The Revolution
S01:E02 - A President and His Revolution
A&E
S01:E01 - Boston, Bloody Boston
Relive the drama in this exciting documentary series that explores the founding of the United States. The opening episode dramatizes the controversies and conflicts leading to war--the Stamp Act riots, Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, and Battles of Lexington and Concord. A Continental Congress is convened and we are introduced to some of the major political players involved in the rebellion, including Samuel Adams, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Hutchinson, as well as England's King George III and British General Thomas Gage.
S01:E02 - A President and His Revolution
George Washington completes his 8-day trip from his home at Mount Vernon, Virginia to New York City where he is inaugurated as the first president of the newly created United States of America. The former Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army now becomes simply "Mr. President".
S01:E03 - Declaring Independence
1776: Noble ideas and dreams of independence ring out as America is born. However, dark and devastating struggles will quickly challenge these hopes and leave few believing that the glorious cause will survive. Join us as we relive the drama surrounding the birth of the United States in this documentary series.
S01:E04 - Rebellion to Revolution
Rebellion escalates into war with the Battle at Bunker Hill. The Continental Congress establishes an army and appoints George Washington as Commander-in-Chief. But Washington faces nearly insurmountable obstacles in turning the motley militias into a battle-ready army. When the Continental Army surrounds British troops that occupy Boston, Britain sends additional troops and its three best generals--William Howe, John Burgoyne, and Henry Clinton--to take over command in the insurgent colonies. The Continental assault from Dorchester Heights forces the British and Loyalists to evacuate the city.
S01:E05 - American Crisis
The newly proclaimed nation stares at the stark realization that it could soon be dead. Desperate and determined, General George Washington gambles on a brilliant yet dangerously daring stroke to save his army and America.
S01:E06 - Forging an Army
George Washington's losses are adding up and some in Congress begin to question his leadership. Washington's main concern, however, is sustaining and rebuilding his ragged, starving, and dwindling army through the frigid winter at Valley Forge. With the help of Baron von Steuben and Nathanael Greene, the Continental Army becomes a more professional fighting force. And Washington rebuilds his reputation by holding back the British at the Battle of Monmouth. Join us for this 13-part look at the birth of America--from the Boston Tea Party to the ratification of the Constitution.
S01:E07 - Path to World War
In this series, we cover the years between the Boston Tea Party and the ratification of the Constitution. In this hour, America's elder statesman, Benjamin Franklin, descends on Paris to seduce the French to join the fight against their common enemy, England. British General William Howe delivers a crushing blow to George Washington's troops at the Battle of Brandywine taking Philadelphia, the American capital, as his prize. But to the north, another American general enters the spotlight--Horatio Gates defeats British General John Burgoyne at the Battle of Saratoga. It is this victory that convinces France to enter the fight, turning the American Revolution into a world war.
S01:E08 - The War Heads South
Failing to defeat the tenacious George Washington, the British change course, turning their attention southward. In a last ditch effort to quell the rebellion, they surround and lay siege to Charleston, South Carolina, the third largest city in the colonies. General Benjamin Lincoln, commander of the southern wing of the Continental Army, sinks his heels in and braces for the attack but his outnumbered force will fall.
S01:E09 - Treason and Betrayal
Heroic General Benedict Arnold turns his back on his cause and country in an act of pride, sealing forever his legacy as a traitor. George Washington takes his war to the frontier, burning the Iroquois Indians out of New York State and leaving a wake of destruction and devastation.
S01:E10 - A Hornet's Nest
After the fall of Charleston, the Revolutionary War explodes into the Carolina backcountry, touching off a brutal civil war, and Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton's dragoons spread terror throughout the region. The Americans, under General Horatio Gates, suffer a humiliating defeat at Camden forcing Congress to send Nathanael Greene to lead the southern forces. In an unconventional strategy, Greene and General Daniel Morgan split the army between them, leading British General Cornwallis on a harrowing chase, which culminates in the Battle of Guildford Courthouse.
S01:E11 - The End Game
In this hour, Washington faces two mutinies in the Continental Army. Congress is broke and the army desperately needs more help from the French. In England, the opposition to the war grows as Henry Clinton and Lord Cornwallis argue over the British strategy in the South. The French are tired of supporting the war, but Franklin continues to beg for aid. The French finally send their fleet to America, under the command of Admiral DeGrasse. Cornwallis moves his army to Yorktown, Virginia, and the Allied forces close in for the last major battle of the war. Experience the drama that surrounded the founding of the United States in this 13-part series that covers the years between the Boston Tea Party in 1773 to the ratification of the Constitution in 1787.
S01:E12 - Becoming a Nation
The news of the American victory at Yorktown spreads like wildfire around the globe. Patriots celebrate and loyalists begin evacuating, as Washington awaits the next British move. Parliament's growing anti-war faction forces the king to sue for peace and agree to American independence. John Adams joins Benjamin Franklin in France to negotiate the treaty of 1783. But the new nation is broke and confused, as Washington resigns his commission and Congress disbands the standing Continental Army. The 13 American states convene a Constitutional Convention to hammer out a new form of government, and urge a reluctant Washington to become the United State's first president.
S01:E13 - Road to the Presidency
After leading the rebellious British colonies in America to a most unlikely victory in the War for Independence, George Washington is called into service again. But this time to lead the newly born nation he helped create as its first president. Setting out on an 8-day trip from his home at Mount Vernon, Virginia to his inauguration in New York City, Washington's journey has him not only looking forward to the future but back on the events of the American Revolution.