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Paul Revere's midnight ride was an alert given to minutemen in the Province of Massachusetts Bay by local Patriots on the night of April 18, 1775, warning them of the approach of British Army troops prior to the battles of Lexington and Concord. In the preceding weeks, Patriots in the region learned of a planned crackdown on the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, then based in Concord, by the British occupational authorities in the colony. -
The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, were the first major military actions between the British Army and Patriot militias from British America's Thirteen Colonies during the American Revolutionary War. The opposing forces fought day-long running battles in Middlesex County in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, in the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy (present-day Arlington), and Cambridge. -
The Battle of Bunker Hill began and ended on the same day, June 17, 1775. The battle took place on June 17, 1775, but started in the afternoon with the first assaults by British forces, and ended in the evening when American forces, lacking ammunition, were forced to retreat. -
The Declaration of Independence was created by a committee appointed by the Second Continental Congress on June 10, 1776, with Thomas Jefferson tasked to draft the document. Jefferson wrote a draft, which was then reviewed and revised by committee members like John Adams and Benjamin Franklin before being presented to Congress. -
Thomas Paine wrote the influential pamphlet series, The American Crisis, between 1776 and 1783 during the American Revolution to rally support for the war effort, which was struggling in late 1776. These 16 numbered pamphlets, written in plain language for common people and published in newspapers, were designed to inspire the Continental Army and boost the morale of colonists facing hardship and defeat. -
George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River, which occurred on the night of December 25–26, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, was the first move in a complex and surprise military maneuver organized by George Washington, the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, which culminated in their attack on Hessian forces garrisoned at Trenton. Washington and his troops successfully attacked the Hessian forces in the Battle of Trenton on the morning of December 26, 1776. -
The Battle of Trenton was a small but pivotal American Revolutionary War battle on the morning of December 26, 1776, in Trenton, New Jersey. After General George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River north of Trenton the previous night, Washington led the main body of the Continental Army against Hessian auxiliaries garrisoned at Trenton. -
Library of Congress location PGA - Prevost--Gates, Horatio (A size) [PP] The Battle of Saratoga fought in two stages on September 19 and October 7, 1777, proved to be a turning point in the American struggle for independence. It also had a direct impact on the career of General George Washington. -
There wasn't a single "Battle of Philadelphia," but the city was captured by the British on September 26, 1777, following their victory at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, and other engagements during the Philadelphia Campaign. The British held the city for almost nine months, ultimately evacuating on June 18, 1778 -
The winter encampment at Valley Forge began on December 19, 1777, when General George Washington led the Continental Army into winter quarters. The encampment lasted for six months, concluding on June 19, 1778. -
The siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown and the surrender at Yorktown, was the final major land engagement of the American Revolutionary War. It was won decisively by the Continental Army, led by George Washington, with support from the Marquis de Lafayette and French Army troops, led by the Comte de Rochambeau, and a French Navy force commanded by the Comte de Grasse over the British Army commanded by British Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis. -
The Peace of Paris of 1783 was the set of treaties that ended the American Revolutionary War. On 3 September 1783, representatives of King George III of Great Britain signed a treaty in Paris with representatives of the United States of America—commonly known as the Treaty of Paris (1783)—and two treaties at Versailles with representatives of King Louis XVI of France and King Charles III of Spain—commonly known as the Treaties of Versailles (1783).