Battles of Lexington and Concord
On April 18, 1775, Joseph Warren learned from a source inside the British high command that Redcoat troops would march that night on Concord, Massachusetts. Warren dispatched two couriers, silversmith Paul Revere and tanner William Dawes, to alert residents of the news. They first traveled by different routes to Lexington, a few miles east of Concord, where revolutionary leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock were hiding from the British. Having persuaded those two to flee, a weary Revere and Dawes then set out again. On the road, they met a third rider, Samuel Prescott, who alone made it all the way to Concord. Revere was captured by a British patrol, while Dawes was thrown from his horse and forced to proceed back to Lexington on foot.
At dawn on April 19, some 700 British troops arrived in Lexington and came upon 77 militiamen gathered on the town green. A British major yelled, “Throw down your arms! Ye villains, ye rebels.” The heavily outnumbered militiamen had just been ordered by their commander to disperse when a shot rang out. To this day, no one knows which side fired first. Several British volleys were subsequently unleashed before order could be restored. When the smoke cleared, eight militiamen lay dead and nine were wounded, while only one Redcoat was injured.
The British then continued into Concord to search for weapons, not realizing that the vast majority had already been relocated. They decided to burn what little they found, and the fire got slightly out of control. Hundreds of militiamen occupying the high ground outside of Concord incorrectly thought the whole town would be torched. The militiamen hustled to Concord’s North Bridge, which was being defended by a contingent of British soldiers. The British fired first but fell back when the colonists returned the volley. This was the “shot heard ‘round the world” later immortalized by poet Ralph Waldo Emerson.
After searching Concord for about four hours, the British prepared to return to Boston, located 18 miles away. By that time, almost 2,000 militiamen—known as minutemen for their ability to be ready on a moment’s notice—had descended to the area, and more were constantly arriving. At first, the militiamen simply followed the British column. Fighting started again soon after, however, with the militiamen firing at the British from behind trees, stone walls, houses and sheds. Before long, British troops were abandoning weapons, clothing and equipment in order to retreat faster.
When the British column reached Lexington, it ran into an entire brigade of fresh Redcoats that had answered a call for reinforcements. But that did not stop the colonists from resuming their attack all the way through Menotomy (now Arlington) and Cambridge. In the evening a contingent of newly arrived minutemen from Salem and Marblehead, Massachusetts, purportedly had a chance to cut off the Redcoats and perhaps finish them off. Instead, their commander ordered them not to attack, and the British were able to reach the safety of Charlestown Neck, where they had naval support.
The colonists did not show great marksmanship that day. Nevertheless, they proved they could stand up to one of the most powerful armies in the world. News of the battle quickly spread, reaching London on May 28. By the following summer, a full-scale war of independence had broken out.
Capture of Fort Ticonderoga
Fort Ticonderoga was a fort located in upstate New York between Lake Champlain and Lake George. There were three battles that took place there during the Revolutionary War. The capture of Fort Ticonderoga took place early in the Revolutionary War on May 10, 1775. The Green Mountain Boys were a local militia led by Ethan Allen. They were given the task of taking over the fort for the patriots. They were joined by Colonel Benedict Arnold from Boston. At first the Green Mountain Boys did not want to fight under Colonel Arnold, mainly because they did not like him. Tensions got to the point where the Green Mountain Boys pulled their guns on Benedict Arnold at one point, but eventually Ethan Allen and Arnold agreed to a joint command. The Green Mountain boys began to sneak across the river during the night. However, only around half of the men had crossed the river by the time the sun rose. Rather than wait on the rest of the force to cross, Ethan Allen decided to attack. There was only one guard on duty at the south gate where they first approached. When his musket misfired, the guard ran away and the way was open for the patriots. They quickly entered the fort and took the 48 British soldiers by surprise. When approaching the leaders of the fort, Ethan Allen yelled out that he was taking the fort "In the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress!"No one was killed in the attack. The main reason for the Americans to take the fort was to get control of its cannons. The cannons were moved to Boston where they were used to help end the Siege of Boston.
The fort was held by the Americans and was used to defend New York from a British attack from the north. Guarding the fort were 2,000 soldiers under the command of General Arthur St. Clair. General St. Clair had requested more soldiers from George Washington, but Washington didn't believe that the British would attack. However, in early July of 1777 the British did attack. They brought a large force of 8,000 soldiers under the command of General John Burgoyne. Burgoyne realized early that Ticonderoga was vulnerable to an attack from the high ground of Mount Defiance. He positioned his artillery atop the mountain and began to surround the fort. When St. Clair saw that the British had large guns in place on top of Mount Defiance, he knew he had no chance to keep the fort. He ordered his men to retreat and gave up the fort to the British. The loss of the fort was a huge blow to the Americans.
On September 18, a force of 500 men led by Colonel John Brown attempted to take back the fort. There were around 700 British troops garrisoned at the fort. Brown was unable to take back the fort, but he did manage to rescue 118 American prisoners while capturing 293 British troops. The fort was held by the British for the rest of the war, but held little significance. It was abandoned by the British after the surrender at Yorktown in 1781.
Battle of Bunker Hill (Breed's Hill)
On June 16, 1775, having learned that the British were planning to send troops from Boston to occupy the hills surrounding the city, some 1,000 colonial militiamen under Colonel William Prescott built earthen fortifications on top of Breed’s Hill, overlooking Boston and located on the Charlestown Peninsula. (The men originally had been ordered to construct their fortifications atop Bunker Hill but instead chose the smaller Breed’s Hill, closer to Boston.)
On June 17, some 2,200 British forces under the command of Major General William Howe and Brigadier General Robert Pigot landed on the Charlestown Peninsula then marched to Breed’s Hill. As the British advanced in columns against the Americans, Prescott, in an effort to conserve the Americans’ limited supply of ammunition, reportedly told his men, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!” When the Redcoats were within several dozen yards, the Americans let loose with a lethal barrage of musket fire, throwing the British into retreat.
After re-forming their lines, the British attacked again, with much the same result. Prescott’s men were now low on ammunition, though, and when the Redcoats went up the hill for a third time, they reached the redoubts and engaged the Americans in hand-to-hand combat. The outnumbered Americans were forced to retreat. However, by the end of the engagement, the Patriots’ gunfire had cut down some 1,000 enemy troops, with more than 200 killed and more than 800 wounded. More than 100 Americans perished, while more than 300 others were wounded.
The British had won the so-called Battle of Bunker Hill, and Breed’s Hill and the Charlestown Peninsula fell firmly under British control. Despite losing their strategic positions, the battle was a significant morale-builder for the inexperienced Americans, convincing them that patriotic dedication could overcome superior British military might. Additionally, the high price of victory at the Battle of Bunker Hill made the British realize that the war with the colonies would be long, tough and costly.
Battles of Trenton and Princeton
Since August 1776, British forces under General William Howe had been driving the Continental Army south out ofNew York. On November 16 the British overran FortWashingtonin Manhattan, taking 2,000 Americans prisoner. The British then pursued the Americans acrossNew Jersey. In mid-December Washington led his army south across theDelawareRiver. They camped on thePennsylvaniaside, short of food, ammunition and supplies.
Washington realized that without a decisive action, the Continental Army was likely doomed, so he planned a daring assault on the Hessian garrison at Trenton. Washington’s men and cannons crossed the icy river in boats and began the 19-mile march towards Trenton in a freezing storm. The Hessian force at Trenton numbered 1,400 under the leadership of Colonel Johann Rall. Although Rall had received warnings of colonial movements, his men were exhausted and unprepared for Washington’s attack—though rumors that they were drunk fromChristmascelebrations are unfounded.
As he approached the town, Washington divided his men, sending flanking columns under General Nathaniel Greene and General John Sullivan. Meanwhile, Colonel Henry Knox’s cannons fired on the garrison. Rall attempted to rally his troops but was never able to establish a defensive perimeter, and was shot from his horse and fatally wounded. The Hessians quickly surrendered. All told, 22 were killed, 92 wounded, 918 captured and 400 escaped. The Americans suffered two frozen to death and five wounded.
Realizing his men could not hold Trenton against British reinforcements, Washington withdrew across the Delaware. However, on December 30 he crossed back into New Jersey with an army of 2,000. Informed that 8,000 British troops under GeneralsCharles Cornwallisand James Grant were marching south from Princeton, Washington worked quickly to supplement his numbers, urging militiamen whose terms had expired to stay on for six weeks.
On New Year’s Day, Washington’s force of 5,000 poorly trained men massed in Trenton. The next day Cornwallis arrived with an army 5,500. After skirmishes at the American lines and three attempts to cross the bridge at Assunpink Creek, Cornwallis relented for the day, assuming he had Washington trapped. That night, Washington deployed 500 men to keep the campfires going while the rest of his troops made a nighttime march north to Princeton. To keep their movement secret, torches were extinguished and wagon wheels muffled in heavy cloth.
At dawn on January 3, 1777, Cornwallis woke to find that his opponent had disappeared, while Washington’s men were nearing the end of their 12-mile march to Princeton. When Washington arrived, he was riding between the firing lines until his terrified horse refused to go on. As at Trenton, the Americans took prisoners, arms and supplies but quickly withdrew after winning the Battle of Princeton. The Continental Army basked in its achievements—at Princeton they had defeated a regular British army in the field. Moreover, Washington had shown that he could unite soldiers from all the colonies into an effective national force.
Battle of Saratoga
The Battles of Saratoga were a series of battles that culminated in the Battle of Saratoga and the surrender of British General John Burgoyne. This decisive victory by the Americans was a turning point of the Revolutionary War. The main leader for the British was General John Burgoyne. The Americans were led by Major General Horatio Gates and General Benedict Arnold, though at one point after an argument, Gates relieved Arnold of his command.
British General Burgoyne had come up with a plan to defeat the American colonies. He would split the colonies in two along the Hudson River. With the colonies divided, he was sure they could not stand. Burgoyne was to lead his army south from Lake Champlain to Albany, New York. At the same time General Howe was to advance north along the Hudson River. They would meet at Albany. Burgoyne and his army successfully advanced south. They first recaptured Fort Ticonderoga from the Americans then proceeded to march south. General Howe, however, had other plans. Instead of heading north to Albany, he headed east to take Philadelphia. Burgoyne was on his own.
As the British continued south, the Americans harassed them along the way. They cut down trees to block the roads and took shots at the soldiers from the forests. Burgoyne's progress was slow and the British began to run out of food. Burgoyne sent some of his soldiers to Bennington, Vermont to find food and horses. However, Bennington was guarded by American General John Stark. They surrounded the British troops and captured around 500 soldiers. It was a decisive victory for the Americans and weakened the British forces.
The first battle of Saratoga took place on September 19, 1777 on the farmland of British loyalist John Freeman. Daniel Morgan led 500 sharpshooters to the field where they saw the British advancing. They were able to take out a number of officers before the British began to attack. At the end of the battle the British gained control of the field, but they had suffered 600 casualties, twice as many as the Americans. After the Battle of Freeman's Farm, the Americans set up their defenses at Bemis Heights. More militia men arrived and the American forces continued to grow. On October 7, 1777 the British attacked. Their attack failed miserably and they were defeated by the Americans. British casualties mounted to nearly 600 men and General Burgoyne was forced to retreat. The Americans under General Gates pursued the British army. Within days, they had them surrounded. The British surrendered on October 17, 1777.
The Battles of Saratoga and the surrender of the British army under General Burgoyne was one of the major turning points of the Revolutionary War. The Americans morale was boosted and the country now felt it could win the war. Just as important to the war, the French decided to support the Americans with military aid.
Valley Forge
American spirits reached a low point during the harsh winter of 1777-78. British troops had marched triumphantly intoPhiladelphiathe previous autumn. Philadelphia was the largest city in the Colonies and the seat of political power. After the British swept into Philadelphia, the Continental Congress had flee to west, first to Lancaster then to York.
Washington's army had spent the summer of 1777 fighting a string of losing battles. The Americans harassed the British army in skirmishes and minor battles for much of the fighting season. In the fall, the Americans showed pluck at theBATTLE OF BRANDYWINEin September and theBATTLE OF GERMANTOWNin October. Yet the Americans were unable to keep the British out of Philadelphia.
In December, Washington marched his tired, beaten, hungry and sick army toVALLEY FORGE, a location about 20 miles northwest of British-occupied Philadelphia. From Valley Forge, Washington could keep an eye on General Howe's British army that was staying in Philadelphia.
At Valley Forge, there wereshortagesof everything from food to clothing to medicine. Washington's men were sick from disease, hunger, and exposure. The Continental Army camped in crudeLOG CABINSand endured cold conditions while the Redcoats warmed themselves in colonial homes. The patriots went hungry while the British soldiers ate well.Terms of enlistment were ending for many soldiers in Washington's army. The General wondered if he would even have an army left when the spring thaw finally arrived.
General Washington was upset that local farmers were hoarding much-needed food waiting to earn higher profits in the spring. Some farmers even sneaked grain into Philadelphia to feed the British army, who paid in gold or silver. With each passing night came more desertions. Washington grew privately disgusted at the lack of commitment of his so-called patriot fighters.
Then there was the grumbling of some in Congress and among some of Washington's own officers.Washington's leadership skills were openly questioned.Many said General Horatio Gates was better-suited to leading the army. After all, hadn't he scored a major victory in October at the battle of Saratoga? Within the environment of cold, deprivation, and rebellion, how long could Washington and his army endure? Help came in the form of a Prussian volunteer,BARON VON STEUBEN. The military leader was aghast at the lack of American discipline. At Washington's urging he trained the Continental Army, Prussian-style. The troops slowly became more professional. Among the soldiers who remained, confidence grew.