Battles of Lexington Concord British Troops looking for

Battles of Lexington & Concord • British Troops looking for Sons of Liberty and military supplies • Minutemen warned by Paul Revere, William Dawes, • “Shot heard round World” at Lexington • Burn part of Concord, turned back in rout

Battles of Lexington & Concord • • American Casualties 49 Killed 39 Wounded 5 Missing British Casualties 73 Killed 174 Wounded 26 Missing

Loyalist Strongholds

Military Strategies The Americans Attrition [the Brits had a long supply line]. Guerilla tactics [fight an insurgent war you don’t have to win a battle, just wear the British down] Make an alliance with one of Britain’s enemies. The British Break the colonies in half by getting between the No. & the So. Blockade the ports to prevent the flow of goods and supplies from an ally. “Divide and Conquer” use the Loyalists.

Phase I: The Northern Campaign [1775 -1776]

Bunker Hill (June, 1775) The British suffered over 40% casualties.

Battle of Bunker Hill (Breeds Hill) • • British Casualties 226 Killed 924 Wounded American Casualties 140 Killed 301 Wounded 30 taken prisoner

New York City in Flames (1776)

Washington Crossing the Delaware Painted by Emanuel Leutze, 1851

Battle of Trenton • • • Surprise attack on Christmas night. Hessians sleeping Crossed Delaware River with ice flows Quick win- 900 prisoners Saves Army that was going to disappear Dec 31 with enlistments

Phase II: NY & PA [1777 -1778]

Battle of Princeton • First major battle for Washington • Trapped at the Delaware, Washington slips army to Princeton and defeats larger British army under Gen Cornwallis • American Losses 40 Killed/Wounded British Losses 300 killed/wounded prisoners

Battle of Saratoga • Actually two battles at Freeman’s farm in New York over a month’s period • American General Benedict Arnold leads American troops to victory • British General Burgoyne loses battles and surrenders large British army • Considered turning point of War to America’s favor

Battle of Saratoga (Freeman’s Farm) • American Casualties • 140 Killed / Wounded Missing • British / German Casualties • 600 Killed / Wounded • 5, 000 Prisoners/Missing

Saratoga: “Turning Point” of the War? A modern-day re-enactment

Battle of Monmouth • Considered a Draw • Fought in extreme heat – men die from heat stroke • British have larger losses, but Americans withdrawal • General Lee is fired after battle

Valley Forge

Phase III: The Southern Strategy [1780 -1781]

Britain’s “Southern Strategy” Britain thought that there were more Loyalists in the Southern resources were more valuable/worth preserving. The British win a number of small victories, but cannot pacify the countryside [similar to U. S. failures in Vietnam!] Good US General: Nathanial Greene

Battle of Camden • Gen. Horatio Gates: commander of patriot troops in the South. • His defeat at Camden on August 16, 1780, was one of the most disastrous battles in which an American army has ever been engaged. This defeat terminated all organized opposition to British control in South Carolina.

Cowpens • Battle from the Patriot • British are defeated in Jan 1781, by a perfect battle plan. • Tricks British into thinking he is retreating and then attacks. • Use of the long rifle is key to victory. • British troops had been worn out by their generals trying to catch up with Rebels. • Embarrassing defeat for Banastre Tarlton

Kings Mountain • On the 7 th of October 1780 • Only battle that did not feature any British troops. • Gen. Patrick (the Bulldog) Ferguson was killed by frontiersmen who were upset with the brutal actions of British Generals • “march his army over the mountains, hang their leaders, and lay their country waste with fire and sword".

After King’s Mountain • Cornwallis loses nearly a third of his army and must retreat to SC. • 157 Loyalists were killed, and 163 so seriously hurt that they were abandoned on the mountain. Some were rescued by local Loyalists, and nursed back to health. • Others were less fortunate: for weeks afterwards, turkeybuzzards, wolves and hogs fattened themselves on human remains. Kings Mountain: "Don't kill any more! It's murder!"

The “Race to the Dan” begins Who will win the race?

Battle of Guilford Courthouse The battle fought here on March 15, 1781, was the largest, most hotly-contested action of the Revolutionary War's climactic Southern Campaign. The serious loss of British manpower suffered at Guilford Courthouse foreshadowed Lord Cornwallis's final defeat at Yorktown seven months later.

Gen. Nathaniel Greene's mixed Continental and militia army vs. Lord Cornwallis' smaller, veteran forces on March 15, 1781. Cornwallis, eager to avenge the British defeat at Cowpens, S. C. , won the battle but took heavy losses and failed to destroy the American force. Although defeated in battle, Greene won his objective and Cornwallis soon moved to Virginia, British lost over a quarter of their troops.

The Battle of Yorktown (1781) Count de Rochambeau Admiral De Grasse

Siege at Yorktown • • British / German Casualties 156 Killed 326 Wounded 7, 310 Prisoners / missing American / French Casualties 83 Killed 158 Wounded

Cornwallis’ Surrender at Yorktown: “The World Turned Upside Down!” Painted by John Trumbull, 1797

What now? • Despite the loss at Yorktown, there was still a larger army in New York. The British Navy was still fighting in the Caribbean against the French fleet. The British navy also attacked up and down the coast of the colonies. • The official end came after a year of negotiations with the Allies (French & Americans) and the British.

North America After the Treaty of Paris, 1783