Capture of Fort Ticonderoga

The Capture of Fort Ticonderoga occurred on May 10, 1775, when a small force of Vermont soldiers called the Green Mountain Boys led by Ethan Allen and Colonel Benedict Arnold overcame a small British garrison at the fort which was located on Lake Champlain between Vermont and New York. Cannons and other armaments from the fort were transported to Boston and used to fortify Dorchester Heights and break the standoff between the British and the colonial troops at the Siege of Boston.

Although this military action was relatively minor, it had significant strategic importance. It made more difficult communication between northern and southern units of the British Army, and gave the developing Continental Army a staging ground for the invasion of the British stronghold of Quebec later

in 1775. Most significantly, artillery from Ticonderoga would be dragged across Massachusetts to the heights commanding Boston harbor, forcing the British to withdraw from that city.

Ethan Allen demanding the surrender of Fort Ticonderoga

The Battle of Bunker Hill

The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775, mostly on and around Breed's Hill, during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after the nearby Bunker Hill, which was also involved in the battle and was the original objective of both colonial and British troops.

On June 13, 1775, the leaders of the colonial forces surrounding Boston learned that the British were planning to send troops out to occupy the hills surrounding the city. In response, 1,200 colonial troops under the command of William Prescott stealthily occupied Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill and built lightly fortified lines across most of the Charlestown Peninsula.

When the British learned of this, they attacked. After two assaults on the colonial lines were thrown back with significant British casualties, the British finally captured the positions on the third assault, after the defenders ran out of ammunition. The colonial forces retreated to Cambridge, suffering their most significant losses on Bunker Hill.

While the result was a victory for the British, they suffered heavy losses: over 800 wounded and 226 killed, including a notably large number of officers. The immediate gain (the capture of Bunker Hill) was modest and did not significantly change the state of the siege, while the cost (the loss of nearly a third of the deployed forces) was high. Meanwhile, colonial forces were able to retreat and regroup in good order having suffered fewer casualties. Furthermore, the battle demonstrated that relatively inexperienced colonial forces were willing and able to stand up to regular army troops in a pitched battle.

The British assault the American position on Breed’s Hill

Siege of BostonThe Siege of Boston (April 19, 1775 – March 17, 1776) was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War, in which New England militiamen—who later became part of the Continental Army—surrounded the town of Boston, Massachusetts, to prevent movement by the British Army garrisoned there. After eleven months of siege, the American colonists, led by George Washington, forced the British to withdraw by sea.

The siege began on April 19 after the Battles of Lexington and Concord, when the militia from many

Massachusetts communities surrounded Boston and blocked land access to the town which was located on a peninsula at the time, limiting the ability of the British to resupply themselves except by sea.

The Continental Congress chose to adopt the militia and form the Continental Army, and unanimously elected George Washington as its Commander in Chief. In June 1775, the British seized Bunker and Breed's Hills, but the casualties they suffered were heavy and their gains were insufficient to break the siege. For the rest of the siege, there was little action other than occasional raids, minor skirmishes, and sniper fire.

In November 1775, Washington sent Henry Knox to bring heavy artillery that had been captured at Fort Ticonderoga to Boston. In a demanding operation, Knox brought many cannons to the Boston area in January 1776. In March 1776, these artillery pieces were used to fortify Dorchester Heights, overlooking Boston and its harbor and threatening the British naval supply lifeline.

The British commander William Howe, realizing he could no longer hold the town, chose to evacuate it. He withdrew the British forces for Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Henry Knox bringing artillery to Dorchester Heights

Battle of Long Island

The Battle of Long Island, fought on August 27, 1776, was a major victory for the British and defeat for the Americans under General George Washington. It was the start of a successful British campaign that gave the British control of the strategically important city of New York.

After defeating the British in the Siege of Boston on March 17, 1776, General George Washington, Commander-in-Chief, brought the Continental Army to defend the port city of New York. Washington understood that the city's harbor would provide an excellent base for the British Navy during the campaign. There he established defenses and waited for the British to attack.

In July, the British, under the command of General William Howe, landed a few miles across the harbor on sparsely-populated Staten Island, where over the next month and a half they were slowly reinforced by ships in Lower New York Bay, bringing their total force to 32,000 men. With the British fleet in control of the entrance to the harbor, Washington knew it would be difficult to hold the city. Believing Manhattan would be the first target, he moved the bulk of his forces there.

On August 22, the British landed. After five days of waiting, the British attacked American defenses. Unknown to the Americans, however, Howe had brought his main army around their rear and attacked their flank soon after. The Americans panicked, although a stand by 400 Maryland troops prevented most of the army from being captured. On the night of August 29–30, Washington evacuated the entire army to Manhattan without the loss of materiel or a single life. Washington and the Continental Army were driven out of New York entirely after several more defeats and forced to retreat through New Jersey and into Pennsylvania.

Soldiers from Delaware during the Battle of Long Island

Battle of Trenton

The Continental Army had previously suffered several defeats in New York and had been forced to retreat through New Jersey to Pennsylvania. Morale in the army was low; to end the year on a positive note, George Washington—Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army—devised a plan to cross the Delaware River on the night of December 25–26 and surround the Hessians’ barracks in Trenton, New Jersey.

The Battle of Trenton took place on the morning of December 26, 1776 after General Washington and his men crossed the Delaware River and landed north of Trenton, New Jersey. Because the river was icy and the weather severe, the crossing proved dangerous. Two detachments were unable to cross, leaving Washington with only 2,400 men under his command in the assault. The army marched 9 miles south to Trenton.

The hazardous crossing made it possible for Washington to lead a surprise attack against Hessian soldiers garrisoned at Trenton. The Hessians had lowered their guard, thinking they were safe from the American army, and had no long-distance outposts or patrols. Washington's forces caught them off guard and, after a short but fierce resistance, most of the Hessians surrendered. Almost two thirds of the 1,500-man garrison was captured, and only a few troops escaped.

Despite the battle's small numbers, the American victory inspired rebels in the colonies. With the success of the revolution in doubt a week earlier, the army had seemed on the verge of collapse. The dramatic victory inspired soldiers to serve longer and attracted new recruits to the ranks.

Battle of SaratogaGeneral Washington crossing the Delaware from Pennsylvania to

Trenton, New Jersey on Christmas night, 1776

The Battle of Saratoga

The Battle of Saratoga, October 7, 1777, conclusively decided the fate of British General John Burgoyne's army in the American War of Independence and is generally regarded as a turning point in the war. The battle was fought 9 miles south of Saratoga, New York.

Burgoyne's campaign to divide New England from the southern colonies had started well, but slowed due to logistical problems. When he attacked the Americans in the October 7 Battle of Bemis Heights, the Americans captured a portion of the British defenses. Burgoyne was

therefore compelled to retreat, and his army was surrounded by the much larger American force at Saratoga, forcing him to surrender on October 17.

News of Burgoyne's surrender was instrumental in formally bringing France into the war as an American ally, although it had previously given supplies, ammunition and guns. Formal participation by France changed the war to a global conflict. This battle also resulted in Spain contributing to the war on the American side.

General Burgoyne surrenders to General Gates

Winter at Valley Forge

Valley Forge in Pennsylvania was the site of the military camp of the American Continental Army over the winter of 1777–1778 during the American Revolutionary War, approximately 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

On December 19, 1777, when Washington's poorly fed, ill-equipped army, weary from long marches, staggered into Valley Forge only about one in three of them had shoes, and many of their feet had left bloody footprints from the marching. Huts built by the men from local forestland provided shelter, but did little to offset the critical shortages that continually plagued the army.

Soldiers received inadequate supplies of meat and bread. So severe were conditions at times that Washington despaired "that unless some great and capital change suddenly takes place...this Army must inevitably...starve, dissolve, or disperse, in order to obtain subsistence in the best manner they can."

Animals fared no better. General Henry Knox, Washington's Chief of Artillery, wrote that hundreds of horses either starved to death or died of exhaustion. By the end of the winter, about 700 horses had died. Washington appointed Nathanael Greene as Quartermaster General to take charge of the supplies. He found caches of food and clothing in and around the countryside and hauled them to camp for the troops and horses.

Despite Greene’s efforts, many wounded soldiers died from exposure. Long marches had destroyed shoes. Blankets were scarce. Tattered garments were seldom replaced. At one point these shortages caused nearly 4,000 men to be listed as unfit for duty.

Undernourished and poorly clothed, living in crowded, damp quarters, the army was ravaged by sickness and disease. Typhoid, typhus, smallpox, dysentery, and pneumonia were among the numerous diseases that thrived in the camp during that winter. These diseases, along with malnutrition and exposure to the freezing temperatures and snow, contributed to the 2,500 soldiers that died by the end of the winter

Although Washington repeatedly petitioned for relief and supplies, the Continental Congress was unable to provide it and the soldiers continued to suffer. Finally, on January 24, 1778, five Congressmen came to Valley Forge to examine the conditions of the Continental Army. By the end of February, there were adequate supplies flowing throughout camp after Congress gave full support to monetarily funding the supply lines of the army.

Increasing military efficiency, morale, and discipline were as vital to the army's well-being as its supply of food and arms. The army had been handicapped in battle because some of the soldiers were trained, but not all and few had been trained the same way.

The task of developing and carrying out an effective training program fell to Baron Friedrich von Steuben. This skilled Prussian drill master, who had recently arrived from Europe, tirelessly drilled the soldiers, improving their battle and formation techniques greatly.

The Battle of Yorktown

The Battle of Yorktown ended on October 19, 1781. It was a decisive victory by a combined force of the American Continental Army led by General George Washington and the French Army troops led by the Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by British lord and Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis. The French navy also played a part in the campaign, fighting the British off the coast for four days before the land battle began.

This proved to be the last major battle of the American

Revolutionary War in North America, as the surrender by Cornwallis and the capture of both him and his army, prompted the British government to negotiate an end to the conflict.

Cornwallis and his force were on a Peninsula at Yorktown, Virginia. The French navy and Continental and French troops surrounded him by sea and land. For 4 days, British and French warships fought off the coast. The French won. Then French and American troops attacked Cornwallis on land. He was cut off from the sea and outnumbered on land. He surrendered to General Washington on October 19, 1781.

Cornwallis refused to meet formally with Washington, and also refused to come to the ceremony of surrender, claiming illness. Instead, Brigadier General Charles O'Hara presented the sword of surrender to Rochambeau. Rochambeau shook his head and pointed to Washington.  O'Hara offered it to Washington, but he refused to accept it, and motioned to his second in command, Benjamin Lincoln, who had been humiliated by the British at Charleston, to accept it. The British soldiers marched out and laid down their arms in between the French and American armies, while many civilians watched. The war was over.

The British Surrender at Yorktown