Battles of the Revolutionary War

Yorktown

Valley Forge

Fought on October 19, 1781, the Battle of Yorktown was the last major battle of the Revolutionary War. After losing a battle in Cowpens, South Carolina, a British general named Charles Cornwallis headed to Yorktown, Virginia to wait for reinforcements supposedly coming to help from the north. However, under the command of George Washington, French ships surrounded the bay of Yorktown, preventing any possible British help. With no reinforcements, Cornwallis fought, eventually losing and surrendering to American General Benjamin Lincoln.

Valley Forge was the military camp site for the Continental Army in the winter of 1777 and 1778. Here, soldiers fought through cold weather, serious diseases, and empty stomachs rather than against an enemy army. Many died or gave up, but those who remained after the six months spent there were transformed into a more organized and more determined army.

John Burgoyne, a general for the British army, had a plan to capture New York by hitting the colonists from three different locations with three different troops. However, one of the troops never got the message, and Burgoyne's plan fell to pieces when he was met with angry colonists ready to fight. This, and the battles that followed it, are considered a turning point in the war, as they convinced France to enter the war on the colonists' side.

Saratoga