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The American Revolution
How we won our freedom
The Revolution
• Very Important: We, the colonists, did not
have to win the war in order to win the war.
• Map of British Empire in 1775
• England was fighting more than just the
American Revolution.
• England was fighting in India from 1775 –
1782.
Lexington and Concord
• General Gage (British General), planned an
attack on two unsuspecting towns. (L & C)
• We marched his army towards Lexington to
capture colonial rebels John Hancock and Sam
Adams. In Concord, he wanted to take
supplies out of Concord (i.e. gunpowder)
• What Gen. Gage didn’t know was the makeup
of spy units in Boston and other parts of the
colonies.
Lexington and Concord
• 18th Spying:
• Colonists in Boston could see a Red Coat at every
turn.
• In order to remain unsuspecting, they needed to
carry on with everyday life and looked as if they
are nothing more than a loyalist living in the
colonies.
• The Spy Unit was known as the Sons of Liberty.
Another known group was Knowlton’s Ranger’s.
(lesser known group)
Boston
Lexington and Concord
• Sons of Liberty was an underground spy
network designed to undermine the British
during the war.
• How it worked:
• Putting people in places of importance.
• People who were journalist, mail carriers,
colonists working within the inner circle of the
British, acting as loyalists.
Lexington and Concord
• Before the British left for Lexington, the Colonial Spy team
got word out of the coming attack.
• Hanging the Boston’s North Church was a lantern. The sign
was one-th by land, two-th by sea!
• Dr. Samuel Prescott informed Paul Revere and William
Dawes of the coming attack.
• The three men road to Lexington to inform the residents
“The British are coming,” although we know he didn’t say
the British, he most likely he said, “The Redcoats are
coming!”
• A few forgotten men to common history, William Dawes
and Dr. Samuel Prescott also rode with Revere that night.
• Paul Revere's Ride
Lexington & Concord
• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Poem
Wadsworth vs. Revere
• Use the chart to find differences in
Wadsworth Poem and Revere’s account of
April 18th, 1775.
Paul Revere’s Ride
Shot heard ‘round the world
• As word spread throughout Lexington of the British
army coming, militia gathered and readied for the
British.
• When the advance guard of nearly 240 British soldiers
arrived in Lexington, they found about 70 minutemen
formed on the LEXINGTON GREEN awaiting them.
Both sides eyed each other warily, not knowing what
to expect. Suddenly, a bullet buzzed through the
morning air. It was "the shot heard round the world.”
• Interesting note: Free Black men were among those
70 who stood ready to fight the British.
• African Americans fighting in the Revolution
Shot heard ‘round the world
• Who fired the first shot?
Onto Concord
• The numerically superior British killed seven
Americans on Lexington Green and marched
off to Concord with new regiments who had
joined them.
• Those who fought at Lexington would retreat
against the charging British army.
• What happened at Concord would have a
different result.
Battle of Concord
• American militias arriving at Concord
thwarted the British advance. As the British
retreated toward Boston, new waves of
Colonial militia intercepted them. Shooting
from behind fences and trees, the militias
inflicted over 125 casualties, including several
officers. The ferocity of the encounter
surprised both sides.
Battle of Concord
• Images of Concord
Bridge
Timeline
• Important Revolutionary Timeline
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Fort Ticonderoga
• Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain boys
take Fort Ticonderoga.
Why take Ticonderoga
• Strategic reasons:
• Sam Adams and others had been convinced that when war came, the
British would attempt to isolate New England from the other colonies. The
most obvious method of doing so was to send an army southward from
Canada over the 'superhighway' of the era — up the Richelieu River to
Lake Champlain, then to Lake George, the Hudson River and on to New
York City while capturing strategic points along the way.
Taking of Ticonderoga
• Fort Ticonderoga, built by the British during
the French and Indian War, became an
important target, why:
• It occupied a strategic point between Lake
Champlain and Lake George.
• Held a supply of cannon and other artillery
items; which were needed badly by the rebels.
• Fort was lightly defended.
Taking of Ticonderoga
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For the back story, click here.
Notice the involvement of Connecticut.
Benedict Arnold was native to Connecticut.
Green Mountain boys refers to Vermont’s
green mountains.
• Most of the men involved with the attack on
Fort Ticonderoga were from Massachusetts,
not Vermont.
2nd Continental Congress
• Meeting held in Philadelphia. Then the capital of the
colonies.
• Questions that needed answers:
• How would colonists meet the military threat of the
British?
• How would it be paid for?
• Who would be in charge of the Continental Army?
• Could it get foreign help? (France)
How would colonists meet the
military threat of the British?
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Establish continental army
Call for volunteers
Established a draft for men
Made colonial militias part of the continental
army
• Commander in chief: George Washington
George Washington: Commander
in Chief of the Army
• Had experience and reputation due to his
exploits during the French and Indian War.
• Member of the Virginia House of Burgesses
• Joined the militia and continental movement
in 1774.
• For more information, click here
1776
• Declaration of Independence signed in Philadelphia, July 4th. Continental
Congress declares independence July 2nd. Click here for a timeline to the
signing of the Declaration.
• Same month, huge British army arrives to crush the Revolution.
• Battle of Brooklyn Heights, August 1776, British rout colonists.
• Colonists: Force 10,000; killed 300; Wounded 800; Captured 1,000.
Commander was George Washington.
• British: Force 20,000; killed 64; wounded 293; captured 31.
Commander was Lord Charles Cornwallis.
Battle of Fort Washington
• Sir William Howe, Commander in Chief of His
Majesty’s Forces in America, massed an army
of 8,000 British and German troops to attack
Fort Washington, Washington Heights,
Manhattan, NY.
• George Washington had a well-entrenched
army of 3,000.
• Terrible defeat for colonists.
Battle of Fort Washington
• Americans suffered 54 dead; 2,858 captured
and of those about 1,000 wounded. This was
a decisive for the British.
• Worse, anything/anyone able to escape was
hunted down by Lord Cornwallis under the
direction of Sir William Howe. Cornwallis
plundered towns in New Jersey looking for
those who escaped Fort Washington.
Battle of Fort Washington
• Those who were captured were spared
immediate death. In the words of Thomas
Jones, a former justice of the NY Supreme
Court being held in a Connecticut prison, a
general slaughter of those at Fort Washington
would have struck panic throughout the
colonies and perhaps the Revolution would be
over!
• Did Howe make a mistake?
Crossing the Delaware
• Christmas, 1776
• Washington will cross the Delaware to
surprise a Hessian picket guard (German
troops)
• This is Washington last chance to salvage the
war.
• Many troops will have enlistments expire at
the end of the year. Washington was
desperate. The Americans needed a victory.
Crossing the Delaware
How Trenton helped
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Finally a victory!!
Helped morale of the rebels.
For additional money, most troops reenlist.
Propelled Continental Army to take Princeton
on Jan. 3rd 1777.
• Gave Washington a vote of confidence from
many.
Building momentum in 1777
• Victory at Saratoga marked turning point in
the war.
• Saratoga link
• Gave Americans Allies
• We know about the French…but…
• French realize Americans can defeat British
• By February 1778, French declared war on
Britain, sending resources
Gaining Allies
• Spain hated Britain, declared war on Britain,
more to hurt Britain than help America.
• They declared war on Great Britain in 1779.
• Louisiana Governor Bernardo de Galvez raised
an army and pushed British troops out of
Baton Rouge and Natchez.
The Story of Jane McCrea
Jane McCrea
• How is this propaganda
• What could be used against the British
because of this?
Major Patrick Ferguson
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Excellent marksmen
Built and manufactured own rifle.
Considered the finest of the day.
Nickname was “Bull Dog.”
September 11, 1777
What could have happened…
Major Ferguson
• While resting with some men in a clump of
trees, a party of American officers rode past
without seeing them. One of Ferguson’s men,
who had one of Ferguson’s rifle, happen to
raise his gun and find the biggest man on the
biggest horse. As he was ready to squeeze off
a shot, Ferguson quickly told him to lower his
weapon and let the men pass.
Major Ferguson
• Ferguson thought it was ungentlemanly to
shoot a fellow officer from a hidden position,
particularly in the back.
• The next day, Ferguson learned from an
American prisoner the man he choose not to
shot was George Washington.
• How would the war have changed if
Washington was killed on 9/11?
War in the South & West
• Fighting in the west involved Native
Americans. Most Native Americans sided with
the British.
• Reason Native Americans fought with British,
they (British) presented less of a threat.
• Why?
Chief Joseph Brant
• Led many attacks on American settlements in
southwestern NY and Northen
Pennsylvania.
After the war, Brant served as a
Representative to the Continental
Congress and tried to get a fair land
Settlement for his people. He wound up moving
to Canada.
Henry Hamilton, the “hair buyer”
Henry Hamilton
• Commander of British forces in Detroit, main
British base in the west.
• Called the hair buyer because he paid for
scalps of settlers to Native Americans.
Victory at Vincennes
• Won an important battle in the west over
Henry Hamilton.
• Defeated him at Vincennes in present day
Indiana.
• The man in charge…George Rogers Clarke, a
Virginia militiamen, with the rank of Lt.
Colonel.
Victory at Vincennes
Glory at Sea
• British still controlled waterways and the seas.
Using its powerful Navy up and down the
Atlantic seaboard.
• British used a blockade of major water arteries
to prevent Americans from shipping goods by
sea from place to place.
• What is a blockade?
• Why is controlling the waterways so important
at this time?
Breaking the Blockade
• Congress ordered the construction of 13
warships. Only 2 ever saw the sea. Four were
destroyed by Americans, others captured by
British. Americans had a Navy which was
useless.
• Privateers changed things though.
Privateers
• Privateers were privately owned merchant
ships equipped with weapons. Congress
authorized 2,000 ships to sail as privateers and
attack enemy shipping.
• Sailors and whalers from New England were
eager to sign up, for it was quite profitable.
John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones
• Daring American Naval Commander,
• Began raiding British ships in 1777. Was given
an old French ship from Benjamin Franklin.
He named it Bonhomme Richard, after Poor
Richard’s Almanack.
• Sailing of the coast of Britain in 1779, Jones
encountered several British merchant ships
who were guarded by the British warship
Serapis.
Battles on the Seas
• For 3 hours the engaged each other. At one
point, the captain of the Serapis had asked
Jones if he wished to surrender, Jones said “I
have not yet begun to fight!”
• The Serapis would later surrender.
• Jones’ ship was so badly damaged, it sank not
long after the battle
Bonhomme Richard vs. Serapis