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France had been secretly sending over weapons to the Americans since early 1776.
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The British retreat from Boston. This moved the war towards the middle states.
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The Howe brothers, General William Howe and Admiral Richard Howe assemble the largest British military forces and sail into the New York Harbor.
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General George Washington gathered 23,000 men into New York but realizes he is outnumbered by Howe's men. The Battle of New York ends with the Americans retreating.
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By late fall the British pushed Washington’s troops across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania.
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General Washington led 2,400 of his men across the icy Delaware River in rowboats on Christmas night. He planned to attack the Hessians in a Brtish camp in Trenton, New Jersey.
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After crossing the Delaware river, General Washington and his men marched to Trenton, and made a successful surprise attack on the British camp. American troops killed 30 men and took 918 prisoners.
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With only 8,000 men remaining in Washington’s Army, and their service in the army over on December 31st, Washington had to make quick decisions. He desperately needed a victory so that his men could not go home.
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Eight days after the Battle of Trenton, Washingtons men took another victory againsts 1,200 British that were stationed in Princeton, New Jersey.
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General Howe led his campaign to capture Philadelphia. His campaign was successful and Philadelphia was taken over by the British. The continental congress fled the city.
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British General John Burgoyne surrendered at Saratoga when he and his troops were surrounded by American soldiers.
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America’s continental army, who were under fed and under clothed, camped out at Valley Forge during a very cold and snowy winter. In contrast the British troops were living very comfortably in Philadelphia.
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The Treaty of Cooperation is signed to help force the British to recognize America’s independence and this treaty led to the French becoming true allies to the Americans.
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Friedrich von Steuben, a Purssian captain, volunteered his services to Washington and trained American soliders, making them more professional.
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The British begin to shift operations towards the south, changing military strategies.
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At the end of 1778 a British expidtion took over Savannah, Georgia without a fight.
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By the spring of 1779, a royal governor commands Georgia again. Now Georgia is under control.
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Marquis de Lafayette, a French military leader joined General Washington’s staff. He also led command in Virginia during the last years of the American Revolution. In the year of 1779, Lafayette lobbied for French reinforcements in France.
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Cornwallis found success in most of 1780. The redcoats were joined by many Afircan slaves that had escaped from thier Patriot slave owners.
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General Henry Clinton, had replaced Howe in New York. General Clinton along with Charles Cornwallis, they both sailed south, with 8,500 men.
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The British captured Charles Town, South Carolina. This was their greatest victory. The British took 5,500 prisoners.
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General Cornwallis's army crushed American forces in Camden, South Carolina. And three months later the British had placed forts across the whole state.
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In 1780, the French army of 6,000 landed in Newport, Rhode Island right after the British left to focus on the south. The French had stationed one fleet in Newport and one in the West Indies. Lafayette suggested that the French and American armies join forces and attack the British at Yorktown.
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The British surrender to the Americans at Cowpen, South Carolina.
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General Cornwallis attacks Nathanael Greene at Guilford Court House, North Carolina. Cornwallis won this battle but he lost a fourth of his troops.
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American General Nathanael Greene wrote a letter to Marquis de Lafayette asking for help.
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The congress appointed a rich Philadelphian merchant, Robert Morris as the superintendent of finance.
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With much effort put in by Robert Morrris and his associate Haym Salomon the troops were finally paid in specie, or gold coin.
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General Cornwallis, exhuasted and outnumbered surrenders to the French and American troops at Yorktown.
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General Washington and French generals gather together to accept the British surrender.
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Talks to peace begin in Paris between the four countires, America, Great Britian, Spain and France.
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The Treaty of Paris is signed and finally confirms U.S independence, officially ending the revolution. Britain and America are now at peace.
