4-3.4

It Is Essential For Students To Know:

• Some events and battles of the Revolutionary War were so significant that historians refer to them as “key.”
• Students should understand why these particular battles were turning points in the fighting of the Revolution. The chronological order and geographic location of each of these battles are essential.
• Lexington and Concord were the towns outside of Boston, the first shots of the Revolution were fired there. The British marched out of the city of Boston to capture suspected troublemakers at Lexington and destroy the military supplies that were stored by the colonists at Concord.
• Minutemen were ready when the British Redcoats arrived at Lexington. This event is sometimes referred to as the “shot heard round the world” because of the impact of the American revolutionary ideals on other nations.
• As a result, the Second Continental Congress met and named George Washington Commander-in-Chief of the army that gathered around Boston after Lexington and Concord.
• The Battle of Bunker (Breed’s) Hill was significant because of what the Americans learned. Although the untrained American troops were forced to surrender when they ran out of gunpowder, they inflicted heavy casualties on the British regular army. The battle demonstrated the power of the Americans fighting from behind rocks and trees on the British formations. It also showed that Americans would need allies to supply ammunition.
• The British soon evacuated Boston and sailed to New York where they hoped to find Americans who were still loyal to the King.
• The Battle at Saratoga, New York was the turning point of the war for the American Patriots. American forces defeated the British in their attempt to split the colonies at the Hudson River. Because of this victory the French were willing to enter into an alliance with the Americans which brought both financial aid and the help of the French navy.
• Although the first attempt by the British to capture Charleston was thwarted by the tides and the resilience of the palmetto log fort that became known as Fort Moultrie, the British were successful the second time around.
• Soon after their defeat in New York, the British turned their attention to South Carolina where they hoped to find a large number of Loyalists. The port of Charleston, South Carolina was under siege by the British for many days. It was attacked by blockading the harbor and cutting off supply lines, until it fell to the British. Soon Patriot partisans were fighting the British regular troops and Loyalist forces using hit and run tactics.
• Cowpens was an important battle in South Carolina and showed the cooperation of the regular Continental Army and the irregular partisan forces. The partisans led the attack and then fled the field, tricking the British regulars into thinking that the Americans were retreating. Instead the partisans lured the British forces into range of the regular American army. The British were soundly defeated and retreated northward toward Virginia.
• Yorktown was the final battle of the war. The French navy assisted General George Washington and his army by blockading the harbor. The blockade prevented British ships from entering the harbor and the British army, camped in Virginia waiting for transport to winter quarters, from escaping. Surrounded by American and French forces, the British were defeated and surrendered.
• Although students do not need to know any other events for testing, the winter at Valley Forge and, George Washington’s crossing of the Delaware would help students to understand how George Washington’s leadership inspired his men and would address Washington’s role in the war in indicator 4-3.3.

It Is Not Essential For Students To Know:

• It is not essential for students to know other events and battles fought during the Revolutionary War.
• Students do not need to know specific dates of the battles but do need to know a sequence of events as denoted in the “essentials to know.”
• Students do not need to know all of the generals and military leaders during the war.