1. Colonist tried to kill a British general.
   British soldiers tried to capture colonists' weapons.
2. King George declared war.

Aware that tensions were building, British troops set out to seize a stash of weapons from the colonists. But the locals knew danger was afoot.

1. Battles of Lexington and Concord
   Battle of Bull Run
2. Battle of the Bulge

On April 19, 1775, the colonists and redcoats clashed over a cache of weapons. The Battles of Lexington and Concord marked the outbreak of serious violence.

1. They failed miserably.
   They got most of the weapons.
2. They seized all of the weapons and also set many homes on fire.

By the time the British reached Concord, the colonists had already moved or destroyed most of the weapons the British had hoped to seize. The British found themselves under fire from every direction.

1. They failed miserably.
   They got most of the weapons.
2. They did seize all of the weapons and also set many homes on fire.

By the time the British reached Concord, the colonists had already moved or destroyed most of the weapons the British had hoped to seize. The British found themselves under fire from every direction.

1. full-frontal assaults
   guerrilla tactics
2. suicide attacks

With hit-and-run guerrilla warfare tactics, the colonists showed that they weren't afraid to fight … and that they weren't dumb enough to try to take on the powerful redcoats in open-field fighting.

1. Boston
   Omaha
2. Sacramento

On June 17, 1775, right outside of Boston, colonial forces set siege to the British army. The British sent an overwhelming number of troops to break the siege, but things went south for them in a hurry.

1. The colonists killed every last redcoat.
   They massacred the colonists.
2. They broke the siege but lost far too many men in the process.

The British won the day, but at a great cost, suffering immense casualties​ compared to the colonists. It was the first moment where the inexperienced men of the colonies realized that they might have a fighting chance against the British.

1. Don't mess with George Washington.
   Don't charge right in colonists' positions.
2. Don't take a knife to a gunfight.

The British were so certain of their superiority that they charged right into enemy lines at the Battle of Bunker Hill. They lost 19 officers -- a fact that indicated maybe they should re-evaluate their tactics.

1. set fire to a British ship
   capture a British fort
2. assassinate a British general

At the Battle of Quebec, the colonists attempted to capture a British fort. They failed, marking their first major defeat of the war.

1. A Patriot general died.
   An entire army was destroyed.
2. A city was burned to the ground.

During the Battle of Quebec, General Richard Montgomery charged into the fray ahead of his men. He was cut down by British fire, a major casualty in a terrible defeat.

1. Charleston
   New Orleans
2. Tallahassee

At the end of March 1780, the British laid siege to Charleston. The siege dragged on until May, when the city finally fell. It was yet another blow to the Patriot cause.

1. about 200
   about 1,000
2. more than 5,000

It was a loss of manpower that the Patriots could not afford. More than 5,000 troops were captured at the Siege of Charleston, drastically weakening the rebels' forces.

1. Battle of Shiloh
   Battle of Saratoga
2. Battle of Long Island

In the wake of the Declaration, the new Americans sought a big win against the British. At the August 27, 1776, Battle of Long Island, they clashed with a huge British force consisting of 20,000 troops.

1. The Patriots were outmaneuvered.
   The result was indecisive.
2. The British retreated.

At the Battle of Long Island, the wily British conducted a major flanking manuever and took the Patriots completely by surprise. One-fifth of the Patriot force was decimated.

1. They taunted the British.
   They retreated without loss of life.
2. absolutely nothing

At the Battle of Long Island, George Washington conducted a retreat -- one that saved many of his men from death or capture. Those troops would prove invaluable later in the conflict.

1. Americans
   British
2. indecisive

The Americans triumphed at Saratoga, giving them a signature victory. Hundreds of British troops died -- thousands were captured.

1. Reinforcements arrived in great numbers.
   George Washington charged the British with a 30-foot machete.
2. They had the bomb.

For days, more and more reinforcements arrived for the Patriots, swelling their ranks from 9,000 to 15,000 in a matter of days. Their greater numbers marked a huge shift in their ability to attack the British.

1. They proved the effectiveness of a secret weapon.
   They captured 15 important British generals.
2. It convinced the French to help the Americans.

The Americans had been pleading in vain with the French for help in the war. After Saratoga, the French finally relented, convinced that the rebels could perhaps actually defeat the British.

1. crushing losses
   amazing victories
2. They retreated before battles even began.

One defeat after another, slowly crushed the American will to fight. The fall of 1776 was a horrible time to be a Patriot -- and the British knew it, using their skill and size to dominate rebel forces.

1. The British ate little Patriot children for breakfast.
   America surrendered.
2. George Washington led a surprise attack.

On Christmas night, George Washington decided to play Santa for the British mercenaries at Trenton, launching a surprise attack across and icy river at night. His generous gift to the enemy? A hail of lead.

1. like an easy task
   unwinnable
2. pointless

Reeling from continual defeat, the Patriots had begun to think they would lose the war to the British. But Washington's brilliance at Trenton girded their hopes for future battles.

1. He told his government to withdraw support for the rebels.
   He created more French support for the Americans.
2. He tricked the British.

French officer Marquis de Lafayette became a close friend of George Washington and fought side-by-side with the rebels. He returned to France a hero, and lobbied for greater support of the American cause.

1. Patriots
   British
2. indecisive

At the August 1780 Battle of Camden, the Americans held numerical superiority … and lost in humiliating fashion. The outcome gave British forces a stranglehold on parts of the South.

1. He commanded an elite group of British troops.
   He assassinated an American general.
2. He improved the training of American troops.

Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben was a Prussian army officer who whipped American troops into shape during their winter at Valley Forge. His drills made the men into a much more effective fighting force.

1. The British won.
   The Americans won at great cost.
2. Both sides withdrew.

At the Battle of Rhode Island, American and French troops outnumbered the British. And they lost. Suddenly, the rebellion seemed on shaky ground once again.

1. George Washington was on his deathbed.
   The British were on a roll.
2. The Patriots were signing surrender paperwork.

Just prior to the Battle of Cowpens, the British had all of the momentum, smashing the Patriot forces in the south. At Cowpens, the Americans conducted a retreat. But it wasn't over.​

1. They captured almost all the British troops.
   They were slaughtered.
2. They got lost.

At the Battle of Cowpens, the Americans retreated, and then counterattacked, capturing most of the British troops. It marked a sudden shift in momentum in the southern theater.

1. full-frontal attack
   a series a navy engagements
2. protracted siege

On September 28, 1781, the Americans laid siege to a British stronghold at Yorktown, Virginia. The Siege of Yorktown was on -- and the war's outcome hung in the balance.

1. Mexicans
   French
2. Hessians

The hard-won Patriot alliance with the French paid immense dividends at Yorktown, where France contributed 8,000 troops and dozens of warships -- a bigger force than the Americans themselves could muster.

1. He escaped under the cover of darkness.
   He charged with his men into enemy lines.
2. He surrendered.

At Yorktown, there was no way out. Cornwallis was forced to surrender his forces, losing nearly 8,000 men in the process. It was essentially the end of the American Revolution.