congress. Militia were commanded by Barrett, Buttrick, Robinson and many others. -
Fort Ticonderoga
On the morning of May 10, 1775, fewer than a hundred of these militiamen, under the joint command of their leader, Ethan Allen, and Benedict Arnold of Massachusetts, crossed Lake Champlain at dawn, surprising and capturing the still-sleeping British garrison at Fort Ticonderoga. -
Bunker (Breed's) Hill
British forces were under the command of Major General William How and Brigadier General Robert Pigot. British defeated the Americans at the Battle of Bunker Hill in Massachusetts. Despite their loss, the inexperienced colonial forces inflicted significant casualties against the enemy, and the battle provided them with an important confidence boost. -
Trenton/ Princeton (NJ Campaign
General George Washington’s army won two crucial battles of the American Revolution. In the Battle of Trenton, Washington defeated a formidable garrison of Hessian mercenaries before withdrawing. A week later he returned to Trenton to lure British forces south, then executed a daring night march to capture Princeton on January 3. The victories reasserted American control of much of New Jersey and greatly improved the morale and unity of the colonial army and militias. -
Saratoga (Bemis Heights, the second battle)
On September 19th, British General John Burgoyne achieved a small, but costly victory over American forces led by Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold. Though his troop strength had been weakened, Burgoyne again attacked the Americans at Bemis Heights, but this time was defeated and forced to retreat. He surrendered, and the American victory convinced the French government to formally recognize the colonist’s cause and enter the war as their ally. -
Siege of Charleston
After a siege that began on April 2, 1780, Americans suffer their worst defeat of the revolution on this day in 1780, with the unconditional surrender of Major General Benjamin Lincoln to British Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton and his army of 10,000 at Charleston, South Carolina. -
King's Mountain
The Battle of Kings Mountain was between Patriot and Loyalist militias in South Carolina during the Southern Campaign of the American Revolutionary War, resulting in a decisive victory for the Patriots. The battle took place on October 7, 1780, where the Patriot militia defeated the Loyalist militia commanded by British Major Patrick Ferguson. Ignoring the participation of Ferguson, the battle has been described as the war’s largest all-American fight. -
Yorktown
Victory by a combined force of troops led by General George Washington and French Army troops led by the Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis. The siege proved to be the last major land battle of the American Revolutionary War, as the surrender by Cornwallis, and the capture of both him and his army, prompted the British government to negotiate an end to the war.
