Revolutionary War Battles

The British found out the colonists were stockpiling weapons and ammo. Their orders were to secure them. They marched from Boston, but ahead of them Paul Revere and William Dawes rode to warn the colonists. The battles were short with few British but several American casualties. The Americans removed the weapons before the British could find them. The British returned to Boston, but along the way they were ambushed by the militia (Minutemen) where almost 200 were killed or wounded. The Shot Heard ‘Round the World.

Colonies- Force: 3800
Killed: 49
Wounded: 39
Captured: 0
Britain- Force: 1500
Killed: 73
Wounded: 174
Captured: 53

Gen. Prescott held control of the hill overlooking Boston. From there he could maintain control of Boston Harbor. The British could not allow that, so they charged the hill. They were repelled twice, but on the third charge they took the hill because the Americans were low on bullets. Many British casualties, but the British won. This battle showed how serious both sides were. “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes”.

Colonies- Force: 2400
Killed: 115
Wounded: 305
Captured: 30
Britian- Force: 3000
Killed: 226
Wounded: 828
Captured: 0

The Americans were led by Arnold and Morgan. They wanted to break British control of the land and get help from French Canadians in the war. Arnold’s tactics failed and he was wounded. Morgan was captured along with 400 Americans. This was America’s first defeat of the war.

Colonies- Force: 1200
Killed: 48
Wounded: 34
Captured: 431

Britain- Force: 1800
Killed: 5
Wounded: 14
Captured: 0

Col. Moore led a Patriot force against Col. McLeod’s Loyalist force. The British were counting on using loyalist forces to help them fight the war. NC was known for its large number of loyalists, so the British hoped to establish a base here. Moore’s utter defeat of the loyalists caused the British to change their plans and stay away from NC for almost 4 years.

This battle followed the victory of the Battle of Trenton (Washington crossing the Delaware). Washington tricked Cornwallis into thinking he was attacking his full army. Washington sent Gen. Mercer with some troops to attack Cornwallis at Princeton. Cornwallis defeated this group and captured Mercer. The British thought this was Washington and brutally executed him. The real Washington showed up in time to rally the troops and push the British out of NJ. A great morale victory for America. FORCE- Colonies: 2400 Britain- 1520
Colonies- 2 killed 5 wounded 0 captured
Britain- 22 killed 86 wounded 906 captured

This battle followed the victory of the Battle of Trenton (Washington crossing the Delaware). Washington tricked Cornwallis into thinking he was attacking his full army. Washington sent Gen. Mercer with some troops to attack Cornwallis at Princeton. Cornwallis defeated this group and captured Mercer. The British thought this was Washington and brutally executed him. The real Washington showed up in time to rally the troops and push the British out of NJ. A great morale victory for America. FORCE- Colonies: 2400 Britain- 1520
Colonies- 2 killed 5 wounded 0 captured
Britain- 22 killed 86 wounded 906 captured

Benedict Arnold wanted to command, but had to share command with Ethan Allen. The Green Mountain Boys (militia) would only follow Allen. They sneaked into the fort and called the sleeping officers out of their quarters. When the commander saw them, he surrendered the fort. The cannons were taken to Boston to defend the city. FORCE- Colonies: 14600 Britain: 15500
Colonies- 300 killed 600 wounded 400 captured
Britain: 89 killed 488 wounded 6 captured

Clinton and Burgoyne had a plan to divide the American forces. Clinton would go north from NYC and Burgoyne would come south from Canada. They would meet in Albany and cut off New England from the rest of the colonies. Burgoyne was a vain man. He had many wagon loads of his own personal clothes, food, wine, etc. It took him weeks to travel through the wilderness with so many wagons giving the Americans time to prepare for his arrival. Burgoyne was defeated and many British soldiers and supplies were captured. This victory convinced the French to openly support American Independence
Britain- Force: 7200
Killed: 140
Wounded: 370
Captured: 390
Colonies- Force: 9000
Killed: 60
Wounded: 260
Captured: 0

Gen. Howe (from NC) was greatly outnumbered. He was unable to defend his position and was forced to retreat to SC. The British commanded by Campbell lost very few soldiers, but captured almost 500 Americans.
Britain- Force: 3100
Killed: 7
Wounded: 17
Captured: 0
Colonies- Force: 850
Killed: 83
Wounded: 11
Captured: 453

Clinton took personal command of British forces. He positioned troops and ships around the city and cut off all supplies and information. The American Southern Army eventually surrendered. This was the WORST defeat for the Americans of the entire war.
Britain- Force: 13500
Killed: 76
Wounded: 182
Captured: 0
Colonies- Force: 5466
Killed: 92
Wounded: 148
Captured: 4650