The War for Independence From Great Britain The Revolutionary War The War for Independence From Great Britain

First Continental Congress October 1774 Met and decided to continue boycotting British goods and prepare for war, but wanted to avoid it if possible Sent King George III the Declaration of Rights which expressed to the King the rights that the colonists felt like they should have such as life, liberty and property

The beginning Lexington & Concord British wanted to seize weapons from Concord Patriots found out about it, this is when Paul Revere made his famous ride April 19, 1775 Colonists meet British at Lexington they were badly outnumbered and it was an easy British victory Brits continued on to Concord

Concord Colonists were able to hide the weapons before the Brits got there This upset them so the Brits set fire to some of the buildings an in reaction to the this the Minutemen charged forward firing the “Shot heard ‘round the world” British suffered a lot of casualties and were forced to retreat

Second Continental Congress Met in May 1775 King George refused to even read their Declaration of Rights Some wanted to go to war others didn’t They did make the Mass. Militia the Continental Army and named George Washington to lead it

Battle at Bunker Hill May 1775 It was actually launched from Breeds Hill British kept charging and the Militia kept forcing them to retreat, but they ran out of ammo and had to retreat themselves The redcoats suffered many casualties This battle proved the Patriots could compete with Britain

Olive Branch Petition July 1775 The colonists sent this to the King in hopes of avoiding war and reaching a compromise The King refused to even read it

Boston March 4 1776 the British control Boston Washington strategically places his army at Dorchester Heights overlooking Boston He was able to force the British into retreating from Boston and reclaimed it for the colonies

Declaration of Independence July 4th 1776 Continental Congress approves the Dec. of Independence This act broke all ties to the British crown The United States of America was born

Strengths Colonial Forces British forces Fighting for a cause they believed in (Patriotism) Have support from other European nations (France) Guerrilla Warfare Knowledge of the land Leadership of G. Washington Well trained well equipped forces Large powerful Navy

Weaknesses Colonists British Untrained soldiers Poorly equipped Small Navy Used mercenaries as soldiers Had to cross the Atlantic Not a lot of support at home for the war

The War Patriots wanted to make Canada the 14th colony They were able to take Montreal but were then defeated at Quebec This was a crushing defeat for the Patriots June 1776 General Howe and the British forced Washington from New York into New Jersey

The War Nov. 1776 Washington is forced from New Jersey into Pennsylvania The moral was low and the Colonies needed a victory bad, Washington understood this December 25 1776 Washington and 2400 soldiers snuck up on the Hessians whom How had left in charge The Battle of Trenton ensued

Battle of Trenton The Hessians had been celebrating Christmas and weren’t ready for the attack Washington and his men were able to take 900 prisoners Washington continued to march toward Princeton Gen Cornwallis rushed to stop him Washington circled behind him and forced them to flee on January 2, 1777

Battle of Saratoga 10/17/1777 General John Burgoyne of the British was forced to surrender his army to General Horatio Gates This battle is considered to be the turning pt of the war After this America began receiving aid from Holland, Spain and France

War Continues Early 1781 war is going bad for the Patriots they are running low on money and supplies British held most of the South, New York City and Philadelphia Cornwallis was in the South Nathaniel Greene and his men began harassing him Cornwallis decided to move his men Yorktown, Virginia

Battle of Yorktown Washington saw a chance to trap Cornwallis and cut him off and with the help of the French Navy he was able to do so With no place to go and no way to escape Cornwallis was forced to surrender on 10/19/1781 Patriots took some 8000 prisoners Battle of Yorktown was the last major battle of the war

War comes to an end After Yorktown there were only a few small battles Lacking the money to pay for a new army Britain gave up and entered into peace talks with the Americans

Peace Talks Benjamin Franklin led the peace treaty talks for the Americans, these talks lasted for nearly two years Finally in 1783 the Treaty of Paris was signed

Terms of theTreaty of Paris Britain recognized the independence of the US Also set American borders and British leaders also accepted America’s right to settle and trade west of the original 13 colonies A separate treaty between Spain and Britain gave Florida back to Spain