The Battle of Saratoga

About 4 miles from Saratoga, on the afternoon of the 19th September, a sharp encounter took place between part of the English right wing, under Burgoyne himself, and a strong body of the enemy, under Gates and Arnold.
The conflict lasted till sunset. The British remained masters of the field. But the loss on each side was nearly equal (from 500 to 600 men) and the spirits of the Americans were greatly raised by having withstood the best regular troops of the English army.
Burgoyne now halted again, and strengthened his position by field works and redoubts. And the Americans also improved their defenses. The two armies remained nearly within cannon-shot of each other for a considerable time, during which Burgoyne was anxiously looking for intelligence of the promised expedition from New York, which, according to the original plan, ought by this time to have been approaching Albany from the south.
At last, a messenger from Clinton made his way with great difficulty, to Burgoyne's camp and brought the information that Clinton was on his way up the Hudson to attack the American forts which barred the passage up that river to Albany.
Burgoyne had overestimated his resources and in the very beginning of October found difficulty and distress pressing him hard. The Indians and Canadians began to desert him. While, on the other hand, Gate's army was continually reinforced by fresh bodies of the militia.
An expeditionary force was detached by the Americans, which made a bold, though unsuccessful, attempt to retake Ticonderoga. And finding the number and spirit of the enemy to increase daily, and his own stores of provision to diminish, Burgoyne determined on attacking the Americans in front of him, and by dislodging them from their position, to gain the means of moving upon Albany, or at least of relieving his troops from the straitened position in which they were cooped up.

The Battle of Saratoga

General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British army officer, politician and dramatist. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several battles, mostly notably during the Portugal Campaign of 1762.
Burgoyne is best known for his role in the American War of Independence. During the Saratoga campaign he surrendered his army of 6,000 men to the American troops. Appointed to command a force that would capture Albany and end the rebellion, Burgoyne advanced from Canada but soon found himself surrounded and outnumbered. He fought two battles at Saratoga, but was forced to open negotiations with Horatio Gates. Although he agreed to a convention, on 17 October, 1777, which would allow his troops to return home, this was subsequently revoked and his men were made prisoners.

Battle of Saratoga

Casualties

Force: 7200 Killed: 140 Wounded: 370 Captured: 390 Great Britain on left and The US colonies on right.

Force: 9000 Killed: 60 Wounded: 260 Captured: 0

Casualties (Killed and wounded) - Battle of Quebec

Casualties (killed and wounded):Staff: 5
Royal Artillery: 15
15th Foot: 132
28th Foot: 126
35th Foot: 111
40th Foot: 38
43rd Foot: 48
47th Foot: 69
48th Foot: 65
58th Foot: 155
3rd/60th: 215
4th/60th: 32
Fraser’s Highlanders: 187
Grenadiers: 133
Roger’s Rangers: 51
Royal Marines: 30
Total: 1,412
The French casualties are unknown.

General James Wolf- Battle of Quebec

The force Major General Wolfe took onto the Plains of Abraham for the battle was around 4,500 men and 1 gun. The Marquis de Montcalm brought to the battle a force of around 5,000 men and 3 guns.

James Wolfe, (1727-1759), was born at Westerham, Kent, England on January 2, 1727. He was the elder son of Lieutenant Colonel Edward Wolfe, an experienced soldier, who afterward rose to the rank of lieutenant general, and of Henrietta, daughter of Edward Thompson, of Long Marston, Yorkshire. He received his brief education at private schools, the first at Westerham, the second at Greenwich. From his earliest years he was determined to be a soldier, despite his weak health, which just prevented him from sailing as a volunteer with the ill-fated Cartagena expedition of 1740. In 1741 he received a commission in the marines, but, having transferred into the line, he was sent to Flanders in the spring of 1742 as an ensign in the 12th foot. Until the close of the War of the Austrian Succession, he was continuously on active service, being present at the battles of Dettingen, Falkirk, Culloden and Laffeldt, where he was wounded. His zeal, intelligence and gallantry won him the regard of his superiors, notably the duke of Cumberland. In 1743 he was appointed adjutant of the 12th; next year he received a captain's commission in the 4th; in 1745 and 1747 he served as brigade major; while in Scotland he was aide-de-camp to General Hawley.

The Battle of Monmouth

Washington has failed to destroy the British column, he had inflicted damage to their troops, and proven that Americans can stand against the regulars, without the advantage of surprise.  The British have defended their baggage, but were unable to defeat the Americans in open battle.

The Battle of Monmouth

Molly Pitcher brought water to soldiers and she also helped load cannons in the battle.

The Battle of Monmouth

General Clinton in Philadelphia, sent 3000 troops to protect Florida by sea. Then On June 18, the British began to evacuate Philadelphia, crossing New Jersey to go to New York City. They have 11,000 troops, a thousand loyalists and a baggage train 12 miles long.

The Battle of Quebec

The Battle of Quebec was an attempt on December 31, 1775, by American colonial forces to capture the city of Quebec, drive the British military from the Province of Quebec, and enlist French Canadian support for the American Revolutionary War.
In September 1775, the Continental Army began moving into Quebec, with the goal of liberating it from British military control. Brigadier General Richard Montgomery led one force up Lake Champlain, successfully besieging Fort St. Jean and capturing Montreal on November 13. Colonel Benedict Arnold led a force of 1,100 men through the wilderness of Maine toward the city of Quebec.

King's Mountain, NC

Ferguson suddenly fell from his horse. One foot was hanging in his stirrup. Ferguson was the only British soldier killed in the battle. All others were Americans, either Loyalist or Patriot. Ferguson's second in command then ordered that a white flag of surrender be hoisted.

Battle of Oriskany

The Americans were eventually pushed from the field leaving the British to focus on other forts. Both sides lost an irreputable amount of men during the battle

King's Mountain, NC

 Ferguson's men noticed the Patriot soldiers surrounding the mountain. After a brief skirmish, the shooting began in earnest when two of the Patriot regiments opened fire on the Loyalists simultaneously. The Loyalists fired back but the Patriots were protected by the heavily wooded area. During the battle, Patrick Ferguson commanded his men with the use of a silver whistle. Many Patriot fighters later recalled hearing the sound of Ferguson's whistle over the sound of the rifle fire. The whistle and the checkered hunting shirt he wore over his uniform made the Scottish commander quite noticeable on the battlefield.

General Nicholas Herkimer

During the Battle of Oriskany, General Nicholas Herkimer lead the American troops. At the beginning of the battle majority of the leaders were taken out, including Herkimer who was shot in the leg. He was propped up on a tree by his men and continued to direct his troops. Afterwards he had his leg amputated but died soon after,

The Battle of Oriskany

As part of the British war plan of 1777, Lieutenant Colonel Barry St. Leger led his army eastward across the Mohawk Valley toward Albany. One early order of business was to take what he believed would be lightly defended Fort Stanwix. Instead, St. Leger found a rebuilt and well-garrisoned installation, called Fort Schuyler by the Americans. His initial demand for surrender in early August was rebuffed by the defenders.

Meanwhile, an American relief force was dispatched from nearby Fort Dayton with 800 militia soldiers under the command of Brigadier General Nicholas Herkimer. He approached cautiously and attempted to coordinate a strike against St. Leger with soldiers in Fort Schuyler; that effort failed to materialize.On August 6, the American relief column descended onto a narrow path in a ravine near Oriskany Creek. A 1,200-man detachment from St. Leger’s army, mostly Mohawks and Loyalists, was lying in wait.

King's Mountain, NC

Cornwallis invaded North Carolina. His final objective was to march into Virginia. To protect his troops from guerilla attack, Cornwallis ordered Ferguson to move northward into western North Carolina before joining the main British Army in Charlotte.

Battle of Guilford Courthouse

While Greene's forces were camped near the Courthouse, Cornwallis' troops took to the offensive and marched to battle Greene and his troops. In the end, Greene lost 79 men with 185 wounded and Cornwallis lost 93 men with 413 wounded. The British triumphed, but lost men they couldn't afford to lose.

Fort Ticonderoga, New York

On the night of May 9, 1775, about 100 men crossed Lake Champlain and at dawn on May 10, slipped into the Fort. Most of the dozen British soldiers garrisoned there were still asleep. As they entered the officers' quarters, Allen is said to have yelled, "Come out of there, you damned old rat!" Although in his memoirs, Allen later wrote that he had said, "in the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress." The commander of the fort appeared and quickly surrendered the fort.

General Nathanael Greene

After crossing the Dan River, Greene met with General Richard Butler to receive reinforcements. Butler led them back across the Dan River where they set up fort near the Guilford Courthouse.

Fort Ticonderoga, New York

At the request of the Connecticut Assembly, Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys of Vermont set out from Hartford on April 28. Benedict Arnold, who had been on his way to participate in the siege at Boston, convinced the Massachusetts Committee of Safety to authorize his expedition. When Arnold learned of Ethan Allen's expedition, he left his men behind and hurried to catch up with Ethan Allen. Arnold caught up with Allen and tried to take command of the expedition on the authority of the Massachusetts Committee of Safety, but since he had none of his own men and the Green Mountain Boys would not follow him, it was agreed that the two men would share command. 

Fort Ticonderoga, New York

Fort Ticonderoga, which is located on Lake Champlain, became an objective for its stores of munitions and the strategic position of control that it held over the waterways to Canada. 

General Charles Cornwallis

General Charles Cornwallis had just lost majority of his army in the Battle of Cowpens, and was determined to defeat the American General Greene's army. He pursued them to North Carolina and on March 15, 1781 he attacked.

Yorktown, Virginia

de Grasse defeated a British Fleet that had come to relieve Cornwallis at the Battle of the Chesapeake. As a result of this victory, de Grasse blocked any escape by sea for Cornwallis. Washington had dispatched the French general Marquis de Lafayette to contain Cornwallis in Yorktown until he arrived, and Lafayette did so. By late September the army and naval forces had surrounded Cornwallis by land and by sea.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.[60] 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. At this time, the troops on the other side of the river in Gloucester also surrendered.

Yorktown, Virginia

French soldiers landed in America to help their American allies.The two armies met North of New York City in 1781. The French Commander, the Comte de Rochambeau, convinced the American Commander, George Washington, that an attack on New York City would be hard pressed to succeed and it would be easier for the French Fleet under the command of the Comte de Grasse to assist in the attack further south, because he was to bring the French Fleet into the Caribbean in October. Thus, they agreed to attack Lord Cornwallis and his smaller army of 9,000 men which was stationed in the port town of Yorktown, Virginia.

Yorktown, Virginia

The Battle of Yorktown was a decisive victory by combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by General Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by General Lord Cornwallis. It proved to be the last major land battle of the American Revolutionary War. The surrender of Cornwallis's army prompted the British government to eventually negotiate an end to the conflict.

Lexington, MA

British soldiers headed to Lexington to capture Samuel Adams and John Hancock. Paul Revere alerted the colonists with one lantern if the British were coming by land and two if they were coming by sea hanging in the Old North Church. 75 minutemen met the British soldiers, and the first shots of the war were fired.

Bunker Hill, MA 42°22°28.47''N 71°03°52.40''W elev 22ft.

On June 16, 1775, under the leadership of Colonels Putnam, and Prescott, the Patriots set out onto the Charlestown Peninsula with instructions to establish defensive positions on Bunker Hill. For unkown reasons, they constructed a redoubt on nearby Breed's Hill. The next morning, the British were astonished to see the rebel fortifications upon the hill and set out to reclaim the peninsula.This battle was one of the deadliest of the Revolutionary War.

Bunker Hill, MA 42°22°28.47''N 71°03°52.40''W elev 22ft.

Thomas Gage, the British commander, ordered men to try and take control of the hill. As the colonists saw this massive red line approach slowly and steadily, they remained calm and did not open fire. The fact they waited so long to commence an attack was that General Prescott has been assumed to have given the famous order, "Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes." General Howe served as the commander of the British main assault force and led two costly and ineffective charges against the Patriot's fortifications without inflicting significant casualties on his opponents. After obtaining 400 reinforcements which included sorely needed ammunition for his artillery, Howe ordered a bayonet charge to seize Breed's Hill.

Minutemen

The minutemen were American colonists who were prepared to fight at any time. The colonists had created an alarm system to warn the colonists and alert the minutemen to prepare for battle. The minutemen played a key role in the Battle of Concord-Lexington by stopping the British from reaching the stored weapons.

Bunker Hill, MA 42°22°28.47''N 71°03°52.40''W elev 22ft.

On June 17, 1775 the Battle of Bunker Hill took place.Fought during the Siege of Boston, it lent considerable encouragement to the revolutionary cause. This battle made both sides realize that this was not going to be a matter decided on by one quick and decisive battle

Concord, MA 42° 27' 34.44" N 71° 21' 00.10" W

On April 18, 1775 the British began their march on the armoury at Concord to retrieve the weapons from colonist possession. The colonists had already been alerted of the British soldier's approach when they reached land.