Benjamin Franklin

​Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston on January 17, 1706. He was the 15th of 17 children and that is why his family was poor. This was why Benjamin had to look up for himself which made him even more independent. When Benjamin was 12, he worked with his brother James as an apprentice and even wrote some of the articles himself. All of this were published anonymously since they thought no one would be interested in the writings of a teenage boy.  At the age of seventeen, Franklin ran away from home. He wanted to live his life by his own so he moved to Philadelphia. The next year he traveled to London to work in a print shop. Two years later he went back to America, but did not return to his house. Instead he went to Philadelphia again were after two years he opened his own print office. Benjamin Franklin was twenty three when he bought the Pennsylvania Gazette and hoped to make it the best newspaper it could be. After a year, he married Deborah Rogers with which he had three children. Two of them survived to adulthood and Francis born in 1732 died at the age of four. In that same year, he published the Poor Richard's Almanack under the name Richard Saunders. Franklin kept publishing the Gazette until 1748 when he sold it and retired from printing. Benjamin Franklin was active in his community, he founded a volunteer fire company, became the city's postmaster, organized the Philadelphia militia, helped create Pennsylvania's first university, organized the first city hospital, and the first subscription library in Philadelphia.  

​Curiosity was a key factor for Benjamin's inventions. He wanted to know why things worked the way they did and how to make them better. Throughout his life he created different things. First of all, he invented what today is known as bifocals. Since he had poor vision and was tired of taking away and putting back again his glasses, he wanted to invent a way to see both near and far. What he did was that he cut two pair of spectacles in half and put half of each lens in a single frame. Franklin wanted to help his older brother John who had kidney stones, so he developed, a flexible urinary catheter that is is known to be the first one produced in America. Throughout his life, Franklin made several voyages which allowed him to learn about ships. He suggested following the Chinese model of dividing the watertight compartments so if a leak occurred, the water would not spread throughout the ship. Benjamin did not invent the electricity however he did invent the lightning rod which protected the buildings and ships from lightning damage. People in America used to build a fireplace to warm their homes even if it was dangerous. Benjamin Franklin built an iron furnace stove which was called Franklin stove. This stove allowed people to get warm under safer conditions. Franklin also invented an odometer to keep tack of the distance he traveled while delivering the mail. When Benjamin was old, and already retired, he wanted to spend his time reading but discovered that he didn't reach the high book shelves. This is why he invented a long arm which was a wooden pole with a grasping claw at the end to make it easier for him to reach his books.

​Benjamin Franklin had a long political life. He first served in Pennsylvania's colonial legislature. During the French and Indian War he was elected to represent Pennsylvania at the Albany Congress making one of the first proposals to bring the colonies together under a central authority. The Congress accepted it but the colonial legislatures rejected it since they saw it as a threat. Years later he went to London in representation of several colonies and when the Stamp Act crisis arose, he spoke against it demonstrating he now believed on taxation without representation. 1775-1776 Benjamin became a member of the Continental Congress, and served on the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence.  He was the oldest one who signed this document. Later on, Franklin left the Continental Congress to become the president of Pennsylvania's constitutional convention. One of his greatest achievements was that he worked as minister to France making the nation's first foreign alliance. Franklin negotiated treaties of commerce and alliances, obtained loans and along with John Jay and John Adams negotiated the Treaty of Paris. When independence was finally achieved, he came back to Pennsylvania to serve as the Supreme Executive Council of Philadelphia. One of the last things he did was sign a memorial to Congress urging the abolition of slavery and becoming the first president of the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery. Benjamin Franklin was the only person who signed the four key documents of the American History which were: the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Alliance with France, the Treaty of peace with Great Britain and the Constitution of the United States.

The Battle of Saratoga

British General John Burgoyne believed that the best strategy for defeating the Americans was the divide-and-conquer strategy. This consisted of invading America from Canada by advancing down the Hudson Valley to Albany. He would then be joined by other British troops under the command of William Howe. This strategy would not only isolate New England from the other colonies but they would also take command of the Hudson. In  June 1777, Burgoyne's army of over 7,000 men (half British and half hessian) left St. John's on Lake Champlain and headed to Fort Ticonderoga. The Native Americans allied with the British in this battle. However, instead of helping Burgoyne, Howe went to capture Philadelphia. The Americans recognized that once the British got near the Fort, they would not be able to defend it and sailed to Mount Independence to stop the British. The British won this round.

        

As Burgoyne continued his march to Albany, his supply lines dwindled. Howe had not met him as promised. However, the British won many campaigns and infuriated the colonists. In early August, the British received news that a supply depot at Bennington, Vermont was lightly guarded. Burgoyne sent German troops to the depot but were met with American general John Star. He capture 500 German soldiers. Also, American General Schuyler proceeded to burn supplies and crops, forcing the British to rely on their supply line to Canada. General Horatio Gates arrived in New York to take command of the American Forces.

         

By mid-September, the British army crossed the Hudson and headed for Saratoga. On September 19, the two armies met at Freeman's Farm north of Albany. The British sustained many losses. In late September and during the first week of October, Gate's army was positioned between Burgoyne's army and Albany. On October 7, Burgoyne decided to attack. The troops crashed together south of the town of Saratoga. 86% of Burgoyne's army was captured. 5,895 British and Hessian troops surrendered their arms. The victory was clear.

Deborah Sampson

Deborah was born on December 17,1760 and apart from war, she spent most of her life living in Massachusetts. She was one of the seven children from Jonathan and Deborah Bradford Sampson. Her parents were directly descendent from the Mayflower. Her father was thought to be lost at see but later on they discovered that he had abandon them. Her mom couldn't  provide everything they needed so she sent some of her children to live with family and friends. At the age of ten Deborah was sent as a servant.Deborah's conditions as servant were not as bad. She managed to go to school in winter and in summer she did hard farm work. 

Without knowing it, this work helped her build muscles for war later on. In 1779 Deborah ended her time as servant and became teacher. It is not known for how long but she later on decided she owed much to her country and she joined the fight for Independence. In order to disguise as a man she cut off her hair and made men's clothing. Some writers says that she signed up as Thimothy Thayer but did not present to work the next day. On May 29, 1782 she tried to sign up again this time with the name of Robert Shurtliff. Shurtliff's signatures still exist today in Massachusetts records. Her unit in battles fought several wars specially in upstate New York. 

During war she got hurt in her shoulder and upper thigh. She received medical attention in her shoulder but didn't tell about her thigh because she was afraid her identity would be discovered. After going to the hospital she took care of her thigh and continued fighting. Many soldiers teased her by calling her "Molly" since she didn't have facial hair. Soldiers thought it was because she was a young boy and never suspected anything.  While defending Congress she got really sick. When the doctor was taking care of her he discovered her identity and took her home for better care without revealing anything. Deborah started wearing woman clothes until several years later when she got married. Almost a decade after she got recognized by Congress for all she made.

William Howe

Lord William Howe was one of the British generals during the war. He was born on August 10,1729 in England. He was the uncle of King George III. King George the third was the king during the Revolutionary War. Before Howe was sent to fight in the actual war, he was nice and sympathetic to the colonists. As a soldier he had no choice but to fight against them. He arrived to the colonies on May 25,1775. He was appointed as Major General.

                                    

         

Howe lead his troops to attack Breed's Hill. This battle became known as the battle of Bunker Hill. The Americans fought and managed to make British retreat two times. On the third one, they ran out of ammunitions and British turned up victorious by capturing the hill. Even though Howe lead his troops well, many of his soldiers died. Howe finally became a general in October 2775 and also became the commander in chief. George Washington won a battle at Dorchester Height were he could see the Boston Harbor and observe what British did. Howe ordered his troops to retreat to Canada until they were able to attack again. 

Lord William Howe replaced General Gage as the commander of the British Army. From 1775 to 1778 during the early years of the revolution he won battles in White Plains, Brandywine and Long Island. He took over Philadelphia but did not defeat the Americans. Howe  wrote to England asking for permission to retire. On April 14,1778 he got a letter telling him he could. He sailed back to England and retired. After him Sir Henry Clinton became commander in chief. He had a brother called Admiral Lord Richard Howe who later on commanded the British fleet in America.

The Battle of Bunker Hill

      

The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17th, 1775. With the outbreak of the war after the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the British commander, Thomas Gage found himself blocked by the Patriots. They occupied the hills to the west of the city. Gage resolved to capture the Charlestown peninsula across the harbor. However, before he could act, on the night of June 16th 1775, around 1,500 American troops of the Massachusetts regiment and Putnam's Connecticut regiment occupied Breed and Bunker Hill on the peninsula. The American troops built a fort on Breed's Hill. The fort was complete by the morning after working all night. The presence of the Americans on the peninsula caused the British ships to open fire on them. The British planned to attack the Americans and drive them away from Bunker Hill. Major General Howe, one of the three generals sent from Britain to assist Gage, was in charge of the operation. 

       

While the British were preparing for the attack, the Americans extended their settlement to the seashore. This was done to prevent a flank attack. More American troops gathered on Bunker but no one wanted the forward positions on Breed's Hill. General William Howe arrived with his force on the southern shore of the peninsula and directed the light infantry to attack the Americans at the seashore. The British dismissed the American troops' ability to resist frontal attacks and overestimated their own troops' ability to make one. The light infantry returned with many casualties. In retaliation, General Howe launched a frontal assault on the American fort. This attack was again driven back by the American troops, despite their shortage of ammunition. 

       

The second attack was launched along the length of the American settlements. The troops retreated with heavy losses. The final attack was made, focused on the center of the American settlement. The American troops lacked ammunition and this final attack drove them off the peninsula. They were not pursued by the British. The British suffered an estimate of 1,150 soldiers killed and wounded. The American casualties were estimated at 450 killed and wounded. Afterwards, the British took over Bunker and Breed's Hill and fortified them, staying there until they evacuated Boston at the end of the year. This battle served as a lesson to the Continental army on what had to be done to build an effective army. All the soldiers fought bravely, but the intended reinforcement refused to advance to support their comrades and this created confusion among the officers.

The Battle of Lexington and Concord: Americ the Story of Us

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiIFRCk1hxY&feature=youtube_gdata_player