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The Charleston Tea Party
The ship Britannia arrived in Charleston with 7 chests of tea on board. Crowds gathered around the ship, shouting at the captain, Samuel Ball, and the tea merchants on board. The crowds induced the merchants to dump the tea into the Cooper River, but soon after the tea was destroyed, those watching simply left as if nothing happened. -
The Battle of Lexington and Concord
Around 700 British soldiers were given orders to silently capture and destroy colonial military supplies stored in Concord. However, the Patriots had received word of this and sent Paul Revere and others to let several militias know of this British expedition. Soon, shots rang off, starting the Revolutionary War and giving the Battle of Lexington and Concord the title of the "shot heard 'round the world". -
The Signing of the Declaration of Independence
On August 2, 1776, the 56 delegates representing the 13 colonies declared independence from Britain, cutting all economic and political ties to Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence was approved on July 4, 1776, but not actually signed until August 2, nearly a month after it was approved. -
The Terrible Winter at Valley Forge
During the winter of 1777, General Washington and his troops stayed at Valley Forge for shelter from the cold. Over 2,500 troops died by the end of the winter due to starvation, disease, malnutrition, and exposure, making the American public very upset with the general. -
The Battle of Camden
The British won this battle even though they were extremely outnumbered. The British had only 2,100 soldiers while the Americans had 4,000. 2,500 out of the 4000 Americans were militiamen who had never used bayonets before. They were not as well trained as the British and ran basically as soon as they saw the British charge. -
The Battle of King's Mountain
The Battle of King's Mountain was the first major Patriot victory in the South. It was practically militia vs. militia in this battle. British Major Patrick Ferguson was retreating to Lord Cornwallis' army when the Patriots caught up and surprised the British, surrounding them. The British had over 200 more soldiers than the Patriots, but in the end, the British were the ones who were dominated. Over 450 British soldiers were either killed or wounded and over 650 were captured. -
The Battle of Cowpens
The Battle of Cowpens pushed the British out of South Carolina and was a very decisive American victory. The Americans had 800 more soldiers than the British, so it made sense that Patriots won this battle. 110 British soldiers were killed, 229 were wounded, and 829 were captured or missing. Only 25 Americans were killed. This American victory persuaded Lord Cornwallis to move his army to North Carolina and leave South Carolina. -
The Battle of Eutaw Springs
No one side won this battle 100%. The British suffered 300 more losses than the Patriots and were pushed out. They were cut off from their major cities and could not stop the Patriot flow of supplies. It was an even battle as the Patriots had only about 200 more soldiers. This was the last major battle in South Carolina. -
The Battle of Yorktown
The Patriots advanced on Lord Cornwallis' position at Yorktown. They had over 18,000 combined soldiers as the French sent their regulars to aid the Patriots in defeating Cornwallis' army. France also had 29 warships that helped surround the British. Soon enough, Lord Cornwallis had to surrender as he was surrounded and outnumbered. This was the last battle of the war. -
The Signing of the Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris officially ended the American Revolution. The terms of the treaty were that the U.S. became a free and independent nation, their borders were the Mississippi River, Spanish Florida, and Canada, Americans could fish in the waters of British Canada, debts would be repaid, captured slaves would be returned, and Congress agreed to recommend that all land taken from Loyalists be returned.
