Topic:
The Revolutionary
War (1775-1783)
Essential Question:
How did the Colonies win the war?
 Who has the advantage in the war?
 British advantages
 Best army and navy in the world
 Strong central government
 Great wealth
 Strong central government
 Great wealth
 Colonial advantages
 Fighting for a cause
 Leadership of George
Washington
 Fighting for a cause
 Leadership of George Washington
 Fighting on home territory
 Guerrilla warfare
 Hit-and-run fighting technique
using small groups of soldiers
Daniel Morgan
George Rogers Clark
 Guerrilla warfare
 Hit-and-run fighting technique using small groups of
soldiers
 Discuss British and Colonial
advantages
 Write a sentence describing
which of the advantages you
think is most important
(British or Colonial)
 Guerrilla warfare
 Hit-and-run fighting technique using
small groups of soldiers
 Mercenary
 Soldier hired to fight for another country
 British hired Hessians
 Highly skilled German mercenaries
 British hired Hessians
 Highly skilled German mercenaries
 Battle of Long Island (August 1776)
 Fought for control of New York City
 Decisive British victory
Gen.
William
Howe
 Fought for control of New
York City
 Decisive British victory
 Washington escaped into
New Jersey and across
Delaware River into
Pennsylvania
 Decisive British victory
 Washington escaped into New Jersey and
across Delaware River into Pennsylvania
 Battle of Trenton (December 26, 1776)
 Washington crossed the Delaware River
on Christmas night
 Battle of Trenton (December 26, 1776)
 Washington crossed the Delaware River on Christmas
night
 Surprised and defeated the Hessians the next day
 1st real victory for the Continental Army
 Obtained needed supplies
 1st real victory for the Continental Army
 Obtained needed supplies
 Casualties:
 Hessians: 1001
 Americans: 7
Monument
to Col.
John
Glover,
Boston
 Hessians: 1001
 Americans: 7
 Importance:
 Forced the British to evacuate
most of New Jersey
 Allowed Washington to rest
for the remainder of the winter
 Encouraged soldiers to enlist
 Allowed Washington to rest for the remainder of the
winter
 Encouraged soldiers to enlist
 Discuss the Battles of Long
Island and Trenton
 Write a one-sentence
description of one of the
following:
 Washington’s leadership at
Trenton
 The importance of the
Battle of Trenton
 Allowed Washington to rest for
the remainder of the winter
 Encouraged soldiers to enlist
 Battle of Saratoga (Sept/Oct 1777)
 Controlling the Hudson River was
a key to victory in the war
Horatio Gates
Burgoyne
Benedict
Arnold
Daniel Morgan
Fort Ticonderoga
 Battle of Saratoga (Sept/Oct 1777)
 Controlling the Hudson River was a key to victory in the
war
 Important American victory
 Controlling the Hudson River
was a key to victory in the
war
 Important American victory
 Turning point in the war
 Ended the British offensive
in the North
 Convinced France to enter
the war against England
 Ended the British offensive in
the North
 Convinced France to enter
the war against England
 Marquis de Lafayette
 French nobleman
 Came to America and became
an aide to General Washington
 French nobleman
 Came to America and became an
aide to General Washington
 Valley Forge
 Camp in Pennsylvania
 Continental Army spent the winter of
1777-78 there
 Soldiers suffered greatly from cold,
hunger, and disease
 Continental Army spent the winter of
1777-78 there
 Soldiers suffered greatly from cold,
hunger, and disease
 Captain Friedrich von Steuben
 Prussian (German) military officer
 Organized and trained Washington’s
soldiers
 Prussian (German) military officer
 Organized and trained Washington’s
soldiers
 France
 Benjamin Franklin had been in France
since 1776
 Tried to convince King Louis XVI to
help us in the war
 Benjamin Franklin had been in
France since 1776
 Tried to convince King Louis XVI
to help us in the war
 Declared war on Britain in 1778
 Convinced that America could
win the war after Saratoga
 Sent money, supplies, troops,
and ships
 Convinced that America could win the war after
Saratoga
 Sent money, supplies, troops, and ships
 Discuss Saratoga and Valley
Forge
 Write a sentence describing
why the alliance with France
was important
 Convinced that America could win the war after
Saratoga
 Sent money, supplies, troops, and ships
 War at sea
 Blockade
 The closing off of a harbor by enemy ships
 British blockade prevented supplies from
reaching the colonies
 The closing off of a harbor by enemy
ships
 British blockade prevented supplies
from reaching the colonies
 America had a very small navy
 Relied mainly on privateers
 Privately owned merchant ships
equipped with weapons
 Relied mainly on privateers
 Privately owned merchant
ships equipped with
weapons
 John Paul Jones
 America’s greatest naval
commander during the war
 Famous quotation: “I have
not yet begun to fight!”
 America’s greatest naval commander during the war
 Famous quotation: “I have not yet begun to fight!”
 French navy played a major role after 1778
 Famous quotation: “I have not yet
begun to fight!”
 French navy played a major role
after 1778
 Benedict Arnold
 American general
 Won important victories in the North
 American general
 Won important victories in the North
 Became a traitor
 Served as a British officer for the
rest of the war
 Became a traitor
 Served as a British officer for the
rest of the war
 Battle of Yorktown (1781)
Nathaniel Greene
Battle of Guilford Courthouse
Charles Cornwallis
 Served as a British officer for
the rest of the war
 Battle of Yorktown (1781)
 English General Cornwallis was
trapped in Yorktown, Virginia
 Surrounded by Washington,
the French army, and a
French naval blockade
Henry
Clinton
Charles
Cornwallis
 English General Cornwallis was
trapped in Yorktown, Virginia
 Surrounded by Washington, the
French army, and a French naval
blockade
 Cornwallis was forced to surrender
 Last major battle of the war
 Forced Britain to sign a peace
treaty

 Last major battle of the war
 Forced Britain to sign a peace treaty
 Treaty of Paris (1783)
 Officially ended the Revolutionary War
 Officially freed the colonies from British
control
 Officially ended the Revolutionary War
 Officially freed the colonies from British control
 Discuss
 The war at sea
 Benedict Arnold
 Yorktown
 Treaty of Paris
 Write a one-sentence
description of one of the
four