The Revolution

After the fall of Charleston, the war explodes into the Carolina backcountry, touching of a brutal civil war. The Americans are defeated at Camden and in an unconventional strategic move, Generals Nathanael Greene and Daniel Morgan split the army between then, leading British General Charles Cornwallis on a chase that culminates in the Battle of Guildford Courthouse.

In their failure to defeat George Washington, the British change course and turn their attentions southward. In a final effort to quell the rebellion, they surround and lay siege to Charleston, South Carolina. Continental General Benjamin Lincoln braces for the attack, but his outnumbered forces ultimately fall.

The once heroic, General Benedict Arnold turns his back on his country in an act of pride, sealing his legacy as a traitor. George Washington takes the war to the frontier, burning the Iroquois Indians out of New York State and leaving a wake of destruction and devastation.

General Washington's losses continue, and some in Congress begin to question his leadership. Washington's immediate concern, however, is for the health and security of his ragged, starving, and slowly dwindling army.

As the American situation reaches desperation, Bejamin Franklin descends on Paris and talks the French into joining the fight against Britain. Meanwhile, British General William Howe badly defeats George Washington's troops at the Battle of Brandywine. To the North, American general Horatio Gates takes the Battle of Saratoga, thereby convincing France to enter the fight.

As the new nation begins to realize that all its efforts may have been for naught, a desperate and determined General George Washington gambles on a brillant - yet dangerously daring - design in order to save his army and America itself.

Finally, in 1776, noble ideas and long-desired dreams are realized as the Declaration of Independence is signed and America is born. Yet many dark and devastating struggles lay ahead, and few Americans trust that the glorious cause will survive.

As rebellion escalates into war, the Continental Congress establishes an army and appoints George Washington to Commander-in-Chief. When the army surrounds the British troops in Boston, Britain sends additional troops and its three best generals. In spite of these tactics, the Continental Army's assault forces the British troops and loyalists to flee the city.

Faced with escalating controversies and conflicts, the American colonists are forced to act. Some of the major political players of the rebellion are introduced as a Continental Congress convenes