The Revolution Begins
Colonists who chose to fight for independence from Great Britain.
Patriots
This document formally announced the colonies' break from Great Britain.
Declaration of Independence
Foreign soldiers who fought not out of loyalty, but for pay.
Mercenaries
Style of fighting where soldiers who use surprise attacks to disrupt communication and supply lines
Guerilla warfare
The name for the colonial military force created to fight the British
Continental Army
These men got their name because they were ready to fight at a moment's notice.
Minutemen
Colonists who chose to side with the British
Loyalists
The turning point of the Revolutionary War.
Battle of Saratoga
This leader and specialist in guerilla warfare was known as "Swamp Fox."
Francis Marion
This conflict became violent, forcing the colonists to prepare for war.
Events at Lexington and Concord
Soldiers from all the colonies who would carry out the fight against Great Britain
Continental Army
A 47-page pamphlet that was distributed in Philadelphia in January 1776
Common Sense
A naval hero from Scotland. He was considered an outlaw. He was considered a brave and clever sailor in the newly created US Navy.
John Paul Jones
Leader of 4,000 French troops who combined with Washington's soldiers at the Battle of Yorktown
Comte de Rochambeau
This is the date on which the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence
July 4, 1776
The Patriots lost this battle, but proved that they could take on the Redcoats.
Battle of Bunker Hill
Author of Common Sense. Argued that citizens, not kings and queens, should make laws.
Thomas Paine
A wealthy young Frenchman who bought his own ship and brought a group of well-trained soldiers to America with him. He volunteered to serve in the Continental Army without pay.
Marquis de Lafayette
The last major battle of the American Revolution.
Battle of Yorktown
These battles turned the tide of the war for the colonists.
Battles of Trenton and Saratoga
A gathering of colonial leaders where were deeply troubled about the relationship between Great Britain and its colonies in America.
First Continental Congress
The main author of the Declaration of Independence. He argued that all people possess unalienable rights, including the rights of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
Thomas Jefferson
The governor of Spanish Florida who gathered a small army of Spanish soldiers, French Americans, colonists, and Native Americans. Together, this group seized British posts all the way to Pensacola, Florida
Bernardo de Galvez
This set America's borders. Great Britain recognized the independence of the United States.
Treaty of Paris of 1783
These were mercenaries
Hessians