American+Revolution+R-Z

__ Revere, Paul- __


==Paul Revere was born in late December, 1734. Before working as a conolial activist, Revere made a living as a Boston silversmith, but when he got involved with the Sons of Liberty everything changed. Revere began creating engravings to be printed for propaganda purposes within the colonies, the most famous of which may have been "The Bloody Massacre", depicting the Boston Massacre. Revere became closely associated with Dr. Joseph Warren, who informed Revere and a man by the name of William Dawes of the British plans to march on the colonial ammuntion supplies in Concord. This resulted in Paul Revere's famous midnight ride, on April 18th, 1775, warning the patriots from Boston to Lexington to take up arms against the British advance; before being captured on his way to Concord (some versions of the midnight ride say that Revere and Dawes later escaped capture and continued to Concord on foot).==

__ Siege of Savannah- __


== In 1778, the British captured the city of Savannah,Georgia. One year later, on September 16th, 1779, the Continental Army along with its French allies attempted to take back the city whose defense was commanded by General Augustine Prevost. Distrust between the allies led to lack of cooperation (General Benjamin Lincoln suspected that Comte d'Estaing planned to take Savannah for the Kingdom of France) and ultimately may have been a factor in the defeat of the Continental Army and their retreat on October 18th, 1779. During the battle, General Casmir Pulaski, chief of Cavalry in the Continental Army, was wounded and later died on board a ship called the Wasp. The Continental Army and its allies commanded a force of 5,050 infantrymen, sailors, militia, and an unknown amount of artillery, and 42 ships which bombarded the city of Savannah and had 948 killed, captured, or wounded. The British forces numbered 3,200 infantry, militia, and an unknown amount of artillery; having only 112 killed, wounded, or missing. ==

__ Battle of Trenton- __
==After the Battle of Long Island, General George Washington's soldiers were forced to retreat across New Jersey. With his army's morale dangerously low, Washington had to act quickly and score a d ecisive victory to prevent his remaining troops from deserting. Washington got his chance near Trenton, New Jersey where 1500 British allies from Hesse-Kassel (present-day Germany) were camped, and he used it to his full advantage, though not without risks; Washington crossed the icy Delaware River with his main force. The surprise attack was successful. The victory inspired colonist rebels to join the Continental Army, which had depleted by almost 90% between the Battle of Long Island and the Battle of Trenton. George Washington's force of 2,400 and 18 cannons took two casualties and five men were wounded against the German force of 1,500 and 6 cannons, of which 22 were killed, 83 were wounded, and 896 were captured.==

__ U.S. Constitution- __
== The U.S. Constitution, a result of the Constitutional Convention which took place from May 25 to September 17, 1787. The U.S. constitution was mainly drafted by James Madison and since then has been amended twenty-seven times, the first ten becoming the Bill of Rights. It documented the three branches of political structure (Legislation, Executive, and Judicial) of the independent state that would become the United States of America that we know today. The 13 colonies ratified the constitution from December 7, 1787 through May 29, 1790 (one colony at a time, though only 9 were needed for the constitution to take effect) with a total of 1071 votes approving the constitution and 577 votes against the constitution. ==

__ Valley Forge- __


== Valley Forge, Pennsylvania was the location of George Washington's military encampment through the winter of 1777–1778. Washington chose the position for his encampment due to the ease with which it could be defended. The winter was harsh and Washington's army was under-supplied and though the soldiers had built small wooden cabins for shelter, lack of food and blankets as well as the wet conditions of the local winters, 2,500 soldiers died of disease, cold, and malnourished that winter. After six months in Valley Forge, Washington's men marched out from Valley Forge after hearing news of British forces marching from Philadelphia to New York. ==

__ Washington, George- __


==George Washington, born on February 22, 1732, often referred to as "the Father of our nation", was the commander of the Continental Army and the first president of the United States of America. Himself a French and Indian War veteran, Washington led the Continental Army to great victories and through great hardships, such as the winter at Valley Forge, sometimes taking risks in order to gain victory. Washington oversaw the writing of the U.S. Constitution and helped build a strong and stable nation that is now the United States of America. He died peacefully at his plantation in Mount Vernon, Virginia on December 14, 1799 at age 67 (two years after ending his presidency ).==

__ Siege of Yorktown- __
==The Siege of Yorktown was the last major battle of the American Revolution, taking place from September 28, 1781 to October 19th of the same year. George Washington and his French ally Comte de Rochambeau were camped in Rhode Island preparing for further operations against the British, Washington sought aid from Comte de Grasse to either besiege New York or Yorktown. After being persuaded by Comte de Rochambeau, de Grasse sailed for the Chesapeake Bay and blockaded the city of Yorktown until the French and Continental Armies arrived to lay siege. Not long after breaching the British outer defenses, Charles Cornwallis, the leader of the British defense, began negotiating capitulation terms. The British signed the Treaty of Paris two years later, ending the American Revolution. ==