1. The Revolution Plays Out

2. Saratoga and the French In Oct. 1777 The British attempted again to take the state of New York to cut off New England  General Burgoyne’s British troops were defeated at Saratoga in New York and forced to surrender  this gave a huge boost to American morale The French decided that the US had a chance after this victory and decided to support the US in the war effort

3. Valley Forge During the winter of 1777 Washington’s army faced a difficult winter  they were camped at Valley Forge PA with little food or comfort from the brutal winter  Washington pleaded for supplies but little came from Congress  it is estimated that 3,000 soldiers died of disease and the elements at Valley Forge  there was also a problem of desertion in the army

4. Training the Army Washington had a big problem with an undisciplined army  there were 13 militias that had different ways of doing things and this caused problems when it came to battles While at VF a Prussian named Baron von Steuben came to VF to help Washington train his army in European tactics  the army was trained and was able to gel into a European style army at this time  after this they were not the laughing stock that many had seen before this time

5. Little Successes and No Destruction From 1778 – 1780 the American armies did not really have major successes in battles but their strategy held up There were little successes at places like the Battle of the Cowpens where Banastre Tarleton was defeated The big success was that Washington’s army was not destroyed during this time

6. Yorktown By 1781 the British were getting concerned with how long the war was taking Oct. 1781 British General Cornwallis marched his army north from South Carolina to meet up with other British armies to again conquer the state of New York While in Virginia Corwallis’s army found itself trapped by Washington’s army and the French navy  Oct, 1781. Cornwallis is forced to surrender his army to Washington

7. End of the War After Yorktown some in England wanted to continue the fight (King George III) but most wanted to stop  the fighting had gone on too long and was too costly  they were nowhere near victory Feb. 1782 Parliament announced the war was over and it would not allow more fighting  Parliament controls money so King could not simply keep fighting Sept 1783 Treaty of Paris officially ends the American War for Independence  England recognizes US and removes troops from US territory (sort of)