Revolutionary War

The American Revolution was a conflict between England and thirteen colonies in North America that began in 1775 at Lexington and Concord after years of British taxation, suppression, and subjugation. Two months later, when the British tried to break the colonial siege of Boston, the Battle of Bunker Hill heightened American morale, and it was immediately before this battle that the phrase “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes” was heard. The Declaration of Independence was declared in July 1776, and small, fragmented American naval forces made crucial contributions by capturing enemy merchant ships and providing needed supplies to General Washington’s army. In 1777, a critical year in the war, the Saratoga Campaign included the Green Mountain Boys and Colonel Daniel Morgan’s Sharp Shooters, both active in the victory at the Battle of Bennington, and the campaign encouraged the patriots and induced the French to fully join the cause. During the winter of 1777-78, General Washington established his main camp at Valley Forge near Philadelphia, where his army had dwindled to some 10,000 men who were held together by loyalty to Washington and the patriotic cause, while General Lafayette and General von Steuben drilled and organized them into a cohesive military force. In the South, patriot strategy under Generals Greene and Morgan helped sustain the campaign, as Greene drew General Cornwallis away from his base in Charleston, South Carolina, into North Carolina, and Morgan won a striking victory at the Battle of Cowpens despite far smaller losses than the British, while Greene’s campaign was regarded as a strategic success from start to finish.

Bella Vista, Arkansas · United States