A Painless Journey through the Revolutionary War

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A Painless Journey through the Revolutionary War

• Five Short, Sweet but Important Pieces of
  Americana

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1. The Battles of Lexington and Concord

• A. A British General named Thomas Gage reported
  that there was a large store of arms in Concord,
  near Boston.
• B. Gage sent 700 troops to seize the arms by
  surprise.
• C. Troops left at night but patriot scouts saw
  them and reported it to Paul Revere and the Sons
  of Liberty.
• D. Revere and the Sons of Liberty rode all
  night warning each village from Concord to
  Lexington that the British were coming.
• E. 70 armed minutemen waited for the redcoats.

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1. Someone fired a shot. No one really knows if it
   was a redcoat or a minuteman.
2. The British went to Concord and found no
   supplies.
3. Fighting continued through Boston.
4. News of the battle spread through the colonies
   and the revolution began!

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2. The Battle of Trenton

1. On Christmas night in 1776, General Washington
   sent his troops across the icy Delaware river.
2. Washington and his troops surprised the Hessian
   troops.
3. Washingtons troops killed or took 1,450 Hessians
   as prisoners of war.

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3. Alliance with France

1. In 1776, the Continental Congress sent Benjamin
   Franklin to France, to get help from French king,
   Louis XVI.
2. The Americans needed weapons and other supplies.
3. They wanted France to declare war on Britain
   because the French had a strong navy that could
   be used against the British.
4. The French were still angry about their loss to
   the British during the French and Indian War.
5. Franklin convinced Louis XVI, to send some
   weapons and supplies, but the king did not want
   to support the colonies until it was likely that
   they would win.