After achieving a great victory at the Battle of Trenton, General George Washington recrossed the Delaware River hoping for a second miracle. In response, Lord Charles Cornwallis and 6,000 Redcoats marched towards Trenton and struck back at the bold Americans, leaving a battalion at Princeton, twelve miles north. On the night of January 2, 1777, Washington, unnoticed by British sentries, moved his men around the British flank towards Princeton and attacked at dawn. Perfect.

In late December 1776, after four months of hard-fighting, the 16,000-man Continental Army had dwindled to a force of 3,000 soldiers encamped in Pennsylvania on the west side of the Delaware River. General George Washington chose this desperate moment to strike a surprise blow at the Redcoats. He would cross the river Christmas night and attack the 1,500-man Hessian garrison in Trenton, knowing that the Hessians would be recovering from a day of Christmas reverie.

Although the Continental Army forced the British to evacuate Boston, Washington’s troops faced more setbacks than successes at the start of the American Revolution. By the time of Washington’s crossing of the Delaware, the army had dwindled down to roughly 3,000 poorly clad, poorly fed and poorly armed men. Thinking the end was near, Britain’s General Howe placed his soldiers in winter quarters. He would soon find out the American Army still had some fight.

When General George Washington took command of the Continental Army, the challenges he faced were formidable. Instead of one unified force, every colony had its own militia, each at various stages of development. Consequently, training was non-existent, discipline was lax, and the men were disrespectful to their officers. By comparison, the British Army was a force of well-equipped and well-trained soldiers, led by professionals, and far more numerous than the Continentals.

George Washington was elected to Virginia’s House of Burgesses in 1758, becoming active in colonial politics. Washington was a moderate and initially took a measured but critical approach to English policies. After the Boston Tea Party in 1773, and King George’s harsh response, delegates from twelve colonies met at the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia, with Washington as one of Virginia’s seven representatives. When delegates reconvened in May 1775, the American colonies were at war with England following the Battles of Lexington and Concord and found a capable leader in George Washington.

Martha Washington was born on June 2, 1731 in New Kent County, Virginia. At 18, she married Daniel Parke Custis, who died unexpectedly, leaving Martha a 26-year-old wealthy widow with two children. Martha’s parlor became the destination of many bachelors in Virginia, including George Washington. They were married in 1759 and lived a fairly quiet life at Mount Vernon until George was named the commander of the Continental Army in 1775.

George Washington married Martha Dandridge Custis, a wealthy 26-year-old widow, on January 6, 1759. They were a couple well suited for each other and made their home at Mount Vernon. Washington managed the estate with his customary zeal and energy, rising early every morning and working the land six days a week, leaving Sunday for church and entertaining friends. As was typical on plantations, enslaved people performed most of the work at Mount Vernon. Washington was opposed to the institution of slavery but did not free his slaves until he died, granting them their freedom in his will, the only founding father to do so.

In February 1753, George Washington began his illustrious military career as a major in the Virginia militia. In November, with England and France struggling for control of North America’s lucrative fur trade, he was sent to a French fort near present-day Pittsburgh with an ultimatum for the French to leave the area, but they refused to comply. The following year, Washington, recently promoted to Colonel, was again dispatched to this outpost, but this time with two infantry companies and orders to drive out the French.

George Washington’s American story begins in 1656 when his great-grandfather, John Washington, emigrated from England to Virginia and established an acreage in Virginia’s Northern Neck. George’s father, Augustine, married Mary Ball and moved to Pope’s Creek, Virginia, where, on February 22, 1732, they had their first child, a strapping boy they named George.

The British army had spent three months in the summer of 1776 building a fleet to sail up Lake Champlain and assault American-held Fort Ticonderoga, which defended the southern end of the lake. Colonel Benedict Arnold had spent that same time making warships to defend the lake and delay the British long enough to strengthen the fort’s defenses. The two fleets were not evenly matched, as the British had 25 warships that were larger, more maneuverable, and carried more guns than Arnold’s 15 vessels. On October 11, British ships sailed up Lake Champlain and engaged the Americans. The fight lasted until sunset, by which time the larger British warships had greatly damaged or sunk their American counterparts.

After repelling the American assault on Quebec, General Guy Carleton and his troops returned to the safety of the city walls, content to wait for the coming spring and reinforcements from England. Despite the setback, Congress refused to give up on the conquest of Canada since American forces still controlled Montreal and much of the area along the St. Lawrence River. That all changed on May 6, 1776, when the first ships bearing more Redcoats arrived at Quebec.

On December 26, 1775, General Richard Montgomery held a council of war with the officers of his army besieging Quebec. Colonel Benedict Arnold argued strongly that an assault on the city must be tried, despite the slim chances of success. The plan called for Montgomery to attack Quebec’s Lower Town from the south while Arnold attacked from the north. Five days later, in a driving snowstorm, Montgomery launched the attack, but within minutes, was killed by British fire.

On November 14, 1775, after arriving at Quebec City with his 600-man force, Colonel Benedict Arnold issued an ultimatum to the inhabitants of the city: surrender or face an assault. The Canadians, recognizing the weak condition of Arnold’s army, refused his demand.

On November 8, 1775, Colonel Benedict Arnold and his troops came to the bluffs across the St. Lawrence River from Quebec City. Forty-five days earlier, this group of hardy Americans had started out from Fort Western on the lower Kennebec River. The rivers had flowed faster, the heights had been higher, and swamps more extensive than any had imagined.

Colonel Benedict Arnold’s army reached the Great Carrying Place, a thirteen-mile portage, on October 11, 1775. They had been moving north on the Kennebec River for three weeks but had only advanced eighty-four miles towards Quebec. After overcoming many obstacles, Colonel Arnold held a council of war with the lead division to discuss next steps and persuaded the men to continue on. However, a few miles downstream, the rear division was holding its own council of war. Without the fortitude of Benedict Arnold to strengthen them, they opted to turn back and took most of the provisions.

Colonel Benedict Arnold’s expedition to Quebec in the fall of 1775 is regarded as one of the greatest military marches in history. Arnold planned to lead his men up the Kennebec River and then over land through the unmapped wilderness of Maine to attack Quebec. The distance was estimated at 180 miles, taking 20 days to complete. Both assumptions would prove to be terribly wrong.

The first significant offensive operation of the American Revolution was the invasion of British Canada by American troops in 1775. It was the opening act of the Northern Campaign in which we hoped to take control of British Canada and secure our northern flank.

After serving in the American Revolution as a captain in the Virginia militia, Daniel Boone was quite successful, serving in the Virginia General Assembly and being promoted to colonel in the militia. However, civilization soon got the better of Boone, and losses from his business dealings forced him to sell off all his Kentucky lands.