The War for Independence (1775-1783) |
War for Independence Fact 1 | In accordance with one of the Intolerable Acts, General Thomas Gage became governor of Massachusetts in 1774. General Gage soon realised that the American colonists were producing arms, ammunition and cannon. | |
War for Independence Fact 2 | April 18, 1775: General Thomas Gage sent British troops marching from Boston towards Concord. Gage also ordered the arrest of the patriots John Hancock and Samuel Adams, they were alerted to the threat by Paul Revere. The soldiers were ordered to seize weapons and gunpowder. Their attempt to destroy the munitions brought on the Battle of Lexington and the Battle of Concord starting the War for Independence Battle of Concord | |
War for Independence Fact 3 | The Continental Congress of colonial delegates, which met in 1774 and adjourned to meet again in 1775, assembled soon after these two battles and prepared for war with the British. The Continental Army was initially formed in the Boston area with George Washington as Commander-in-Chief | |
War for Independence Fact 4 | George Washington reached Boston soon after the Battle of Bunker Hill, which made it clear to the British that the Americans would fight. Washington besieged the British in Boston and in March, 1776, they left the city by water, and Washington moved his army to the area of New York.
The Battle of Bunker Hill
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War for Independence Fact 5 | Washington and his forces were attacked by the British, and was driven up the Hudson River to White Plains pursued by Cornwallis. From there he crossed into New Jersey, only to be driven across the state and into Pennsylvania | |
War for Independence Fact 6 | On Christmas night, 1776, Washington re-crossed the Delaware to Trenton, and the next morning won a victory over the Hessians at the The Battle of Trenton . | |
War for Independence Fact 7 | On January 3, 1777, Washington won another victory for the Americans at the Battle of Princeton , and he spent the remainder of the winter at Morristown | |
War for Independence Fact 8 | In July, 1777, Sir William Howe sailed from New York for Philadelphia. The forces of Washington travelled overland to confront him. The Americans were defeated at the Battle of Brandywine, and the city fell into the hands of Howe. | |
War for Independence Fact 9 | George Washington passed the winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge in hills that were not far from Philadelphia | |
War for Independence Fact 10 | General Burgoyne was given command of the British forces charged with gaining control of Lake Champlain and the Hudson River valley. He attempted to cut the states in two by getting possession of New York state from Lake Champlain to New York city, and the army under Burgoyne came down from Canada. General Burgoyne and his troops were captured at Saratoga. | |
War for Independence Fact 11 | In February, 1778, France made a treaty of alliance with America and sent over a fleet. Fearing the French fleet would attack New York, the British commander Sir Henry Clinton left Philadelphia with his army. Washington followed from Valley Forge, overtook the British resulting in the Battle of Monmouth. The British then went on to New York, whilst Washington stretched out his army from Morristown to West Point. Victory for George Washington at the Battle of Monmouth | |
War for Independence Fact 12 | In December, 1778, the British attacked the Southern States. They conquered Georgia following the Siege of Savannah in the winter of 1778-1779 | |
War for Independence Fact 13 | In the spring of 1780 the British attacked South Carolina and captured General Benjamin Lincoln following his surrender at the Siege of Charleston. | |
War for Independence Fact 14 | The American General Horatio Gates then took the field and was defeated at the Battle of Camden | |
War for Independence Fact 15 | General Nathanael Greene was sent to the South to take charge of the resistance to General Cornwallis and drove the British forces in South Carolina and Georgia into Charleston and Savannah, during 1781 after winning a great American victory at the Battle of Cowpens | |
War for Independence Fact 16 | A British force was sent against Greene under Cornwallis who undertook to fortify Yorktown and hold it. The British were surrounded by Washington and the French fleet and forced to surrender at the Battle of Yorktown. | |
War for Independence Fact 17 | On October 19, 1781, the British laid down their arms and surrendered Surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown | |
War for Independence Fact 18 | The British army was decimated and the American War for Independence was virtually over | |
War for Independence Fact 19 | The surrender of the British army at Yorktown had a devastating effect on the British and Parliament voted against further war in America | | |
War for Independence Fact 20 | Great Britain officially declared an end to hostilities in America on February 4, 1783 | |
War for Independence Fact 21 | In February, 1783 the European countries of Spain, Sweden, Denmark and Russia recognized the United States of America | |
War for Independence Fact 22 | On April 11, 1783 Congress officially declared the end to the American Revolutionary War | |
War for Independence Fact 23 | On September 3, 1783 the Peace Treaty of Paris 1783 was signed by the United States and Great Britain | |
War for Independence Fact 24 | George Washington delivered his farewell address and resigned his commission as commander-in-chief on December 23, 1783. Five years later George Washington was unanimously elected as the first President of the United States of America in 1788. George Washington | |
War for Independence Fact 25 | The Treaty of Paris (1783) was ratified by Congress on January 14, 1784 which is the date that the American Revolutionary War officially ends | |
War for Independence Fact 26 | The American Revolution War created two countries, Canada and the United States. The British victories at Quebec City and Fort Cumberland saved the provinces of Quebec and Nova Scotia from conquest and defined the border with the United States | |
War for Independence Fact 25 | The end of the War for Independence left America taking the first steps to build the new country that included changing the Colonies to States | |
The War for Independence |