Key Battles of the

American Revolution

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America – Ready to fight?

American strengths

• Great leader – George

Washington

• Fighting for homes and

freedom

• Used to hardships

• Financial and military

aid from foreign

countries

• Used to guns

• Gained experience in F

& I War

• Fighting on own land

American weaknesses

• 1/3 of citizens opposed the

rebellion

• Inadequate financial

resources

• No factories

• Shortage of supplies and

ammunition

• Continuous turnover of

men in army

• Not used to military

discipline

• Lacked a strong navy

Britain – Always Ready

British strengths

• Well-equipped and

well-trained forces

• Professional military

leadership

• Able to hire foreign

soldiers

• Had the money and

factories to supply

needed materials

• Had support of

American loyalists

British weaknesses

• Unaccustomed to

wilderness warfare

• Leaders underestimated

America’s military ability

• Separated from

battlefronts by 3,000

miles; took months to

send reinforcements and

war orders

• Hired soldiers had

nothing at stake except

pay

• Attention divided

between other conflicts

• Some British leaders

sympathized with

American cause

Major battles and results

• 1775

• Battle of Lexington and Concord –

British attempted to rob American

arsenal (storehouse for weapons)

at Concord; Americans found out

and met British at Lexington and

skirmished again at Concord;

British had 273 casualties while

the Patriots had 93; known as the

shot heard ‘round the world and as

the beginning of the Revolution.

• 1776

• British increased number of forces

to 32,000 troops.

• Summer and Fall – Washington

commanded colonial troops in

Battle of Long Island. Patriots

were defeated and retreated to

Manhattan. By late Nov., Patriots

had lost New Jersey and retreated

into Pennsylvania

1776 – cont.

• Battle of Trenton (NJ)

• Huge Patriot victory; Washington

crossed the Delaware River Christmas

night into New Jersey and surprised

British troops; captured 900 Hessians

(paid German soldiers)

• 1777

• British planned to push further into

New York state with a 3-pronged

attack ending in Albany, NY.

American troops surrounded

British troops and defeated them

at Saratoga – this is considered

the turning point of the war for the

Americans.

• British captured Philadelphia –

American capital -

1778

• France openly allies themselves

with America. Many European

countries had been sending

supplies to America in secret

but the French alliance was the

first in the open. Benjamin

Franklin traveled to France to

secure the alliance.

Winter at Valley Forge

• After British captured Philadelphia,

Washington chose Valley Forge as the

site for the Continental Army to spend

the winter of 1777-78. More than 2,000

soldiers died of disease and starvation.

Many soldiers thought about leaving due

to the hardships. Maintaining the morale

of the troops was considered one of

Washington’s biggest challenges at this

time.

War turns south

• With no clear upper hand in

the New England and middle

colonies, Britain turned its

focus south by capturing the

region’s 2 major ports -

Savannah in 1778 and

Charleston in 1780.

War turns South

• 1780 – Patriot sharpshooters

forced British loyalists to

retreat at Kings Mtn., NC;

victory brought new support for

Revolution into the south

• Other southern battles included

Cowpens, SC and Guilford

Courthouse in NC

• Southern campaign was headed

up by Nathaniel Greene

1781 – The end approaches

• Lord Cornwallis (British commander)

retreated into Virginia after

abandoning the Carolina campaign

• Washington secretly sent more

troops to Virginia after learning of

French reinforcements coming

toward Chesapeake Bay

• 17,000 American and French troops

surrounded Cornwallis’ 8,000 British

and Hessians on the Yorktown

peninsula, forcing Cornwallis’

eventual surrender on Oct. 19, 1781

Key Georgia events

• 1778 – British captured key

cities of Savannah, Sunbury,

and Augusta

• Feb. 1779 – Battle of Kettle

Creek; Georgia militia with Col.

Elijah Clarke defeated more

than 800 British troops; lifted

spirits of Georgia troops and

gave them weapons and horses

from defeated British troops

Siege of Savannah

• Sept. 1779 –The French began

bombarding Savannah after the

British would not surrender. It

lasted for three weeks.

• The siege had not ended by Oct.

9, so a Patriot attack began.

• The British had strengthened

defenses around Savannah and

held off the attack.

• The battle of Savannah was the

2nd

bloodiest battle of the

Revolution.

2 key Patriot fatalities

William Jasper

• South Carolina militia

leader

• Famous for saving his

regimental flag before

being killed

Casimir Pulaski

• Polish cavalry leader

• Saved George

Washington’s life

• Considered father of

American cavalry

Key Georgians

• Austin Dabney

• freeborn mulatto who took the

place of his owner in the Georgia

militia

• Wounded at Battle of Kettle Creek

• Most patriots were promised land

in return for their service but many

did not want Dabney – a man of

color- to receive his land

• Ultimately, he got land in Madison

County and died on that property

in 1834.

Key Georgians

• Nancy Hart

• Legendary war woman who hanged a

number of Tory soldiers

• Hart county is named after her – the only

county named after a woman

• Elijah Clarke

• Started out as a Loyalist (Tory) but took

up the Patriot cause and led a number of

battles; most famous for leading the

militia attack at the Battle of Kettle

Creek

• Clarke Co. is named after him

Key Georgians

• Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall,

George Walton

• Georgia’s signers of the

Declaration of Independence

• All have counties named for them

End of the war?

• Even though the British

surrendered, small battles were

still fought.

• The treaty to end the war took

two years to write.

• The Treaty of Paris (1783)

ended the American Revolution.