At the beginning of the war. France controlled Canada and the Louisiana Territory. Britain controlled most of the east coast of North America. In one of the first battles of the war, Lieutenant Colonel George Washington and his Virginia troops (fighting for the British) were sent to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to remove the French from their new fort. Washington was defeated by the French, who soon controlled the entire region. In 1756, the British began to defeat the French, especially in naval battles. In 1759, General James Wolfe's army defeated the French at Quebec (although both Gen. Wolfe and his French adversary Gen. Montcalm both died during the battle).

The French lost the war, and the Treaty of Paris (signed in 1763) gave Britain control of Canada. Spain gave Florida to Britain, and received the former French areas west of the Mississippi River as well as Cuba. As a result of the war, the English colonists became more independent from Britain. This war also resulted in higher taxes paid to Britain. These influences eventually led to the American Revolution.

https://www.britannica.com/event/French-and-Indian-War

The King probably did this to keep the colonists in a confined space. It is easier to rule people that are close together than far apart.

The king probably did this to pay for the French & Indian war.

The members of the congress were scattered throughout the countryside, so General GAge decided to destroy the weapons and ammunition he had heard were being stored in Concord, Massachusetts. He realized that every move the British army made in the colonies was being watched carefully. He decided that the best way to carry out his plan would be to keep the plans secret to everyone, even his own soldiers. He told only one man, Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith. At 9:00 P.M. on the night of April 18, 1775, Gage ordered Lord Percy to follow six hours later with his troops. By 9:30 P.M. the secret was already out. Word had spread to the colonists that the army was on the move. William Dawes was already on his way by land to find and warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams. By 10:00 P.M., Paul Revere was on his way across the Charles River with the same message.

Around midnight, Revere arrived at the home of Rev. Clarke. He reported the news to John Hancock, and Rev. Clarke sent for the minutemen of Lexington. William Dawes left for Concord. A resident of Concord, Dr. Samuel Prescott, joined them in their ride. Around 1:00 A.M., the three riders were stopped by British officers. Dawes and Prescott were able to escape capture, but Revere was held for a couple of hours.

During this time, the colonists had been busy preparing for the British forces. At dawn, Major Pitcairn and his British troops arrived at Lexington Green. What they found was a group of militia men standing in formation. Pitcairn ordered his men to surround and disarm the militia. Rather than fight, the militia was ordered to disperse. Someone, no one knows whether it was militiaman or British soldier, fired a shot. No matter who it was, the British started shooting. They killed eight colonists and wounded ten more.

After the skirmish at LExington, the British headed toward Concord. They still had a mission to accomplish. They wanted o destroy all the weapons they could find at Concord. As they approached the North Bridge in Concord, they again found a group of armed militia. This time, the colonists fought back. The battle was short, and the British were routed. The resistance shown by the colonists was called "The Shot Heard Round the World" by people throughout the world. The fight for freedom had begun. The British were retreating back to Boston. The colonists had a small taste of victory and the desire for more. The only bright spot for the British was the fact that Lord PErc, who had left Boston after the main British force, was waiting at LExington to disperse the colonials. The REvolutionary WAr had begun.

https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript

The winter was bitterly cold. Colonists had hidden supplies for the army, but the British had raided their goods. The months from December 1777 to Feburary 1778 were the hardest three months of the war. The troops had little food beyond the squirrels and small animals they could hunt in the forest. Many did not have uniforms and many more did not have boots. A soldier's feet would get so cold from walking on the snow and ice that his entire leg might turn black from frostbite. Sometimes the frostbite was so severe that the soldiers leg would have to be amputated.

The men lived in wooden huts. Each hut was one room and had a small fireplace. Twelve men shared a hut. They had just enough space to lie down, but did not have blankets. The temperature often fell below freezing. Many men became sick, and some died. Diseases such as smallpox, dysentery, and typhus killed as many as 2000 men. Winter. tested the loyalty of American troops. Some soldiers abandon the army.

Washington did what he could to help his troops. A new man was put in charge of sending supplies to the soldiers. He built bridges and improved roads so that food could reach the army. Another man, Baron von Steuben, helped Washington train the soldiers to fight more effectively. By spring, things began to improve rapidly for the troops.

The nation would never forget the sacrifices of the Continental Army at Valley Forge.

Sir William Howe resigned as commander of the British troops in the colonies. He was tired of the criticism he was receiving for his leadership. General Henry Clinton replaced him. Clinton believed he would be able to inflict a final defeat on the colonists by moving his troops south. He thought he would find move colonists loyal to the British cause in the southern colonies. If he were to take control of the southern colonies, he would be able to crush the entire rebellion. He appointed Lord Charles Cornwallis to lead his troops in the southern colonies. He remained in New York with a small force and put the rest of the British soldiers aboard ships sailing to Georgia.

Lord Cornwallis and his troops first took Savannah, Georgia. He declared all of Georgia to be in British hands. They then headed to CAmden, South CArolina. It was a fierce battle, but the British were victorious. Believing tha the war was finally going in their favor, the British headed for Virginia. They made camp in Yorktown. Yorktown was on the York River near the very important Chesapeake Bay. They sent word to General Clinton. Who promised to send more troops by ship to meet them there.

While Cornwallis was fighting his way north, General George Washington was making plans with his French allies. General Rochambeau and WAshington discussed the possibility of attacking Yorktown. They decided that that would not be a wise move at the time. During their discussion they got word from General Lafayette that made their decision easier. Lafayette told them that another French officer, Admiral de Grasse, was sailing from the WEst Indies to Chesapeake Bay with a fleet of twenty-eight ships. A plan to stop the British in their tracks was soon created.

Admiral de Grasse was told to take his fleet and position them in Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the York River. From this point they would be able to keep new British troops from joining Cornwallis. It would also keep Cornwallis from leaving the area by ship. In the meantime, Washington, Rochambeau, and a combined French and American force of over 14,000 men marched toward Yorktown. When they reached their destination, they fanned out and formed a semi-circle around Yorktown. They were joined by 3,000 of de Grasse's men. On October 14, 1781, the British troops awoke to the sight of over 17,000 force surrounding them. Cornwallis tried everything he could think of to get out of this situation. He even sent men infected with smallpox from his camp into the lines of colonial soldiers. He hoped that they would infect the soldiers with the deadly disease and give him a chance. He tried to escape by taking his soldiers across the York River in boats. A storm put a stop to this attempt.

On October 17, Cornwallis had had enough. He sent a drummer boy and a soldier with a white flag to Washington offering to surrender. On October 19, the official papers of surrender were signed. The colonial soldiers and the French soldiers stood in lines facing each other as the defeated British soldiers solemnly walked between the lines. They deposited their weapons in a pile as a colonial band played an old British tune called, "The World Turned Upside Down."To the British, The world had turned upside down. Who would have ever believed that a group of ragged, untrained farmers would be able, after eight long years of war, to defeat the most powerful army in the world?

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives, that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here, have, thus far, so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth