One if by land, two if by sea;And I on the opposite shore will be,Ready to ride and spread the alarm

Through every Middlesex, village and farm,For the country folk to be up and to arm.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Paul Revere rides off to Lexington to inform Hancock and Adams!

To prepare for the seemingly inevitable conflict, patriots had armed and trained

through the winter

April 19th, 1775 – British troops sent to Lexington & Concord to secure the colonists’ weapons depot face-off against 70 minutemen.

British troops are harassed all the way back to Boston losing 250 soldiers.

An Original something in him that commands admiration.     - George Washington,        speaking about Ethan Allen

“Come out of there, you dammed old rat!”

Don’t Fire Until You See the Whites of Their Eyes!

June 17, 1775 – 1st Major Battle at Bunker Hill

The Colonists lose the hill but gain a symbolic victory as hundreds of British

troops are killed in the attack.

One Last Try at Peace

Olive Branch Petition

“I declare the colonies to be in a state of rebellion!”

To stop the advancing British Army, Benedict Arnold gathered a makeshift

flotilla at Whitehall, “The Birth Place of the US Navy.”

The “Noble Train of Artillery”

A need for Soldiers pushes a Social issue in to the Revolution

Slaves Considered Property'Negroes' ought to be 'esteemed goods and commodities within the Trade and Navigation Acts'. 

– Such a ruling permitted slave owners to use property law with regard to their slaves 'to recover goods wrongfully detained, lost or damaged' as they would any other property.

The Yorke-Talbot ruling stated:“We are of the opinion, that a slave, by coming from the West Indies, either with or without his master, to Great Britain or Ireland, doth not become free; and that his master’s property or right in him is not thereby determined or varied; and baptism doth not bestow freedom on him, nor make any alteration to his temporal condition in these kingdoms. We are also of opinion, that the master may legally compel him to return to the plantations.”

In 1729 another Setback

Precedent Set but not Followed

Somersett, a slave brought to England who then escaped, when recaptured sued for his freedom

Somersett granted freedomThe decision was that no slave could be forcibly removed from Britain and sold into slavery.

While slaves in the colonies then filed suits in Virginia courts seeking freedom, colonial fears

of slave rebellion increased

“And I hereby further declare all indentured servants, Negroes, or others (appertaining to Rebels) free, that are able and willing to bear arms, they joining His Majesty's Troops, as soon as may be, for the more speedily reducing the Colony to a proper sense of their duty, to this Majesty's crown and dignity.” -- Lord Dunmore's Proclamation

Seeking Freedom under British rule, some 300 runaway slaves served in

Lord Dunsmore’s military

1776

July 1776, General William Howe arrived at New York with 30,000 Soldiers beginning a cat and mouse game with General George Washington.

"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." – Nathan Hale

The Legend of Molly Pitcher

As became common, women often joined their husbands on the battlefieldFilled most of the tasks required to keep an army in the field Molly recognized her husband had fallen faint from his cannon duty and immediately took his place.Her legend promoted the role of women in the “rebel cause.”

Women contributed on the Home FrontWith men off to war and laborers scarce, they had to

weave more cloth, stretch food resources, find ingenious ways to make do on limited

budgets.

A Rival General is Captured!

Charles Lee – Second in charge of the Continental Army

Sought to be commanderWhile in New Jersey with troops

he and his officers stay at the local Widow White’s Tavern (Taverns were often boarding houses too) instead of bivouacked with his troops and is captured by the British

British procure supplies through force

British take what they need by any means necessary – pillaging, taking crops and animalsColonists get glimpse at what British military occupation might look like

Hessians join in on the plundering

• Allegations of torture, rape and murder become rallying points around which to sway colonists against the British

"...These are the times that try men's souls…”

Christmas Day 1776, Washington Crosses the Delaware River.

Washington surprises Hessian troops at Trenton providing a much needed boost to

the Continental troops.

Washington gains a victory at Princeton to begin campaign of 1777.

1777

The victory at Trenton bolsters colonial support but it is not enough

• The Continental Army remains poorly equipped

• We send another secret weapon to France to negotiate for assistance against a common enemy

Franklin paints a simple and well-crafted image of America, but French administrators look for a guarantee that they are backing a winner.

British force of 7700 men under Gen. John Burgoyne invades from Canada, sailing down Lake Champlain toward Albany, planning to link up with Gen. Howe who will come north from New York City, and General St. Leger marching along the Mohawk, thus cutting off New England from the rest of the colonies.

“I will face the enemy.”

General Herkimer “defeated” St. Leger at the bloody Battle of Oriskany. St. Leger’s troops were depleted and therefore

couldn’t join with Burgoyne to cut off New England.

Troops under General Stark surprised the British at Bennington, Vt.

General Burgoyne, encamped at Fort Miller and far from supplies in Canada, sent troops under General Baum to Vermont to forage for supplies.

The British negotiate an alliance with the Iroquois Nations

The British are the best hope for protecting the control of their lands

Jane McCrea is ScalpedThe incident was used as propaganda for the local citizens. Local outrage over the killing, even though she was a Tory, stirred the patriot cause and called to the colors the farmers of Bennington.

Instead of joining Burgoyne, Howe moved his troops to the

Chesapeake to attack Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, on the road to Philadelphia

Howe outflanked Washington’s army and defeated him at Brandywine Creek

Washington left soldiers under General “Mad Anthony” Wayne in order to pick

away at Howe’s rearguard as Washington retreated to Reading, PA.

Washington had to decide, protect the capitol at Philadelphia or his army and munitions at Reading.

September 26th, 1777, Howe took Philadelphia.

Franklin receives word of this loss and spins the news so that the French would think that instead of Howe taking Philadelphia (the home of the Continental Congress), Philadelphia has taken Howe.

Washington sees an opportunity

Meanwhile, Washington sends troops under Daniel Morgan to fight

with General Gates at Saratoga

The First Battle – Freeman’s Farm

At 1:00 PMAt 3:00 PMAt 5:00 PM

Arnold is seen as a hero for leading the Patriots in battle.

General Burgoyne set up encampment near Freeman’s Farm and awaited the arrival of troops from the South led by General Henry Clinton. Clinton got bogged down attempting to fight north up the Hudson River and decided not to reinforce Burgoyne. The news never reached Burgoyne.

Round Two @ Bemis Heights

Turning Point of the War

Convinced French to join the warBoosted morale of Patriot Army

France declares war and orders its navy to support the English

Colonies

Winter at Valley Forge

The winter was brutal and the men suffered with nearly 2500 deaths, but Valley Forge became a

symbol of the Patriot’s heroism.

Foreign Volunteers Join The Cause

• Prussian General Baron von Steuben was placed in charge of training the troops

• Marquis de Lafayette was placed in charge of a Virginia regiment under Washington

1778

Battle of Monmouth"Sir, they are able, and by God they

shall do it!"

"a shocking sight my eyes never beheld before of savage and

brutal barbarity."

George Washington understood he must do something to quell the border conflicts with the British-allied Loyalists and IndiansOrders General John Sullivan to move "against the hostile tribes of the Six Nations of Indians, with their associates and adherents."

Sullivan was told to carry out his mission "in the most effectual manner, that the country may not be merely overrun, but destroyed." The "total ruin" of the Indian settlements, Washington wrote, would guarantee America's future security by inspiring the Indians with terror through "the severity of the chastisement they receive."

"The army had brought a whirlwind of destruction"

The men methodically looted and destroyed every Iroquois town and village on their route into Finger Lakes country, their progress marked by smoldering villages and blackened fields.

The next Spring, warriors under Brant, Cornplanter and Butler—fired by a terrific lust for vengeance—descended on numerous towns along the frontier. In these raids they destroyed an estimated 1,000 homes, 1,000 barns and 600,000 bushels of grain. Such attacks continued nearly to war's end.

1779

Clinton Moves South where reports claim they will be

welcomed by many Loyalists

1780

Siege of Charlestown

A devastating loss to the Patriots

A Hero Turns Traitor

• After Saratoga placed in charge of Phila. Where he married Peggy Shippen (said to be a loyalist).

• Benedict Arnold reprimanded but given command of West Point, NY.

• Corresponded with Henry Clinton in NY he arranged to betray West Point in exchange for a British commission and a sum of money.

• Learned he was going to defect to the British when Major Andre was captured

The Hero of Saratoga is placed in Charge of the Army of the South

• Gates refuses to march west then onto Charlestown which would have been through friendly Patriot regions.

• Gates dismisses the cavalry as not needed in a southern campaign• Is disgusted by Col. Frances Marion, leader of a “ragtag” militia, and

orders them into reconnaissance missions

Battle at Camden

King’s Mountain “Tarleton Quarter”

1781

Battle of Cowpens

Battle at Guilford Courthouse

Battle of Eutaw Springs

Battle of Yorktown

• French support had arrived and cut off Cornwallis escape by sea

• French Gen. Rochambeau joined Gen. Washington

October 19, 1781

Surrender at Yorktown

September 3, 1783

Paris Treaty, signed on Sept. 3, 1783, between the American colonies and Great Britain, ended the American Revolution and formally recognized the United States as an independent nation.

Americans demanded the return of American property, including runaway

slaves

British Troops would be evacuated from America, opening new lands up to the new country.

If you were to write a headline for this topic or issue right now that captured the most

important aspect that should be remembered, what would that headline be?

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