Above: The Battle of Bunker Hill During the Revolutionary War, many battles were fought; some, like the ones named here, are more significant than others are. The following are either turning points or special victories in the War of Independence.
The first important battle was the Battle of Lexington and Concord. * This started it all. The British were looking for ammunitionin Lexington and Concord. The rebel troops stopped them. This obviously caused a fight, and somebody shot. Although no one knows who shot it, it caused even more shooting and became the beginning of the Revolutionary War.
Another battle was the Battle of Bunker Hill, which is in Charlestown, Massachusetts. This was the first major battle of the Revolutionary War. In June of 1775, rebels sneaked up Bunker Hill and began shooting at the British. The British were angered, and they fought for and won Bunker Hill. This showed that the Rebels were quite brave, since they sneaked up and attacked. This also showed that the British would be hard to defeat. Nonetheless, the war kept going and neither side would give up hope.
In August of 1776, another battle began. This was the Battle of Long Island. In this battle, about 1400 Americans were killed, trapped, or wounded, making it a British victory. The remaining Americans retreated to Manhattan.
Clearly, the Americans were suffering and being defeated. That all changed at the Battle of Trenton. This was a surprise attack by the Americans on Trenton. On Christmas night of 1776, General George Washington crossed the Delaware River with his troops, and captured all of the British hessians (sidekicks) within an hour. This obviously was an American victory, and it wasn't the last.
On October 17, 1777, there was another American win. At the Battle of Saratoga, the Americans surrounded Burgoyne (a British general) and his army, and wouldn't let anybody get away. Eventually, Burgoyne surrendered his army. This was a very important battle because it ended the British threat to the New England area. It also raised the Americans' self-esteem. And most importantly, it convinced France to join the American side in the war.
The last battle of the War of Independence was the Battle of Yorktown. In October of 1781, the Revolutionary War ended. Cornwallis, a British leader, was settled in Yorktown, Virginia with his army. The only way to get food to Yorktown was by the James River. The Americans had a plan. Washington and de Grasse (a French admiral) started heading toward Virginia. De Grasse's fleet of ships blocked the James River. Cornwallis's troops would suffer.
And for two weeks, they did. Finally, Cornwallis surrendered his army. He had given up. Then, the British did something unexpected. They surrendered the war! The Americans had won!
All throughout that war, many battles were fought and many people died. Despite all of the deaths, the war went on. And the Americans won! This war started the trend of winning every war we fought. This war earned us the name:
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!
*The first shot of the Battle of Lexington and Concord was also known as "The Shot Heard 'Round The World." 
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