Test 4 - The Revolutionary War

Ethan Allen

Leader of the VT militia known as the Green Mountain Boys
Helped capture Fort Ticonderoga

Nathan Hale

Rebel caught spying on the British and hanged for his crimes
Declared, "I regret that I have but one life to lose for my country!"

Thomas Paine

*Author of "Common Sense" and "The American Crisis"

Thomas Jefferson

Wrote the Declaration of Independence

Colonel William Prescott

The commander of about 1,200 militiamen in the Battle of Bunker Hill

"Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!"

George Washington

1st President of the United States
Commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolution

John Paul Jones

American naval commander in the American Revolution

His ship the Bonhomme Richard defeated The Serapis

" I have not yet begun to fight."

George Cornwallis

British general who surrendered to Washington at Yorktown, VA

Patrick Henry

A leader of the American Revolution and a famous orator who spoke out against British rule of the American colonies.

"Give me liberty or give me death!"

Benedict Arnold

American General who was labeled a traitor when he assisted the British in a failed attempt to take the American fort at West Point.

George III

King of England during the American Revolution

John Hancock

Patriot leader and president of the Second Continental Congress

First and largest signer the Declaration of Independence.

John Locke

English philosopher who argued that people have natural rights: life, liberty and happiness

Marquis de Lafayette

French soldier who served under George Washington in the American Revolution.

Brought well-trained soldiers, guns, and ships to America.

Used his own money to help pay for the American Revolution.

Many locations around Indiana are also named for him!

Loyalist/Tories

Colonist that were loyal to the British King

Those who opposed the Revolutionary War

Patriots

American colonists who fought for independence from Great Britain during the Revolutionary War

Continental Army

The official army of the colonies

Created by Second Continental Congress and led by George Washington

Mercenaries

Hired foreign soldiers

Green Mountain Boys

Vermont colonial militia
Led by Ethan Allen
Made a surprise attack on Fort Ticonderoga

Declaration of Independence

Signed in 1776 by US revolutionaries

Declared the United States colonies as free from Great Britain

Parts: Unalienable Rights, Wrongs of the King (longest part), the Right to Break Away

Guerilla Warfare

Type of fighting in which soldiers use swift hit-and-run attacks against the enemy

Olive Branch Petition

An offer of peace sent by the Second Continental Congress to King George III

Blockade

The use of ships to prevent commercial traffic from entering or leaving a city or region

Unalienable Rights

basic rights of the people that may not be taken away
Rights like life, liberty and happiness

British Advantages & Characteristics

World's Strongest Army
World's Strongest Navy
Fighting offensively (on the attack)

Advantages & Characteristics of the Colonists

Strong will to fight (defending home lands)
Fighting on their "home front"
Aid from other countries

Washington's strategy for winning the war

His plan was to avoid large battles. He hoped to tire out the British.

Philadelphia

Capital of Congress during The Revolution

Fort Ticonderoga

Fort captured by Ethan Allen's Green Mountain Boys.

An outpost on Lake Champlain

Allowed the rebels to capture cannon for the rebel army

Delaware River

River in eastern New York that flows into the Atlantic Ocean

Settled by The Dutch

Crossed by Washington on Christmas night to attack the Hessians

Independence Day

July 4, 1776

Battle of Saratoga

Turning point of the American Revolution.

Convinced other countries to give the U.S. military support.

It lifted American spirits

Ended the British threat in New England by taking control of the Hudson River

Showed the French that the Americans had the potential to beat their enemy, Great Britain.

Battle of Yorktown

Last major battle of the Revolutionary War.

Cornwallis and his troops were trapped on a peninsula on Chesapeake Bay

Cornwallis was sandwiched between the French navy and the Franco-American army, who laid siege to the city.

Cornwallis surrendered to Washington October, 1781.

Treaty of Paris 1783

This treaty ended the Revolutionary War.

Returned Florida to Spain.

Britain recognized the United States of American

America got all territory from the southern border of Canada to the northern border of Florida, and from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi River

Battle of Bunker Hill

First major battle of the Revolutions.

It showed that the Americans could hold their own

Americans were forced to withdraw after running out of ammunition

The British suffered many deaths.

After Dorchester Heights was resupplied with cannons, the British fled for Canada

Loyalists v Rebels

Northern colonies like New England tended to be more rebellious

Southern colonies tended to be more loyal to the king

Lobsterbacks/Redcoats

Nicknames for the British soldiers.

Hessians

German soldiers hired by George III

Mercenary (paid) soldiers

Attacked by Washington at Trenton, NJ on Christmas night.

America's Allies

France
Spain
Prussia

The Turtle

The world's first submarine

Used in naval combat in New York during the American Revolution

Banastre Tarleton

Nickname - "Bloody Ban"

Massacred forces who surrendered to him

British cavalry officer for Cornwallis

General Henry Clinton

Commander of British troops

Wanted to focus on the loyalist southern colonies

Freed slaves who left their masters and fought with him

Governor Bernardo de Galvez

Organizes attack on British posts around the Gulf of Mexico between Florida and Texas

Galvezton, Texas is named for him!

Baron von Steuben

A stern, Prussian drillmaster that taught American soldiers during the Revolutionary War how to successfully fight the British.