1. Fort Duquesne and Fort Necessity- Fort Necessity was built under the command of George Washington. It was built near Fort Duquesne, which was French territory. Washington and his troops were trapped in Fort Necessity after French soldiers from Duquesne attacked them. This was the beginning of the Seven Years War. 2. Seven Years War- The Fort Necessity trapping was the beginning of the Seven Years War, also known as the French-Indian War. This war was caused by the arguments between the French and British over land. It ended with the Treaty of Paris, and Britain gaining a bulk of French territory. 3. William Pitt- English secretary of state, who transformed the war effort in America by bringing it under British control, appointed military …show more content…
Virtual Representation- This was the idea that said that Parliament members “represented” British colonists, as a whole community rather than from individual districts. This was also applied to colonists in the New World. Although they did not have an actual voice, they were still considered in Parliament. This backed up the right for Parliament to issue tax laws. 5. Thomas Paine- Paine wrote Common Sense. Common Sense encouraged the Americans to have a revolution, because according to Paine colonies could do just as well, if not better, without the British. 6. Thomas Jefferson- Jefferson was chosen by Washington to be the Department of State. He wrote the Declaration of Independence in 1776. 7. Trenton- The Battle of Trenton is the one where Washington had to cross the Delaware River (as can be seen in the famous picture), and eventually defeated the British military. This was considered a turning point, because their hopes had lifted and they finally believed that they had a chance at winning at war. 8. Saratoga- The Battle of Saratoga took place in October 1777. The colonies were the victors in this battle and forced the British military, led by Burgoyne, to surrender. This resulted from the British being unprepared, with little manpower and resources; the colonists were able to take advantage of this. This was also a turning point in
The Battle of Saratoga- The Battle of Saratoga was fought in the fall of 1777, starting on September, 19, 1777 to October, 7, 1777. This battle was the turning point of the American Revolution, and there was a total of two significant battles that took place within this whole event. During this war, France was convinced to side with American’s. In the end, the Americans took the win with the major aid from France’s financial aid and military assistance. France was a major ally of the Americans throughout this war and with each other’s work, they managed to pull through and beat the battle.
This created a turning point during the war in 1777. They had triumphed over the British at the battle of Saratoga and by 1781, the American colonies gained victory. Washington forced the British to surrender at Yorktown Virginia.
After this time of discovery of the North American land, the French often build forts and other establishments along rivers and bodies of water. These strategic sites were often used to protect their commercial interest, and often the structures built were forts. “Both sides fortified positions along the Hudson River, Lake George, and Lake Champlain.” (Starbuck, 2007). The forts built by the French during this time in history include, “Fort Beaubassin in Acadia and Crown Point on Lake Champlain, Forts also erected on the Quabache, Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri River” (Schwartz, 3). After the establishment of the French in North America, this leads the British to want to develop the land and want to protect their very own interest in North America. To protect their interest the British build forts throughout the North American territory to compete with the French.
During the Revolutionary War, there were many battles that were fought, but there were a few that changed the result of the war. The battles of Trenton and Princeton were fought strategically. During both of the battles, Washington made bold moves that later impacted the army’s success. Another battle that was fought was the Battle of Saratoga, and before this battle, the Continental Army did not have a strong chance of winning because they were facing the powerful and well equipped British army. The Battle of Saratoga was the battle that completely changed the tide of the war. The Battle of Yorktown was the last land battle fought of the Revolutionary War. It was also the battle where the British surrendered to the Americans and won
The greatest event of Washington’s military career came on October 19, 1781 when he defeated Cornwall is at Yorktown. Cornwall is surrendered his entire army of more than 7,000 men. The fighting was finally over, although it would still take two years to form a formal peace treaty.
In July 1758, the British won their first major victory at Louisbourg, near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. Within a month, they took Fort Frontenac at the western end of the river. Then they arrived at Quebec, where General James Wolfe won another important victory in the Plains of Abraham in September 1759. However, both he and the French commander, the Marquis de Montcalm, died soon after the battle. When the British captured Montreal in September 1760, the French lost their last foothold in Canada. Soon, Spain decided to help France fight against England, and throughout the rest of the war Britain focused on capturing French and Spanish territories in other places throughout the world. The cost of funding the war was so massive that the ensuing debt nearly destroyed the British government. This debt caused most of the grievances between the British and the colonists, eventually leading to the Revolutionary War.
A major battle in the book 1776, and an important turning point of the year, was the Battle of Trenton. After crossing the Delaware River, the Continental Army opened fire on the surprised Hessian troops that were stationed there. After a 45-minute battle, the Hessians surrendered, giving the Americans a much needed victory. McCullough shows the importance of this battle by describing multiple American victories that followed, such as the Battles of Princeton and Fort Lee.
The Battle of Trenton persuaded men to reenlist so Washington would still have an army in the new year. Washington planned on surprising the British in Princeton, but decided to wait considering Ewing and Caldwalader never made it across the river. A week later, on January 3, 1777 Washington recrossed the Delaware River with his troop into Princeton. The battle lasted less than an hour, but around one hundred British men were killed or wounded and they captured two hundred. The Americans only suffered forty casualties (Dupuy 83-84). These two wins boosted the patriot’s morale and helped Washington rise back to the top as a military commander (Murphy). These two victories also convinced America that the war was not over yet, there was still hope. Overall winning these battles created a spark of hope and a wave of electricity. There were many battles Washington led, but
The Geography of the battle was important for the way the colonist won the war. The location that the British had chosen made it easy for the colonist to surround them. The battle took place in Virginia, Yorktown in the summer of 1781. The location made it easy to be surrounded because Yorktown, is located near the coast where the French ships could take over the boarding and drop off area. Yorktown was a peninsula located on the shores of Chesapeake Bay in the state of Virginia. The British could not manage to get help from naval ships because the french ships were blocking any ships from coming in or out. Surrounding the British was a huge advantage because they were almost powerless running low on food and water. This battle was the last
The Battle of Yorktown gave General Washington the advantage he needed to win. General Washington, with the help of the French saw the opportunity to end the war by cornering General Cornwallis at Yorktown. (The History Channel Website, n.d.) Prior to the surrender of General Cornwallis to General Washington at Yorktown, the British were winning several battles. General Washington needed to do something before he had no other options left. General Washington’s forces were low in numbers and strength but knew the land to give them an edge in being rooted out by the British. (Lanning, 2005) General Washington used time and heavy militia to replenish his losses but did not have the troops to capture British Garrisons. (Lanning, 2005) The British in turn, could not pass the militia aiding General Washington. (Lanning, 2005)The militia, fighting alongside continental troops, had the land and the support of the people who aided their cause during the battle. The stalemate continued with no sign of either side budging. Guerilla-style operations were used to win many fights and battles that General Washington’s own troops could not. (Lanning, 2005) General Cornwallis, saw Yorktown in Virginia as a viable location to gather resources for future encounters with the Americans. General Cornwallis moved northward from the Carolinas toward Virginia and occupied Yorktown with an estimated 6,000 to 9,000 British troops. (Lanning, 2005) (The History
It allowed them to capture northern New Jersey. During the battle at Trenton, George Washington led the colonial troops to Trenton on Christmas night for a surprise attack on the Hessian troops fighting for Britain. This allowed them to capture Trenton and got some Hessian troops to fight for the colonies. The battle at Trenton was a turning point in the war because it was the near start of a series of significant wins for the colonies. The victory at Trenton altered the direction of the war because capturing
The second by Edward Braddock. Braddocks forces were part of a plan for a bigger british attack. Braddocks troops tried to move fast and quick through the moutains to attack Fort Duquesne using the road Washington had built earlier the road was very narrow and about 2,400 men had to fit on this slim passage way. To make space Braddock made a horrible mistake of splitting up his. As the first part of Braddocks splatoon approached the French and ally Indians attacked and Braddock lost about half of his. The rest retreated and the soilders buried the general near Fort Necessity they concealed the grave by marching over it to prevent desecration of the generals
Fort Dreadnought, as the British first called it, was very similar to Fort Motte in how it was constructed (McGrady 266), a small house in the center of a stockade. The owner of this house, Charles Galphin, for whom the Patriots named the fort, was a South Carolinian Indian trader and former deputy superintendent of Indian affairs (Barefoot 119) who lived on the Savannah River. Because of this location, his home was also a trading ground and stopping point for supplies going up and down the river. This made the house a place of strategic value, and so the British tried to
The Declaration of independence was written by Thomas Jefferson. He was a delegate from Virginia at the continental congress. He was chosen by the committee of five to be the main author of the declaration. The committee had five members who were roger Sherman of Connecticut, John Adams of Massachusetts, Robert Livingston of New York Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jefferson. They were serious leaders from the colonies who believed in freedom. They hoped the king would understand and let the
It is arguable to say that the battle of Saratoga is the actual point in the war where King George III truly lost his colonies. The British should have been able to defeat the colonists in a very short amount of time, retaining control of them. After the battle of Saratoga, however, this task would become increasingly difficult. The Battle of Saratoga, fought in the fall of 1777 was the turning