This assignment requires roughly 15 primary/secondary sources and I'm pretty much overwhelmed to the point I don't even know where to start. My plan is to write roughly 2 pages on 6 events (Washington Crossing Delaware, Boston Massacre, Ben Franks getting yelled at by Parliament, Valley Forge battle, Battle of Concord, and the Winter of 1779) and compare what actually happened to what's depicted in famous paintings.
Any book or author recommendations would be GREATLY appreciated.
George Washingtons papers are digitized through the Library of Congress as are many of the surviving newspapers. For example, the Virginia Gazette can be searched by topic through the Colonial Williamsburg research site for free. Many of the other newspapers require subscriptions, but most universities have or qualify for that already. For secondary sources your best bet is to take a look at some of the re-enactor recommended books. There are a number of forums and group websites that have discussions on that topic. Depending on how much reading you want to do some of David McCulloughs books could be a good start. If you are anywhere near a historic site (Colonial Williamsburg, Ft Ticonderoga, etc) stop off and ask questions. There are many military experts there that can guide you to specific references.
Assuming this is a term paper, you have lots of time. Regardless, your first line of inquiry should always be your professor since they are the one who will be grading your paper and are likely more knowledgeable about the time period you are discussing than anyone on this thread. In addition, find out who the other Americanists are in your school's history/art departments and set up a meeting with them - they are there to help students out.
I would suggest finding at least one biography of the figures you are interested in and three books about the American Revolution, preferably published in the last ten years by an ACADEMIC PRESS (Harvard University Press, Cornell University Press, and so forth), and look at their footnotes and bibliographies. Your primary and secondary source list writes itself at that point.
Finally, take advantage of databases like JSTOR, ProjectMUSE, WorldCat, and EBSCO. Play around with your search terms; you'll usually end up with drastically different search results. U.S. governmental websites such as the Smithsonian and Library of Congress have easily accessible sources, exhibits, and digital collections.
A policy I have told students before is that you should spend at least twice as much time reading and researching as you do studying. Do that and it's hard to write a bad paper. If you've never done intensive research, talk to your professor! They can help you with strategies and techniques you're probably unfamiliar with.
I usually provide a list of books that directly address the posted question, but these, I think, will be more useful to you:
(1) Alfred Young & Gregory Nobles. Whose American Revolution Was It? Historians Interpret the Founding (2011)
(2) Alan Gibson. Interpreting the Founding: Guide to the Enduring Debates over the Origins and Foundations of the American Republic (2006)
(3) Gwenda Morgan. The Debate on the American Revolution (2007)
Hope this helps a little. Happy Reading!