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Two Sons of Liberty raced on horseback from Boston to warn residents that the British regulars were on the march toward Lexington and Concord.
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Minutemen and redcouts clash at Lexington and Concord when British come to arrest rebel leaders. Started the war, known as "The shot heard 'round the world."
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A small force of Green Mountain Boys led by Ethan Allen and Colonel Benedict Arnold overcame a British garrison at the fort. This impeded communication between northern and southern units of the British army.
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The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies were present, all except Georgia.
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Washington was voted to lead the Continental Army at the Second Continental Congress, and he accepts.
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Biritish fired cannons from ships at the dirt fort on the hill. The British troops climbed the hill, but were easy targets to shoot. The British won, but at great costs, and the battle gave confidence to the patriots. William Howe takes command of all British forces in America from Thomas Gage in September this year because of this victory.
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George Washington assumes command of the Continental Army at Cambridge. He uses guerilla warfare to fight the British.
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Patriots under Richard Montgomery occupy Montreal in Canada. This was the first major military initiative by the newly formed Continental Army.
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American forces under Benedict Arnold fail to sieze Quebec. The Americans suffered heavy losses, and Montgomery was killed. Benedict Arnold was wounded, and Daniel Morgan was taken prisoner along with 400 men.
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Thomas Paine published "Common Sense" and swayed many to the patriot side.
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George Mason wrote this document to proclaim the inherent rights of men, including the right to rebel against inadequate government. It influenced the Declaration of Independence and the United States Bill of Rights.
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A document that declared the dissolution of the rule of Great Britain over Virginia and accused England's Kinge George III of establishing a detestable and insupportable tyranny. It also established a separation of governmental powers, with the creation of the bicameral Virginia General Assembly as the legislative body of the state and the Governor of Virginia as the chief magistrate or executive.
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Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence, which announced that the American colonies regarded themselves as thirteen newly independent sovereign states, and no longer a part of the British Empire.
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Redcoats defeat George Washington's army, but Washington's army escapes at night across the Hudson river, across the Deleware River, then into Valley Forge in Pennsylvania.
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The British General William Howe implements his strategy to isolate New England by occupying New York City.
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Washington crossed the Deleware River on Christmas night with 2,400 men, then surprises the British in the morning. He captures a force of 1,000 Hessians.
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Washington's revolutionary forces defeated the British near Princeton, New Jersey. The night before, Washington repulsed a British attack, then evacuated his position, circled around General Lord Cornwallis's army, and went to attack the British garrison at Princeton.
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The Second Contintental Congress passed the Flag Resolution, which stated: “Resolved, That the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.”
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Lafayette came to America from France and is made a general of the American forces. He was a close friend of George Washington.
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Part of Howe's campaign to take Philadelphia; British defeated Americans andforced them to withdraw toward the American capital of Philadelphia.
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Part of the Battles of Saratoga; British General John Burgoyne lost to the Americans commanded by General Horatio Gates at Freeman's Farm, New York.
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General Howe finishes his campaign, and occupies Philadelphia
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Burgoyne loses the second battle of Freeman's Farm at Bemis Heights. This is part of the Battles of Saratoga.
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General John Burgoyne surrenders to Horatio Gates at Saratoga, NY. This is considered the turning point of the war. Because of this, the Treaty of Alliance between the Americans and the French is created.
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Washington's army retires to Valley Forge for the winter. 200 officers resigned, 1,000 soldiers deserted, and almost 2,500 soldiers died by the end. Baron von Steuben trained the troops into a more disciplined army during this time.
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The United States and France signed the Treaty of Alliance, which promised military support from the French as long as French conquests in the West Indies were recognized.
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British General Howe is replaced by General Henry Clinton. Howe's strategies were too reserved because he wished for peace, so the war dragged on longer than expected. Howe resigned, and Henry Clinton took his place.
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Under the new command of Sir Henry Clinton, the British withdraw from Philadelphia and return to New York.
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The British occupy Savannah, Georgia under Clinton. It was part of his new strategy to attack the South, so the British set up their base of operations in Savannah.
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Spain also declares war on Great Britain in hopes of getting back their lost territory in Florida.
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Second Battle of Savannah; Americans fail to take back Savannah from the British in a joint Franco-American attack.
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British beign to shift their strategiv focus towards the American Souther Colonies. After six weeks of siege, Continental Army General Benjamin Lincoln surrendered. British capture Charleston, South Carolina.
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After serving as quartermaster because of his effective strategy for gathering supplies, Nathaneal Greene was named commander of the Southern Army by George Washington.
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A document signed amongst the 13 original colonies that established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution.
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A 2,100-man British force under the command of Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis defeated Major General Nathanael Greene's 4,500 Americans. The British sustained heacy casualties, and the battle was a strategic victory for the Americans.
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French fleet drives British naval force from Chesapeake Bay, allowing for the setup of the Battle of Yorktown.
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Cornwallis was surrounded on land and sea by American and French. After being sieged for several days, he surrenders to the Americans.
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After the loss of the war, Lord North resigns from his position.
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British accept American Independence and boundaries.
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Congress ratifies the Preliminary Articles of Peace.
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U.S. and Great Britain sign Treaty of Paris, which acknowledged the United States to be free, established boundaries, granted fishing rights to U.S. fishermen off the coast of Newfoundland and in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, allowed old debts to be pursued, and established that both Great Britain and the United States are to be given perpetual access to the Mississippi River.
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Washington resigns as Commander after the war is over, the treaty is signed, and all the British troops withdraw.
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The U.S. Constitution is signed. entrenches the doctrine of the seperation of powers (three branches of federal government) and describes the rights and responsiblities of state governments.
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The U.S. Constitution is finlly adopted after New Hampshire ratifies it.
