America Revolution
Battles
Paul Revere’s Ride
• American Patriots Paul
Revere and two other
riders were dispatched
and gave warning to
towns around Lexington
and Concord,
Massachusetts to form
militias that the British
“Regulars are Coming!”
• Passing through
Lexington and Concord
Lexington & Concord,
Massachusetts April 1775
• First Battles of the
American Revolution
• No formal American
Army
• Local militias were
formed and fought
against the British
Army
• Americans lost but
took a stand!
• General George
Washington was
appointed as
Commander of the
Continental Army
• Problem: How to
create an army out of
peasant farmers?
• Few skilled
experienced soldiers
from French & Indian
War
American Army
Battle of Bunker Hill, Boston,
Mass. 1775
Many Defeats in the beginning
• Badly trained Americans led
to many defeats early in the
war.
• Most early battles in North
• Battle of Bunker Hill, June
1775 proved that the British
were not invincible
• The war would be long
• American’s hired French
soldiers to help train
Americans
•
Battle of Trenton,
After being chased out of
New York by the British in New Jersey
1776 Washington
retreated and crossed the
Delaware River into New
Jersey in December
• Washington and
Nathaniel Greene and
2,400 Americans against
1,400 Hessian Troops in
Trenton
• Americans won by
surprise
Battle of Saratoga, New York
1777
• Turning point of the
war
• September 19th October 17th, 1777
• Americans defeated the
British forces causing
them to retreat
• British lose 1,600
soldiers
• Americans lose 800
soldiers
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
December 1777
• Washington set up
winter quarters for
Continental Army
• Low supplies,
disease and coldest
winter in years
• Prussian General
Baron von Steuben
trains Americans in
drill and fighting at
Valley Forge
France Declares War against
Great Britain July 1778!
• Remember French and
Indian War, French still
hate British
• Help Americans
• Ben Franklin becomes
American ambassador for
America in France; helping
gain support for war
• France would sent troops,
money, ships and supplies
for war
Traitor: Treason 1779
• Benedict Arnold
• American General who fought the first
few years for General Washington
• He lost a leg in a battle against the British
• 1779 appointed commander of West
Point where he made deal with British for
10,000 pounds (TREASON) Going
against your country and helping the
other side.
• Sent courier Andre to British with
message, he was caught, tried as spy,
hung
• Arnold fled with family to the British; they
awarded him money, land in Canada and
a commission in British Army
Battle of Kings Mountain, NC
1780
• War in South now
• October 7th, 1780
• North Carolina
Mountain men battled
British Loyalists from
South Carolina
• Americans won.
• American General
Greene pushed the
British East through
Hillsborough, NC and
on to Yorktown, VA
British Move South June 10, 1781
• American troops under
Marquis de Lafayette
(French), Gen. Anthony
Wayne (American) and
Baron von Steuben
(Prussian) begin to form
a combined force in
Virginia to oppose British
forces under Benedict
Arnold and Gen.
Cornwallis who set up
headquarters and fort at
Yorktown, VA
• The last major battle of
the American Revolution
• September-October
• French Navy bombed
Yorktown while 17,000
American, French and
Prussian troops
gathered, fought and
encircled 9,000 British
troops
• British General
Cornwallis formally
surrendered to General
Washington
Battle of
Yorktown,
Virginia 1781
Treaty of Paris 1783
• War officially Over!
• British give up all territories
in the American Colonies
• The United States is now an
independent nation
respected by European
powers
• British would attack again in
1812 from Canada, burn
Washington DC, and lose
again (Called the War of
1812).
Now Create a New Government
• Two groups (First two political
parties) would argue using the
• The Articles of
newspaper (New York Times)
Confederation was over how the new government
our first government and should work under a new
Constitution (plan of
used throughout the
government):
American Revolution
•
•
•
•
•
Many problems: WEAK! • Federalists (one strong
Central Government)
No power to tax
• Anti-federalists (stronger
No Executive Branch
state governments and
No Court System
add a Bill of Rights to
Difficult to pass laws
the new US Constitution