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The Battle of Lexington and Concord, also known as “The shot heard around the world,” took place on April 19th, 1775. It was the first battle of the Revolutionary War. The patriots won at Concord and the British won at Lexington.
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On May 10, 1775, Benedict Arnold, Ethan Allen, and the Green Mountain Boys took Fort Ticonderoga. The fort is eventually recaptured by the British.
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The Second Continental Congress met on May 10, 1775.
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On June 17, 1775, the British defeated the Americans at the Battle of Bunker Hill in Massachusetts. Most of the fighting occurred on nearby Breed’s Hill.
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On June 15, 1775, George Washington accepts the assignment to be the commander-in-chief for the Continental Army.
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During the American defeat at Quebec on December 31, 1775, Colonel Benedict Arnold and General Richard Montgomery attempted to capture the city of Quebec. The attack failed, and caused Montgomery his life.
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On March 17, 1776, British forces are forced to evacuate Boston following General George Washington.
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On June 4, 1776, a group of men including Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin was tasked with drafting a formal statement of the colonies' intentions. The Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence written by Jefferson in Philadelphia on July 4.
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British forces occupied New York in August 1776.
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On August 27, 1776, the Battle of Long Island was part of a British campaign to seize control of New York.
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On December 25, 1776, George Washington’s continental Army crossed the icy Delaware. In the Battle of Trenton, Washington defeated the Hessian mercenaries.
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On September 11, 1777, General Sir William Howe and General Charles Cornwallis launch a British attack on General George Washington and the Patriot outpost at Brandywine Creek.
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On September 19, 1777, British General John Burgoyne achieved a small victory over American forces led by Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold in the Battle of Saratoga.
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On October 23, 1777, a British Navy fleet of ships tried to open up supply lines along the Delaware River and occupy the British army in Philadelphia.
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On November 15, 1777, the Continental Congress agrees to adopt the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union.
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On December 19, 1777, George Washington leads his troops into winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
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On February 6, 1778, representatives from the United States and France sign the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance in Paris.
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Battle of Monmouth Court House fought at Monmouth, New Jersey on June 28,1778.
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On December 29, 1778, British Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell and his force of between 2500 and 3600 troops launch a surprise attack on American forces in Savannah, Georgia.
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On June 21, 1779, Spain enters the war by declaring war on Great Britain.
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On May 12, 1780, Americans suffered their worst defeat of the revolution, 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.
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Benedict Arnold was an early American hero of the Revolutionary War who later became one of the most infamous traitors in U.S. history after he switched sides and fought for the British.
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The Battle of the Chesapeake was a crucial battle that took place near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay on September 5, 1781.
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On October 19, 1781 at Yorktown, Virginia, British General Lord Cornwallis surrendered 8,000 British soldiers and seamen to a larger Franco-American force, bringing an end to the American Revolution.
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On October 19, 1781, British General Charles Cornwallis formally surrenders 8,000 British soldiers bringing the American Revolution to a close.
