Revolutionary War Comes Alive with Animated Map Tracing Conflict's Consequential Northern Campaign

(Washington, D.C.) — According to legend, Massachusetts Colonel William Parker, watching the Redcoats advance up the slopes toward what became known as the Battle of Bunker Hill, exhorted the men of the fledgling Continental Army, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!” Today, exactly 247 years later, such powerful scenes in American history come alive in the new animated map covering the Revolutionary War’s Northern Campaign created by the American Battlefield Trust and produced by award-winning Wide Awake Films.  

“There’s a profound value in ensuring that learning materials regarding our nation’s founding are accessible and exciting,” said Trust President David Duncan. “This new addition is most certainly not our first foray into developing free and compelling resources that can translate wonderfully in the classroom and beyond. We have demonstrated our commitment with a wealth of resources that showcase how dynamic and relevant the American story remains to modern audiences.”  

Filled with motion graphics, battle reenactment footage, emotionally compelling storytelling and historic images that work together to build an immersive history, the 18-minute production provides a window to vast understanding. It begins by transporting its viewers to 1775 Massachusetts, as the Revolutionary War started with the “shot heard ’round the world” at the Battles of Lexington and Concord. After two years of continuous fighting, the Battle of Saratoga proved to be a turning point in the war — the first surrender of a British field army prompting a formal treaty of military alliance with France. Following a stalemate after the 1778 Battle of Monmouth, the war shifted to the South, ultimately forcing General Lord Charles Cornwallis to surrender at Yorktown in 1781. The final peace treaty between the two nations, the Treaty of Paris, was signed September 1783, officially ending the war and beginning the American experiment. 

The Northern Campaign Animated Map is the latest addition to a Trust series that has amassed more than three million views from users around the world. “This new production allows for a comprehensive and easy-to-grasp showing of one of our country’s most formative time periods” said Trust Chief Historian Garry Adelman.  

As the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution approaches in 2026, resources like the Revolutionary War’s Northern Campaign animated map have great potential to introduce a fresh perspective to a wide range of viewers. The compelling stories communicated through Trust video productions can be used to learn, better understand, and share the complex history of our nation. Check out the new animated map, alongside other animated maps and insightful videos in the Trust’s library at www.youtube.com/americanbattlefieldtrust. 

The American Battlefield Trust is dedicated to preserving America’s hallowed battlegrounds and educating the public about what happened there and why it matters today.  The nonprofit, nonpartisan organization has protected more than 55,000 acres associated with the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Civil War. Learn more at www.battlefields.org.  

###