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The Battle of Lexington and Concord was the starting point of the American Revolutionary War. The British force led by Major John Pitcairn had a goal to eliminate the colonists' weapons. They marched to Lexington, Massachusetts meeting American militiamen who Captain John Parker led. A gun was shot alarming the British to attack, ending the battle once the Americans fled. The British marched to Concord to search for weapons but the Americans had arrived and defeated the British troops.
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The Declaration of Independence was a document approved by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. It was written to announce the separation between the thirteen, North American colonies from being under Great Britain’s rule into independent states. The thirteen states then evolved into what we call the United States of America. It was signed on August 2, 1776, at Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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The British had an idea of how they could earn money by dealing with the East Indian Company. Britain told the American colonists that they must pay high taxes; that was called the Tea Act. The colonists decided to protest at Boston, Harbor because they were angry at the British government for imposing “taxation without representation”. They protested by disguising themselves as Mohawk Indians and snuck onto British ships at the harbor, dumping about $1 million worth of tea into the Harbor.
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During the Seven Years’ War with France, taxes on the British people had increased. The Stamp Act was created so the British Parliament would help pay for the British troops' finances after the war with France to raise money for military defense. The British wanted all legal documents to be stamped and required colonists to pay tax for anything represented by a stamp. The Stamp Act was decided on March 22, 1765, but started on November 1, 1765.
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On March 24, 1765, the Quartering Act was passed by the British Parliament, one of four series of raising revenue from British colonies in America. The Act required local governments of American colonists to feed and house British soldiers. The American colonists were upset about being taxed to pay for the soldiers' supplies. Two years later on March 24, 1776, the Quartering Act had expired allowing the colonists to stop feeding and housing the soldiers.
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The Townshend Act was a series of four laws passed by the British Parliament from June 15 - July 2, 1767. The act placed new taxes on British products such as imports of glass, paper, tea, paint, and lead, but this also took some of the freedom colonists had. The British government wanted political power over the American colonies who saw this act as an abuse of power. It was designed to raise revenue with a series of taxes on the North American colonies.
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The unwelcomed presence of British troops on King Street, Boston, caused an argument between British Private Hugh White and colonists right outside of the Customs House. The British Parliament instituted new taxes called the Townshend Acts. The colonies didn’t agree with the Acts and it created tension. More colonists had gathered starting a riot by throwing sticks, snowballs, and harassing Private White. After he fought back, this fight killed five men, now known as the Boston Massacre.
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The Intolerable Act included a series of four laws that were passed by the British Parliament. It was created to punish the Massachusetts colonists after the Boston Tea Party. The four acts were the Boston Port Act, the Massachusetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act, and the Quartering Act. The acts took away rights Massachusetts enjoyed, but the Patriots saw this as a violation, so on September 1774, they organized the First Continental Congress to create a protest.
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The First Continental Congress was a meeting between the delegates from each of the thirteen American colonies, except Georgia, at Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The meeting was a discussion about resisting the Intolerable Acts the British had enforced. They discussed a boycott on importing British goods, however, if the parliament canceled the act, they would end the boycott. Great Britain felt threatened so their imports dropped by 97% in 1775 compared to 1774.
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The British force wanted control of the city and valuable seaports and decided to take two hills, Bunker Hill and Breed’s Hill to obtain an advantage. The American force heard about it and went to defend the hills by secretly moving their troops onto Breed’s Hill just outside of Charleston, Massachusetts, and built fortifications to prepare for battle. The British then attacked back. As a result, the British defeated the Americans.
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The First Battle of Saratoga took place at Saratoga, New York. British General John Burgoyne launched an attack against General Horatio Gates alongside his American militia sharpshooters. Eighteen days later on October 7, the Second Battle of Saratoga occurred. The American captured a portion of the British defense so Burgoyne had no choice but to retreat on October 17 from being surrounded by the American force. Therefore, General Horatio Gates achieved victory due to Burgoyne’s surrender.
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Once the United States was free from Great Britain, The Articles of Confederation was created on November 15, 1777. The Second Continental Congress had constructed it and was planned to structure a new government for the states. The Articles of Confederation included thirteen articles that granted the power to the states. The Articles didn’t take effect until March 1, 1781, until eight years later the Constitutional Convention rejected them for a new centralized form of the federal government.
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Before the Battle of Monmouth had started, General George Washington gave a third of his army under the command of Major General Charles Lee during his absence. With Lee in charge, he poorly coordinated an attack causing them to be outnumbered by the British forcing Lee to retreat. Once Washington arrived, the battle continued but General Henry Clinton fleed the battle, successfully locating to New York ending the battle. The battle resulted to be a draw Between the British and Americans.
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Baylor’s Massacre was a surprise attack by the British on the 3rd Regiment of the Continental Light Dragoons under the command of Colonel George Baylor. It took place at present-day town River Vale, New Jersey. At night, the British went to patrol houses having an element of surprise killing, injuring, or capturing around 69 dragoons. Baylor Major McLeod and two officers tried to escape, but Baylor had been captured and wounded dying March 1, 1784, due to complications from the incurred wounds.
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The Siege of Charleston was a major victory for the British while the Americans suffered their worst defeat on March 29 through May 12, 1780, in Charleston, South Carolina. Six weeks into the siege, Major General Benjamin Lincoln surrendered to British Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Clinton and his army of 10,000. After the battle, the British had shifted their strategy towards the southern theatre attempting to support the American colonies and reconquer the southern states, but it failed.
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The DeWint House was a temporary headquarters for George Washington while he was Commander-in-Chief during the American Revolution. He visited the house 4 times, twice in 1780 on August 8 to 24 for the first time, and to September 28 to October 7, then three years later, twice again in 1783 on May 4 to 8, and November 11 to 14. The house is located in Tappan, New York.
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Benedict Arnold was known for being a hero leading America to victory during the Battle of Saratoga, however, things had changed. Benedict Arnold betrayed his country by attending a secret negotiation with the British. He met with British Major John Andre agreeing to give him the U.S. military fortress in West Point, in return to command a British army and 10,000 pounds of money. Once the war ended, America finished with victory and Arnold fled to England.
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Major John Andre was a British spy behind American lines and was executed October 2, 1780. He was caught plotting with Benedict Arnold to surrender West Point in Terrytown. He was brought to court and didn’t blame Arnold and said that he had no intention of being behind American lines, but on September 29, the board had claimed to find Andre guilty. Andre’s execution was located in Tappan New York and was hanged for being a spy against the Americans.
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The Battle of Yorktown was the last battle of the American Revolution in Yorktown, Virginia. Between French and Continental troops who were led by General George Washington fought against British troops led by General Lord Charles Cornwallis. Washington's troops surrounded and outnumbered the British army taking Cornwallis eleven days to surrender, but he gave demands to Washington. He disapproved and threatened to attack, but Cornwallis agreed to his terms ending the war in his surrender.
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The Treaty of Paris was a negotiated peace treaty by American statesmen, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, John Jay, and the representatives of King George III of Great Britain, on September 3, 1783, in Paris, France ending the Revolutionary War. Once the British army had surrendered at the Battle of Yorktown, the agreement of the treaty took about a year and a half until King George had finally accepted the treaty. It became effective May 12, 1784.
