-
Period: to
Times of Revolution
1) Lexington and Concord
2) Crossing the Delaware/ Battle of Trenton
3) The Crisis
4) Battle of Saratoga -
The Battles of Lexington and Concord
The importance of Lexington and Concord was the fact that it started the war. Here, "the shot heard round the world" was fired.
On April, 18 1775, the British had attained information about Colonists' gunpowder stashes hidden in Concord. This triggered them to immediately go and destroy them. The Colonists had caughten wind of this move, and attempted to intercept them, but failed. The triumphant British proceeded onto Concord, but the Colonists stopped them there. The war had begun! -
The Crisis
Up until this time, Americans felt as if all was lost. Ever since the loss in New York City on August, 27 1776, the Americans lost every battle. Thousands of Americans even left their cause. When Thomas Paine wrote The Crisis, its words encouraged the remaining troops to keep on fighting. -
Crossing the Delaware/ Battle of Trenton
The crossing of the Delaware River by George Washington and his troops was symbolic and and extremely tactical move. It was Christmas Day, and the British soldiers across the river were celebrating. This was no time for Washington to celebrate, however, since he had lost every battle preceding that day. After crossing the ice-choked Delaware, Washington and his troops struck. The British didn't have a chance, and the colonists had just won a key victory. -
Battle of Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga was significant to the American Revolution because the American cause was awakened by such a victory. Just before this battle, the Patriots were losing hope in their cause. Now, the outlook of the war was so good, America gained extremely important allies: Spain and France. These two countries would provide key support to both American armies and American morale.
