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The Battle of Long Island
During the summer of 1776, over 30,000 British soldiers and British General William Howe arrived in New York City. Washingtons troops were outnumbered. August 1776, in the Battle of Long Island, the patriots were driven out of New York and then New Jersey then forced to take refuge in Pennsylvania across the Deleware River. The British troops were so sure the war would be over so soon that they left their defense of New Jersey up to the Hessians. -
Washington Crosses the Delaware
Christmas Day, 1776, during a bad storm, Washington and his 100s of his troops secretly paddled across the Delaware Riverwhiloe the British were celebrating Christmas. The next morning the British were camped out at Trenton and still asleep. Washingtonś soldiers attacked in successful victory. January 2, 1777, British Ceneral Charles Cornwallis tried to stop Washingtonś army but Washingtonś troops made a trap and the British took the trap and Washingtonś army secretly followed the British. -
The Battle of Saratoga
The British plan was to capture the city of Albany and take control of the Hudson River to cut off New England from other armies. The Battle of Saratoga became the first major American victory of the Revolutionary War. -
Winter At Valley Forge
The Continental Army suffered through one fo the worst winters of record. While the British were comfy elsewhere, the Continental Army was camped 20 miles west at Valley Forge. The 12,000 troops had almost no food, clothing, or supplies. The ones who survived were trained under Baron Von Steuben. They became a small continental army. -
Help From Overseas
The French have been secretly giving supplies to the patriots. The victory at Saratoga convinced the French to support the US with surprise. In 1779, Spain joined the war against England. -
War of Western Front
The British Army had to widen their forces to cover west of the Appalachian Mountains. They scaled the mountain with help of Native American allies. -
War in the South
From 1778 to 1780 the British offered freedom to the slaves of patriots if they would run away and join the British. In 1781, congress replaces General Horatio Gates who had led troops to victory in Saratoga with a new southern general named Nathaniel Greene. -
Guerrillas and the Swamp Fox
This was new warfare which is using the knowledge of the train and attacking simply from holes in the ground and hiding in nature to camouflage themselves from the enemy. It also served as a hiding place in case they had to hide. -
The Battle of Yorktown
British General Cornwallis moved his army to Yorktown, VA on the banks of York River. Supplies were running low and they needed to a port to resupply his army. -
The Treaty of Paris
It took two years to finish negotiating the 1783 Treaty of Paris. But the terms were favorable for the US on Sept 3, 1783. Britain officially agreed that the US was free and itś own independent nation. At this time, itś boundaries were now the Mississippi River, the Southern border of Canada, and the northern border of Spanish Florida.