Sequence key turning points of the Revolutionary War -- Lexington and Concord, Trenton, Saratoga, Valley Forge, and Yorktown -- and explain why each mattered.
On April 19, 1775, British troops marching to seize colonial weapons met armed resistance from minutemen at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts -- the first shots of the war, later called "the shot heard round the world." After early losses left morale low, General George Washington led the Continental Army across the icy Delaware River on Christmas night, 1776, to win a surprise victory at Trenton, New Jersey, reviving hope when the cause needed it most. The true turning point came in 1777 at the Battle of Saratoga, New York: a major American victory that convinced France to formally ally with the United States, providing money, soldiers, and a navy that would prove essential to eventual victory.
That same winter, 1777-1778, Washington's army endured brutal conditions at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania -- cold, disease, and short supplies -- but emerged more disciplined, helped by drilling under the Prussian officer Friedrich von Steuben. The war's major fighting ended on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virginia, where combined American and French forces trapped British General Cornwallis, who surrendered. The Treaty of Paris, signed in 1783, formally ended the war and recognized the independence of the United States.
Mastery looks like: They can sequence these five turning points and explain why each one mattered to the war's outcome.
Common stumbles: Listing battles without explaining why they mattered; not realizing Saratoga, not just Yorktown, was the true turning point that brought France into the war.