A campaign spread across the North during the Revolutionary War

 A campaign spread across the North during the Revolutionary War

A campaign spread across the North during the Revolutionary War

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 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 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 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 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 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 seain 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 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 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 news of yorktown reaches london in late november 1781. 

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 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.