Many battles were fought during the American Revolution, but some were more important than others.
BATTLES OF LEXINGTON AND CONCORD
DATE: APRIL 19th, 1775
LOCATION: LEXINGTON AND CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS
The battles of Lexington and Concord are claimed to be by some the beginning of the war. On April 18th, 1775, Joseph Warren learned that British forces were going to march to Concord that night. He sent Paul Revere and William Dawes out to warn others. They both traveled to Lexington, where they persuaded Samuel Adams and John Hancock to flee. The next day, April 19th, around 700 British troops arrived in Lexington. The Americans only had 77 minutemen to defend the town. It is unknown which side shot first, but after some firing, 8 Americans were dead and 9 were wounded, as opposed to only 1 British wounded. The British then continued on to Concord in search of arms. They did not know that most of them had been relocated until they reached the town. They proceeded to burn what they found, and the fire got a bit out of control. The hundreds of minutemen outside of Concord thought the whole town would burn, and proceeded to travel to Concord's North Bridge, which was being defended by some British soldiers. The British fired at the Americans first but retreated when the Americans returned fire. This is what is now know to be the "shot heard round the world." At this point, the British had been searching Concord for hours, and decided to return to Boston. By this time, nearly 2,000 minutemen were in the area where the British were. At first the Americans just followed the British, but not long after the Americans started firing. They fired from behind trees, houses, sheds or anything they could find. Soon after the Americans fired, the British were leaving their weapons and equipment behind in order to retreat faster. The British made it to Lexington and met reinforcements. The Americans did not stop firing, though. The British tried to keep the Americans at bay with flanking parties. Finally, in the evening, the British were able to make it to Charlestown Neck, where they had naval support.
IMPACT: The battle proved that the Americans could put up a fight against one of the strongest armies in the world.
THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL
DATE: JUNE 17th, 1775
LOCATION: BREED HILL IN CHARLESTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS
The battle of Bunker Hill is one of the most famous battles of the Revolutionary War. The battle is also when William Prescott said, "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes." Most of the battle took place on Breed's Hill, although the battle is named after the nearby Bunker Hill. On June 17th, around 2,200 British troops under the command of general William Howe landed on the Charlestown Peninsula and then they marched to Bunker Hill. The Americans had limited ammo, and in an attempt to conserve ammo, Prescott supposedly uttered his famous words. When the British got close enough, the Americans fired, forcing the British to retreat. After reforming, the British attacked again, with a similar result to the first time. Now, however, the Americans had very little ammo. The third time the British attacked, they were not forced back. They chose to fight the Americans hand to hand. The Americans were outnumbered and were forced to retreat. At the end of the day, 100 Americans were dead and 300 were wounded. The British, on the other hand, had 200 men dead and 800 wounded.
IMPACT: The British won the battle, but at a great cost. The battle also provided the Americans with a morale boost, showing that they could defeat the mighty British. The British realized that the war with the Americans would be long and tough.
SIEGE OF YORKTOWN
DATE: SEPTEMBER 28th, 1781 - OCTOBER 19th, 1781
LOCATION: YORKTOWN, VIRGINIA
While not really a "battle," the Siege of Yorktown was a very important point in the American Revolution. Nathanael Greene had forced Charles Cornwallis to retreat to Yorktown. George Washington brought his forces to Yorktown. He had around 14,000 men in all. The French, who had joined the war on the American side some years before, aided the Americans in the siege. They had 34 warships placed around the city in such a way so that Cornwallis could not retreat nor could reinforcements arrive. Cornwallis was trapped in the city and his forces were not as strong as the American and French one. Cornwallis asked the British fleet army in New York to help him, and the fleet came down to Yorktown. The British fleet was outnumbered compared to the French one. The two fleets fought for 2 and a half hours, with the French fleet winning. The British fleet tried for 2 more days to try and get an advantage, but they could not find one and abandoned Cornwallis. Back in the city, Cornwallis desperately tried to defend. His army was under constant fire, day and night. On October 14th, 2 redoubts were carried out in a night attack. 3 days later, Cornwallis surrendered.
IMPACT: Yorktown was the final battle in the American Revolution. Soon after the battle, the British began peace negotiations. The battle/siege ended the fighting in the American Revolution and helped end the war.
BATTLES OF TRENTON AND PRINCETON
DATE: DECEMBER 26th, 1776 AND JANUARY 3rd, 1777
LOCATION: TRENTON AND PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY
The battles of Trenton and Princeton were small but important battles in the Revolutionary War. The British had been pushing the Americans south since August of 1776. In mid December, Washington crossed the Delaware River with his men. Washington was low on ammo and supplies and he thought that taking action was the only way to keep the army going. Washington decided to attack the garrison at Trenton. Washington's forces numbered around 2,400, while the garrisons' was around 1,400. Washington sailed with his men 19 miles back across the Delaware. Colonel Johann Rall, the leader of the garrison, had heard of American movement towards Trenton but did not think much of it. When Washington arrived at Trenton, he divided his men into flanking columns. He sent them under command of Nathanael Greene and John Sullivan, while Colonel Henry Knox fired cannons at the garrison. Rall attempted to get his men into a defensive formation but wasn't able to. Rall was shot from his horse and was killed. The garrison quickly surrendered. 22 British were killed and 92 wounded. Only 2 Americans were dead and 5 wounded, and the ones dead froze to death.
Washington knew that he could not hold the fort against British reinforcements, so he went back across the Delaware again. He was informed that 8,000 British under the command of Cornwallis were coming south from Princeton. Washington managed to muster up some troops and got up to around 5,000 poorly trained men in his army. He went back to Trenton and prepared to fight. On January 2nd, skirmishes between the two armies ended when Cornwallis stopped attacking for the day, assuming he had Washington trapped. Cornwallis actually only had around 5,500 troops, not 8,000 as Washington had been informed. That night, Washington left 500 men behind to keep the campfires going while the main army marched 12 miles to Princeton. Washington sent a small force under the command of Hugh Mercer to destroy a bridge in the morning. Mercer was killed in the fighting. Washington sent another force but it did not do much. Finally, Washington himself came with his main forces and fought the British, ultimately winning the battle.
Washington knew that he could not hold the fort against British reinforcements, so he went back across the Delaware again. He was informed that 8,000 British under the command of Cornwallis were coming south from Princeton. Washington managed to muster up some troops and got up to around 5,000 poorly trained men in his army. He went back to Trenton and prepared to fight. On January 2nd, skirmishes between the two armies ended when Cornwallis stopped attacking for the day, assuming he had Washington trapped. Cornwallis actually only had around 5,500 troops, not 8,000 as Washington had been informed. That night, Washington left 500 men behind to keep the campfires going while the main army marched 12 miles to Princeton. Washington sent a small force under the command of Hugh Mercer to destroy a bridge in the morning. Mercer was killed in the fighting. Washington sent another force but it did not do much. Finally, Washington himself came with his main forces and fought the British, ultimately winning the battle.
IMPACT: The Americans won the battles. Barely a week before, the Americans had very little hope in winning the war. The victories at Trenton and Princeton inspired the Americans, increased their morale and proved that they could still win the war.
THE BATTLES OF SARATOGA
DATE: SEPTEMBER 19th, 1777 AND OCTOBER 7th, 1777
LOCATION: SARATOGA, NEW YORK
There were two battles fought at Saratoga during the Revolutionary War. General John Burgoyne was too confident and decided to attack the American army under the command of Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold. Burgoyne attacked on September 19th. Arnold was able to get Gates out of his defensive position and got permission to lead some men to stop a British flanking force. The first battle took place at Freeman's Farm. Arnold kept bringing in troops until Gates decided to retreat. The British gained control of Freeman's farm but suffered heavy losses. Burgoyne fortified his position and waited for reinforcements but none came. He decided to attack again on October 7th. Gates told Arnold to stay in his quarters but Arnold joined the fighting. Arnold led attacks that helped capture key points. The British retreated to Saratoga where they were surrounded by American forces. Burgoyne soon surrendered his forces.