Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

In April 1775 Britain sent a force to seize

the colonists’ military supplies in

Concord,Massachusetts. Paul Revere

andWilliam Dawes rode through the

countryside to warn the colonists that

the British soldiers were coming. On

April 19 a group of minutemen met the

British in Lexington, a town on the way

to Concord. After a short fight, the

British moved on to Concord. Another

group of American soldiers forced them

to turn back. The battles of Lexington

and Concord began the American

Revolution.

The Second Continental Congress met

in Philadelphia in May 1775. It brought

together the military forces of the colonies

to form the Continental Army. It

put GeorgeWashington in charge of the

army.Washington spent months preparing

his troops for battle.

Meanwhile the first major battle of the

war took place at Bunker Hill, near

Boston. The British captured Bunker

Hill on June 17, 1775. But they lost so

100 American Revolution BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

many soldiers that the colonists claimed

victory. The battle encouraged the

colonists.

Fighting for Independence

Before 1776, most colonists did not

want to break free from Britain. They

only wanted to get Britain to do something

about their complaints. But as the

fighting spread, more colonists became

convinced that they had to separate

from Britain. On July 4, 1776, the Continental

Congress approved the Declaration

of Independence.With this

document, the 13 colonies became the

United States of America.

The Americans struggled against the

larger and better-equipped British Army.

In the summer and autumn of 1776 the

British forced GeorgeWashington’s

troops out of New York. The Americans

were driven across New Jersey into

Pennsylvania. But thenWashington

defeated the British in Trenton and

Princeton, New Jersey. These victories

kept the struggle for independence alive.

The turning point of the war was the

battle of Saratoga, in New York. On

October 17, 1777, General Horatio

Gates led the Continental Army to a

great victory over the British. The victory

helped to bring France into the war

on the side of the new United States.

France sent ships and soldiers.

The winter of 1777–78 was a very hard

one for the Americans.Washington and

his troops camped at Valley Forge, near

Philadelphia. They suffered terribly from

hunger and illness. But they emerged in

the spring as a stronger fighting force.

They defeated the British in Monmouth,

New Jersey, on June 28, 1778.

Final Battles

In the last years of the war most of the

fighting took place in the South. In

British General John Burgoyne (center, in

red coat) surrenders in Saratoga, New

York, on October 17, 1777.

General George Washington

(right) walks through his army’s

camp at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania,

in 1778. With him is

Baron von Steuben, a German

officer who helped to train the

troops.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA American Revolution 101

 

1780 the British, led by General Charles

Cornwallis, won battles in South Carolina.

But in 1781 American and French

forces trapped Cornwallis in Yorktown,

Virginia. He surrendered on October

19, 1781. The fighting was over.

The peace treaty was signed on September

3, 1783, in Paris, France. It was

called the Treaty of Paris. By signing the

treaty, Britain agreed that the United

States was an independent country.

#More to explore

Adams, Samuel • Attucks, Crispus

• Boston • Continental Congress

• Declaration of Independence

• Franklin, Benjamin • George III

• Jones, John Paul • Massachusetts

• Minuteman • Paine, Thomas • Revere,

Paul • United States •Washington,

George

American Sign

Language

#see Sign Language.

Americas,

Exploration and

Settlement of the

When Christopher Columbus crossed

the Atlantic Ocean in 1492, he thought

he had reached eastern Asia. In fact he

had opened up to Europeans a new

world with two continents—North

America and South America—and many

islands. Many more Europeans followed

Columbus to the Americas. Most were

from Spain, Portugal, France, and

England.

The Americas were named not for

Columbus but for Amerigo Vespucci.

He was an Italian merchant and explorer

who took part in at least two voyages to

the Americas in the late 1400s and early

1500s. Vespucci was one of the first

people to realize that the land Columbus

found was not a part of Asia.

Exploring by Ship

Vikings

Columbus was probably not the first

European to reach America. Vikings

from northern Europe traveled to the

coast of what is now Canada in about

AD 1000. The Vikings did not stay long,

however.

According to tradition, Molly Pitcher served

bravely in the battle of Monmouth, New

Jersey, on June 28, 1778.

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Columbus

By the time of Columbus, Europeans

had traveled to the East and explored

many parts of Asia. Many other Europeans

admired the cloths, spices, and

medicines that the explorers brought

back with them. They wanted more of

these goods. But the voyage to Asia was

long and expensive. Educated Europeans

knew that the world was round. They

thought that by sailing west, they could

find a shorter route to Asia.

Between 1492 and 1504, Christopher

Columbus made four voyages across the