They sent the "Olive Branch Petition," organized the continental Army, called on the colonies to send troops, selected George Washington to lead the army, and appointed the committee to draft the Declaration of Independence

A document sent by the Second Continental Congress to King George III, proposing a reconciliation between the colonies and Britain; the king refused to accept the letter

Army formed in 1775 by the Second Continental Congress and led by General George Washington

Led the Green Mountain Boys in surprise attacks on Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Won the Fort, and a valuable supply of cannons and gun powder, and control of a key route into Canada.

Fort on Lake Champlain in northeastern New York

American general who became a hero when he helped capture Fort Ticonderoga. He was placed in charge of West Point by George Washington, but wanting a more active role in the war and feeling that he was being passed over for promotions, he turned traitor and began sending battle plans to the British and even offered to give them West Point.

British Commanding General at the start of the American Revolution who commanded the forces at Bunker Hill & Breed's Hill

a soldier who is paid to fight for a foreign country/German soldiers hired by the British

Colonists who supported the British government during the American Revolution

A pamphlet that logically argued that the colonies had the right to be independent and the obligation to make it happen. It was very effective at convincing undecided colonists to join the war effort.

American Revolutionary leader and pamphleteer who supported the American colonist's fight for independence; wrote "Common Sense" and "The American Crisis"

Primary author of the Declaration of Independence

the document recording the proclamation of the second Continental Congress (4 July 1776) asserting the independence of the colonies from Great Britain; it laid a foundation for a government based on liberty and equality

On Christmas night, 1776, Washington led 2,400 men across the Delaware River to attack the drunken Hessian soldiers who were sleeping. The Americans killed 30 of the enemy and took 918 captives and 6 Hessian cannons.

British officer who led the southern campaign for the British. He would surrender to the Americans and French at Yorktown, the final major battle of the Revolutionary War.

British general in the American Revolution who captured Fort Ticonderoga but lost the battle of Saratoga

a 1777 Revolutionary War battle in New York where the Continental Army defeated the British. It proved to be the turning point of the war. This victory ultimately caused France to openly support the colonies with military forces in addition to the supplies and money already being sent.

Pennsylvania site of Washington's Continental Army encampment during the winter of 1777-1778. Ill clothed and underfed, many soldiers became sick with about 1/4 dying. Prussian drillmaster Baron von Steuben used the winter to train the American troops to be a real, disciplined army.

American general who commanded the Continental army in the South

Leader of a small Patriot force that captured British-controlled Fort Vincennes in the Ohio Valley in 1779., secured the Northwest Territory for America

privately owned ship outfitted with weapons; these acted as a makeshift navy for the colonies

American naval commander in the American Revolution; Defeated the British ship, Serapis. During the battle his ship was badly damaged. When British Captain Richard Pearson taunted him and asked if he was ready to surrender, he famously replied "I have not yet begun to fight."

a 1780 Revolutionary War battle in South Carolina in which Patriots defeated a Loyalist militia

a 1781 Revolutionary War battle in South Carolina in which Greene ordered Daniel Morgan to fake retreat and Cornwallis took the bait and sent Banastre Tarleton to chase Morgan. Morgan's troops killed or captured almost all of Tarleton's men.

A French aristocrat who believed in liberty, he volunteered to serve in the Continental Army. He distinguished himself at Brandywine and Yorktown. He later returned home, renounced his title, and fought for liberty in the French Revolution.

a 1781 Revolutionary War battle in Virginia; Cornwallis would become trapped by the combined forces of Washington, Lafayette, and the newly arrived French reinforcements; Cornwallis' surrender here marked the end of the war.

This treaty ended the Revolutionary War, recognized the independence of the American colonies, and granted the colonies the territory from the southern border of Canada to the northern border of Florida, and from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi River