American Revolution Research Paper

Submitted By Alvarado3
Words: 483
Pages: 2

4337
LL 254 Composition & Research
3/11/2013

The American Revolution (1775-83) is also known as the American Revolutionary War and the U.S. War of Independence. The conflict arose from growing tensions between residents of Great Britain's 13 North American colonies and the colonial government, which represented the British crown. Skirmishes between British troops and colonial militiamen in Lexington and Concord in April 1775 kicked off the armed conflict, and by the following summer, the rebels were waging a full-scale war for their independence. France entered the American Revolution on the side of the colonists in 1778, turning what had essentially been a civil war into an international conflict. After French assistance helped the Continental Army force the British surrender at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1779, the Americans had effectively won their independence, though fighting would not formally end until 1783(History).
George Washington was commander in chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War (1775-83) and served two terms as the first U.S. president, from 1789 to 1797. During the American Revolution, he led the colonial forces to victory over the British and became a national hero (History). Washington had as much military experience as anyone in the colonies, and his selection helped gain the allegiance of Virginia, by far the most populous of the 13 colonies. Experts hold widely differing views of Washington’s abilities as a general. Most would agree, though, that he performed a vital service merely by keeping a fighting force in the field through the difficult early years of the war. His greatest strokes as a commander were the surprise attacks on the garrisons at Trenton (December 26, 1776) and Princeton (January 3, 1777). These victories restored patriot morale in one of the war’s darkest periods. After accepting the British