First Continental Congress: debated how to respond to the growing problems with Britain, 56 delegates.
Minutemen: Boston colonial militia.
Lexington/Concord: one of the first engagements, resulted when British went to claim the militia’s weapons
Redcoats: the British regulars.
Second Continental Congress: created the Continental Army, but decided not to secede.
Continental Army: to defend against the British, led by Virginian George Washington.
George Washington: led the Continental Army, more failures than success.
Olive Branch Petition: the colonial request for peace sent to King George III, was denied.
Benedict Arnold: was a general at the taking of Ft. Ticonderoga, would eventually betray the Patriots.
Ethan Allen: from Vermont, took part in the taking of Ft. Ticonderoga.
Ft. Ticonderoga/Lake Champlain: a key waterway held by the British, taken by the Colonial Army.
Bunker/Breed's Hill: 1000 British casualties, compared to 400 Colonial casualties, preceded the siege of Boston.
Henry Knox: moved cannons 300 miles in winter to the siege of Boston.
Thomas Paine's Common Sense: appealed to a great population of colonists, in favor of separating from Britain.
Thomas Jefferson: drafted the Declaration of Independence
Declaration of Independence (Unalienable Rights): stating reasons for separating from Britain.
Patriots/Loyalists: Patriots placed their faith in the new government, Loyalists in Great Britain
Mercenaries: soldiers of fortune, in the Revolutionary War they were primarily Hessians for Britain.
Lord Dunmore's Proclamation: provided freedom to African enslaved if they fought for the crown.
Molly Pitcher: nickname for women soldiers, originally a woman who manned the cannons after her husbands injury.
Battle of Trenton: Washington silently crossed the Delaware River and captured the British fort with 5 American casualties.
Battle of Princeton: Washington faked the British out with campfires and attacked them in the morning from the other side.
John Burgoyne: British who planned to recapture Ticonderoga and cut the Continental Army off from its supply.
Battle of Brandywine Creek: Howe crushes Washington, Continental Army loses twice as many as Brits.
Battle of Saratoga: Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold drive out Burgoyne, he surrenders.
Marquis de Lafayette: Frenchman supported the American Revolution financially and morally.
Friedrich von Steuben: worked to train and drill the Continental Army, instructed through fear and respect knowing no English.
John Paul Jones: ferocious Scotsman who sailed on behalf of the Colonies with French support, won many crucial victories.
Battle of Vincennes: George Rogers Clark recaptured this town in after allying with natives to siege Detroit.
Horatio Gates: fed his troops to rich of a meal making them sick, defeated by the British.
Francis Marion: The Swamp Fox, French practitioner of guerilla warfare against the British.
guerilla warfare: hit and run warfare
Comte de Rochambeau: brought the French Army to aid Washington in the Battle of Yorktown.
Battle of Yorktown: Washington forced Cornwallis’ surrender, effectively ending the Revolutionary War.
Treaty of Paris 1783: Great Britain recognized colonial independence with the Great Lakes as the northern boundary.
