Persky Timeline

A war fighting for America's independence. Some claim it is radical and some do not.

This document explains why the patriots wanted to break away from Britain. People that signed the declaration were sometimes killed, or called traitors. Others were captured and tortured. Even though today it is regarded as one of the most important documents in American history, when it was written about half of the population living in America disagreed with it and wanted to stay loyal to Britain. These people were called loyalists.

During the winter of 1777, British general Howe left about 1,400 soldiers in Trenton, New Jersey. Mercenaries known as Hessians, because some of the leaders were from Hesse-Cassel, Germany, were the soldiers that were left behind. On Christmas night, American general Washington lead his troops across the Delaware River in a snowstorm, and at dawn the American soldiers took 900 Hessians prisoner. Only thirty Americans were killed.

The battle of Saratoga was the turning point of the American Revolution. Militias gathered near Saratoga, New York under General Gate's power. Meanwhile, British generals Howe and Burgoyne were planning to meet at central New York and defeat the patriots. Instead, Howe bailed on the plan and attacked Philidelphia, home of the rebel congress. Since only Burgoyne's army showed up at Saratoga and the patriots were able to defeat them.

British general Cornwallis marched into Virginia to establish his army in Yorktown, while the patriot force, under General Lafayette, took positions outside of Yorktown. Patriot generals Washington and Compte de Rochambeau gave up their plan to attack New York City and marched to Yorktown. Combined forces of over 16,000 French and American troops stood to prevent around 7,000 British from escaping. Off coast, the French had a huge win against the British, so they weren't able to give the British that were in America any supplies. On October 19, General Cornwallis surrendered and the fighting was over.

The Treaty of Paris is what officially ended the American Revolution. Even though the British still owned land in America, they had no will to fight for it. When Americans sign the treaty with Britain, they are granted independence! Leading up to the treaty, in March of 1782 parliament voted to end the war, and two weeks later Lord North resigned as prime minister of Britain.