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Lexington and Concord
The British, led by captain General Thomas Gage, were attempting to get hold of an American armory in Concord. Paul Revere and William Dawes rode to tell the people of Lexington the British army would be marching through. Minutemen in Lexington waited for the larger British force. Someone fired, a shot which is known as "the shot heard 'round the world." Militia men in Concord attacked the British as they marched into town, and the British fled back to Boston while the militia fired at them. -
Fort Ticonderoga
The British controlled Fort Ticonderoga during the French-Indian War when General Sir Jeffery Amherst captured it from the French. In 1775, the Green Mountain Boys, led by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold, captured the fort from the British. The fort prevented a British Invasion from Canada and gave the Americans weapons. The British recaptured the fort in 1777 under John Burgoyne. The British burned and left the fort when militia men cut off their supplies. -
Bunker (Breed's) Hill
This battle actually took place on Breed's Hill and was the first major battle in the Revolution. Colonists built dirt forts on Bunker and Breed's hills. As the British came up the hill, colonists shot them and left many redcoats dead. The colonists showed the determination that they were not going to let the British defeat them. -
Trenton and Princeton
General George Washington led the Continental Army to two huge victories at Princeton and Trenton. He crossed the river on Christmas night and surprise attacked Trenton. Then the Continental Army defeated Colonel Mahwood at Princeton. Many British soldiers escaped and joined General Cornwallis, but the colonies were victorious at these two battles and gained international attention as a result. -
Saratoga (Bemis Heights)
The colonists, led by General Gates, held off British forces at Bemis Heights in the second battle of Saratoga. Burgoyne's British troops were crushed by Benedict Arnold's troops. Arnold had fought with Gates and ended up leading the troops anyway. Burgoyne surrender at Saratoga, and this led to France helping the Revolutionary cause. -
Siege of Charleston
British General Henry Clinton attempted to control the southern colonies by leading an attack on Charleston, South Carolina. The British forces were victorious and on May 12, 1780, Continental Army general Benjamin Lincoln surrendered Charleston to the British. This loss was detrimental to the Continental Army's morale. -
King's Mountain
Patriot forces led by Isaac Shelby on one side of the mountain and William Campbell on the other side converged on Major Patrick Ferguson's redcoat army on top of King's Mountain. The Patriots take almost 700 redcoats prisoner, resulting in a massive US victory and a key battle in the southern colonies. -
Yorktown
Cornwallis and his troops were located in Yorktown, Virginia. The Patriots led by Washington, and French troops trapped the British and destroyed them. Cornwallis was forced to surrender, marking the last major Revolutionary War battle. The Patriots had won the American Revolution!
