Battles

June 1776 Shift from New England to the Middle States 34,000 British troops and 10,000 sailors vs. 20,000 poorly trained American troops and no navy Nathan Hale: volunteered for dangerous spy duties, was captured and condemned to death British troops drove Washington’s troops out of Brooklyn in August of 1776

September 1776 Washington abandoned New York City British troops pursued the Americans  North to the White Plains  Then west and south across New Jersey

December 1776 Continental Army retreat and crossed the Delaware River into Pennsylvania  Britain now threatened Philadelphia Patriots spirits were low and many deserted their duties and others were planning on going home as soon as their enlistment was done

Crossing the Delaware, Battle of Trenton Christmas night, Washington led 2,400 men across in small boats Soldiers marched in the swirling snow Early on December 26 th they attack Trenton from 2 sides Achieved complete surprise Washington’s army captured mercenaries To escape: they set up camp nearby, left the fire lit and left in the middle of the night so the British wouldn’t know they got away

1777 British General John Borgoyne ‘s plan  Troops would come from 3 directions (north, west and south)  Almost immediately there was trouble  King George III ordered Howe to move into a misguided attempt to attack Philadelphia  Americans cut off the British at Mohawk Valley  Borgoyne regained Fort Ticonderoga, but was running out of supplies  By September, General Gates had 6,000 American men ready at the village of Saratoga, New York  American soldiers surround the British  Burgoyne surrendered on October 17 th Turning Point in the war

General John Burgoyne General Horatio Gates

Video of the Battle of Saratoga We will watch this video to see a visual representation of the turning point in the war

French Alliance (1778) Alliance: formal agreement between two powers to work together toward a common goal February 1778, France formed an alliance with America France secretly supplied Americans with money and arms to help weaken Britain Allies of France, Netherlands and Spain also went to war with Britain  Making Britain fight wars on many fronts

European Volunteers for American Marquis de Lafayette  French noble  Became a high-ranked official in Washington’s army Poland volunteers Cavalry: unit or troops on horseback  Became an important part of the war Friedrich von Steuben  German baron  Trained soldiers (marching, improve aim and use of bayonets)

Marquis de Lafayette Friedrich von Steuben Cavalry