Major Events in the War

The Battles of Lexington and Concord (4/19/1775)
- First shots fired between American and British troops
- Unknown who fired first
- British occupied Boston and were marching on Concord
- This event was said to have started the war

Battle of Bunker Hill (6/17/1775)
- Two day rivalry
- The Americans had occupied Breed’s Hill, which helped them protect the shipyard of nearby Boston
- The commander of the American forces, Colonel William Prescott, advised, “Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes.”

Declaration of Independence (8/2/1776)
- A document declaring the independence of the 13 American Colonies from Great Britain
- Written by Thomas Jefferson
- Adopted 7/4/1776, but signed 8/2/1776
- As a result, America celebrates Independence Day on July 4th every year

British capture Charleston (5/12/1780)
- This is the first British victory in a few months
- It gave Britain control of many Southern colonies
- Charleston is where many of the Southern colonies surrendered

Lord North resigned as British Prime Minister (3/20/1782)
- Lord North was the Prime Minister of Great Britain
- He focused on economic problems
- He was involved with the Tea Act
- He tried to resign several times during the war, but King George III wouldn’t allow that to happen
- A year after Yorktown was when North finally resigned for good

Treaty of Paris (9/3/1783)
- When signed by the United States and Great Britain, the war officially ended
- It was signed by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay
- Britain removed all of its troops from the new nation
- The United States agreed to allow British troops still in America to leave, they agreed not to persecute loyalists in America and allow those that left America to return, and they also agreed to pay all existing debts owed to Great Britain.