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What was the Second Continental Congress?
It was the colonial government that assembled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; took control of the army at Boston and asked the colonies for war supplies and troops.
What was the Continental army?
Troops controlled by the Second Continental Congress and commanded by George Washington.
What was the Olive Branch Petition?
Petition for peace sent by the Second Continental Congress to King George III
Who was Ethan Allen?
The leader of a force called the Green Mountain Boys, who decided to capture Fort Ticonderoga
What occurred at Fort Ticonderoga?
The first offensive victory for America when Ethan Allen's Green Mountain Boys captured the British fort in New York
Who were the Patriots?
Individuals who favored fighting against the British
What was the Battle Bunker of Hill?
Battle on Breed's Hill near Boston in 1775 resulting in a costly British victory.
Who were the Hessians?
Hired soldiers, or mercenaries, from Germany
Who were the Loyalists?
Colonists who opposed fighting Britain
What was the pamphlet Common Sense about, and who wrote it?
It was an influential pamphlet written by Thomas Paine making a case for separation from Britain.
Who wrote the vast majority of the Declaration of Independence?
Thomas Jefferson
What was the document on this date that declared the thirteen colonies to be separate from Britain?
Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776
What took place at Trenton during the War for Independence?
A battle against the Hessian soldiers in New Jersey after George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River leading to a Patriot victory.
Who was John Burgoyne?
Daily Double
A British general who, when marching towards Albany to meet with two other British generals, was defeated by Patriot forces by a blockade and ambush.
Why was the Battle of Saratoga significant for the Patriots?
It was a major Patriot victory that is considered a major turning point in the war due to a British army of more than six thousand having been killed or captured that caused Britain to abandon any hope of taking the northern colonies.
What was located at Valley Forge?
George Washington's army headquarters outside Philadelphia for the winter of 1777-78
Who was George Rogers Clark and what did he accomplish?
He was a Patriot general who organized a force of 175 men that captured two frontier outposts in Illinois and Indiana which reduced Indian attacks and allowed the United States to later lay claim to territory bordering the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio River.
Who was Benedict Arnold?
A Patriot general who sought to exchange the West Point fort to the British for a large sum of money. After his plans were foiled he became a British general and is seen as the most despicable traitor in American history.
Who was John Paul Jones?
The most famous American naval officer of the war for independence in which he defeated the British ship Serapis in the North Sea.
Who was Charles Cornwallis?
He was a British General who dealt a crushing defeat to the Patriots in the Carolinas, especially Camden, South Carolina
Who was Nathanael Greene?
After the defeat of Charleston, South Carolina, George Washington appointed him as the new Patriot commander in the South.
What was Kings Mountain?
Patriot frontiersmen victory in battle against Loyalist forces in South Carolina in 1780
Who was Marquis de Lafayette?
He was the only threat to General Cornwallis who was a 23-year old French volunteer whom Washington had sent to Virginia with troops. He contributed greatly to the Patriot victory at Yorktown.
What occurred at Yorktown?
The formal surrender of British General Cornwallis's army, essentially ending the War for Independence.
What was significant about the Treaty of Paris?
Signed on September 3, 1783, formally granting the American colonies independence from Britain and officially ending the War for Independence.