MYP Individuals in Society

The American Revolution was a war that took place between 1775-1783. During this period of time, the British and the 13 colonies fought. Many soldiers and militiamen died either because of diseases, lack of supplies, natural disasters, or battles.

The battle of Lexington and Concord was the battle that started the American Revolution. It all started on April 18 when British troops arrived at Boston. They proceeded to take the militia's goods. Luckily, Paul Revere, a patriot, warned the colonists of the British troops and the colonists managed to hide most of their weapons and supplies.

The next day at dawn, about 700 British troops arrived at Lexington and stumbled upon 77 militiamen. As the militiamen we ordered to spread out by their commander, a shot was heard. British troops assumed that they were supposed to shoot, so they did so after the first shot. When the militiamen retreated, the smoke cleared. Eighteen militiamen were either dead or injured and only one Redcoat was injured. The British troops decided to continue their journey and headed into Concord to burn the remaining supplies the militiamen had. The militiamen saw the fire and thought that the whole town was going to incinerate. As a result, the militiamen huddled onto the Northbridge located in Concord and found a group of British troops that were guarding the bridge. The British troops started shooting at the militiamen but then retreated when the militiamen headed toward the volley. This event is known as shot heard round the world.

https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/battles-of-lexington-and-concord

Another important battle that opened the eyes of some patriots was the battle of Quebec. This battle occurred on December 31, when the American Revolution was still starting. Before the battle started, General Richard Montgomery ordered his men to head toward Lake Champlain to overtake Montreal. After this mission was completed on November 13, he then ordered his men to head toward Quebec City. At the time, a colonel that goes by the name of Benedict Arnold led his men through a forest in hopes of reaching Quebec City, as well. Arnold requested the City of Quebec to surrender, but the city refused. Since Arnold lacked an insufficient amount of supplies in order to fight, he decided to wait for Montgomery. At the beginning of December, Montgomery met up with Arnold and they shared supplies and resources, outside the city, As one, they both ordered the City of Quebec to surrender a second time. The governor, General Guy Carleton, declined their order. This disagreement caused a fight to break out between the British troops that were guarding the City of Quebec and the soldiers that Montgomery and Arnold ordered. On December 13, the real battle had begun. Montgomery ordered his men to attack the city of Quebec. As a result, Montgomery was brutally killed and his men were unable to fight due to the skilled British troops. Arnold also took a bullet to the leg. More than 400 out of the 1,200 patriots either had minor injuries, brutal deaths, or had been captured by the victorious British troops.

https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/battle-of-quebec-1775

A battle called Saratoga was another battle that occurred on September 19. This battle was actually two battles, which means it sustained longer. At the time, British troops had already conquered Fort Ticonderoga with ease. As a result of this, the British troops were very cocky and thought of themselves above everyone else. In addition, their general leading them wasn't very modest as well. Based on this built up overconfidence, General John Burgoyne headed south at a slow pace. This gave the Patriots enough time to heal and reassemble under the protection of the Horatio Gates. General George Washington sent his best infantry commander and other high-level men to support The Patriots. Burgoyne now had about 65,000 men ready to battle. At once, Burgoyne had thrown the first punch. One of the patriots that George Washinton had sent defended the gates and led the other patriots to block the British from entering. Arnold, a patriot Washinton had sent, held the gates in place until the British gave up and only had possession of the perimeter. Instead of letting go of triumph, Burgoyne attempted to attack the Patriots once more, before loosing again to the Patriots. As a result, the British troops were forced to surrender ten days later.

https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/battle-of-saratoga

Last but not least, a battle that happened in Yorktown, Virginia was, yet, another major battle that influenced many patriots. Washington had realized that it was time to act, in order to be one step ahead of the British. As a result, he sent 5,000 troops in order to occlude Cornwallis from escaping Yorktown by land while Washington's ally, France, blocked British troops from escaping by sea. After several weeks of Washington continuing to block Cornwallis and British troops from escaping Yorktown with the help of France, Cornwallis decided to surrender. The ceremony that made sure Cornwallis surrendered for good was held on October 19. Cornwallis did not attend, as he was ill. On September 3, 1783 alas, the Treaty of Paris was signed and the United States had finally pushed all their problems away and was now a war-free zone.

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-yorktown-begins

To conclude, these four major battles that happened during the American Revolution impacted patriots and the United States as a whole. These eye-opening events allowed loyalists to see that the colonists, indeed, did not deserve the treatment that they induced upon them. Which, as a result, brings upon the statement that the colonists did deserve that win to show that, in fact, freedom is essential to one's wellbeing.

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