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Lexington and Concord
U.S. History- Lexington and Concord
General Gage and his troops were on their way to Lexington and Concord to confinscate illegal weapons that the Patriots were storing. Luckily, the Patriots were informed of this beforehand and Paul Revere and others rode to tell colonists. After some standing there, the first shot of the Revolution was fired. No one knows which side fired the "shot heard around the world". -
Battle of Bunker Hill
History.com article
Overnight, the Patriots made a giant dirt wall to defend Breed's Hill. In the morning the British shot cannons at it and ran up the hill. This is where the well known order was given: "Don't fire till you see the whites of their eyes!". But the British were easy targets, so the Patriots took down a lot of British soldiers before eventually running out of ammo and getting defeated. -
The Battle of Long Island
History.com article
The British army, led by General William Howe, was moving troops from Staten Island to Brooklyn. In an attempt to stop them, Washington and his troops were outsmarted and surrounded. Facing surrender, the Patriots fled overnight by sea, continuing the war. -
Battle of Saratoga
History.com article
On September 19, British General John Burgoyne won a small battle but lost a lot of troops to the Patriots. On October 7th, he attacked again (though weakened), lost, and retreated. He surrendered soon after. This was a huge achievement for the Patriots and because it was such a big win, France finally joined their cause. France helped us eventually win the war. -
Valley Forge
History.com article
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania was very cold in 1777 and it didn't help that they did not have much food, clean water, and clothes. This caused many soldiers to get sick and, in most cases, die. These diseases included influenza, dysentery, typhoid and typhus. With help from a Prussian Officer, von Steuben, Washington put his army into shape and trained them. -
The Battle of Trenton
History.com article
The Patriots were losing in the war and most of the Continental Army's troops were going to go home soon. So Washington on Christmas night, 1777, did a suprise attack on the British Army's mercenaries because they knew they would not be expecting them. It worked and they won a major battle. -
The Battle of Princeton
History.com article
On New Year's Day, Colonial forces met British in Trenton. Washington fled in the night in secret to escape further losses. Later, Washington sent a small group of men to destroy a bridge. After British troops arrived, Washington and the rest of his men came, and finally broke through the enemy forces. -
Battle of Yorktown
History.com article
At Yorktown, the British had control and were hiding there because it had access to sea and land so they could get reinforcements. But they had cornered themselves. The French Navy had blocked their exit by water. And they were surrounded with French and American soldiers and their cannons. After being fired upon 24/7, General Cornwallis surrendered, ending the war for good.
