Term
| Battle of Bunker Hill [Overview] |
|
Definition
| The British assaulted the patriot defense at breed’s hill. Took heavy casualties but overtook the Patriot militia. Patriots retreat due to lack of ammo. |
|
|
Term
| Battle of Charleston (1776) [Overview] |
|
Definition
| British landing party met misfortune with tides that denied it the ability to wade from Long Island to Sullivan’s Island and besiege the Patriots at Fort Moultrie. |
|
|
Term
| New York City Campaign (1776) [Overview] |
|
Definition
| British forces outnumber Americans. Washington continues to retreat to preserve the army rather than lose it. |
|
|
Term
| Battle of Trenton [Overview] |
|
Definition
| Washington initiates a surprise attack on the British the day after Christmas. Wins a battlefield victory against the British. |
|
|
Term
| Battle of Princeton [Overview] |
|
Definition
| Washington flanks Cornwallis by crossing the Delaware river and attacks him in a surprise move at his rear. |
|
|
Term
| Saratoga Campaign (1777) [Overview] |
|
Definition
| British forces receive heavy casualties from Patriot rifle-equipped sharpshooters and rangers. |
|
|
Term
| Philadelphia Campaign (1777) - Brandywine & Germantown [Overview] |
|
Definition
B: British forces flank Washington like at NYC. Washington retreats after heavy fighting, giving up Philadelphia.
G: Washington stages an attack, but inexperience and confused execution led to fratricide and loss for Patriots. |
|
|
Term
| Battle of Monmouth (1778) [Overview] |
|
Definition
Clinton (B) was moving to NYC while Washington chased and attacked him. Poor communication forced Washington to take control of his forces and stop a growing route.
Americans held their own in a traditional linear fight against British. |
|
|
Term
| Battle of Charleston (1780) [Overview] |
|
Definition
| Clinton (B) commenced the formal siege in March; and by May 1780, the US Army and militia in Charleston were compelled to surrender (~5300 captured). It was one of the worst defeats the U.S. suffered in this war. |
|
|
Term
| Tarleton Waxhaw's Massacre (1780) [Overview] |
|
Definition
Banastre Tarleton (B) caught and massacred a small force that had initially aimed to assist Lincoln at Charleston but had started a retreat after news of Charleston’s fall. Tarleton’s Quarter
Basically “I lost control of my troops” |
|
|
Term
| Battle of Camden (1780) [Overview] |
|
Definition
| Gates (P) rushed his move into South Carolina to achieve a quick, decisive result. |
|
|
Term
| Southern Guerrilla War [Overview] |
|
Definition
| Sumter and Marion got the local supplies, intel, volunteers, and sanctuary through help of a populace that increasingly sided with the US. |
|
|
Term
| Battle of King's Mountain (1780) [Overview] |
|
Definition
| Ferguson’s Tories established a defense on small ridge. Americans surrounded and eliminated British. Wilderness ridge favored Patriots who used cover, concealment, marksmanship, and determination to wear down their enemy |
|
|
Term
| Battle of Cowpens (1781) [Overview] |
|
Definition
| Morgan hid regulars behind the hill, read Tarlton like a book and lured him into a very effective double envelopment by using lines of militia, regulars, and cavalry. |
|
|
Term
| Battle of Guilford Courthouse [Overview] |
|
Definition
| Cornwallis (B) pursued Green (P) on a wearying chase through NC. Greene placed his three lines in rolling terrain which had a few fields amidst thick woods. Terrain had broken up the cohesion of the British aggressive advance. Serious losses advancing British units |
|
|
Term
| Yorktown Campaign (1781) [Overview] |
|
Definition
| American Army and French Navy working together to trap Cornwallis at Yorktown. Washington bluffs on siege NYC, while moving to Kill Cornwallis at Virginia. |
|
|
