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april 19 1775
400 british regulars approached a small
village of lexington massachusetts
80 men of the local militia meet them on
the town green
stand your ground their commander shouts
don't fire unless fired upon
but if they mean to have a war
let it begin here
two british companies form a line of
battle on the lexington green
a british officer orders the militia to
disperse
most of the men begin to scatter
but a few stubbornly stand their ground
a moment later a shot rings out
who fired that first shot heard round
the world may never be known
the british then unleash a full volley
into the militia
when the smoke clears
eight americans lay dead and another ten
are wounded
these are the first shots in a war that
would rage throughout the american
colonies and beyond for eight years
in search of a rumored stockpile of
american weapons the british advance to
conquered
word of the movement spreads among the
american patriots
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at concord the british find only the
remnants of the patriot stockpile
the real weapons are in the hands of the
militia
500 americans attack the british column
near the concord river
the british withdraw
the americans pursue and it devolves
into a running battle
more militiamen sometimes called
minutemen arrive
using country paths to ambush their
exhausted foes
british soldiers are killed or wounded
continuously
most run out of ammunition
some consider surrendering
the british limp back into boston having
lost nearly 300 men
almost miraculously the american
patriots win their first battle
but the revolution has only just begun
within weeks boston is surrounded by an
army of new england militia
as news of the victory spreads other
americans take action
in may a group of men who call
themselves the green mountain boys sees
fort ticonderoga in upstate new york
in june the british attack an american
position near boston called bunker hill
as the redcoat battle lines approach an
american commander tells his men not to
fire until you see the whites of their
eyes
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the british are slaughtered
although the british captured the hill
american morale rises as british morale
plummets
never before had substantial numbers of
armed and organized american colonists
faced off against the professional army
of the british empire
now patriots portrayed the conflict as
citizen soldiers
rallying to defend their property and
communities from a foreign invader
despite these early successes american
leaders know that they will need more
than an enthusiastic militia to win the
conflict
the continental congress in session in
philadelphia creates the continental
army and appoints george washington a
member of the virginia delegation to
lead it
washington rushes to join the army at
cambridge massachusetts telling congress
that he will need heavy artillery to
drive the british out of boston
washington is aided by 25 year old henry
knox
a former boston bookseller who studied
military history in his shop
married into a prominent loyalist family
knox and his wife were sympathizers to
the patriot cause
impressed by knox's participation in
bunker hill
washington is persuaded to retrieve
artillery pieces from upstate new york
knox spends the winter removing cannons
from fort ticonderoga
and bringing them to boston
despite having to sled across frozen
rivers in scale snowy mountains
knox doesn't lose a single gun
by march of 1776
the american artillery is in place
unwilling to suffer a bombardment or
risk another attack the british evacuate
the city
washington watches as the fleet sails
away
he knows the enemy will soon return in
even greater numbers
the question
is where
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washington moves the continental army
from boston to new york anticipating a
british attack
by the end of june 19 000 patriots have
joined him
and then the british return
130 ships carrying more than 32 000
soldiers sail into new york
harbor one amazed american exclaims that
all of london is afloat
august 22nd
the british commanded by general william
howe
land on long island
sweeping aside the american defenders at
the battle of brooklyn
washington skillfully retreats across
manhattan to harlem heights
in september the british land on lower
manhattan and capture the city
then dislodge the americans from their
defenses on harlem heights
washington retreats again
between september and november efforts
to retain a foothold near new york fail
the continental army is reduced to a few
thousand soldiers
while the british make manhattan island
their headquarters in north america
washington retreats across new jersey
into pennsylvania
with morale low and enlistment set to
expire
all that is stopping the british is the
delaware river and the coming winter
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convinced the rebels are all but
defeated
the british spread out in numerous
outposts throughout new jersey
with the rebel capital of philadelphia
as their next target
the british plan to move when spring
arrives
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meanwhile a second contingent of the
continental army is busy to the north
detachments of the northern department
of the army have been active in upstate
new york since the beginning of the war
in 1775
americans under the command of general
richard montgomery make a daring attempt
to push british forces out of canada
hoping to inspire support among the
local population
however the canadian citizenry are never
on board with independence and support
for british authority remains strong
in the winter of 1775 after capturing
montreal the americans lay siege to
quebec city
on december 31st general montgomery
attempts to take the city but is killed
at the battle of
quebec in may 1776
the british are reinforced and the
americans abandoned their siege attempt
retreating south to new york
in october brigadier general benedict
arnold fails to thwart the british fleet
at the battle of valcour island
canada remains under british control and
the saint lawrence river provides the
british army with a means to unload
troops and press south into upstate new
york
december
1776
washington must rekindle the confidence
of his soldiers while proving to the
public the declaration of independence
is worth fighting for
knowing the majority of his men's
enlistments expire at year's end the
commander-in-chief resorts to his last
option
attacked the enemy
on christmas night
1776
washington seizes an opportunity
he moves his forces across the ice choke
delaware river
it is a desperate and dangerous maneuver
but it works
his men gather on the opposite bank and
washington launches a surprise attack on
trenton new jersey
the battle of trenton is a stirring
american victory
nearly one thousand hessians are
captured along with six cannons and
enough supplies to outfit several
american brigades
six days later washington presses his
advantage by recrossing the delaware and
outmaneuvering the main british army and
striking a crown garrison at princeton
he wins another victory and captures
nearly 200 british regulars
with his army rejuvenated washington
marches to morristown
and settles in for the rest of the
winter
there is almost constant skirmishing
between patriots and british foraging
parties
attempts by general howe in april at
boundbrook and in june at the short
hills failed to draw washington into a
major engagement
leaving the british commander no choice
but to quit the state by the end of june
forcing the british garrison of new york
city to rely on supplies brought by sea
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in the spring of 1777 the british
devised a plan to isolate new england
from the other american colonies
three columns are ordered to converge on
albany new york
one column is stopped at fort stanwix
one disregards the plan and instead
moves towards philadelphia
after a british landing at the head of
elk the continentals established
themselves along the brandywine creek
west of philadelphia
in preparation of the british advance
washington's battle lines include a
vulnerable right flank
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general howe with general lord
cornwallis under his command moves
around the flank and attacks forcing
washington to abandon his battle plan
and position a portion of his army to
defend against the british assault
biding time for the rest of the
continental army to retreat
with washington's defeat the continental
congress flees philadelphia
howe captures the american capital soon
after
washington attempts to retake the city
but is defeated at the battle of
germantown
afterwards he moves his army to valley
forge for the winner
the third british column meets heavy
resistance in upstate new york from
partisan fighters
battles at oriskany bennington and fort
stanwix in the summer of 1777 provide
the americans time to assemble a large
force near saratoga
the fighting at saratoga rages from
september to october
victory sways in the balance
finally the americans surround the
british army
british general john burgoyne surrenders
to american major general horatio gates
one of the battle's heroes is major
general benedict arnold whose actions
later in the war will forever tarnish
his name in american history
the main portion of the continental army
under general washington suffers through
a brutal winter at valley forge but
holds together
discipline actually improves due to the
training regimen implemented by baron
bonstoyben a persecuted european officer
who lends his expertise to the cause
it's one of the war's greatest displays
of american determination
in the wake of the american victory at
saratoga
france signs a treaty of alliance with
the united states and declares war on
britain
this changes the british strategy for
ending the rebellion
with britain's global rival entering
into the revolution
the fight for american independence
becomes a world war
threatened by the french fleet the
british abandoned philadelphia
washington pursues them across new
jersey
american skirmishers harassed the
british caravan for more than a week
on june 28th
washington orders major general charles
lee to attack the british rear guard at
monmouth new jersey
lee blunders the assault and washington
is forced to salvage the initiative
himself
the battle is inconclusive and the
british continue to new york
with the french fleet lingering off the
coast and the failure to isolate the
rebellion to new england
the british attempt a southern strategy
to win the war
suspicions that loyalist support in the
south could sway the war in their favor
convinces the british to shift its
offensive to savannah georgia
and then to charleston south carolina
establishing a foothold in the key port
city of the southern colonies
in the north the british under the
command of sir henry clinton occupy new
york with washington maintaining a close
presence in the surrounding hills
the american commander-in-chief wants
nothing more than to retake the city
he'd lost in 1776
the countryside between the armies
becomes a no man's land of spies
foraging parties and skirmishes
the battles of newport rhode island
stony point new york and springfield new
jersey produce no clear victory for
either side
in the middle of the summer of 1781
washington receives intelligence that
general cornwallis is bottlenecked along
the york river in virginia
the marquis de la fayette and major
general baron von steuben are busy
clearing out british raiding parties
from the virginian countryside
cornwallis sets up fortifications at
yorktown
hoping to be reinforced by the british
fleet sailing from new york
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seeing his chance washington leaves a
portion of the army in the north while
he
accompanied by french general roshambo's
forces hurries to link up with lafayette
and steuben
the french fleet soon arrives off the
virginia capes
waiting to intercept the british fleet
the french win a naval battle over
access to the chesapeake bay on
september 5th
cutting off cornwallis supply
chain french and american forces capture
key british readouts to seal their siege
lines
cornwallis is completely surrounded
unable to obtain supplies by land or sea
in october of 1781 the siege of yorktown
proves to be the final domino to fall in
london losing half of her new world
colonies
cornwallis surrenders
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news of yorktown reaches london in late
november 1781.
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in february 1782
the british parliament adopts a
resolution against further prosecution
of offensive warfare on the continent of
north america
the final treaty of peace is signed in
september 1783.
after eight years of war the longest war
ever fought in north america
the united states win their independence
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the american revolution began the most
important experiment the world has ever
witnessed
can people govern themselves
can they treat each other as equals
can liberty produce power
so far through many rigorous tests
america has answered
yes
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