George Washington was extremely intelligent and cunning, so he used that talent and came up with his strategy of surprise attack against the Hessians at Christmas 1776. After crossing the Delaware River he achieved complete control over Trenton and had defeated German mercenaries who had been paid to fight for the British on December 26, 1776. The Battles of Lexington and Concord were fought between Great Britain and the American colonists throughout April 1775. Specifically, the April 18, approximately eight hundred British soldiers left Boston to try to achieve their goal of seizing the Americans' enormous stockpile of weapons. Soon their confidential plan was revealed when Paul Revere, Samuel Prescott, and William Dawes informed Patriot leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock. Lexington is where the first shot was fired by someone who is not yet known on April 19, at which point the bombing turned into an all-out militia (Cayton, et al). As the British approached Concord, they continued to fight. This was a series of strenuous and costly battles for both the British and Americans. American independence from Great Britain was fought in the Revolutionary War after these clashes. On June 17, 1775, the British attacked Boston and won the Battle of Bunker Hill. British strengths included their well-equipped, trained, and disciplined army, best navy with military support troops, and outside help from Native Americans and slaves. Fighting on their own soil for a cause, having George Washington and officers who were familiar with French and Indian warfare fighting strategies such as guerrilla warfare helped Americans excel in warfare (Cayton, et al). As...... at the heart of the document... he was personally commanded by himself as he revitalized the Americans so that they would not give up their independence from Great Britain, (E. Purcell, S. Purcell). Works Cited Cayton, Elizabeth I. Perry, Linda Reed, Allan M. Winkler. American paths to the present. Prentice Hall Pearson Education: Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 2003. Web. January 3, 2014Murphy, Justin D. “Battle of Trenton.” Encyclopedia of American History. Ed. Tucker C. Spencer. Facts on File, Inc., 2003. American History Online. Facts on File, Inc., nd Web. 03 January 2014.Purcell, Edward L. and Sarah J. Purcell. "Battle of Trenton." Encyclopedia of Battles in North America: 1517 to 1916. Facts On File, Inc., 2000. American History Online, nd Web. 03 January 2014.Stephenson, Michael. “Washington risks everything.” Military History 24.4 (2007): 42. MAS Ultra School Edition. Ebsco Host and Web. 03 January. 2014.