Roger Peek, age 12, of Florence, S.C., for his question:
WHEN WAS THE FIRST BATTLE IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR?
Compared with modern wars, the American Revolutionary War was a small war with the fighting forces rarely exceeding 15,000 men. Both the patriots and the redcoats, as the British soldiers were called, relied mainly on muskets and bayonets. A large number of the British forces were mercenaries, or soldiers, paid to fight its battles. Many were Hessians from Germany..
The American Revolutionary War started on April 19, 1775 when a band of colonists fought British soldiers at Lexington, Mass. A few hours later in nearby Concord, the colonists fired "the shot heard round the world'' when they battled British troops near a bridge.
First major battle in the war took place in June, 1775, and became known as the Battle of Bunker Hill.
When the Americans heard the British planned to fortify the hills on Charlestown Peninsula, across the Charles River north of Boston, they decided to occupy Bunker Hill before the British could.
On June 16, the Americans moved onto the peninsula. They by passed Bunker Hill and fortified Breed's Hill because it was closer to Boston. They left their reinforcements on Bunker Hill.
When the British realized what happened, they ferried 2,500 troops across the Charles under Sir William Howe. The Americans, led by Colonel William Prescott, met them on top of Breed's Hill. The British marched up the hill twice but fell back each time under heavy fire.
Then the British charged a third time. The Americans were out of powder and moved back to Bunker Hill. The British kept up the attack and finally drove the Americans not only off of Bunker Hill, but off of the peninsula as well. The British suffered more than 1,000 casualties while about 400 Americans were killed or wounded.
OnJuly 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence and a new nation was officially launched.
On April 15, 1783, Congress ratified the preliminary peace treaty that had been signed in Paris on November 30, 1782. Then on September 3, 1783, both the United States and Great Britain signed the final peace treaty in Paris. The last of the British left New York City on November 25, 1783. The war had lasted eight years.
Gen. George Washington assumed command of the Continental Army on July 3, 1775, during the first year of the war.
France signed an alliance with the United States on February 6, 1778 and in the next year Spain declared war on Great Britain.