Important or major battles from 1775-1776
- Capture of Fort Ticonderoga
- Battle of Bunker Hill
- Battle of Quebec
- Battle of Long Island
- Battle of Harlem Heights
- Battle of Trenton
Political Situation
In 1651, the first trade regulation was imposed on the thirteen colonies and later more and more were imposed. In 1765, the stamp act was placed and which was where every paper document, no matter what it was, had to get a stamp. This stamp notified that you would have to pay an extra amount of money.
The colonies had no seats in the British parliament and didn’t have any representation to whether or not the taxes and regulations were passed. Lots of people got mad about this. The reason they were mad was not because they had to pay money, it was because they had no representation in the parliament. Many militia groups were formed such as the sons of liberty to protest and boycott the taxes. After these taxes many more were to come. In February 1775, Massachusetts Bay Colony was declared a state of rebellion and was put under military occupation. After this the battles of Lexington and Concord were the first two battles in the war.
Capture of Fort Ticonderoga
The Patriots knew that Fort Ticonderoga had lots of guns and ammunition and they knew that their armies didn’t have lots of guns and ammunition. So they decided to take it. General Benedict Arnold set out to take the fort but he ran into Ethan Allen and his militia known as the Green Mountain Boys.
They had an argument over who would be in charge, but eventually Ethan Allen threatened to go home so Arnold gave in. On May 9, 1775, they were ready to cross the Ticonderoga river. They were approaching the fort when one of the soldier’s muskets misfierd so they rushed into the fort but all of the British were sleeping and they had to surrender. There was only one casualty. A patriot was slightly wounded by one of the sentrys who was guarding the fort.
All of the British troops were captured inside the fort and it was a victory much needed by the Patriots. After the battle Fort Crown Point and Fort Saint-Jean were also captured. All the guns and ammunition that was inside the fort was eventually transported to Washington’s army in Boston.
Battle of Bunker Hill
At 3 p.m. on June 17, 1775, the British under Brigadier General Pigot marched into the city of Charlestown, Massachusetts. They intended to march up nearby Breed’s Hill and take it. They were taking bullets from patriot snipers on the hill. British Admiral Graves fired incendiary shells on the Patriot snipers on the hill, knocking them out. The British also called for a force to set fire to the town of Charlestown which they did. General Howe sent light infantry and grenadiers up the hill. General Pigot marched up the hill with the 5th, 38th, 43rd, and 52nd infantry also.
The American positions were soon reinforced with artillery. As they advanced up Breed’s Hill, there was long grass, zigzagging fences and uneven terrain. This made it hard for them to effectively get up the hill. Once they got farther up the patriots unleashed volleys of musket fire, inflicting heavy casualties on the British. The field commander of the grenadiers James Abercrombie was killed in action.
When they got close enough they could shoot back but were in even more exposed positions and suffered heavy casualties again. After this Pigot ordered a retreat. Most of the grenadiers were either killed or wounded, some companies only had three or four soldiers left. On the second charge they were also beat back, similarly to the first. On the third attack, most of the patriots had run out of ammunition so they had to retreat. Although they won the battle, the British suffered 1,054 casualties whereas the patriots only suffered 450. 62 British officers were wounded and 19 were killed during the battle. The Battle of Bunker Hill was the worst battle in the American Revolution.
Battle of Quebec
After the capture of Fort Ticonderoga the Patriots led small attacks in Quebec. On June 27, 1775 authorization was made for the invasion of Canada. In September of 1775 the patriot army began their advance into Quebec province of Canada. In Quebec a large part of the French Canadian population rose in revolt against the British. General Guy Carleton was the commander of the forces defending the city of Quebec and was also the Governor of the province of Quebec.
On September 25, there was a failed attempt made by Ethan Allen to ambush the British in Montreal. The Americans tried to recruit some French Canadians in revolution but this proved to be unsuccessful. On November 3 Benedict Arnold’s men had reached the city. On December 1 general Montgomery of the Americans arrived and finally on December 30, the day of the attack began. The British strength was around 1,800 men whereas the patriot strength was around 1,200. On December 30 a blizzard came to Quebec, and Montgomery led his men through the snow to the outer defenses. Montgomery and his men rushed down the street and he was instantly killed by a volley fire. He was struck in the head and fell to the ground. His men fled back after his death.
Benedict Arnold led his men and once again went down a narrow street. Arnold was shot in the leg but was still able to lead the attack. Meanwhile American General Morgan and his men were able to place ladders onto the walls when bullets were raining down on them. They had got into the center of the city when they were encircled by British reinforcements. The only thing Morgan could was surrender but he refused to surrender to a British general so instead he gave his sword to a Catholic priest.
Battle of Long Island
In the first stage of the war the British had been trapped in Boston but eventually retreated to Halifax, Nova Scotia. On June 28, 1775 General George Washington got word that the British had set sail from Halifax to New York. The British ships landed in New York Bay. The populace of New York was enraged and took down a statue of King George III and melted it into musket balls. On August 22, British troops landed on Long Island, but no fighting ensued. On August 24 some fighting between the Americans and the British happened but not much. That day the Hessian mercenaries that the British had hired started to bombard the American lines.
As the fighting continued for hours as the Americans were weakened. Most of the Americans were killed or wounded but the remaining ones retreated back to Brooklyn Heights. In the battle 300 Americans were killed, 800 were wounded, and 1,079 were captured. 64 British were killed, 293 were wounded, and 31 went missing. Washington’s army was now completely surrounded in front of them, to the left, and to the right were the British, and behind them was the East River. Instead of attacking the British laid in for siege and they dug trenches.
On August 30 all of Washington’s troops had evacuated by a ferry and the army was saved from destruction.
Battle of Harlem Heights
After the American defeat at Long Island, George Washington evacuated his men to the shores of Manhattan Island. On September 16, 1776, the British advanced toward the American lines. Lt. Col. Thomas Knowlton and his men were spotted by the British and General Alexander Leslie of the British decided to attack. A mild skirmish ensued, Knowlton had to retreat and the British pursued him. Members of Washington and Knowlton’s army stopped retreating and engaged the British. The Americans started to push the British back on were advancing but Knwolton was killed in the fighting. The British flank was in danger so they fell back to occupy a fence line. The British once again fell back from the fence line and ran across an open field but then were reinforced with heavy artillery.
Washington decided to pursue the British. Fighting started in the Buckwheat field between Washington and the British. The Americans still outnumbered the British but by not much. For 2 more hours the battle raged on. The British artillery started to run out of ammo, so they retreated. This was the victory that the Americans needed. 30 Americans were killed and 100 were wounded whereas 14 British were killed and 157 were wounded.Â
Battle of Trenton
On December 22, 1776, Washington got word that the Hessian guard was down so he decided to do a surprise attack. It started to rain, then it started to sleet, and then it started to snow. The continental army made preparations to cross the Delaware river on Durham boats. Fortunately, no one died during the crossing and even the artillery made it over safely.
One group of men were sent north of Trenton, New Jersey and the other went south. In the early hours of December 26, the army started to march to Trenton. The Americans also had to cross Jacob’s creek on their way to the city. Two men died of exposure during the march to Trenton. At 8 in the morning they reached the enemy that were all Hessian mercenaries. Fighting broke out between the Americans and the unready Hessians. Both of the Hessian detachments ordered retreats farther back. Then north of the city the other American groups also engaged more Hessians there. They pushed them back into the city and they also cut off any route of escape. The Americans pushed into downtown and took over important streets. The US artillery also started to fire on the fleeing Hessians. The Hessians tried to advance but were again pushed back. The Hessian defenses broke, and they scattered running in any direction.
The enemy was trapped and they ordered terms of surrender. In the battle, 2 Americans were killed from exposure, and 5 were wounded. 22 Hessians were killed, 83 were wounded, and 900 were captured. This was a small battle yet it was one of the most important battles in the war.Â