Here are some of the Major battles and what happened in them
- The Battle of Lexington and Concord (Massachusetts Bay, MA) fought on April 19, 1775
- The Battle of Bunker Hill (Charlestown, Boston, MA) fought on June 17, 1775
- The Battle of Trenton (Trenton, NJ) fought on December 26, 1776
- Battles of Saratoga ( Stillwater, NY) fought on September 19, 1777 and October 17, 1777
- The Siege of Yorktown (Yorktown, VA) fought on September 28, 1781 to October 19, 1781
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Lexington and Concord
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Bunker Hill
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Trenton
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Saratoga
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Yorktown
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The Battle of Lexington and Concord is when 700 British soldiers marched to Lexington on their way to Concord to seize the arms (weapons) in Concord, but in Lexington were 77 militiamen (also known as minutemen because of their talent to be ready in a moments notice) waiting you'd have thought that they would be surprised but they weren't. They had been warned by Paul Revere's famous midnight ride. Both of the Armies had been told not to fire, but then a shot rang out. After that everyone began shooting until the smoke died down and 8 colonists were found dead and 9 wounded compared to 1 Red Coat who died. Then the British continued to Concord where they didn't know that most of the arms had been relocated. They decided to burn what little they found and the fire got slightly out of control. Hundreds of militiamen thought the whole town would be torched. So they rushed to Concord's North Bridge which had a small army of Red Coats who fired first. Then the colonists shot them back which is known as the "shot heard 'round the world". While the Red Coats were searching for a few hours 2,000 militiamen were outside of town. At first they were shooting like they usually do but later they started shooting behind trees, stone walls, houses, and sheds. Soon the British were abandoning weapons, clothing, and equipment to retreat faster. This battle got the hopes up for the colonists to win the war.
Even though they lost The Battle of Bunker Hill (it was cause the colonists were low on ammunition) it did teach the Patriots that patriotic dedication could overcome superior British military. The British learnt that war against the colonies is going to belong and long and costly.
The Battle of Trenton is when George Washington and the continental army marched into Trenton on Christmas where there were 1400 Hessians (Hired German soldiers). By fall most of the army quit and many more were planning to quit at the end of the year. After they got defeated in New York (the British defeated them in Manhattan) they fled across the Hudson river and then to New Jersey and then southward across the Delaware river to Pennsylvania. Then George Washington thought of an idea. He was going to invade Trenton. General Earwig's Men were stopping the Hessians from retreating, Colonel Cadwalader's Militia were stopping reinforcements from coming and George Washington's 2400 troops were going to attack head on. The Hessians never saw it coming. Come on, it's Christmas! Who would expect George Washington's army to come marching in on Christmas! Of all days, it's Christmas! George Washington's troops killing the General.
You know that famous picture of George Washington and his troops crossing the Delaware river from Pennsylvannaia to New Jersey. There were a few things wrong about the picture:
- There wasn't an american flag at that time
- George Washington would have fallen off the side
- It didn't look like that. It would've looked like this…
…Here's how many Casualties they had:
Type of Army |
Wounded |
Killed |
Captured |
George Washington's Army |
4 |
2 |
none |
Hessian Army |
100 |
20 |
Over 1000 |
The Battles of Saratoga is when the British decided to cut off the New England colonies from the Rest of the colonies by taking over the Hudson River. This first major victory convinced the French to enter the conflict on the Americans side. The British wanted to take over Albany, NY but trouble awaited in Saratoga. The Battles of Saratoga was actually 2 battles 18 days apart. The first one Was fought on the outskirts of Saratoga on Freeman's Farm on on September 19, 1777. The British under John Burgoyne were surrounded by colonists and were trapped. Their only hope was to wait for British reinforcements. Two weeks passed and September becomes October but the reinforcements never came. On October 7. 1777 Burgoyne launches a second attack this time in Bemis Heights but by that time it was too late. The Americans had too many troops in the area and Burgoyne realized that he had to surrender. On October 17, 1777 Burgoyne and his 6,000 men surrendered with each of them handing over their arms individually. after this battle the French could comfortably help the colonists with the win the Revolutionary War.
6 years into the Revolutionary War, came the Siege of Yorktown when the Americans with the French defeated Britain. The Americans and France Signed a treaty of Alliance that states that the French would help the colonists defeat Britain. In July French commander Comte de Rochambeau and George Washington decided to launch a risky 2 pronged assault on both sea and land. Their target was Yorktown Virginia which is Commander Cornwallis's HQ With thousands of his troops. The French navy would be on the water surrounding town and the American land forces would surround be on the outskirts of the town. 7000 foot soldiers hope to arrive at Yorktown at the same time as 29 ships. The plan works. They arrive at the same time and start cannonballing them. In a few weeks the Bombarded British Surrender. Commander Cornwallis is so humiliated that he gives his sword to his second in command to surrender for him in the surrender ceremony. When the second in command came George Washington wouldn't except the sword. He told the second in command to go to his second in command.