Battles

• The battles of Concord and Lexington were fought in Massachusetts in April, 1775.
• The Redcoats , led by General Thomas Gage, ordered the soldiers to Concord to destroy colonists’ weapons supply.
• Minutemen at Lexington tried to stop them – 8 were killed.

• By the time the British got to Concord, they realized most of the weapons and gun powder were gone because the minutemen had been warned by Paul Revere.
• The British continued to Concord and were forced to retreat back to Boston by the Minutemen.
• On their way back, the American militia attacked the British from cover and killed 73 British.
• Lexington and Concord started the American Revolution and was known as “the shot heard around the world”

Bunker Hill

• Significance: 1^st battle for the Continental Army. British realized America would not easily be defeated
• Colonel Prescott “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!”
• Outcome: British won, but lost 1000 men. The Continental army realized that they needed better training.

Guerrilla Warfare

• After a series of losses, Washington and the Americans realized that for the time being they couldn’t afford to get themselves involved in big battles against the British,
• Instead they use a hit and run strategy also called fighting a “Guerrilla War”

Battle of Trenton

• After months of defeats, Washington needed to give Americans hope for victory
• Troops were deserting, it was bitter cold and they lacked food, shoes and blankets.
• Washington had heard from a scout that the Hessians, (German mercenaries) were spending the evening relaxing and enjoying food and wine.

Battle of Trenton

• The Battle of Trenton began on Christmas Day, December 1776, when General Washington's army was in a pitiful condition, and growing weaker.
• It was under these conditions that Washington made his famous crossing of the Delaware river.
• Washington decided to cross at night and surprise them in the morning.

The famous crossing: �Washington and his army cross the Delaware River at �night to attack the Hessian mercenaries at Trenton.

Battle of Trenton

• So while the Hessians were enjoying their wine and song, the Continental Army was preparing to attack.
• 2400 men gathered around Washington to hear the order for the attack on Trenton.
• Surprise Attack- The Americans captured supplies, cannons, and ammo with no casualties
• Boosted American morale and army recruitment

​

Battle of Saratoga�“Turning Point of the Revolution”

• September 19, 1777 in New York
• Called the “Turning Point of the Revolution”
• The British were trying to divide the Patriots by splitting the colonies at the Hudson River
• The British predicted this would end the Revolution

​

Battle of Saratoga

• The British are harassed by colonial guerilla forces and end up stretching their supply lines.
• Inflicting 600 British casualties. American losses are only 150.
• The British will surrender to the Colonial forces led by General Horatio Gates

​

Importance of Saratoga

• Britain's loss at Saratoga signaled to other European powers that the rebels could defeat the English on their own.
• In Paris the victory is celebrated as if it had been a French victory.
• Money and supplies flowed to the American cause, providing Washington's Continental Army with the support necessary to continue its fight against Great Britain.

​

​

An Alliance With France

• France recognizes the independence of America
• February 7, 1778- French enter into alliance with Americans after declaring war with England and eventually join Spanish forces to help Colonists.

Winter at Valley Forge

General Washington and his Continental Army spent the winter of 1777-1778 camped at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 25 miles northeast of Philadelphia.

For the first months, the soldiers were living in tents which provided little help from the cold. The soldiers lacked proper clothing -- many without shoes or warm clothes. When soldiers had to go out in the cold, they would share clothing. It wasn't until February, 1778, that the men finished building huts to live in, with fireplaces to keep them warm.

​

by Ron Avery Writer for the Philadelphia Daily News Written exclusively for ushistory.org

• Bloody footprints in the snow left by bootless men. Near naked soldiers wrapped in thin blankets huddled around a smoky fire of green wood. The plaintive chant from the starving: "We want meat! We want meat!" “
• An army of skeletons appeared before our eyes naked, starved, sick and discouraged," wrote New York's Gouverneur Morris of the Continental Congress.
• The suffering and sacrifices of the American soldiers at Valley Forge are familiar, iconic images, but there is another side of the picture. Valley Forge was where a new, confident, professional American army was born.
• Three months of shortage and hardship were followed by three months of relative abundance that led to wonderful changes in the morale and fighting capabilities of the Continental Army.
• Most important, it was at Valley Forge that a vigorous, systematic training regime transformed ragged amateur troops into a confident 18th century military organization capable of beating the Red Coats in the open field of battle.