Battles of Lexington and Concord:

Battle of Lexington:

• Took place on April 19, 1775
• Preparation for violent uprisings against the British began in the winter of 1774, because King George III sent his army men out to the colonies to quell all opposition towards the crown.
• Militias formed within the colonies.
• Military leaders included Thomas Gage, who was the British military leader at the time in Massachusetts, who also made the decision to confiscate weapons owned by the colonies in Massachusetts. Wanted to capture the patriot leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock, who were thought to be staying in the town of Lexington and so the army went. 
• The patriots set up “alarm” systems to warn of the British’s advances on any given city.
• The night before the actual battle of Lexington, the “alarm” system, where a lantern was lit in a certain location to warn of the British army’s advance, sent Paul Revere and other riders on the calling out to warn those in the town of Lexington that the British were coming. The townspeople woke to things like church bells and gun shots to call the local militias into action.
• The British underestimated the colonist’s courage, aim and ability to train to fight so quickly. The patriots had been training for months before Lexington even occurred and wouldn’t back down without a decent fight.
• Gage gave command of the British troops advancing to Lexington and Concord to Lt. Col. Francis Smith
• Smith led advance troops under Major John Pitcairn (700 trained army men)
• Captain John Parker led the militia in Lexington (77 soldiers)
• Captain John Parker had no intention of winning, because he knew the odds, but he wanted to deal the British a blow of patriotism that would make them realize that this was serious.
• Not sure who shot the first shot, but the British, dealt the second shot and kept shooting without the proper command.
• When Pitcairn and Parker regained control of their men 8 colonists were dead.

Significance:

Battle was the first fought by the patriots against the British, were major warfare occurred.

Battle of Concord:

• The British troops continued marching on towards Concord after the Lexington shooting.
• News of the shooting spread to other towns nearby and the militia men gathered in the path toward Concord.
• Once they arrived at Concord, the British soldiers began searching the houses for firearms.
• Militiamen who had fallen back, at Lexington, advanced on the 3 British companies, and took control of North Bridge, which led the way into the town of Concord.
• As the militia approached they saw the British burning their homes and supplies and ran out to save them.
• After the British soldiers retreated, the militiamen followed until the British started to shoot.
• Major Buttrick, in the militia, gave the order for the militiamen to fire on the British. (This was the first time the Americans, purposely opened fire on the British).
• British were outnumbered 4 to 1.
• Half of the British officers were wounded and the army retreated into the center of town.
• Militia got reinforcements from their men to the north and took over everything they could in their path.
• British encountered severe, unrelenting firing from 100s of militiamen, hiding behind walls, buildings, and trees.
• Range was too great for the militiamen’s muskets and the British escaped with few casualties.

Significance:

By attacking the British the patriots had committed themselves to warfare, and made their intentions very clear. The British could not do whatever they wanted and had to respect their lives, liberties and private property. The Battle at Concord was the first time the British retreated from the colonists and that gave the colonists a sense of confidence and that they may have a chance at being successful in fighting for their rights, not independence at this point.

The Battle of Bunker Hill (The Battle of Bunker Hill occurred on June 17, 1775 on Breed’s Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts)

*The British won the Battle of Bunker Hill.

*The Rebel group wanted to drive the British out of the colonies and out of Boston. On *June 16, 1775 the rebel army went to Breed’s Hill near Boston and set up camp, ready to defeat the British.

*The British attacked before the Rebels on June 17, before the rebels had finished preparing for the battle.

*The Intent of the Battle was to win the territory of Bunker Hill, however the actual fighting took place on the nearby Breed’s Hill.

*On Breed’s Hill the British attacked on 3 different occasions, and in one of these charges the patriots waited to open fire until the British were within 40 yards.

*The Rebels did not retreat from Bunker Hill until they had run out of bullets and there was nothing more they could do to win the battle.

* The British won the battle, because of possession of the field, but they were not left without casualties.

*Over 1,000 British Redcoat soldiers were killed in the Battle. However, the American rebel fatalities were much less, reaching numbers of 400 men or lower.
*The British commanders for the Battle of Bunker Hill were General Thomas Gage and General Sir William Howe. These men were very skilled in leading British troops into battle.

*The Commanders for the American Rebel troops were Colonel William Prescott, General Israel Putnam and Joseph Warren, these leaders were skilled in leading troops into battle, but not as skilled as the British Commanders.

Significance

• 1/6^th of all British officers killed in the war died here.
• No turning back.  King George III declared the colonies in rebellion.
• British became cautious throughout the war due to their casualties.

Battle of Ticonderoga  (1775---New York)

            The battle of Ticonderoga was located in Essex County, ninety five miles north of Albany, New York on an area of land between Lake George and Lake Champlain.

            John Brown, a patriot lawyer, had been sent over to Canada in and effort to see how the French had been reacting to the Colonists rebellion.  On March 29, 1775, he stated that the fort at Ticonderoga needed to be seized as quickly as possible.

       The Continental Army wanted to capture the fort so they would gain control of the waterways from Canada.  There had been an abundant amount of soldiers in Canada and if they were to gain control of the waterways meant that the British would be more capable of succeeding in an attack against the colonists.  However, the British didn’t not want to make the first offensive move.

            Colonel Samuel Parson began to realize that the Continental Army did not own much of the required weapons such as cannons or artillery.  Benedict Arnold had told him that a plentiful amount of cannons would be available at Ticonderoga.  He had also told him that the fort had been poorly protected.  The Committee of Safety then agreed to let Benedict Arnold take 400 men from Massachusetts in an effort to seize the fort.

Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold met at Castleton and marched toward Ticonderoga together.  Then on the morning of May 10, 1775, the Green Mountain Boys walked through the open gate of Ticonderoga.  All of the men protecting the fort had been asleep when they began to take over.  It had been a very easy victory for the Continental Army and there weren’t any shots that had been fired.

After the battle of 1775, Congress sent colonists to keep control of Fort Ticonderoga.  On July 5, 1777 a troop of British forces led by General Burgoyne had captured the fort and they then burned it down.

Significance: The fort was built by French to protect their fur routes & was a significant route between Canada and the colonies.  When the colonies realized this, they knew they must keep hold to this fort because they knew they could control water routes in Canada where many British soldiers were located.  Soon Benedict Arnold and 400 of his men along with Ethan Allan’s Green Mountain Boys took control of the run down fort, where they met eighty three sleeping British soldiers. From there Arnold and Allan took all 100 canons and their men back to Boston.  The Continental Congress ordered that the fort be kept guarded.  Not until July 5, 1777, when British General Burgoyne ands his men took control and set fire to the fort was it ever out of colonists hands.  The importance of the Battle, which it really wasn’t, was that it was the colonists first offensive.

MONMOUTH   (June 18, 1778) NJ

·        Largest artillery battle of Revolutionary War

·        British: General Sir Henry Clinton (Freehold-Mount Holly Rd, Dutch Lane)

·        Continental: Washington,  Lee, Anthony Wayne; Manalpan Bridge (4 mi from Englishtown)

·        British had 20000 men, cont had 8500 men

·        Lee was to attack rear of British army, then led retreat across Rhea Farm where he regrouped with Washington

·        After regrouping, hedge-fighting occurred, making Lee retreat across Spotswood Middle Brook, Brits attacked Perrine Farm (strongly fortified) but fail of exhaustion

·        Continental Army won the artillery battle because General Greene positioned 4 guns on top of Combs Hill

·        Counter-attack: two battalions of NE, three regiments PA crossed bridge, forced British to retreat

Significance:

Political triumph, British casualties two or three times more than Cont. casualties

Saratoga ( New York)  1777

Who won?

The American colonists defeated the British

What happened?

The Battle of Saratoga was one of the most important battles of the American Revolution. Roughly 10,000 British soldiers under General “Gentlemen Johnny”Burgoynes’s had advanced from Canada in the summer of 1777.. Over the course of the summer the colonial force grew to roughly 15,000 men. The British attempted to move on Saratoga on September 19, 1777. A day long fight over a clearing in the woods resulted, and is known as the Battle of Freeman’s Farm. Unable to advance on September 19th, the British built fortifications near Bemis Heights and on October 11 attempted again to advance on Saratoga. They were defeated by colonial forces led by Benedict Arnold and Anthony Wayne. At the end of the day, the British were driven from their fortifications. The British force then retreated and were immediately blocked by colonial forces. Surrounded and badly outnumbered, South of Fort Ticonderoga, Burgoyne had little option. He surrendered on October 17, 1777.

Significance of the Battle

Because of the Colonial Army’s defeat of the British at the Battle of Saratoga, France joined the war on the side of the Americans.  Up until the battle, the American forces had yet to win a European style battle.  This major victory convinced the French that the Americans had a chance of winning.  General Horatio Gates gained much fame because of his victory, and some thought that he should replace George Washington who had been struggling.  The victory also stopped General John Burgoyne’s idea of a three pronged invasion of the colonies, ultimately giving the Americans dominance in the north.

The Battle of Yorktown   1781-----Virginia

Military Leaders:

American: General George Washington

French: General Rochambeau, Admiral de Grasse

British: General Cornwall, Admiral Graves

Battle Summary:

Rochambeau convinced Washington to change plans from attacking General Clinton in New York and instead attack the British forces at Yorktown, who had been cornered there by a small force under Layafette.  They kept 2,000 of their troops near New York who continued to pretend they were preparing to attack, and raid settlements, while the bulk of the troops hurried south to Virginia.

While they were marching south the French Navy defeated the British in a naval battle, and were able to take control of the Chesapeake Bay, cutting off British aid to General Cornwallis and all communication.  On September 28^th 1781, the combined forces under Rochambeau and Washington arrived, totaling 17,000 men.  Rochambeau attacked with his forces from the left and Washington and Lafayette attacked from the right.  They surrounded the city and fort and placed them under heavy fire.  The British responded with some very weak counter attacks, even sending blacks infected with smallpox at the Franco-American forces.  Eventually the British under General Cornwallis couldn’t hold out any longer, and they agreed to surrender on October 19^th. 

Importance:

The terms of the surrender made most of the British forces leave America and return for the colonies.  Lord North, the British Prime Minister finally conceded failure in the spring of 1782 and resigned.  Parliament decided the war was over and with the Treaty of Paris in November of 1782, removed all British troops and recognized America as an independent country.

-Quebec-  (Canada---1775)

American Leader: General Montgomery and Colonel Benedict Arnold

British Leader: General Carleton

The British won the actual battle because of better position and larger numbers than the Americans.  Arnold had planned to march up through Maine into Canada but was very difficult because of lack of supplies, poor navigation, illness, and snowstorms.  Early in the morning on December 31, 1775, Arnold led attack on British barricade thinking that Montgomery’s troops were ready to fight as well.  However, Montgomery was not prepared for the rough barricade and the next in command ordered a retreat before Arnold’s troops arrived where the British were stationed.  When at the scene, Arnold had no choice but to lead a frontal attack.  He was fatally wounded in the fight and was taken off the battlefield.  Next in line for Arnold was Daniel Morgan who continued the fighting all day, the once abandoned barricade was now occupied by Carleton's (another British General) men and the Americans were trapped in the streets of the city. Fighting still dragged on as the American column spread throughout the Lower Town.  Eventually almost the entire American force was captured or surrendered.  They were isolated in small pockets throughout the streets of the city. Captain Morgan himself refused to surrender even when completely surrounded.

Significance:

After much persuasion, the Americans withdrew from Canada and ended all action in Canada for the remainder of the war.

Battle of Long Island

British leader: General William Howe

American leader: General George Washington

The Battle of Long Island was the first battle of New York.  Washington sent his troops to defend Brooklyn Heights.  William’s troops defeated the troops of John Sullivan and William Alexander before attacking the Washington and his troops.  Washington felt there was no option left but to retreat and his troops fled to Manhattan.  The British had 63 killed and 337 wounded or missing while Washington had about 970 men killed, wounded or missing, and 1,079 taken as prisoners.

Many “firsts” for America took place: it was the first battle that took place with Washington in command and first time the Continental Army played an important role.  Also, it was the first time the Americans and British fought each other in formal battle lines. 

Significance—

Washington escaped in the fog and was allowed to fight another day.  British hesitation cost them the way