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Chapter 6
army at
Yorktown
, Virginia. After this
defeat, England decided to give the
Americans their freedom. It took twomore
years towork out the peace treaty.
Pennsylvanians Help
toWin theWar
D
uring the American Revolution,
many Pennsylvanians helped the
American colonies to win the war.
Thousands of men from Pennsylvania joined
the American Army. They fought many
battles under the command of General “Mad
Anthony” Wayne. Robert Morris helped to
raisemoney to pay for the war. Ben Franklin
alsogot the Frenchking to loanmoney to the
Americans. Haym Salomon helped to get a
loan of money from the Dutch. Samuel
Wetherill owned a textile mill. He made
uniforms for the soldiers even thoughhewas
not paid for them.
Many women followed the American
army tomakeandwash clothing, to care for
the wounded, and to cook meals. From
Carlisle, Mary Hays followed her husband
into battle. She carried pitchers of water to
the soldiers during hot days. She was
nicknamed “
Molly Pitcher
” by the
troops. When her husband was wounded,
she took over his post at the cannon. The
daughter of Ben Franklin, Sarah Bache,
organized more than 2,000 women of
Philadelphia to sew clothing for the troops.
Betsy Ross is believed to have made
our nation’s first flag. It contained 13
stars and 13 stripes to stand for each of the
first 13 colonies.
A long, hard war was fought with
England for independence. The American
colonies finally won the American
Revolution. They won their freedom from
England’s rule. Finally, the 13 American
colonies had become a free nation.
ReviewQuestions
1. In your ownwords, describewhat the AmericanRevolutionwas?
2. What was theDeclaration of Independence?
3. Why was it not a smart idea for the American colonies to declare independence
from England?
4. Whywas the ConestogaWagon so important during thewar?
5. How didWashington’s crossing of theDelaware River help the American army?
6. What was the Valley Forge camp?
7. Of what didmost of themen die from at Valley Forge?
8. Whywas Friedrich von Steuben so helpful to the American army?
9. How did Ben Franklinhelp the American colonies during thewar?
10. When did the American Revolution take place andwhowon thewar?
11. How did threewomenhelp the American army during thewar?
