Why were caravels able to sail against the wind but other ships couldn't?

Revolutionary war. date battle result april 19, 1775 june 17, 1775 dec. 31, 1775 aug. 27, 1776 oct. 26, 1776 dec. 26, 1776 sept. 11, 1777 sept. 19, 1777 oct. 4, 1777 oct. 7, 1777 dec. 5, 1777 june 8, 1778 sept. 16, 1779 march 29, 1780 sept. 28, 1781 can i get the name of the battles and the result on the battles on the dates above