Term | Definition |
Lord Cornwallis | a British general that was the leader of an army that had to battle Horatio Gate’s army |
guerrilla | a soldier who weakens the enemy with surprise raids and hit-and-run attacks |
pacifist | a person morally opposed to war |
Battle of Yorktown | the last major battle of the Revolutionary War, which resulted in the surrender of British forces in 1781 |
Treaty of Paris of 1783 | the treaty that ended the Revolutionary War, confirming the independence of the United States and setting the boundaries of the new nation |
republicanism | the belief that government should be based on the consent of the people; people exercise their power by voting for political representatives |
Elizabeth Freeman | an African American who sued for her freedom in a Massachusetts court and won |
Richard Allen | an African American preacher who helped start the Free African Society |
George Washington | commander of the Continental Army |
Mercenary | a professional soldier hired to fight for a foreign country |
strategy | an overall plan of action |
rendezvous | a meeting |
Battles of Saratoga | a series of conflicts between British soldiers and the Continental Army in 1777 that proved to be a turning point in the Revolutionary War |
ally | a country that agrees to help another country achieve a common goal |
Marquis de Lafayette | a 19-year-old French nobleman who volunteered to serve in Washington's army, given the command of an army division |
bayonet | a long steel knife attached to the end of a gun |
desert | to leave military duty without intending to return |
privateer | a privately owned ship that has government permission during wartime to attack an enemy's merchant ships |
James Forten | a 14-year-old boy who was the son of a free African-American sail maker, known for staying loyal to his country |
John Paul Jones | won the most famous sea battle; commander of a ship named Bonhomme Richard |