Young Adult (Ages 16-18): The American Revolution Trivia Word Search

After Saratoga, this European kingdom formally allied with the United States, sending troops, ships, and money.

This April 1775 skirmish on a Massachusetts town green began the Revolutionary War.

Thomas _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ penned the first draft of the Declaration of Independence, later becoming the third U.S. president.

Secret groups calling themselves the Sons of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ organized resistance to British taxes across the colonies.

This American naval commander's ship, the Bonhomme Richard, defeated a more powerful British warship in a fierce 1779 sea battle.

This American general, once a war hero, betrayed his country by plotting to surrender West Point to the British.

This teenage French nobleman volunteered without pay and became one of Washington's most trusted generals.

The 1777 American victory at this New York battle convinced France to formally join the war as an ally.

British general _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Cornwallis surrendered his entire army at Yorktown in October 1781, effectively ending the war.

Legend holds that a woman nicknamed Molly _ _ _ _ _ _ _ took over her husband's cannon at the Battle of Monmouth.

British troops marched here after Lexington to seize colonial weapons, only to be turned back by militia at the North Bridge.

British General John _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ was forced to surrender his entire army after the twin defeats at Saratoga.

This 1778 New Jersey battle, fought in brutal summer heat, ended in a tactical draw as British forces retreated to New York.

Roger _ _ _ _ _ _ _, later a framer of the Constitution, served on the five-member committee that helped draft the Declaration.

A crushing British victory at this South Carolina town in 1780 was one of the worst American defeats of the war.

Andrew _ _ _ _ _ _ _ commanded South Carolina militia forces that helped win the Battle of Cowpens.

This Boston silversmith rode through the night to warn colonial militia that British troops were on the march.

The Continental Army endured a brutal, supply-starved winter of 1777-78 at _ _ _ _ _ _ Forge, Pennsylvania.

Spanish forces under Bernardo de Galvez captured this British-held Gulf Coast port city in 1780.

Dr. Samuel _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, a third rider that night, was the only one of the trio to actually reach Concord with the warning.

A British-leaning term for Loyalists, borrowed from British politics, was _ _ _ _ _ _.

In a final bid for peace, the Continental Congress sent King George III the _ _ _ _ _ Branch Petition in 1775.

General John _ _ _ _ _ led American militia to a decisive victory at the Battle of Bennington in 1777.

Nicknamed the 'Swamp Fox,' this South Carolina guerrilla leader used hit-and-run tactics against British forces.

Britain hired thousands of German soldiers, often called _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, to help fight the colonial rebellion.

The war's last major battle, in October 1781, ended with a British army trapped against the York River in Virginia.

William _ _ _ _ _ rode alongside Paul Revere to warn colonial militia that British troops were approaching.

Washington crossed this icy river on Christmas night 1776 to launch a surprise attack on Trenton.

George Rogers _ _ _ _ _ led a daring campaign that captured British-held forts in the Illinois frontier.

This enslaved Boston poet published verse praising the Patriot cause and even corresponded with George Washington.

Nathanael _ _ _ _ _ _ took command of the war's southern theater and wore down British forces without ever winning a major battle outright.

General Daniel Morgan's clever double envelopment tactic won this January 1781 South Carolina battle.

Known as the 'Penman of the Revolution' for his widely read Farmer's Letters, John _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ still refused to sign the Declaration.

George _ _ _ _ _ of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson's own law teacher, was among the signers of the Declaration.

Colonists who supported independence from Britain were commonly called _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

Washington's Christmas night crossing of the Delaware River led to a surprise victory over Hessian troops at this New Jersey town.

Colonial militia known as _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ prided themselves on being ready to fight on extremely short notice.

The 1783 Treaty of _ _ _ _ _ formally ended the war and recognized American independence.

Days after Trenton, Washington won another New Jersey victory at this town, home to a famous college.

This Massachusetts merchant signed the Declaration of Independence in famously large, bold handwriting.

This Virginia statesman, later the fourth U.S. president, helped shape the new nation's constitutional government.

Nicknamed 'Mad Anthony' for his boldness, this general led the surprise night capture of Stony Point.

Though the British technically won this March 1781 North Carolina battle, their heavy losses helped doom their southern campaign.

Lawyer James _ _ _ _ is often credited with first arguing that 'taxation without representation' was tyranny.

French Admiral de _ _ _ _ _ _ won the naval Battle of the Chesapeake, sealing off the British army's escape route from Yorktown.

In December 1773, colonists disguised as Mohawk warriors dumped chests of tea into the harbor during the Boston _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

Charles _ _ _ _ _ _ _, a wealthy Maryland planter, was the only Catholic signer of the Declaration and outlived every other signer.

British forces captured this Georgia port city in December 1778, opening a new southern front in the war.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ Henry famously declared, 'Give me liberty, or give me death!' before Virginia's revolutionary convention.

In 1770, tense British soldiers killed five civilians in an event colonists quickly dubbed the Boston _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

Benedict Arnold's failed plot to hand a key Hudson River fort over to the British centered on this strategic stronghold.

General _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Montgomery was killed leading the failed American assault on Quebec on the last day of 1775.

Colonists bitterly nicknamed the punitive 1774 laws that closed Boston's port the 'Intolerable,' or _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, Acts.

This Polish cavalry officer, sometimes called the 'father of the American cavalry,' died fighting for the Patriot cause.

This Philadelphia printer and diplomat secured France's crucial military alliance with the young United States.

In a daring night bayonet assault, 'Mad' Anthony Wayne captured a British-held fort at _ _ _ _ _ Point, New York, in 1779.

British General Henry _ _ _ _ _ _ _ took over command of British forces from William Howe in 1778.

The costly British victory at the Battle of _ _ _ _ _ _ Hill in June 1775 showed the colonists could stand and fight.

Colonists who remained loyal to the British crown during the war were known as _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

Mercy Otis _ _ _ _ _ _ wrote plays, poems, and a history of the Revolution from a strongly Patriot point of view.

Washington ran a secret intelligence-gathering network on Long Island known as the _ _ _ _ _ _ Spy Ring.

British General William _ _ _ _ won a costly victory at Bunker Hill and later captured Philadelphia before resigning in 1778.

_ _ _ _ _ _ Livingston, a New York statesman, served alongside Jefferson and Franklin on the Committee of Five.

Colonists rebelled against British King _ _ _ _ _ _ III, who refused to negotiate an end to the growing colonial unrest.

Colonists gave this nickname to British troops because of the bright color of their uniforms.

General John _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ led a 1779 campaign against Britain's Iroquois allies in western New York.

Patriot militia crushed Loyalist forces at the Battle of _ _ _ _ _ Mountain in South Carolina in October 1780.

Home to Mount Vernon, Monticello, and the decisive siege at Yorktown, this was the largest of the thirteen original colonies.

Unpaid officers nearly threatened a coup against Congress in 1783 in what became known as the _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Conspiracy.

British Major John _ _ _ _ _ was captured and hanged as a spy for his role in Benedict Arnold's plot.

A failed American invasion of this Canadian city at the end of 1775 cost General Richard Montgomery his life.

During the Revolution, this future 14th state declared itself an independent republic, joining the Union only in 1791.

General Daniel _ _ _ _ _ _ devised the double-envelopment tactics that won the Battle of Cowpens in January 1781.

Before his execution as a spy, this young Connecticut schoolteacher reportedly said he regretted having only one life to give.

This Massachusetts delegate, cousin of a famous rabble-rouser, later became the young nation's second president.

A group of disgruntled officers and politicians conspired in the so-called _ _ _ _ _ _ Cabal to try to replace Washington.

This state, site of the battles of Trenton, Princeton, and Monmouth, was later nicknamed the 'Crossroads of the Revolution.'

Ethan _ _ _ _ _'s Green Mountain Boys captured a key fort in May 1775, seizing artillery later used to force the British from Boston.

Ratified in 1781, the _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ of Confederation served as the first, weak framework for the new United States government.

Spanish general Bernardo de _ _ _ _ _ _ led Gulf Coast campaigns against the British at Mobile and Pensacola.

British troops evacuated this city, formerly their main colonial base, in November 1783 as the war finally ended.

Parliament's 1764 _ _ _ _ _ Act taxed molasses and other goods, angering colonial merchants and smugglers alike.

This dockworker of African and Native American descent is often called the first casualty of the Revolution, killed in 1770.

This West Indies-born aide to Washington later became the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.

Angry colonists dumped British tea into this city's harbor in December 1773 to protest a tax they had no vote on.

Thomas _ _ _ _ _'s fiery pamphlet 'Common Sense' convinced thousands of colonists to support full independence.

Physician Benjamin _ _ _ _ signed the Declaration of Independence and later urged an estranged Adams and Jefferson to reconcile.

Parliament's 1765 _ _ _ _ _ Act taxed printed materials in the colonies and was met with fierce, organized protest.

British General Thomas _ _ _ _ commanded the troops sent to seize colonial weapons at Lexington and Concord.

This European kingdom declared war on Britain in 1779 and helped capture Gulf Coast forts, without a formal alliance with the Americans.

The Continental _ _ _ _ was established in October 1775 to challenge British control of the seas.

In a 1779 sea battle, John Paul Jones's Bonhomme Richard defeated the British warship HMS _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

The largest battle of the war, fought in August 1776, saw British troops rout Washington's army on Long Island near this borough.

_ _ _ _ _ _ Adams organized Boston's Sons of Liberty and helped orchestrate the Boston Tea Party.

This Prussian-born drillmaster whipped the ragged Continental Army into a disciplined fighting force at Valley Forge.