The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of the United States, fighting began on April 19, 1775, followed by the
Lee Resolution
The Lee Resolution (also known as "The Resolution for Independence") was the formal assertion passed by the Second Continental Congress on July 2, 1776 which resolved that the Thirteen Colonies in America (at the time referred to as United Colo ...
on July 2, 1776, and the
Declaration of Independence
A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...
on July 4, 1776. The American
Patriots were supported by the
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...
and, to a lesser extent, the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
and the
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
, in a conflict taking place in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
, and the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
.
Established by
royal charter
A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...
in the 17th and 18th centuries, the American colonies were largely autonomous in domestic affairs and commercially prosperous, trading with Britain and its
Caribbean colonies, as well as other European powers via their Caribbean
entrepôt
An ''entrepôt'' (; ) or transshipment port is a port, city, or trading post where merchandise may be imported, stored, or traded, usually to be exported again. Such cities often sprang up and such ports and trading posts often developed into co ...
s. After British victory over the French in the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
in 1763, tensions between the motherland and her 13 colonies arose over trade, policy in the
Northwest Territory
The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...
, and taxation measures, including the
Stamp Act and
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts () or Townshend Duties, were a series of British acts of Parliament passed during 1767 and 1768 introducing a series of taxes and regulations to fund administration of the British colonies in America. They are named after the ...
. Colonial opposition led to the
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre (known in Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain as the Incident on King Street) was a confrontation in Boston on March 5, 1770, in which a group of nine British soldiers shot five people out of a crowd of three or four hu ...
in 1770 which largely fostered the idea of independence from Britain. While the earlier taxation measures were repealed,
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
adopted the
Tea Act
The Tea Act 1773 (13 Geo 3 c 44) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. The principal objective was to reduce the massive amount of tea held by the financially troubled British East India Company in its London warehouses and to help th ...
in 1773, a measure that led to the
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was an American political and mercantile protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773. The target was the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea ...
on December 16. In response, Parliament imposed the so-called
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were a series of punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 after the Boston Tea Party. The laws aimed to punish Massachusetts colonists for their defiance in the Tea Party protest of the Tea Act, a tax measure ...
in mid-1774, closing the
Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States.
History
Since ...
, revoking Massachusetts' charter, and placing the colony under control of the British government.
The measures stirred unrest throughout the colonies, 12 of which sent delegates to
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
in early September 1774 to organize a protest as the
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates from 12 of the 13 British colonies that became the United States. It met from September 5 to October 26, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after the British Navy ...
. In an appeal to Britain's
George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
seeking peace, the Congress drafted a
Petition to the King
The Petition to the King was a petition sent to King George III by the First Continental Congress in 1774, calling for repeal of the Intolerable Acts.
Political background
Following the end of the French and Indian War (the North American the ...
but also threatened a boycott of British goods known as the
Continental Association
The Continental Association, also known as the Articles of Association or simply the Association, was an agreement among the American colonies adopted by the First Continental Congress on October 20, 1774. It called for a trade boycott against ...
if the Intolerable Acts were not withdrawn. Despite attempts to achieve a peaceful solution, fighting began, after the
Westminster Massacre
The Westminster Massacre was an incident that occurred on March 13, 1775, in the town of Westminster, Vermont, then part of the New Hampshire Grants, whose control was disputed between its residents and the Province of New York. It resulted in the ...
in March, with the
Battle of Lexington
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord ...
on April 19, 1775, and in June
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
authorized the creation of a
Continental Army
The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
with
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
as commander-in-chief. Although the "coercion policy" advocated by the
North ministry
Frederick North, Lord North was appointed to lead the government of the Kingdom of Great Britain by King George III from 1770 to 1782. His ministry oversaw the Falklands Crisis of 1770, the 1780 Gordon Riots and the outbreak of the American War ...
was opposed by a
faction
Faction or factionalism may refer to:
Politics
* Political faction, a group of people with a common political purpose
* Free and Independent Faction, a Romanian political party
* Faction (''Planescape''), a political faction in the game ''Planes ...
within Parliament, both sides increasingly viewed conflict as inevitable. The
Olive Branch Petition
The Olive Branch Petition was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 5, 1775, and signed on July 8 in a final attempt to avoid war between Great Britain and the Thirteen Colonies in America. The Congress had already authorized the i ...
sent by Congress to
George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
in July 1775 was rejected, and in August Parliament declared the colonies in a
state of rebellion.
Following the loss of
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
in March 1776,
Sir William Howe
William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB PC (10 August 172912 July 1814) was a British Army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British land forces in the Colonies during the American War of Independence. Howe was one of three brot ...
, the new British commander-in-chief, launched the
New York and New Jersey campaign
The New York and New Jersey campaign in 1776 and the winter months of 1777 was a series of American Revolutionary War battles for control of the Port of New York and New Jersey, Port of New York and the state of New Jersey, fought between Kingdom ...
. He captured
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
in November, before Washington won small but significant victories at
Trenton and
Princeton
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...
, which restored Patriot confidence. In summer 1777, Howe succeeded in taking
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, but in October a separate force under
John Burgoyne
General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British general, dramatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several batt ...
was forced to surrender at
Saratoga. This victory was crucial in convincing powers like France and Spain that an independent United States was a viable entity. The Continental Army then went into winter quarters in
Valley Forge
Valley Forge functioned as the third of eight winter encampments for the Continental Army's main body, commanded by General George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. In September 1777, Congress fled Philadelphia to escape the B ...
, where
General von Steuben drilled it into an organized fighting unit.
France provided the US informal economic and military support from the beginning of the rebellion, and after Saratoga the two countries signed a
commercial agreement and a
Treaty of Alliance in February 1778. In return for a guarantee of independence, Congress joined France in its
global war with Britain and agreed to defend the
French West Indies
The French West Indies or French Antilles (french: Antilles françaises, ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy fwansez) are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean:
* The two overseas departments of:
** Guadeloupe, ...
. Spain also allied with France against Britain in the
Treaty of Aranjuez (1779)
The Treaty of Aranjuez (1779) was signed on 12 April 1779 by France and Spain. Under its terms, Spain agreed to support France in its war with Britain, in return for assistance in recovering their former possessions of Menorca, Gibraltar and Span ...
, though it did not formally ally with the Americans. Nevertheless, access to ports in
Spanish Louisiana
Spanish Louisiana ( es, link=no, la Luisiana) was a governorate and administrative district of the Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1762 to 1801 that consisted of a vast territory in the center of North America encompassing the western basin of t ...
allowed the Patriots to import arms and supplies, while the Spanish
Gulf Coast campaign
The Gulf Coast campaign or the Spanish conquest of West Florida in the American Revolutionary War, was a series of military operations primarily directed by the governor of Spanish Louisiana, Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez, Bernar ...
deprived the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
of key bases in the south.
This undermined the 1778 strategy devised by Howe's replacement,
Sir Henry Clinton, which took the war into the
Southern United States
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
. Despite some initial success, by September 1781
Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...
was besieged by a Franco-American force in
Yorktown. After an attempt to resupply the garrison
failed, Cornwallis surrendered in October. Although the British wars with France and Spain continued for another two years, Britain's forces in America were generally confined to several harbors and western forts, while fighting in North America largely ceased. In April 1782, the North ministry was replaced by
a new British government which accepted American independence and began negotiating the
Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Trea ...
. With the treaty's ratification on September 3, 1783, Britain accepted American independence, and the war officially ended. The
Treaties of Versailles resolved separate conflicts with
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
.
[ Wallace 2015, "American Revolution"]
Prelude to revolution
The
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
, part of the wider global conflict known as the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
, ended with the
1763 Peace of Paris, which expelled France from its possessions in
New France
New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...
.
[ Calloway 2007, p. 4] Acquisition of territories in
Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (french: provinces de l'Atlantique), is the region of Eastern Canada comprising the provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec. The four provinces are New Brunswick, Newfoundlan ...
and
West Florida
West Florida ( es, Florida Occidental) was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico that underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. As its name suggests, it was formed out of the western part of former S ...
, inhabited largely by French or Spanish-speaking Catholics, led the British authorities to consolidate their hold by populating them with English-speaking settlers. Preventing conflict between settlers and Native American tribes west of the
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...
would also avoid the cost of an expensive military occupation.
The
Proclamation Line of 1763
The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued by King George III on 7 October 1763. It followed the Treaty of Paris (1763), which formally ended the Seven Years' War and transferred French territory in North America to Great Britain. The Procla ...
was designed to achieve these aims by refocusing colonial expansion north into
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
and south into Florida, with the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
as the dividing line between British and Spanish possessions in the Americas. Settlement beyond the 1763 limits was tightly restricted, while claims by individual colonies west of this line were rescinded, most significantly
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
and
who argued their boundaries extended from the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
to the
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
.
Ultimately the vast exchange of territory destabilized existing alliances and trade networks between settlers and Native Americans in the west, while it proved impossible to prevent encroachment beyond the Proclamation Line. With the exception of Virginia and others "deprived" of their rights in the western lands, the
colonial legislatures generally agreed on the principle of boundaries but disagreed on where to set them, while many settlers resented the restrictions. Since enforcement required permanent garrisons along the frontier, it led to increasingly bitter disputes over who should pay for them.
[ Calloway 2007, p. 12]
Taxation and legislation
Although directly administered by the Crown, acting through a local Governor, the colonies were largely governed by native-born property owners. While external affairs were managed by
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, colonial
militia
A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
were funded locally but with the ending of the French threat in 1763, the legislatures expected less taxation, not more. At the same time, the huge debt incurred by the Seven Years' War and demands from British taxpayers for cuts in government expenditure meant
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
expected the colonies to fund their own defense.
The 1763 to 1765
Grenville ministry
The Grenville ministry was a British Government headed by George Grenville which served between 16 April 1763 and 13 July 1765. It was formed after the previous Prime Minister, the Earl of Bute, had resigned following fierce criticism of his sign ...
instructed the Royal Navy to stop the trade of smuggled goods and enforce customs duties levied in American ports.
The most important was the 1733
Molasses Act
The Molasses Act of 1733 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain (citation 6 Geo II. c. 13) that imposed a tax of six pence per gallon on imports of molasses from non-British colonies. Parliament created the act largely at the insistence of ...
; routinely ignored prior to 1763, it had a significant economic impact since 85% of New England rum exports were manufactured from imported molasses. These measures were followed by the
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act 1764, also known as the American Revenue Act 1764 or the American Duties Act, was a revenue-raising act passed by the Parliament of Great Britain on 5 April 1764. The preamble to the act stated: "it is expedient that new provisi ...
and
Stamp Act, which imposed additional taxes on the colonies to pay for defending the western frontier.
[ Watson and Clark 1960, pp. 183–184] In July 1765, the
Whigs formed the
First Rockingham ministry
The first Rockingham ministry was a British ministry headed by the Marquess of Rockingham from 1765 to 1766 during the reign of King George III. The government was made up mainly of his followers known as the Rockingham Whigs. The most influenti ...
, which repealed the Stamp Act and reduced tax on foreign molasses to help the New England economy, but re-asserted Parliamentary authority in the
Declaratory Act
The American Colonies Act 1766 (6 Geo. III c 12), commonly known as the Declaratory Act, was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which accompanied the repeal of the Stamp Act 1765 and the amendment of the Sugar Act. Parliament repealed ...
.
[ Watson and Clark 1960, pp. 116, 187]
However, this did little to end the discontent; in 1768, a riot started in Boston when the authorities seized the sloop ''
Liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
'' on suspicion of smuggling.
[ Morgan 2012, p. 40] Tensions escalated further in March 1770 when British troops fired on rock-throwing civilians, killing five in what became known as the
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre (known in Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain as the Incident on King Street) was a confrontation in Boston on March 5, 1770, in which a group of nine British soldiers shot five people out of a crowd of three or four hu ...
.
[ Ferling 2007, p. 23] The Massacre coincided with the partial repeal of the
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts () or Townshend Duties, were a series of British acts of Parliament passed during 1767 and 1768 introducing a series of taxes and regulations to fund administration of the British colonies in America. They are named after the ...
by the Tory-based
North Ministry
Frederick North, Lord North was appointed to lead the government of the Kingdom of Great Britain by King George III from 1770 to 1782. His ministry oversaw the Falklands Crisis of 1770, the 1780 Gordon Riots and the outbreak of the American War ...
, which came to power in January 1770 and remained in office until 1781. North insisted on retaining duty on tea to enshrine Parliament's right to tax the colonies; the amount was minor, but ignored the fact it was that very principle Americans found objectionable.
[ Morgan 2012, p. 52]
Tensions escalated following the destruction of a customs vessel in the June 1772
Gaspee Affair
The ''Gaspee'' Affair was a significant event in the lead-up to the American Revolution. HMS ''Gaspee'' was a British customs schooner that enforced the Navigation Acts in and around Newport, Rhode Island, in 1772. It ran aground in shallow ...
, then came to a head in 1773. A
banking crisis
A bank run or run on the bank occurs when many clients withdraw their money from a bank, because they believe the bank may cease to function in the near future. In other words, it is when, in a fractional-reserve banking system (where banks no ...
led to the near-collapse of the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
, which dominated the British economy; to support it, Parliament passed the
Tea Act
The Tea Act 1773 (13 Geo 3 c 44) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. The principal objective was to reduce the massive amount of tea held by the financially troubled British East India Company in its London warehouses and to help th ...
, giving it a trading monopoly in the
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of Kingdom of Great Britain, British Colony, colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Fo ...
. Since most American tea was smuggled by the Dutch, the Act was opposed by those who managed the illegal trade, while being seen as yet another attempt to impose the principle of taxation by Parliament.
[ Greene & Pole 2008, pp. 155–156] In December 1773, a group called the
Sons of Liberty
The Sons of Liberty was a loosely organized, clandestine, sometimes violent, political organization active in the Thirteen American Colonies founded to advance the rights of the colonists and to fight taxation by the British government. It pl ...
disguised as Mohawk natives dumped 342 crates of tea into Boston Harbor, an event later known as the
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was an American political and mercantile protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773. The target was the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea ...
. Parliament responded by passing the so-called
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were a series of punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 after the Boston Tea Party. The laws aimed to punish Massachusetts colonists for their defiance in the Tea Party protest of the Tea Act, a tax measure ...
, aimed specifically at Massachusetts, although many colonists and members of the Whig opposition considered them a threat to liberty in general. This led to increased sympathy for the Patriot cause locally, as well as in Parliament and the London press.
[ Ammerman 1974, p. 15]
Break with the British Crown
Over the course of the 18th century, the
elected lower houses in the colonial legislatures gradually wrested power from their Royal Governors.
[ Olsen 1992, pp. 543–544] Dominated by smaller landowners and merchants, these Assemblies now established ad hoc provincial legislatures, variously called Congresses, Conventions, and Conferences, effectively replacing Royal control. With the exception of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, twelve colonies sent representatives to the
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates from 12 of the 13 British colonies that became the United States. It met from September 5 to October 26, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after the British Navy ...
to agree on a unified response to the crisis.
[ Ferling 2003, p. 112] Many of the delegates feared that an all-out boycott would result in war and sent a
Petition to the King
The Petition to the King was a petition sent to King George III by the First Continental Congress in 1774, calling for repeal of the Intolerable Acts.
Political background
Following the end of the French and Indian War (the North American the ...
calling for the repeal of the Intolerable Acts.
[ Ferling 2015, p. 102] However, after some debate, on September 17, 1774, Congress endorsed the Massachusetts
Suffolk Resolves
The Suffolk Resolves was a declaration made on September 9, 1774, by the leaders of Suffolk County, Massachusetts. The declaration rejected the Massachusetts Government Act and resulted in a boycott of imported goods from Britain unless the In ...
and on October 20 passed the
Continental Association
The Continental Association, also known as the Articles of Association or simply the Association, was an agreement among the American colonies adopted by the First Continental Congress on October 20, 1774. It called for a trade boycott against ...
; based on a draft prepared by the
First Virginia Convention
The Virginia Conventions have been the assemblies of delegates elected for the purpose of establishing constitutions of fundamental law for the Commonwealth of Virginia superior to General Assembly legislation. Their constitutions and subseque ...
in August, this instituted
economic sanctions
Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they may ...
against Britain.
[ Greene & Pole 2008, p. 199]
File:Patrick Henry speaking before the Virginia Assembly.tiff, alt=Scene from the Second Virginia Convention, Patrick Henry giving his speech, "Give me liberty or give me death!", Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736June 6, 1799) was an American attorney, planter, politician and orator known for declaring to the Second Virginia Convention (1775): " Give me liberty, or give me death!" A Founding Father, he served as the first an ...
, 2nd Virginia Convention
"Give me liberty or give me death!"
was reported throughout the colonies
File:Washington promotion by Continental Congress.jpg, alt=Scene from the First Continental Congress, George Washington appointed as Commander-in-Chief for the new Continental Army besieging Boston., July 1775, Independence Hall, Philadelphia
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
(standing, center)
made Commander-in-Chief in Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
While denying its authority over internal American affairs, a faction led by
James Duane
James Duane (February 6, 1733 – February 1, 1797) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, attorney, jurist, and American Revolutionary War, American Revolutionary leader from New York (state), New York. He serve ...
and future Loyalist
Joseph Galloway
Joseph Galloway (1731August 29, 1803) was an American attorney and a leading political figure in the events immediately preceding the founding of the United States in the late 1700s. As a staunch opponent of American independence, he would bec ...
insisted Congress recognize Parliament's right to regulate colonial trade.
Expecting concessions by the North administration, Congress authorized the extralegal committees and conventions of the colonial legislatures to enforce the boycott; this succeeded in reducing British imports by 97% from 1774 to 1775.
[ Paine, Kramnick (Ed.) 1982, p. 21] However, on February 9 Parliament declared Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion and instituted a blockade of the colony.
[ Ferling 2007, pp. 62–64] In July, the
Restraining Acts limited colonial trade with the
British West Indies
The British West Indies (BWI) were colonized British territories in the West Indies: Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grena ...
and Britain and barred New England ships from the
Newfoundland cod fisheries. The increase in tension led to a scramble for control of militia stores, which each Assembly was legally obliged to maintain for defense.
[ Axelrod 2009, p. 83] On April 19, a British attempt to secure the Concord arsenal culminated in the
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord ...
which began the war.
[ Fischer, D. 2004, p. 76]
Political reactions
After the Patriot victory at Concord, moderates in Congress led by
John Dickinson
John Dickinson (November 13 Julian_calendar">/nowiki>Julian_calendar_November_2.html" ;"title="Julian_calendar.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Julian calendar">/nowiki>Julian calendar November 2">Julian_calendar.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Julian calendar" ...
drafted the
Olive Branch Petition
The Olive Branch Petition was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 5, 1775, and signed on July 8 in a final attempt to avoid war between Great Britain and the Thirteen Colonies in America. The Congress had already authorized the i ...
, offering to accept royal authority in return for George III mediating in the dispute.
[ O'Shaughnessy 2013, p. 25] However, since the petition was immediately followed by the
Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms
The Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms was a Resolution adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 6, 1775, which explains why the Thirteen Colonies had taken up arms in what had become the American Revolutionary War ...
, Colonial Secretary
Lord Dartmouth
Earl of Dartmouth is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1711 for William Legge, 1st Earl of Dartmouth, William Legge, 2nd Baron Dartmouth.
History
The Legge family descended from Edward Legge, Vice-President of Munster. ...
viewed the offer as insincere; he refused to present the petition to the king, which was therefore rejected in early September.
[ Brown 1941, pp. 29–31] Although constitutionally correct, since George could not oppose his own government, it disappointed those Americans who hoped he would mediate in the dispute, while the hostility of his language annoyed even
Loyalist
Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...
members of Congress.
Combined with the
Proclamation of Rebellion
The Proclamation of Rebellion, officially titled A Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition, was the response of George III to the news of the Battle of Bunker Hill at the outset of the American Revolution. Issued on 23 August 1775, ...
, issued on August 23 in response to the Battle at Bunker Hill, it ended hopes of a peaceful settlement.
[ Ketchum 2014a, p. 211]
Backed by the
Whigs, Parliament initially rejected the imposition of coercive measures by 170 votes, fearing an aggressive policy would simply drive the Americans towards independence.
[ Maier 1998, p. 25] However, by the end of 1774 the collapse of British authority meant both Lord North and George III were convinced war was inevitable.
[ Ferling 2003, pp. 123–124] After Boston, Gage halted operations and awaited reinforcements; the
Irish Parliament approved the recruitment of new regiments, while allowing Catholics to enlist for the first time.
[ Lecky 1892, vol. 3, pp. 162–165] Britain also signed a series of treaties with German states to supply
additional troops.
[ Davenport 1917, pp. 132–144] Within a year it had an army of over 32,000 men in America, the largest ever sent outside Europe at the time.
[ Smith, D. 2012, pp. 21–23]
The employment of German soldiers against people viewed as British citizens was opposed by many in Parliament, as well as the colonial assemblies; combined with the lack of activity by Gage, opposition to the use of foreign troops allowed the Patriots to take control of the legislatures.
[ Miller, J. 1959, pp. 410–12] Support for independence was boosted by
Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...
's pamphlet ''
Common Sense
''Common Sense'' is a 47-page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–1776 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. Writing in clear and persuasive prose, Paine collected various moral and political argu ...
'', which argued for American self-government and was widely reprinted.
[ Maier 1998, pp. 33–34] To draft the
Declaration of Independence
A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...
, Congress appointed the
Committee of Five
''
The Committee of Five of the Second Continental Congress was a group of five members who drafted and presented to the full Congress in Pennsylvania State House what would become the United States Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776. Th ...
, consisting of
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
,
John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...
,
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
,
Roger Sherman
Roger Sherman (April 19, 1721 – July 23, 1793) was an American statesman, lawyer, and a Founding Father of the United States. He is the only person to sign four of the great state papers of the United States related to the founding: the Cont ...
and
Robert Livingston.
[ McCullough 2005, pp. 119–122] Identifying inhabitants of the Thirteen Colonies as "one people", it simultaneously dissolved political links with Britain, while including a long list of alleged violations of "English rights" committed by George III.
[ Ferling 2007, pp. 112, 118]
On July 2, Congress voted for independence and published the declaration on July 4,
[ Maier 1998, pp. 160–61] which Washington read to his troops in New York City on July 9.
[ Fischer, D. 2004, p. 29] At this point, the Revolution ceased to be an internal dispute over trade and tax policies and became a civil war, since each state represented in Congress was engaged in a struggle with Britain, but also split between Patriots and Loyalists.
[ Mays 2019, p. 2] Patriots generally supported independence from Britain and a new national union in Congress, while Loyalists remained faithful to British rule. Estimates of numbers vary, one suggestion being the population as a whole was split evenly between committed Patriots, committed Loyalists and those who were indifferent.
[ Mays 2019, p. 3] Others calculate the split as 40% Patriot, 40% neutral, 20% Loyalist, but with considerable regional variations.
[ Greene & Pole 2008, p. 235]
At the onset of the war,
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
realized defeating Britain required foreign alliances and intelligence-gathering. The
Committee of Secret Correspondence
The Committee of Secret Correspondence was a committee formed by the Second Continental Congress and active from 1775 to 1776. The Committee played a large role in attracting French aid and alliance during the American Revolution. In 1777, the Co ...
was formed for "the sole purpose of corresponding with our friends in Great Britain and other parts of the world". From 1775 to 1776, the committee shared information and built alliances through secret correspondence, as well as employing secret agents in Europe to gather intelligence, conduct undercover operations, analyze foreign publications and initiate Patriot propaganda campaigns.
[ CIA 2007, "Intelligence Until WWII"] Paine served as secretary, while Benjamin Franklin and
Silas Deane
Silas Deane (September 23, 1789) was an American merchant, politician, and diplomat, and a supporter of American independence. Deane served as a delegate to the Continental Congress, where he signed the Continental Association, and then became the ...
, sent to France to recruit military engineers, were instrumental in securing French aid in Paris.
[ Rose A. 2014 006 p. 43]
War breaks out
The war consisted of two principal campaign theaters within the thirteen states, and a smaller but strategically important one in the
west of the Appalachian Mountains. Fighting began in the
Northern Theater and was at its most severe from 1775 to 1778. The Patriots achieved several strategic victories
in the South and after defeating a British army at Saratoga in October 1777, the French formally entered the war as an American ally.
[ Mays 2019, p. 8]
During 1778, Washington prevented the British army breaking out of New York City, while militia under
George Rogers Clark
George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American surveyor, soldier, and militia officer from Virginia who became the highest-ranking American patriot military officer on the northwestern frontier during the Ame ...
supported by
Francophone settlers and their Indian allies conquered
Western Quebec, which became the
Northwest Territory
The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...
. With the war in the north stalemated, in 1779 the British initiated their
southern strategy
In American politics, the Southern strategy was a Republican Party electoral strategy to increase political support among white voters in the South by appealing to racism against African Americans. As the civil rights movement and dismantling of ...
, which aimed to mobilise Loyalist support in the region and reoccupy Patriot-controlled territory north to
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...
. The campaign was initially successful, with the British capture of
Charleston
Charleston most commonly refers to:
* Charleston, South Carolina
* Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital
* Charleston (dance)
Charleston may also refer to:
Places Australia
* Charleston, South Australia
Canada
* Charleston, Newfoundlan ...
being a major setback for southern Patriots; however, a Franco-American force surrounded a British army at
Yorktown and their surrender in October 1781 effectively ended fighting in North America.
Early engagements
On April 14, 1775, Sir
Thomas Gage
General Thomas Gage (10 March 1718/192 April 1787) was a British Army general officer and colonial official best known for his many years of service in North America, including his role as British commander-in-chief in the early days of the ...
,
Commander-in-Chief, North America
The office of Commander-in-Chief, North America was a military position of the British Army. Established in 1755 in the early years of the Seven Years' War, holders of the post were generally responsible for land-based military personnel and ac ...
since 1763 and also
Governor of Massachusetts
The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces.
Massachusetts ...
from 1774, received orders to take action against the Patriots. He decided to destroy militia ordnance stored at
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is near where the conflu ...
, and capture
John Hancock
John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the ...
and
Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams ( – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in colonial Massachusetts, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and ...
, who were considered the principal instigators of the rebellion. The operation was to begin around midnight on April 19, in the hope of completing it before the Patriots could respond.
[ Ferling, 2007, p. 29][Fischer, p. 85] However,
Paul Revere
Paul Revere (; December 21, 1734 O.S. (January 1, 1735 N.S.)May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith, engraver, early industrialist, Sons of Liberty member, and Patriot and Founding Father. He is best known for his midnight ride to ale ...
learned of the plan and notified Captain
Parker Parker may refer to:
Persons
* Parker (given name)
* Parker (surname)
Places Place names in the United States
*Parker, Arizona
*Parker, Colorado
* Parker, Florida
* Parker, Idaho
* Parker, Kansas
* Parker, Missouri
* Parker, North Carolina
*Park ...
, commander of the Concord militia, who prepared to resist the attempted seizure.
[ Ferling 2007, pp. 129–19] The first action of the war, commonly referred to as the
shot heard round the world
"The Shot Heard 'Round the World" is a phrase that refers to the opening shot of the battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, which began the American Revolutionary War and led to the creation of the United States of America. It was an ...
, was a brief skirmish at Lexington, followed by the full-scale
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord ...
. British troops suffered around 300 casualties before withdrawing to Boston, which was then
besieged
Besieged may refer to:
* the state of being under siege
* ''Besieged'' (film), a 1998 film by Bernardo Bertolucci
{{disambiguation ...
by the militia.
[ Ketchum 2014a, pp. 18, 54]
In May, 4,500 British reinforcements arrived under Generals
William Howe,
John Burgoyne
General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British general, dramatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several batt ...
, and
Sir Henry Clinton.
[ Ketchum 2014a, pp. 2–9] On June 17, they seized the
Charlestown Peninsula
Charlestown is the oldest neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Originally called Mishawum by the Massachusett tribe, it is located on a peninsula north of the Charles River, across from downtown Boston, and also adjoins t ...
at the
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peripherally involved in ...
, a frontal assault in which they suffered over 1,000 casualties.
[ Higginbotham 1983 ]971
Year 971 ( CMLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men) ...
pp. 75–77 Dismayed at the costly attack which had gained them little,
[ Ketchum 2014a, pp. 183, 198–209] Gage appealed to London for a larger army to suppress the revolt,
[ Rankin 1987, p. 63] but instead was replaced as commander by Howe.
On June 14, 1775, Congress took control of Patriot forces outside Boston, and Congressional leader John Adams nominated
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
as commander-in-chief of the new
Continental Army
The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
.
[ Chernow, 2010, p. 186] Washington previously commanded Virginia militia regiments in the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
,
[ Taylor 2016, pp. 141–142] and on June 16,
John Hancock
John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the ...
officially proclaimed him "General and Commander in Chief of the army of the United Colonies."
[ Chernow, 2010, p. 187] He assumed command on July 3, preferring to
fortify Dorchester Heights outside Boston rather than assaulting it.
[ McCullough 2005, p. 53] In early March 1776, Colonel
Henry Knox
Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806), a Founding Father of the United States, was a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, serving as chief of artillery in most of Washington's campaigns. Following the ...
arrived with
heavy artillery
The formal definition of large-calibre artillery used by the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms (UNROCA) is "guns, howitzers, artillery pieces, combining the characteristics of a gun, howitzer, mortar, or multiple-launch rocket syst ...
acquired in the
Capture of Fort Ticonderoga
The capture of Fort Ticonderoga occurred during the American Revolutionary War on May 10, 1775, when a small force of Green Mountain Boys led by Ethan Allen and Colonel Benedict Arnold surprised and captured the fort's small British garrison. ...
.
[ Frothingham 1903, pp. 100–101] Under cover of darkness, on March 5, Washington placed these on Dorchester Heights,
[ Ferling 2003, p. 183] from where they could fire on the town and British ships in
Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States.
History
Since ...
. Fearing another Bunker Hill, Howe evacuated the city on
March 17
Events Pre-1600
* 45 BC – In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda.
* 180 – Commodus becomes sole emperor of the Roman Empire at the age of eigh ...
without further loss and sailed to
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...
, while Washington moved south to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
[ Alden 1969, pp. 188–190]
Beginning in August 1775,
American privateers
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
raided towns in Nova Scotia, including
Saint John,
Charlottetown
Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...
and
Yarmouth
Yarmouth may refer to:
Places Canada
*Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia
**Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
**Municipality of the District of Yarmouth
**Yarmouth (provincial electoral district)
**Yarmouth (electoral district)
* Yarmouth Township, Ontario
*New ...
. In 1776,
John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
and
Jonathan Eddy
Jonathan Eddy (–1804) was a British-American soldier, who fought for the British in the French and Indian War and for the Americans in the American Revolution. After the French and Indian War, he settled in Nova Scotia as a New England Planter, ...
attacked
Canso
The Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) is a representative body of companies that provide air traffic control. It represents the interests of Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs). CANSO members are responsible for supporting ov ...
and
Fort Cumberland
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
respectively. British officials in
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
began negotiating with the
Iroquois
The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
for their support,
[ Smith, J. 1907 vol 1, p. 293] while US envoys urged them to remain neutral.
[ Glatthaar 2007, pp. 91, 93] Aware of Native American leanings toward the British and fearing an Anglo-Indian attack from Canada, Congress authorized a second invasion in April 1775.
[ Greene & Pole 2008, pp. 504–505] After defeat at the
Battle of Quebec on December 31,
[ Randall 1990, pp. 38–39] the Americans maintained a loose blockade of the city until they retreated on May 6, 1776.
[ Lanctot 1967, pp. 141–46] A second defeat at
Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...
on June 8 ended operations in Quebec.
[ Stanley 2006, pp. 127–28]
British pursuit was initially blocked by American naval vessels on
Lake Champlain
, native_name_lang =
, image = Champlainmap.svg
, caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada
, coords =
, type =
, ...
until victory at
Valcour Island on October 11 forced the Americans to withdraw to
Fort Ticonderoga
Fort Ticonderoga (), formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century star fort built by the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain, in northern New York, in the United States. It was constructed by Canadian-born French mi ...
, while in December an uprising in Nova Scotia sponsored by Massachusetts was defeated at
Fort Cumberland
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
.
[ Smith, J. 1907 vol 1, p. 242] These failures impacted public support for the Patriot cause,
[ Watson and Clark 1960, p. 203] and aggressive anti-Loyalist policies in the
New England colonies
The New England Colonies of British America included Connecticut Colony, the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth Colony, and the Province of New Hampshire, as well as a few smaller short-lived colon ...
alienated the Canadians.
[ Lefkowitz 2007, pp. 264–265]
In
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, an attempt by
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Lord Dunmore
Earl of Dunmore is a title in the Peerage of Scotland.
History
The title was created in 1686 for Lord Charles Murray, second son of John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl. He was made Lord Murray of Blair, Moulin and Tillimet (or Tullimet) and V ...
to seize
militia stores on April 20, 1775, led to an increase in tension, although conflict was avoided for the time being.
[ Selby 2007, p. 2] This changed after the publication of
Dunmore's Proclamation
Dunmore's Proclamation is a historical document signed on November 7, 1775, by John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, royal governor of the British Colony of Virginia. The proclamation declared martial law and promised freedom for slaves of America ...
on November 7, 1775, promising freedom to any
slaves
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
who fled their Patriot masters and agreed to fight for the Crown.
[ Levy 2007, p. 74] British forces were defeated at
Great Bridge on December 9 and took refuge on British ships anchored near the port of Norfolk. When the
Third Virginia Convention
The Virginia Conventions have been the assemblies of delegates elected for the purpose of establishing constitutions of fundamental law for the Commonwealth of Virginia superior to General Assembly legislation. Their constitutions and subseque ...
refused to disband its militia or accept martial law, Dunmore ordered the
Burning of Norfolk
The Burning of Norfolk was an incident that occurred on January 1, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War. British Royal Navy ships in the harbor of Norfolk, Virginia, began shelling the town, and landing parties came ashore to burn speci ...
on January 1, 1776.
[Russell 2000, p. 73]
The
siege of Savage's Old Fields
The siege of Savage's Old Fields (also known as the first siege of Ninety Six, November 19–21, 1775) was an encounter between Patriot and Loyalist forces in the back country town of Ninety Six, South Carolina, early in the American Revolution ...
began on November 19 in
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
between Loyalist and Patriot militias,
[ McCrady 1901, p. 89] and the Loyalists were subsequently driven out of the colony in the
Snow Campaign
The Snow Campaign was one of the first major military operations of the American Revolutionary War in the southern colonies. An army of up to 3,000 Patriot militia under Colonel Richard Richardson marched against Loyalist recruiting centers in ...
.
[ Landrum 1897, pp. 80–81] Loyalists were recruited in
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
to reassert British rule in the South, but they were decisively defeated in the
Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge
The Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge was a minor conflict of the American Revolutionary War fought near Wilmington (present-day Pender County), North Carolina, on February 27, 1776. The victory of the North Carolina Provincial Congress' militia ...
.
[ Wilson 2005, p. 33] A British expedition sent to reconquer
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
launched an attack on Charleston in the
Battle of Sullivan's Island
The Battle of Sullivan's Island or the Battle of Fort Sullivan was fought on June 28, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War. It took place near Charleston, South Carolina, during the first British attempt to capture the city from Americ ...
on June 28, 1776,
[ Hibbert 2008, p. 106] but it failed and left the South under Patriot control until 1780.
[ Bicheno 2014, pp. 154, 158]
A shortage of gunpowder led Congress to authorize a naval expedition against
The Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...
to secure ordnance stored there.
[ Field 1898, p. 104] On March 3, 1776, an American squadron under the command of Esek Hopkins landed at the east end of
Nassau
Nassau may refer to:
Places Bahamas
*Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence
Canada
*Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792
*Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...
and encountered minimal resistance at
Fort Montagu
Fort Montagu is a small fort of four cannon on the eastern shore of New Providence Island (Nassau) Bahamas. Peter Henry Bruce oversaw the construction of the fort that began in 1741 to defend the British possession from Spanish invaders.
Co ...
. Hopkins' troops then marched on
Fort Nassau. Hopkins had promised governor
Montfort Browne
Montfort Browne ( fl. 1760–1780) was a British Army officer and Tory, and a major landowner and developer of British West Florida in the 1760s and 1770s. He commanded the Prince of Wales' American Regiment, a Loyalist regiment, in the Ame ...
and the civilian inhabitants of the area that their lives and property would not be in any danger if they offered no resistance, to which they complied. Hopkins captured large stores of powder and other munitions that was so great he had to impress an extra ship in the harbor to transport the supplies back home, when he departed on March 17.
[ Field 1898, pp. 114–118] A month later, after a
brief skirmish with , they returned to
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...
, the base for American naval operations during the Revolution.
[ Field 1898, pp. 120–25]
British New York counter-offensive
After regrouping at
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...
, William Howe was determined to take the fight to the Americans.
[ Fischer, D. 2004, pp. 78–76] He sailed for New York in June 1776 and began landing troops on
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
near the entrance to
New York Harbor
New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...
on July 2. The Americans rejected Howe's informal attempt to negotiate peace on July 30;
[ Ketchum 2014 ]973
Year 973 ( CMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Spring – The Byzantine army, led by General Melias (Domestic of the S ...
p. 104 Washington knew that an attack on the city was imminent and realized that he needed advance information to deal with disciplined British regular troops. On August 12, 1776, Patriot
Thomas Knowlton
Thomas W. Knowlton (November 22, 1740 – September 16, 1776) was an American patriot who served in the French and Indian War and was a colonel during the American Revolution. Knowlton is considered America's first Intelligence professional, ...
was given orders to form an elite group for reconnaissance and secret missions.
Knowlton's Rangers
Knowlton's Rangers was a reconnaissance and espionage detachment of the Continental Army established by George Washington. Named after its commander, Thomas Knowlton, the unit was formed in 1776.
History
On August 12, 1776, General of the Arm ...
, which included
Nathan Hale
Nathan Hale (June 6, 1755 – September 22, 1776) was an American Patriot, soldier and spy for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He volunteered for an intelligence-gathering mission in New York City but was captured b ...
, became the Army's first intelligence unit.
[ Johnston 1897, p. 61] When Washington was driven off Long Island he soon realized that he would need more than military might and amateur spies to defeat the British. He was committed to professionalizing military intelligence, and with the aid of
Benjamin Tallmadge
Benjamin Tallmadge (February 25, 1754 – March 7, 1835) was an American military officer, spymaster, and politician. He is best known for his service as an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He acted as leade ...
, they launched the six-man
Culper spy ring
The Culper Ring was a network of spy, spies active during the American Revolutionary War, organized by Major Benjamin Tallmadge and General George Washington in 1778 during the British New York and New Jersey campaign, occupation of New York Cit ...
.
[ Baker 2014, Chap.12] The efforts of Washington and the Culper Spy Ring substantially increased effective allocation and deployment of Continental regiments in the field.
Over the course of the war Washington spent more than 10 percent of his total military funds on intelligence operations.
[ CIA 2011, Historical Document]
Washington split his army into positions on
Manhattan Island
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
and across the East River#Tributaries, East River in western Long Island#18th and 19th centuries, Long Island.
[ Fischer, D. 2004, pp. 89, 381] On August 27 at the Battle of Long Island, Howe outflanked Washington and forced him back to Brooklyn Heights#Early settlement, Brooklyn Heights, but he did not attempt to encircle Washington's forces.
[#adams63, Adams 1963 [1895–6], p. 657] Through the night of August 28, General
Henry Knox
Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806), a Founding Father of the United States, was a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, serving as chief of artillery in most of Washington's campaigns. Following the ...
bombarded the British. Knowing they were up against overwhelming odds, Washington ordered the assembly of a war council on August 29; all agreed to retreat to Manhattan. Washington quickly had his troops assembled and ferried them across the East River to Manhattan on flat-bottomed Bateau, freight boats without any losses in men or ordnance, leaving General Thomas Mifflin's regiments as a rearguard.
[ McCullough 2005, pp. 184–186]
General Howe officially met with a delegation from Congress at the September Staten Island Peace Conference, but it failed to conclude peace as the British delegates only had the authority to offer pardons and could not recognize independence.
[#mcguire2011, McGuire 2011, pp. 165–166] On September 15, Howe seized control of New York City when the British Landing at Kip's Bay, landed at Kip's Bay and unsuccessfully engaged the Americans at the Battle of Harlem Heights the following day.
[ Fischer, D. 2004, pp. 102–107] On October 18 Howe failed to encircle the Americans at the Battle of Pell's Point, and the Americans withdrew. Howe declined to close with Washington's army on October 28 at the Battle of White Plains, and instead attacked a hill that was of no strategic value.
[ Fischer, D. 2004, pp. 102–111]
Washington's retreat isolated his remaining forces and the British captured Battle of Fort Washington, Fort Washington on November 16. The British victory there amounted to Washington's most disastrous defeat with the loss of 3,000 prisoners.
[#ketchum2014a, Ketchum 2014 ]973
Year 973 ( CMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Spring – The Byzantine army, led by General Melias (Domestic of the S ...
pp. 111, 130 The remaining American regiments on Long Island fell back four days later.
[ Fischer, D. 2004, pp. 109–25] General
Sir Henry Clinton wanted to pursue Washington's disorganized army, but he was first required to commit 6,000 troops to capture History of Rhode Island#Revolutionary era, 1775–1790, Newport, Rhode Island to secure the Loyalist port.
[ McCullough 2005, p. 122] General Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, Charles Cornwallis pursued Washington, but Howe ordered him to halt, leaving Washington unmolested.
[#tucker2002, Tucker 2002, pp. 22–23]
The outlook was bleak for the American cause: the reduced army had dwindled to fewer than 5,000 men and would be reduced further when enlistments expired at the end of the year.
[#schecter, Schecter 2003, pp. 266–67] Popular support wavered, morale declined, and Congress abandoned History of Philadelphia#Revolution, Philadelphia and moved to Baltimore#Colonial period, Baltimore.
[ Fischer, D. 2004, pp. 138–142] Loyalist activity surged in the wake of the American defeat, especially in History of New York (state)#New York in the American Revolution, New York state.
[#morris1965, Morris, R.B. Morris 1983 [1965] , p. 139]
In London, news of the victorious Long Island campaign was well received with festivities held in the capital. Public support reached a peak,
[ McCullough 2005, p. 195] and King George III awarded the Order of the Bath to Howe.
[ Ketchum 2014 ]973
Year 973 ( CMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Spring – The Byzantine army, led by General Melias (Domestic of the S ...
pp. 191, 269 Strategic deficiencies among Patriot forces were evident: Washington divided a numerically weaker army in the face of a stronger one, his inexperienced staff misread the military situation, and American troops fled in the face of enemy fire. The successes led to predictions that the British could win within a year.
[#adams63, Adams 1963 [1895-6], pp. 650–670] In the meantime, the British established winter quarters in the New York City area and anticipated renewed campaigning the following spring.
[#schecter, Schecter 2003, pp. 259–63]
Patriot resurgence
Two weeks after Congress withdrew to Maryland, on the night of December 25–26, 1776, Washington George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River, crossed the Delaware River, leading a column of
Continental Army
The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
troops from today's Bucks County, Pennsylvania, located about 30 miles upriver from
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, to today's Mercer County, New Jersey, in a logistically challenging and dangerous operation.
Meanwhile, the Hessians were involved with numerous clashes with small bands of patriots and were often aroused by false alarms at night in the weeks before the actual Battle of Trenton. By Christmas they were tired and weary, while a heavy snow storm led their commander, Colonel Johann Rall, to assume no attack of any consequence would occur. At daybreak on the 26th, the American patriots surprised and overwhelmed Rall and his troops, who lost over 20 killed including Rall, while 900 prisoners, German cannons and much supply were captured.
[ Fischer, D. 2004, pp. 206–208, 254]
The Battle of Trenton restored the American army's morale, reinvigorated the Patriot cause,
[#wood1995, Wood 1995, pp. 72–74] and dispelled their fear of the what they regarded as Hessian "mercenaries".
[#mauch2003, Mauch 2003, p. 416] A British attempt to retake Trenton was repulsed at Battle of the Assunpink Creek, Assunpink Creek on January 2;
[ Fischer, D. 2004, p. 307] during the night, Washington outmaneuvered Cornwallis, then defeated his rearguard in the Battle of Princeton the following day. The two victories helped convince the French that the Americans were worthy military allies.
[ McCullough 2005, p. 290]
After his success at Princeton, Washington entered winter quarters at Morristown, New Jersey#Eighteenth century, Morristown, New Jersey, where he remained until May
[#lengel2005, Lengel 2005, p. 208] and received Congressional direction to inoculate all patriot troops against smallpox.
[#washington1932, Washington 1932, "Writings" v.7, pp. 38, 130–131] With the exception of a Forage War, minor skirmishing between the two armies which continued until March,
[ Fischer, D. 2004, pp. 345–358] Howe made no attempt to attack the Americans.
[#lecky4, Lecky 1891 Vol. 4, p. 57]
British northern strategy fails
The 1776 campaign demonstrated regaining New England would be a prolonged affair, which led to a change in British strategy. This involved isolating the north from the rest of the country by taking control of the Hudson River, allowing them to focus on the south where Loyalist support was believed to be substantial.
[#ketchum97, Ketchum 1997, pp. 79–80] In December 1776, Howe wrote to the Colonial Secretary George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville, Lord Germain, proposing a limited offensive against Philadelphia, while a second force moved down the Hudson from Canada.
[#ketchum97, Ketchum 1997, pp. 81–82] Germain received this on February 23, 1777, followed a few days later by a memorandum from Burgoyne, then in London on leave.
[#ketchum97, Ketchum 1997, p. 84]
Burgoyne supplied several alternatives, all of which gave him responsibility for the offensive, with Howe remaining on the defensive. The option selected required him to lead the main force south from Montreal down the Hudson Valley, while a detachment under Barry St. Leger moved east from Lake Ontario. The two would meet at History of Albany, New York (1664–1784)#1744−American Revolution, Albany, leaving Howe to decide whether to join them.
Reasonable in principle, this did not account for the logistical difficulties involved and Burgoyne erroneously assumed Howe would remain on the defensive; Germain's failure to make this clear meant he opted to attack
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
instead.
[#ketchum97, Ketchum 1997, pp. 85–86]
Burgoyne set out on June 14, 1777, with a mixed force of British regulars, professional German soldiers and Canadian militia, and Siege of Fort Ticonderoga (1777), captured Fort Ticonderoga on July 5. As General Horatio Gates retreated, his troops blocked roads, destroyed bridges, dammed streams, and stripped the area of food.
[#ketchum97, Ketchum 1997, pp. 244–249] This slowed Burgoyne's progress and forced him to send out large foraging expeditions; on one of these, more than 700 British troops were captured at the Battle of Bennington on August 16.
[#gabriel2012, Gabriel 2012, p. x] St Leger moved east and besieged Siege of Fort Stanwix, Fort Stanwix; despite defeating an American relief force at the Battle of Oriskany on August 6, he was abandoned by his Indian allies and withdrew to Quebec on August 22.
[#ketchum97, Ketchum 1997, p. 332] Now isolated and outnumbered by Gates, Burgoyne continued onto Albany rather than retreating to Fort Ticonderoga, reaching Saratoga, New York, Saratoga on September 13. He asked Clinton for support while constructing defenses around the town.
[#ketchum97, Ketchum 1997, pp. 337–339]
Morale among his troops rapidly declined, and an unsuccessful attempt to break past Gates at the Battles of Saratoga#First Saratoga, Battle of Freeman Farms on September 19 resulted in 600 British casualties.
[#ketchum97, Ketchum 1997, pp. 368–369] When Clinton advised he could not reach them, Burgoyne's subordinates advised retreat; a reconnaissance in force on October 7 was repulsed by Gates at the Battles of Saratoga#Second Saratoga, Battle of Bemis Heights, forcing them back into Saratoga with heavy losses. By October 11, all hope of escape had vanished; persistent rain reduced the camp to a "squalid hell" of mud and starving cattle, supplies were dangerously low and many of the wounded in agony.
[ Ferling, 2007, pp. 238–239] Burgoyne capitulated on October 17; around 6,222 soldiers, including German forces commanded by Friedrich Adolf Riedesel, General Riedesel, surrendered their arms before being taken to Boston, where they were to be transported to England.
[#ketchum97, Ketchum 1997, pp. 421–424]
After securing additional supplies, Howe made another attempt on Philadelphia by landing his troops in Chesapeake Bay on August 24.
[#stedman1, Stedman 1794, Vol. 1, pp. 317–319] He now compounded failure to support Burgoyne by missing repeated opportunities to destroy his opponent, defeating Washington at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, then allowing him to withdraw in good order.
[#adams1911, Adams 1911, p. 43] After dispersing an American detachment at Battle of Paoli, Paoli on September 20, Cornwallis occupied Philadelphia on September 26, with the main force of 9,000 under Howe based just to the north at Germantown, Philadelphia, Germantown.
[#ward1952, Ward, C. 1952, pp. 361–362] Washington Battle of Germantown, attacked them on October 4, but was repulsed.
[#taffe, Taaffe 2003, pp. 95–100]
To prevent Howe's forces in Philadelphia being resupplied by sea, the Patriots erected Fort Mifflin and nearby Fort Mercer on the east and west banks of the Delaware respectively, and placed Cheval de frise, obstacles in the river south of the city. This was supported by a small flotilla of Continental Navy ships on the Delaware, supplemented by the Pennsylvania State Navy, commanded by John Hazelwood. An attempt by the Royal Navy to take the forts in the October 20 to 22 Battle of Red Bank failed;
[#daughan2011, Daughan, 2011, pp. 148–155][#mcgeorge1905, McGeorge, 1905, pp. 4–8] a second attack captured Fort Mifflin on November 16, while Fort Mercer was abandoned two days later when Cornwallis breached the walls.
[#cadwalader1901, Cadwalader 1901, p. 20] His supply lines secured, Howe tried to tempt Washington into giving battle, but after inconclusive skirmishing at the Battle of White Marsh from December 5 to 8, he withdrew to Philadelphia for the winter.
[#cadwalader1901, Cadwalader 1901, p. 22]
On December 19, the Americans followed suit and entered winter quarters at
Valley Forge
Valley Forge functioned as the third of eight winter encampments for the Continental Army's main body, commanded by General George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. In September 1777, Congress fled Philadelphia to escape the B ...
; while Washington's domestic opponents contrasted his lack of battlefield success with Gates' victory at Saratoga,
[#cadwalader1901, Cadwalader 1901, pp. 22, 27] foreign observers such as Frederick the Great were equally impressed with Germantown, which demonstrated resilience and determination.
[#fiske1891, Fiske 1891, p. 332] Over the winter, poor conditions, supply problems and low morale resulted in 2,000 deaths, with another 3,000 unfit for duty due to lack of shoes.
[#chernow2010, Chernow 2010 (2011), pp. 327–328] However, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben took the opportunity to introduce Prussian Army drill and infantry tactics to the entire Continental Army; he did this by training "model companies" in each regiment, who then instructed their home units.
[#lockhart, Lockhart 2008, p.?] Despite Valley Forge being only twenty miles away, Howe made no effort to attack their camp, an action some critics argue could have ended the war.
[#risch1981, Risch, 1981, pp. 322, 417–418]
Foreign intervention
Like his predecessors, French foreign minister Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, Vergennes considered the 1763 Peace a national humiliation and viewed the war as an opportunity to weaken Britain. He initially avoided open conflict, but allowed American ships to take on cargoes in French ports, a technical violation of neutrality.
[ Ferling 2007, p. 117] Although public opinion favored the American cause, Controller-General of Finances, Finance Minister Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune, Turgot argued they did not need French help to gain independence, and war was too expensive. Instead, Vergennes persuaded Louis XVI to secretly fund a Roderigue Hortalez and Company, government front company to purchase munitions for the Patriots, carried in neutral Dutch ships and imported through Sint Eustatius in the Caribbean.
[#jones2002, Jones 2002, pp. 5–6]
Many Americans opposed a French alliance, fearing to "exchange one tyranny for another", but this changed after a series of military setbacks in early 1776. As France had nothing to gain from the colonies reconciling with Britain, Congress had three choices; making peace on British terms, continuing the struggle on their own, or proclaiming independence, guaranteed by France. Although the Declaration of Independence in July 1776 had wide public support, Adams was among those reluctant to pay the price of an alliance with France, and over 20% of Congressmen voted against it.
[ Ferling 2007, pp. 117–119] Congress agreed to the treaty with reluctance and as the war moved in their favor increasingly lost interest in it.
[#chambers1999, Chambers 1999]
Silas Deane was sent to Paris to begin negotiations with Vergennes, whose key objectives were replacing Britain as the United States' primary commercial and military partner while securing the
French West Indies
The French West Indies or French Antilles (french: Antilles françaises, ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy fwansez) are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean:
* The two overseas departments of:
** Guadeloupe, ...
from American expansion.
[#chambers2004, Chambers 2004] These islands were extremely valuable; in 1772, the value of sugar and coffee produced by Saint-Domingue on its own exceeded that of all American exports combined.
[#eclov2013, Eclov 2013 pp. 23–24] Talks progressed slowly until October 1777, when British defeat at Saratoga and their apparent willingness to negotiate peace convinced Vergennes only a permanent alliance could prevent the "disaster" of Anglo-American rapprochement. Assurances of formal French support allowed Congress to reject the Carlisle Peace Commission and insist on nothing short of complete independence.
[#stockley2001, Stockley 2001, pp. 11–14]
On February 6, 1778, France and the United States signed the Treaty of Amity and Commerce (France–United States), Treaty of Amity and Commerce regulating trade between the two countries, followed by a defensive military alliance against Britain, the
Treaty of Alliance. In return for French guarantees of American independence, Congress undertook to defend their interests in the West Indies, while both sides agreed not to make a separate peace; conflict over these provisions would lead to the 1798 to 1800 Quasi-War.
Charles III of Spain was invited to join on the same terms but refused, largely due to concerns over the impact of the Revolution on Spanish colonies in the Americas. Spain had complained on multiple occasions about encroachment by American settlers into Louisiana (New Spain), Louisiana, a problem that could only get worse once the United States replaced Britain.
Although Spain ultimately made important contributions to American success, in the
Treaty of Aranjuez (1779)
The Treaty of Aranjuez (1779) was signed on 12 April 1779 by France and Spain. Under its terms, Spain agreed to support France in its war with Britain, in return for assistance in recovering their former possessions of Menorca, Gibraltar and Span ...
, Charles agreed only to support Anglo-French War (1778–1783), France's war with Britain outside America, in return for help in recovering Gibraltar, Menorca and Spanish Florida.
[ Davenport 1917, pp. 145–146] The terms were confidential since several conflicted with American aims; for example, the French claimed exclusive control of the Newfoundland cod fisheries, a non-negotiable for colonies like Massachusetts.
[ Davenport 1917, p. 146] One less well-known impact of this agreement was the abiding American distrust of 'foreign entanglements'; the US would not sign another treaty with France until their NATO agreement of 1949.
This was because the US had agreed not to make peace without France, while Aranjuez committed France to keep fighting until Spain recovered Gibraltar, effectively making it a condition of US independence without the knowledge of Congress.
[#weeks2013, Weeks 2013, p. 27]
To encourage French participation in the struggle for independence, the US representative in Paris, Silas Deane promised promotion and command positions to any French officer who joined the Continental Army. Such as Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, whom Congress via Dean appointed a major General, on July 31, 1777.
When the war started, Britain tried to borrow the Dutch-based Scots Brigade for service in America, but pro-Patriot sentiment led the States General of the Netherlands, States General to refuse.
[#edler, Edler 2001 [1911], pp. 28–32] Although the Republic was no longer a major power, prior to 1774 they still dominated the European carrying trade, and Dutch merchants made large profits shipping French-supplied munitions to the Patriots. This ended when Britain Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, declared war in December 1780, a conflict that proved disastrous to the Dutch economy.
[#scott1988, Scott 1988, pp. 572–573] The Dutch were also excluded from the First League of Armed Neutrality, formed by Russia, Sweden and Denmark in March 1780 to protect neutral shipping from being stopped and searched for contraband by Britain and France.
[#grainger2005, Grainger 2005, p. 10]
The British government failed to take into account the strength of the American merchant marine and support from European countries, which allowed the colonies to import munitions and continue trading with relative impunity. While well aware of this, the North administration delayed placing the Royal Navy on a war footing for cost reasons; this prevented the institution of an effective blockade and restricted them to ineffectual diplomatic protests.
[#syrett1998, Syrett 1998, p. 2] Traditional British policy was to employ European land-based allies to divert the opposition, a role filled by Prussia in the Seven Years' War; in 1778, they were diplomatically isolated and faced war on multiple fronts.
[#syrett1998, Syrett 1998, pp. 18–19]
Meanwhile, George III had given up on subduing America while Britain had a European war to fight.
[#ferling2013, Ferling 2007, p. 294] He did not welcome war with France, but he believed the Annus Mirabilis of 1759, British victories over France in the Seven Years' War as a reason to believe in ultimate victory over France.
[#syrett1998, Syrett 1998, p. 17] Britain could not find a powerful ally among the Great Powers to engage France on the European continent.
[#scott1990, Scott 1990, pp. 264–272] Britain subsequently changed its focus into the Caribbean theater,
[#syrett1998, Syrett 1998, p. 18] and diverted major military resources away from America.
[ Higginbotham 1983 ]971
Year 971 ( CMLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
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pp. 175–188
Vergennes's colleague stated, "For her honour, France had to seize this opportunity to rise from her degradation ... If she neglected it, if fear overcame duty, she would add debasement to humiliation, and become an object of contempt to her own century and to all future peoples".
Stalemate in the North
At the end of 1777, Howe resigned and was replaced by Sir Henry Clinton on May 24, 1778; with French entry into the war, he was ordered to consolidate his forces in New York.
On June 18, the British departed Philadelphia with the reinvigorated Americans in pursuit; the Battle of Monmouth on June 28 was inconclusive but boosted Patriot morale. Washington had rallied Charles Lee's broken regiments, the Continentals repulsed British bayonet charges, the British rear guard lost perhaps 50 per-cent more casualties, and the Americans held the field at the end of the day. That midnight, the newly installed Clinton continued his retreat to New York.
[#chernow2010, Chernow 2010 (2011), p. 343]
A French naval force under Admiral Charles Henri Hector d'Estaing was sent to assist Washington; deciding New York was too formidable a target, in August they launched a combined attack on Newport, with General John Sullivan (general), John Sullivan commanding land forces.
[#morrissey1997, Morrissey 2004, pp. 77–78] The resulting Battle of Rhode Island was indecisive; badly damaged by a storm, the French withdrew to avoid putting their ships at risk.
[#daughan2011, Daughan 2011 [2008], pp. 174–176] Further activity was limited to British raids on Battle of Chestnut Neck, Chestnut Neck and The Affair at Little Egg Harbor, Little Egg Harbor in October.
[#goos, Goos]
In July 1779, the Americans captured British positions at Battle of Stony Point, Stony Point and Battle of Paulus Hook, Paulus Hook.
[#hazard54, Hazard 1829, p. 54] Clinton unsuccessfully tried to tempt Washington into a decisive engagement by sending General William Tryon to Tryon's raid, raid Connecticut.
[#nelson1999, Nelson 1999, p. 170] In July, a large American naval operation, the Penobscot Expedition, attempted to retake District of Maine, Maine, then part of Massachusetts, but was defeated.
[ Bicheno 2014, p. 149] Persistent Northern theater of the American Revolutionary War after Saratoga#Frontier Raids, Iroquois raids along the border with Quebec led to the punitive Sullivan Expedition in April 1779, destroying many settlements but failing to stop them.
[#fischer2008, Fischer, J. 2008, p. 86]
During the winter of 1779–1780, the Continental Army suffered greater hardships than at Valley Forge.
[#tolson, Tolson 2008, "Washington's Savvy Won the Day"] Morale was poor, public support fell away in the long war, the Continental dollar was virtually worthless, the army was plagued with supply problems, desertion was common, and mutinies occurred in the Pennsylvania Line Mutiny, Pennsylvania Line and Pompton Mutiny, New Jersey Line regiments over the conditions in early 1780.
[#chandler, Chandler 2017, pp. 363–380]
In June 1780, Clinton sent 6,000 men under Wilhelm von Knyphausen to retake New Jersey, but they were halted by local militia at the Battle of Connecticut Farms; although the Americans withdrew, Knyphausen felt he was not strong enough to engage Washington's main force and retreated.
[#fleming, Fleming 2005 ]973
Year 973 ( CMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Spring – The Byzantine army, led by General Melias (Domestic of the S ...
pp. 174–175 A second attempt two weeks later ended in a British defeat at the Battle of Springfield (1780), Battle of Springfield, effectively ending their ambitions in New Jersey.
[#fleming, Fleming 2005 ]973
Year 973 ( CMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Spring – The Byzantine army, led by General Melias (Domestic of the S ...
pp. 232, 302 In July, Washington appointed Benedict Arnold commander of West Point; his attempt to betray the fort to the British failed due to incompetent planning, and the plot was revealed when his British contact John André was captured and later executed.
[#palmer2010, Palmer 2010, pp. 340–342] Arnold escaped to New York and switched sides, an action justified in a pamphlet addressed "To the Inhabitants of America"; the Patriots condemned his betrayal, while he found himself almost as unpopular with the British.
[#palmer2010, Palmer 2010, pp. 376–377]
War in the South
The "Southern Strategy" was developed by Lord Germain, based on input from London-based Loyalists like Joseph Galloway. They argued it made no sense to fight the Patriots in the north where they were strongest, while the New England economy was reliant on trade with Britain, regardless of who governed it. On the other hand, duties on tobacco made the South far more profitable for Britain, while local support meant securing it required small numbers of regular troops. Victory would leave a truncated United States facing British possessions in the south, Canada to the north, and Ohio on their western border; with the Atlantic seaboard controlled by the Royal Navy, Congress would be forced to agree to terms. However, assumptions about the level of Loyalist support proved wildly optimistic.
[#pearson1993, Pearson 1993, pp. 16–19]
Germain accordingly ordered Augustine Prévost, the British commander in East Florida, to advance into Georgia in the American Revolution#Return of the British Army, Georgia in December 1778. Archibald Campbell (British Army officer, born 1739), Lieutenant-Colonel Archibald Campbell, an experienced officer taken prisoner earlier in the war before being exchanged for Ethan Allen, Capture of Savannah, captured Savannah on December 29, 1778. He recruited a Loyalist militia of nearly 1,100, many of whom allegedly joined only after Campbell threatened to confiscate their property.
[ Wilson 2005, p. 87] Poor motivation and training made them unreliable troops, as demonstrated in their defeat by Patriot militia at the Battle of Kettle Creek on February 14, 1779, although this was offset by British victory at Battle of Brier Creek, Brier Creek on March 3.
[#morrill, Morrill 1993, pp. 46–50]
In June 1779, Prévost launched an abortive assault on Charleston, before retreating to Savannah, an operation notorious for widespread looting by British troops that enraged both Loyalists and Patriots. In October, a joint French and American operation under Admiral Charles Henri Hector d'Estaing, d'Estaing and General Benjamin Lincoln failed to Siege of Savannah, recapture Savannah.
[ Wilson 2005, p. 112] Prévost was replaced by Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, Lord Cornwallis, who assumed responsibility for Germain's strategy; he soon realized estimates of Loyalist support were considerably over-stated, and he needed far larger numbers of regular forces.
[#pearson1993, Pearson 1993, pp. 22–23]
Reinforced by Clinton, Cornwallis' troops Siege of Charleston, captured Charleston in May 1780, inflicting the most serious Patriot defeat of the war; over 5,000 prisoners were taken and the Continental Army in the south effectively destroyed. On May 29, Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarleton's mainly Loyalist force routed a Continental Army force nearly three times its size under the command of Colonel Abraham Buford at the Battle of Waxhaws. The battle is controversial for allegations of a massacre, which were later used as a recruiting tool by the Patriots.
[#piecuch2004, Piecuch 2004, pp. 4–8]
Clinton returned to New York, leaving Cornwallis to oversee the south; despite their success, the two men left barely on speaking terms, with dire consequences for the future conduct of the war.
[#borick2003, Borick 2003, pp. 127–128] The Southern strategy depended on local support, but this was undermined by a series of coercive measures. Previously, captured Patriots were sent home after swearing not to take up arms against the king; they were now required to fight their former comrades, while the confiscation of Patriot-owned plantations led formerly neutral "grandees" to side with them.
[#gordon, Gordon and Keegan 2007, pp. 101–102] Skirmishes at Battle of Williamson's Plantation, Williamson's Plantation, Cedar Springs, Battle of Rocky Mount, Rocky Mount, and Battle of Hanging Rock, Hanging Rock signaled widespread resistance to the new oaths throughout South Carolina.
[#gordon, Gordon and Keegan 2007, pp. 88–92]
In July 1780, Congress appointed General Horatio Gates commander in the south; he was defeated at the Battle of Camden on August 16, leaving Cornwallis free to enter North Carolina.
[#rankin, Rankin 2011 [1996], p.] Despite battlefield success, the British could not control the countryside and Patriot attacks continued; before moving north, Cornwallis sent Loyalist militia under Major Patrick Ferguson to cover his left flank, leaving their forces too far apart to provide mutual support.
[#buchanan97, Buchanan 1997, p. 202] In early October, Ferguson was defeated at the Battle of Kings Mountain, dispersing organized Loyalist resistance in the region.
[#Ferling2007, Ferling, 2007, pp. 459–461] Despite this, Cornwallis continued into North Carolina hoping for Loyalist support, while Washington replaced Gates with General Nathanael Greene in December 1780.
[#buchanan97, Buchanan 1997, p. 275]
Greene divided his army, leading his main force southeast pursued by Cornwallis; a detachment was sent southwest under Daniel Morgan, who defeated Tarleton's British Legion (American Revolution), British Legion at Battle of Cowpens, Cowpens on January 17, 1781, nearly eliminating it as a fighting force.
[#golway2005, Golway 2005, pp. 238–242] The Patriots now held the initiative in the south, with the exception of a Raid of Richmond, raid on Richmond led by Benedict Arnold in January 1781.
[#peterson1975, Peterson 1975 [1970], pp. 234–238] Greene led Cornwallis on a series of countermarches around North Carolina; by early March, the British were exhausted and short of supplies and Greene felt strong enough to fight the Battle of Guilford Court House on March 15. Although victorious, Cornwallis suffered heavy casualties and retreated to Wilmington, North Carolina#Revolutionary era, Wilmington, North Carolina seeking supplies and reinforcements.
[#buchanan97, Buchanan 1997, p. 241]
The Patriots now controlled most of the Carolinas and Georgia outside the coastal areas; after a minor reversal at the Battle of Hobkirk's Hill, they recaptured Siege of Fort Watson, Fort Watson and Siege of Fort Motte, Fort Motte on April 15.
[#fgreene1913, Greene, F. 1913, pp. 234–237] On June 6, Brigadier General Andrew Pickens (congressman), Andrew Pickens captured Siege of Augusta, Augusta, leaving the British in Georgia confined to Charleston and Savannah.
[#reynolds2012, Reynolds 2012, pp. 255–277] The assumption Loyalists would do most of the fighting left the British short of troops and battlefield victories came at the cost of losses they could not replace. Despite halting Greene's advance at the Battle of Eutaw Springs on September 8, Cornwallis withdrew to Charleston with little to show for his campaign.
[#pancake1985, Pancake 1985, p. 221]
Western campaign
From the beginning of the war, Bernardo de Gálvez, 1st Viscount of Galveston, Bernardo de Gálvez, the List of colonial governors of Louisiana, Governor of Spanish Louisiana, allowed the Americans to import supplies and munitions into History of New Orleans#Spanish interregnum, New Orleans, then ship them to History of Pittsburgh#Gateway to the West (1763–1799), Pittsburgh.
[#narrett2015, Narrett 2015, p. 81] This provided an alternative transportation route for the Continental Army, bypassing the British blockade of the Atlantic Coast.
[#chavez, Chavez 2002, p. 108]
The trade was organized by Oliver Pollock, a successful merchant in Havana and New Orleans who was appointed US "commercial agent".
[#narrett2015, Narrett 2015, p. 71] It also helped support the American Western theater of the American Revolutionary War, campaign in the west; in the 1778 Illinois campaign, militia under General
George Rogers Clark
George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American surveyor, soldier, and militia officer from Virginia who became the highest-ranking American patriot military officer on the northwestern frontier during the Ame ...
.
In February 1778, an expedition of militia to destroy British military supplies in settlements along the Cuyahoga River was halted by adverse weather.
[#nester2004, Nester 2004, p. 194] Later in the year, a Illinois campaign, second campaign was undertaken to seize the Illinois Country from the British. Virginia militia, ''Canadien'' settlers, and Indian allies commanded by Colonel
George Rogers Clark
George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American surveyor, soldier, and militia officer from Virginia who became the highest-ranking American patriot military officer on the northwestern frontier during the Ame ...
captured Kaskaskia, Illinois, Kaskaskia on July 4 then secured Vincennes, Indiana, Vincennes, though Vincennes was recaptured by Quebec Governor Henry Hamilton (colonial administrator), Henry Hamilton. In early 1779, the Virginians counter-attacked in the siege of Fort Vincennes and took Hamilton prisoner. Clark secured western Quebec Act, British Quebec as the American
Northwest Territory
The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...
in the
Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Trea ...
concluding the war.
[#harrison2001, Harrison 2001, pp. 58–60]
When Spain joined France's war against Britain in 1779, Treaty of Aranjuez (1779), their treaty specifically excluded Spanish military action in North America. Later that year, however, Gálvez initiated offensive operations against British outposts.
[#chavez, Chávez 2002, p. 170] First, he cleared British garrisons in History of Baton Rouge, Louisiana#1763–1779: British period, Baton Rouge, History of Louisiana#Spanish interregnum (1763–1803), Louisiana, Fort Bute, and History of Natchez, Mississippi#Colonial history (1716–1783), Natchez, History of Mississippi#European colonial period, Mississippi, and captured five forts.
[#carlos, Don Jaun Carlos I 1979, speech] In doing so, Gálvez opened navigation on the Mississippi River north to the American settlement in Pittsburg.
[#Deane2018, Deane 2018, "Spanish New Orleans helped America"]
On May 25, 1780, British Colonel Henry Bird Bird's invasion of Kentucky, invaded Kentucky as part of a wider operation to clear American resistance from Quebec to the Gulf coast. Their Pensacola advance on New Orleans was overcome by Spanish Governor Gálvez's offensive on Mobile. Simultaneous British attacks were repulsed on Battle of St. Louis, St. Louis by the Spanish Lieutenant Governor Fernando de Leyba, de Leyba, and on the Illinois County, Virginia, Virginia county courthouse at Cahokia, Illinois#History, Cahokia by Lieutenant Colonel Clark. The British initiative under Bird from Detroit was ended at the rumored approach of Clark. The scale of violence in the Licking River (Kentucky)#History, Licking River Valley, was extreme "even for frontier standards." It led to men of English and German settlements to join Clark's militia when the British and their hired German soldiers withdrew to the Great Lakes.
[#grenier, Grenier 2005, p. 159] The Americans responded with a major offensive along the Mad River (Ohio), Mad River in August which met with some success in the Battle of Piqua but did not end Indian raids.
[#nelson1999, Nelson 1999, p. 118]
French soldier Augustin de La Balme led a Canadian militia in an attempt to capture Detroit, but they dispersed when Miami tribe, Miami natives led by Little Turtle attacked the encamped settlers on November 5.
[#gaff, Gaff 2004, p. 85] The war in the west had become a stalemate with the British garrison sitting in Detroit and the Virginians expanding westward settlements north of the Ohio River in the face of British-allied Indian resistance.
[#skaggs1977, Skaggs 1977, p. 132]
In 1781, Galvez and Pollock Gulf Coast campaign, campaigned east along the Gulf Coast to secure West Florida, including British-held Battle of Fort Charlotte, Mobile and Siege of Pensacola, Pensacola.
[#raab, Raab 2007, p. 135] The Spanish operations impaired the British supply of armaments to British Indian allies, which effectively suspended a military alliance to attack settlers between the Mississippi River and the Appalachian Mountains.
[#o'brien2008, O'Brien 2008, p. 124]
1782 saw large scale retaliations between settlers and Native Americans of the region, including the Gnadenhutten massacre and the Crawford expedition. The 1782 Battle of Blue Licks was one of the last major engagements of the American Revolutionary War. News of the treaty between Great Britain and the United States arrived late that year. By this time, about 7% of Kentucky settlers had been killed in battles against Native Americans, contrasting with 1% of the population killed in the 13 colonies. Lingering resentments led to Northwest_Indian_War#Course_of_the_war, continued fighting in the west after the war officially ended.
British defeat
Clinton spent most of 1781 based in New York City; he failed to construct a coherent operational strategy, partly due to his difficult relationship with Admiral Marriot Arbuthnot.
[ Ferling 2007, p. 444] In Charleston, Cornwallis independently developed an aggressive plan for a campaign in Virginia, which he hoped would isolate Greene's army in the Carolinas and cause the collapse of Patriot resistance in the South. This was approved by Lord Germain in London, but neither of them informed Clinton.
[#ketchum2014b, Ketchum 2014b, pp. 423, 520]
Washington and Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, Rochambeau now discussed their options; the former wanted to attack New York, the latter Virginia, where Cornwallis' forces were less well-established and thus easier to defeat.
[#ketchum2014b, Ketchum 2014b, p. 139] Washington eventually gave way and Lafayette took a combined Franco-American force into Virginia,
[ Ferling 2007, pp. 526–529] but Clinton misinterpreted his movements as preparations for an attack on New York. Concerned by this threat, he instructed Cornwallis to establish a fortified sea base where the Royal Navy could evacuate his troops to help defend New York.
[#grainger2005, Grainger 2005, pp. 43–44]
When Lafayette entered Virginia, Cornwallis complied with Clinton's orders and withdrew to Yorktown, Virginia, Yorktown, where he constructed strong defenses and awaited evacuation.
[ Taylor 2016, pp. 293–295] An agreement by the Spanish navy to defend the French West Indies allowed Admiral François Joseph Paul de Grasse, de Grasse to relocate to the Atlantic seaboard, a move Arbuthnot did not anticipate.
This provided Lafayette naval support, while the failure of previous combined operations at Newport and Savannah meant their co-ordination was planned more carefully.
[#dull1975, Dull 2015 [1975], pp. 247–248] Despite repeated urging from his subordinates, Cornwallis made no attempt to engage Lafayette before he could establish siege lines.
[#ketchum2014b, Ketchum 2014b, p. 205] Even worse, expecting to be withdrawn within a few days he abandoned the outer defenses, which were promptly occupied by the besiegers and hastened British defeat.
[#lengel2005, Lengel 2005, p. 337]
On August 31, a British fleet under Thomas Graves, 1st Baron Graves, Thomas Graves left New York for Yorktown.
[#middleton2014, Middleton 2014, pp. 29–43] After landing troops and munitions for the besiegers on August 30, de Grasse had remained in Chesapeake Bay and intercepted him on September 5; although the Battle of the Chesapeake was indecisive in terms of losses, Graves was forced to retreat, leaving Cornwallis isolated.
[#black1992, Black 1992, p. 110] An attempted breakout over the York River at Gloucester County, Virginia#Gloucester County formation and divisions, Gloucester Point failed due to bad weather.
[#dale2005, Dale 2005, pp. 36–37] Under heavy bombardment with dwindling supplies, Cornwallis felt his situation was hopeless and on October 16 sent emissaries to Washington to negotiate surrender; after twelve hours of negotiations, these were finalized the next day.
[ Ferling 2007, pp. 534–535] Responsibility for defeat was the subject of fierce public debate between Cornwallis, Clinton and Germain. Despite criticism from his junior officers, Cornwallis retained the confidence of his peers and later held a series of senior government positions; Clinton ultimately took most of the blame and spent the rest of his life in obscurity.
[#middleton2014, Middleton 2014, pp. 370–372]
Subsequent to Yorktown, American forces were assigned to supervise the armistice between Washington and Clinton made to facilitate British departure following the January 1782 law of Parliament forbidding any further British offensive action in North America. British-American negotiations in Paris led to preliminaries signed November 1782 acknowledging US independence. The enacted Congressional war aim for British withdrawal from its North American claims to be ceded to the US was completed for the coastal cities in stages.
[ Ferling 2003, pp. 378–379]
In the South, Generals Greene and Wayne loosely invested the withdrawing British at Savanna and Charleston. There they observed the British finally taking off their regulars from Charleston December 14, 1782.
[#fiske1902, Fiske 1902, p. 516] Loyalist provincial militias of whites and free blacks, as well as Loyalists with their slaves were transported in a relocation to Nova Scotia and the British Caribbean. Native American allies of the British and some freed blacks were left to escape through the American lines unaided.
Washington moved his army to New Windsor, New York, New Windsor on the Hudson River about sixty miles north of New York City,
[#fleming2006, Fleming 2006, p. 194] and there the substance of the American army was furloughed home with officers at half pay until the
Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Trea ...
formally ended the war on September 3, 1783. At that time, Congress decommissioned the regiments of Washington's Continental Army and began issuing land grants to veterans in the Northwest Territories for their war service. The last of the British occupation of New York City ended on November 25, 1783, with the departure of Clinton's replacement, General Sir Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, Guy Carleton.
[#fleming2006, Fleming 2006, p. 312]
Strategy and commanders
To win their insurrection, the Americans needed to outlast the British will to continue the fight. To restore the empire, the British had to defeat the Continental Army in the early months, and compel the Congress to dissolve itself.
[ Mays 2019, pp. 1–2] Historian Terry M. Mays identifies three separate types of warfare, the first being a colonial conflict in which objections to Imperial trade regulation were as significant as taxation policy. The second was a civil war with all thirteen states split between Patriots, Loyalists and those who preferred to remain neutral. Particularly in the south, many battles were fought between Patriots and Loyalists with no British involvement, leading to divisions that continued after independence was achieved.
[ Mays 2019, pp. 2–3]
The third element was a global war between France, Spain, the Dutch Republic and Britain, with America as one of a number of different theaters.
After entering the war in 1778, France provided the Americans money, weapons, soldiers, and naval assistance, while French troops fought under US command in North America. While Spain did not formally join the war in America, they provided access to the Mississippi River and by capturing British possessions on the Gulf of Mexico denied bases to the Royal Navy, as well as retaking Menorca and besieging Gibraltar in Europe.
[ Davenport 1917, p. 168]
Although the Dutch Republic was no longer a major power, prior to 1774 they still dominated the European carrying trade, and Dutch merchants made large profits by shipping French-supplied munitions to the Patriots. This ended when Britain Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, declared war in December 1780 and the conflict proved disastrous to their economy.
[#Scott, Scott 1988, pp. 572–573] The Dutch were also excluded from the First League of Armed Neutrality, formed by Russia, Sweden and Denmark in March 1780 to protect neutral shipping from being stopped and searched for contraband by Britain and France.
While of limited effect, these interventions forced the British to divert men and resources away from North America.
American strategy
Congress had multiple advantages if the rebellion turned into a protracted war. Their prosperous state populations depended on local production for food and supplies rather than on imports from their mother country that lay six to twelve weeks away by sail. They were spread across most of the North American Atlantic seaboard, stretching 1,000 miles. Most farms were remote from the seaports, and controlling four or five major ports did not give British armies control over the inland areas. Each state had established internal distribution systems.
[ Greene & Pole 2008, pp. 36–39]
Each former colony had a long-established system of local militia, combat-tested in support of British regulars thirteen years before to secure an expanded British Empire. Together they took away French claims in North America west to the Mississippi River in the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
. The state legislatures independently funded and controlled their local militias. In the American Revolution, they trained and provided Continental Line regiments to the regular army, each with their own state officer corps.
Motivation was also a major asset: each colonial capital had its Early American publishers and printers, own newspapers and printers, and the Patriots had more popular support than the Loyalists. British hoped that the Loyalists would do much of the fighting, but they fought less than expected.
Continental Army
When the war began, Congress lacked a professional army or navy, and each colony only maintained local militias. Militiamen were lightly armed, had little training, and usually did not have uniforms. Their units served for only a few weeks or months at a time and lacked the training and discipline of more experienced soldiers. Local county militias were reluctant to travel far from home and they were unavailable for extended operations.
[#black2001, Black 2001 [1991], p. 59] To compensate for this, Congress established a regular force known as the Continental Army on June 14, 1775, the origin of the modern United States Army, and appointed Washington as commander-in-chief. However, it suffered significantly from the lack of an effective training program and from largely inexperienced officers and sergeants, offset by a few senior officers.
[ Ferling 2007, pp. 286–287]
Each state legislature appointed officers for both county and state militias and their regimental Continental Line officers; although Washington was required to accept Congressional appointments, he was still permitted to choose and command his own generals, such as Nathanael Greene; his chief of artillery,
Henry Knox
Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806), a Founding Father of the United States, was a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, serving as chief of artillery in most of Washington's campaigns. Following the ...
; and Alexander Hamilton, the chief of staff.
[#higginbotham1987, Higginbotham 1987, Chap.3] One of Washington's most successful recruits to general officer was Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, a veteran of the Prussian general staff who wrote the Revolutionary War Drill Manual.
The development of the Continental Army was always a work in progress and Washington used both his regulars and state militia throughout the war; when properly employed, the combination allowed them to overwhelm smaller British forces, as at Concord, Boston, Bennington, and Saratoga. Both sides used partisan warfare, but the state militias effectively suppressed Loyalist activity when British regulars were not in the area.
Washington designed the overall military strategy of the war in cooperation with Congress, established the principle of civilian supremacy in military affairs, personally recruited his senior officer corps, and kept the states focused on a common goal.
[#lengel2005, Lengel 2005, pp. 365–71] For the first three years until after
Valley Forge
Valley Forge functioned as the third of eight winter encampments for the Continental Army's main body, commanded by General George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. In September 1777, Congress fled Philadelphia to escape the B ...
, the Continental Army was largely supplemented by local state militias. Initially, Washington employed the inexperienced officers and untrained troops in Fabian strategy, Fabian strategies rather than risk frontal assaults against Britain's professional soldiers and officers.
[#ellis2004, Ellis 2004, pp. 92–109] Over the course of the entire war, Washington lost more battles than he won, but he never surrendered his troops and maintained a fighting force in the face of British field armies and never gave up fighting for the American cause.
[#alexrose, Rose, A. 2014 006 pp. 258–261]
By prevailing European standards, the armies in America were relatively small, limited by lack of supplies and logistics; the British in particular were constrained by the difficulty of transporting troops across the Atlantic and dependence on local supplies. Washington never directly commanded more than 17,000 men,
[#boatner74, Boatner 1974, p. 264] while the combined Franco-American army at Yorktown was only about 19,000.
[#duffy1987, Duffy 2005 [1987], p. 13] At the beginning of 1776, Patriot forces consisted of 20,000 men, with two-thirds in the Continental Army and the other third in the various state militias. About 250,000 men served as regulars or as militia for the Revolutionary cause over eight years during wartime, but there were never more than 90,000 men under arms at one time.
[#crocker, Crocker 2006, p. 51]
As a whole, American officers never equaled their opponents in tactics and maneuvers, and they lost most of the pitched battles. The great successes at
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
(1776),
Saratoga (1777), and Siege of Yorktown, Yorktown (1781) were won from trapping the British far from base with a greater number of troops.
Nevertheless, after 1778, Washington's army was transformed into a more disciplined and effective force, mostly by Baron von Steuben's training.
Immediately after the Army emerged from Valley Forge, it proved its ability to match the British troops in action at the Battle of Monmouth, including a black Rhode Island regiment fending off a British bayonet attack then counter-charging for the first time in Washington's army.
[ Ferling 2007, pp. 294–295] Here Washington came to realize that saving entire towns was not necessary, but preserving his army and keeping the revolutionary spirit alive was more important in the long run. Washington informed Henry Laurens "that the possession of our towns, while we have an army in the field, will avail them little."
[ Chernow, 2010, p. 344]
Although Congress was responsible for the war effort and provided supplies to the troops, Washington took it upon himself to pressure the Congress and state legislatures to provide the essentials of war; there was never nearly enough.
[#carp1990, Carp 1990, p. 220] Congress evolved in its committee oversight and established the Board of War, which included members of the military.
[#harwell2011, Freeman and Harwell (ed.), p. 42] Because the Board of War was also a committee ensnared with its own internal procedures, Congress also created the post of Secretary of War, and appointed Major General Benjamin Lincoln in February 1781 to the position. Washington worked closely with Lincoln to coordinate civilian and military authorities and took charge of training and supplying the army.
[#bell2005, Bell 2005, pp. 3–4"]
Continental Navy
During the first summer of the war, Washington began outfitting schooners and other small seagoing vessels to prey on ships supplying the British in Boston.
[ Ferling 2007, p. 360] Congress established the Continental Navy on October 13, 1775, and appointed Esek Hopkins as its first commander;
[#miller1997, Miller 1997 [1977], pp. 11–12, 16] for most of the war, it consisted of a handful of small frigates and sloops, supported by numerous privateers.
[#higginbotham1987, Higginbotham 1987 ]971
Year 971 ( CMLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men) ...
pp. 331–46 On November 10, 1775, Congress authorized the creation of the Continental Marines, forefather of the United States Marine Corps.
File:First_Recognition_of_the_American_Flag_by_a_Foreign_Government.jpg, alt= Sail warships at sea with full sail; in the center middle ground, the US ship; in the background, four French warships in a haze giving it a cannon salute with gunpowder; small boats also in the water in the middle ground., USS Ranger (1777), USS ''Ranger'', Capt. Jones. France
gives the Flag of the United States#Flag Resolution of 1777, US flag its first foreign salute
File:NH 1336 (17166575515).jpg, alt= A sail warship at sea flying a US flag., USS Alliance (1778), USS ''Alliance'', Capt. Barry won the last engagement
John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
became the first American naval hero by capturing HMS Drake (1777), HMS ''Drake'' on April 24, 1778, the first victory for any American military vessel in British waters.
[ Higginbotham 1983 ]971
Year 971 ( CMLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men) ...
pp. 331–46 The last was by the frigate USS Alliance (1778), USS ''Alliance'' commanded by Captain John Barry (naval officer), John Barry. On March 10, 1783, the ''Alliance'' outgunned HMS ''Sybil'' in a 45-minute duel while escorting Spanish gold from Havana to Congress.
[#thomas2017, Thomas 2017, "Last Naval Battle"] After Yorktown, all US Navy ships were sold or given away; it was the first time in America's history that it had no fighting forces on the high seas.
[#daughan2011, Daughan 2011 [2008], p. 240]
Congress primarily commissioned privateers to reduce costs and to take advantage of the large proportion of colonial sailors found in the British Empire. Overall, they included 1,700 ships that successfully captured 2,283 enemy ships to damage the British effort and to enrich themselves with the proceeds from the sale of cargo and the ship itself.
[, "Privateers"] About 55,000 sailors served aboard American privateers during the war.
France
At the beginning of the war, the Americans had no major international allies, as most nation-states watched and waited to see how developments would unfold in British North America. Over time, the Continental Army acquitted itself well in the face of British regulars and their hired German soldiers known to all European great powers. Battles such as the Battle of Bennington, the Battles of Saratoga, and even defeats such as the Battle of Germantown, proved decisive in gaining the attention and support of powerful European nations including France and Spain, and the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War#Background, Dutch Republic; the latter moved from covertly supplying the Americans with weapons and supplies to overtly supporting them.
[#trevelyan1912a, Trevelyan 1912a, p. 249]
The decisive American victory at
Saratoga convinced France in the American Revolutionary War, France, who was already a long-time rival of Britain, to offer the Americans the Treaty of Amity and Commerce (France–United States), Treaty of Amity and Commerce. The two nations also agreed to a defensive
Treaty of Alliance to protect their trade and also guaranteed American independence from Britain. To engage the United States as a French ally militarily, the treaty was conditioned on Britain initiating a war on France to stop it from trading with the US. Spain and the Dutch Republic were invited to join by both France and the United States in the treaty, but neither made a formal reply.
[ Morgan 2012 [1956], pp. 82–83]
On June 13, 1778, France declared war on Great Britain, and it invoked the French military alliance with the US, which ensured additional US privateer support for French possessions in the Caribbean. Washington worked closely with the soldiers and navy that France would send to America, primarily through Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, Lafayette on his staff. French assistance made critical contributions required to defeat General Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781.
[#davis75, Davis 1975, pp. 203, 303, 391]
British strategy
File:Map of territorial growth 1775.jpg, alt=1763 Proclamation Line of 1763 by George III to limit colonial western settlement. The Province of Quebec lies north of the Ohio River, west of Lake Erie and the west boundary of Pennsylvania. The Indian Reserve lies west of modern Roanoke Virginia, generally following the Eastern Continental Divide., The 1763 Royal Proclamation set the western boundary for the 13 Colonies
File:1768 Boundary Line Map Treaty of Ft Stanwix.jpg, alt="1768 Boundary Line Treaty Map" for Iroquois Six Nations and tributary tribes north of Fort Stanwix and the Ohio River; and for Cherokee and Creeks south of the Ohio River and west of modern Roanoke, Virginia, the purple line 1768 "Treaty of Hard Labor", is west of the Eastern Continental Divide, the green line for the previous 1763 "King's Proclamation"., The 1768 Indian treaties: Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1768), Iroquois west of the red line, Treaty of Hard Labour, Cherokees west of the purple
The British military had considerable experience of fighting in North America, most recently during the Seven Years' War which forced France to give up
New France
New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...
in 1763.
[#cave2004, Cave 2004, pp. 21–22] However, in previous conflicts they benefited from local logistics, as well as support from the colonial militia, which was not available in the American Revolutionary War. Reinforcements had to come from Europe, and maintaining large armies over such distances was extremely complex; ships could take three months to cross the Atlantic, and orders from London were often outdated by the time they arrived.
[ Greene & Pole 2008, pp. 298, 306]
Prior to the conflict, the colonies were largely autonomous economic and political entities, with no centralized area of ultimate strategic importance.
[#rosssman2016, Rossman 2016, p. 2] This meant that, unlike Europe where the fall of a capital city often ended wars, that in America continued even after the loss of major settlements such as Philadelphia, the seat of Congress, New York and Charleston.
[#curtis1926, Curtis 1926, pp. 148–149] British power was reliant on the Royal Navy, whose dominance allowed them to resupply their own expeditionary forces while preventing access to enemy ports. However, the majority of the American population was agrarian, rather than urban; supported by the French navy and blockade runners based in the Dutch Caribbean, their economy was able to survive.
[ Greene & Pole 2008, pp. 42, 48]
The geographical size of the colonies and limited manpower meant the British could not simultaneously conduct military operations and occupy territory without local support. Debate persists over whether their defeat was inevitable; one British statesman described it as "like trying to conquer a map".
[#curtis1926, Curtis 1926, p. 148] While John E. Ferling, Ferling argues Patriot victory was nothing short of a miracle,
[ Ferling 2007, pp. 562–77] Joseph Ellis, Ellis suggests the odds always favored the Americans, especially after Howe squandered the chance of a decisive British success in 1776, an "opportunity that would never come again".
[#ellis2013, Ellis 2013, p. xi] The US military history speculates the additional commitment of 10,000 fresh troops in 1780 would have placed British victory "within the realm of possibility".
[#stewartR, Stewart, R. 2005, vol. 4, p. 103]
British Army
The expulsion of France from North America in 1763 led to a drastic reduction in British troop levels in the colonies; in 1775, there were only 8,500 regular soldiers among a civilian population of 2.8 million.
[#clode1869a, Clode 1869, Vol. 1, p. 268] The bulk of military resources in the Americas were focused on defending sugar islands in the Caribbean; Colony of Jamaica, Jamaica alone generated more revenue than all thirteen American colonies combined.
[#billias1969, Billias 1969, p. 83] With the end of the Seven Years' War, the permanent army in Britain was also cut back, which resulted in administrative difficulties when the war began a decade later.
[#clayton2014, Clayton 2014, p. 65]
Over the course of the war, there were four separate British commanders-in-chief, the first of whom was Thomas Gage; appointed in 1763, his initial focus was establishing British rule in former French areas of Canada. Rightly or wrongly, many in London blamed the revolt on his failure to take firm action earlier, and he was relieved after the heavy losses incurred at Bunker Hill.
[#nessy, O'Shaunessy 2013, p. 86] His replacement was Sir William Howe, a member of the Whig faction in Parliament who opposed the policy of coercion advocated by Lord North; Cornwallis, who later surrendered at Yorktown, was one of many senior officers who initially refused to serve in North America.
[#ketchum97, Ketchum 1997, p. 76]
The 1775 campaign showed the British overestimated the capabilities of their own troops and underestimated the colonial militia, requiring a reassessment of tactics and strategy.
[ Ketchum 2014a, p. 208] However, it allowed the Patriots to take the initiative and British authorities rapidly lost control over every colony.
[#miller1959, Miller 1959, pp. 410–12] Howe's responsibility is still debated; despite receiving large numbers of reinforcements, Bunker Hill seems to have permanently affected his self-confidence and lack of tactical flexibility meant he often failed to follow up opportunities.
[#fleming2006, Fleming 2006, p. 44] Many of his decisions were attributed to supply problems, such as the delay in launching the New York campaign and failure to pursue Washington's beaten army.
[#daviesk1972, Davies, K. 1972, vol. 12-1776, 5:93, Howe to Germain, June 7 and July 7, 1776] Having lost the confidence of his subordinates, he was recalled after Burgoyne surrendered at Saratoga.
[#nessy, O'Shaunessy 2013, p. 216]
Following the failure of the Carlisle Commission, British policy changed from treating the Patriots as subjects who needed to be reconciled to enemies who had to be defeated.
[#hibbert2000, Hibbert 2000, pp. 160–161] In 1778, Howe was replaced by Sir Henry Clinton, appointed instead of Carleton who was considered overly cautious.
[#nessy, O'Shaunessy 2013, p.] Regarded as an expert on tactics and strategy,
like his predecessors Clinton was handicapped by chronic supply issues.
[#daviesk1972, Davies, K. 1972, vol. 15-1778, 5:96, Clinton to Germain, September 15, 1778] As a result, he was largely inactive in 1779 and much of 1780; in October 1780, he warned Germain of "fatal consequences" if matters did not improve.
[#daviesk1972, Davies, K. 1972, vol. 18-1780, 5:100, Clinton to Germain, October 31, 1780]
In addition, Clinton's strategy was compromised by conflict with political superiors in London and his colleagues in North America, especially Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot, replaced in early 1781 by Rodney.
He was neither notified nor consulted when Germain approved Cornwallis' invasion of the south in 1781 and delayed sending him reinforcements believing the bulk of Washington's army was still outside New York City.
[#ketchum2014b, Ketchum 2014b, pp. 208–210] After the surrender at Yorktown, Clinton was relieved by Carleton, whose major task was to oversee the evacuation of Loyalists and British troops from Savannah, Charleston, and New York City.
[#cashin, Cashin 2005, "Revolutionary War in Georgia"]
German troops
During the 18th century, all states commonly hired foreign soldiers, especially Britain; during the Seven Years' War, they comprised 10% of the British army and their use caused little debate.
[#baer2015, Baer 2015, p. 115] When it became clear additional troops were needed to suppress the revolt in America, it was decided to employ professional German soldiers. There were several reasons for this, including public sympathy for the Patriot cause, an historical reluctance to expand the British army and the time needed to recruit and train new regiments.
[#baer2015, Baer 2015, p. 117] An alternate source was readily available in the Holy Roman Empire, where many smaller states had a long tradition of renting their armies to the highest bidder. The most important was Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, Hesse-Kassel, known as "the Mercenary State".
[#showalter2007, Showalter 2007, "Best armies money could buy"]
The first supply agreements were signed by the North administration in late 1775; over the next decade, more than 40,000 Germans fought in North America, Gibraltar, South Africa and India, of whom 30,000 served in the American War.
[#baer2015, Baer 2015, pp. 111–112] Often generically referred to as "Hessians", they included men from many other states, including Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Hanover and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Brunswick.
[#fetter1980, Fetter 1980, p. 508] Sir Henry Clinton recommended recruiting Russian troops whom he rated very highly, having seen them in action against the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774), Ottomans; however, negotiations with Catherine the Great made little progress.
[#baer2015, Baer 2015, pp. 118–119]
Unlike previous wars their use led to intense political debate in Britain, France, and even Germany, where Frederick William II of Prussia, Frederick the Great refused to provide passage through his territories for troops hired for the American war.
[#schmidt1958, Schmidt 1958, pp. 208–209] In March 1776, the agreements were challenged in Parliament by Whigs who objected to "coercion" in general, and the use of foreign soldiers to subdue "British subjects".
[#baer2015, Baer 2015, pp. 121, 141–142] The debates were covered in detail by American newspapers, which reprinted key speeches and in May 1776 they received copies of the treaties themselves. Provided by British sympathizers, these were smuggled into North America from London by George Merchant, a recently released American prisoner.
[#baer2015, Baer 2015, pp. 143–144]
The prospect of foreign German soldiers being used in the colonies bolstered support for independence, more so than taxation and other acts combined; the King was accused of declaring war on his own subjects, leading to the idea there were now two separate governments.
[#baer2015, Baer 2015, pp. 136–143][#oshaughnessy2004, O'Saughnessy, 2004, p. 20] By apparently showing Britain was determined to go to war, it made hopes of reconciliation seem naive and hopeless, while the employment of what was regarded as "foreign mercenaries" became one of the charges levelled against George III in the Declaration of Independence.
The Hessian reputation within Germany for brutality also increased support for the Patriot cause among German-American immigrants.
[#baer2015, Baer 2015, p. 142]
The presence of over 150,000 German-Americans meant both sides felt the German soldiers might be persuaded to desert; one reason Clinton suggested employing Russians was that he felt they were less likely to defect. When the first German troops arrived on Staten Island in August 1776, Congress approved the printing of "handbills" promising land and citizenship to any willing to join the Patriot cause. The British launched a counter-campaign claiming deserters could well be executed for meddling in a war that was not theirs.
[#mauch2003, Mauch 2003, p. 415] Desertion among the Germans occurred throughout the war, with the highest rate of desertion occurring during the time between the surrender at Yorktown and the Treaty of Paris.
[#atwood2002, Atwood, 2002, p. 194] German regiments were central to the British war effort; of the estimated 30,000 sent to America, some 13,000 became casualties.
[#lowell84, Lowell 1884, pp. 20–21, 282–283]
Revolution as civil war
Loyalists
Wealthy Loyalists convinced the British government that most of the colonists were sympathetic toward the Crown;
[#ritcheson, Ritcheson 1973, p. 6] consequently, British military planners relied on recruiting Loyalists, but had trouble recruiting sufficient numbers as the Patriots had widespread support.
Nevertheless, they continued to deceive themselves on their level of American support as late as 1780, a year before hostilities ended.
[ Lecky 1892 vol. 3, p. 139]
Approximately 25,000 Loyalists fought for the British throughout the war.
Although Loyalists constituted about twenty percent of the colonial population,
they were concentrated in distinct communities. Many of them lived among large plantation owners in the Tidewater (region), Tidewater region and South Carolina in the American Revolution#Early conflicts, South Carolina who produced cash crops in tobacco and indigo comparable to global markets in Caribbean sugar.
When the British began probing the backcountry in 1777–1778, they were faced with a major problem: any significant level of organized Loyalist activity required a continued presence of British regulars.
[#black2001, Black 2001 [1991], p. 12] The available manpower that the British had in America was insufficient to protect Loyalist territory and counter American offensives.
[#black2001, Black 2001 [1991], pp. 13–14] The Loyalist militias in the South were constantly defeated by neighboring Patriot militia. The most critical combat between the two partisan militias was at the Battle of Kings Mountain; the Patriot victory irreversibly impaired any further Loyalist militia capability in the South.
When the early war policy was administered by General
William Howe, the Crown's need to maintain Loyalist support prevented it from using the traditional revolt suppression methods.
[#black2001, Black 2001 [1991], p. 14] The British cause suffered when their troops ransacked local homes during an aborted attack on Charleston in 1779 that enraged both Patriots and Loyalists.
After Congress rejected the Carlisle Peace Commission in 1778 and Westminster turned to "hard war" during Clinton's command, neutral colonists in the Carolinas often allied with the Patriots whenever brutal combat broke out between Tories and Whigs.
[#black, Black 2001 [1991], pp. 14–16; pp. 35, 38; p. 16] Conversely, Loyalists gained support when Patriots intimidated suspected Tories by destroying property or tarring and feathering.
[#Calhoon1973, Calhoon 1973, p.]
A Loyalist militia unit—the British Legion (American Revolution), British Legion—provided some of the best troops in British service; it received a commission in the British Army.
[#buchanan97, Buchanan 1997, p. 327] It was a mixed regiment of 250 dragoons and 200 infantry supported by batteries of flying artillery.
[#babits, Babits 2011, p. 41] It was commanded by Banastre Tarleton and gained a fearsome reputation in the colonies for "brutality and needless slaughter".
[#bass, Bass 1957, pp. 548–550] In May 1779 the British Legion was one of five regiments that formed the American establishment (British army), American Establishment.
[#katcher, Katcher 1973, p. 101]
Women
Women played various roles during the Revolutionary War; they often accompanied their husbands when permitted to do so. For example, throughout the war Martha Washington was known to visit and provide aid to her husband George at various American camps,
[ Chernow, 2010, p. 215] and Frederika Charlotte Riedesel documented the Saratoga campaign.
[#berkin2005, Berkin 2005, p. 84] Women often accompanied armies as camp followers to sell goods and perform necessary tasks in hospitals and camps. They were a necessary part of eighteenth-century armies, and numbered in the thousands during the war.
[#dunkerly, Dunkerly 2014, "Camp Followers"]
Women also assumed military roles: aside from military tasks like treating the wounded or setting up camp, some dressed as men to directly support combat, fight, or act as spies on both sides of the Revolutionary War.
[#howat2017, Howat 2017, "Women Spies"] Anna Maria Lane joined her husband in the Army and wore men's clothes by the time the Battle of Germantown happened. The Virginia General Assembly later cited her bravery: she fought while dressed as a man and "performed extraordinary military services, and received a severe wound at the battle of Germantown ... with the courage of a soldier".
[#womens2009, Historical Essay 2009]
On April 26, 1777, Sybil Ludington is said to have ridden to alert militia forces of Putnam County, New York, and Danbury, Connecticut, to warn them of the British's approach; she has been called the "female Paul Revere".
[#hunt2015, Hunt 2015, pp. 188–222] A report in ''The New England Quarterly'' says there is little evidence backing the story,
and whether the ride occurred is questioned.
A few others List of wartime cross-dressers, disguised themselves as men. Deborah Sampson fought until her gender was discovered and discharged as a result; Sally St. Clair was killed in action during the war.
African Americans
When war began, the population of the Thirteen Colonies included an estimated 500,000 slaves, predominantly used as labor on Plantation complexes in the Southern United States, Southern plantations.[#nash2012, Nash 2012, p. 251] In November 1775, Lord Dunmore
Earl of Dunmore is a title in the Peerage of Scotland.
History
The title was created in 1686 for Lord Charles Murray, second son of John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl. He was made Lord Murray of Blair, Moulin and Tillimet (or Tullimet) and V ...
, the Royal Governor of Virginia, issued a Dunmore's Proclamation, proclamation that promised freedom to any Patriot-owned slaves willing to bear arms. Although the announcement helped to fill a temporary manpower shortage, white Loyalist prejudice meant recruits were eventually redirected to non-combatant roles. The Loyalists' motive was to deprive Patriot Planter class, planters of labor rather than to end slavery; Loyalist-owned slaves were returned.[#nash2005, Nash, 2005, pp. 167–168]
The 1779 Philipsburg Proclamation issued by Clinton extended the offer of freedom to Patriot-owned slaves throughout the colonies. It persuaded entire families to escape to British lines, many of which were employed on farms to grow food for the army by removing the requirement for military service. While Clinton organized the Black Pioneers, he also ensured fugitive slaves were returned to Loyalist owners with orders that they were not to be punished for their attempted escape.[#blackcancol, Canada' Digital Collections "Black Loyalists"] As the war progressed, service as regular soldiers in British units became increasingly common; black Loyalists formed two regiments of the Charleston garrison in 1783.[#bibko2016, Bibko, 2016, pp. 68–69]
Estimates of the numbers who served the British during the war vary from 25,000 to 50,000, excluding those who escaped during wartime. Thomas Jefferson estimated that Virginia may have lost 30,000 slaves in total escapes.[#bibko2016, Bibko, 2016, p. 59] In South Carolina, nearly 25,000 slaves (about 30 percent of the enslaved population) either fled, migrated, or died, which significantly disrupted the plantation economies both during and after the war.[#kolchin1994, Kolchin 1994, p. 73]
Black Patriots were barred from the Continental Army until Washington convinced Congress in January 1778 that there was no other way to replace losses from disease and desertion. The 1st Rhode Island Regiment formed in February included former slaves whose owners were compensated; however, only 140 of its 225 soldiers were black and recruitment stopped in June 1788.[#lanning2012, Lanning 2012, p. 75] Ultimately, around 5,000 African-Americans served in the Continental Army and Navy in a variety of roles, while another 4,000 were employed in Patriot militia units, aboard privateers, or as teamsters, servants, and spies. After the war, a small minority received land grants or Congressional pensions in old age; many others were returned to their masters post-war despite earlier promises of freedom.[#alexander2010, Alexander 2010, p. 356]
As a Patriot victory became increasingly likely, the treatment of Black Loyalists became a point of contention; after the surrender of Yorktown in 1781, Washington insisted all escapees be returned but Cornwallis refused. In 1782 and 1783, around 8,000 to 10,000 freed blacks were evacuated by the British from Charleston, Savannah, and New York; some moved onto London, while 3,000 to 4,000 settled in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
, where they founded settlements such as Birchtown, Nova Scotia, Birchtown.[#bibko2016, Bibko, 2016, p. 61] White Loyalists transported 15,000 enslaved blacks to Colony of Jamaica, Jamaica and the Bahamas. The free Black Loyalists who migrated to the British West Indies
The British West Indies (BWI) were colonized British territories in the West Indies: Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grena ...
included regular soldiers from Dunmore's Ethiopian Regiment, and those from Charleston who helped garrison the Leeward Islands.
Native Americans
Most Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans east of the Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
were affected by the war, and many tribes were divided over how to respond to the conflict. A few tribes were friendly with the colonists, but most Natives opposed the union of the Colonies as a potential threat to their territory. Approximately 13,000 Natives fought on the British side, with the largest group coming from the Iroquois tribes who deployed around 1,500 men.[ Greene & Pole 2008, p. 393]
Early in July 1776, Cherokee allies of Britain attacked the short-lived Washington District, North Carolina, Washington District of North Carolina Colony, North Carolina. Their defeat splintered both Cherokee settlements and people, and was directly responsible for the rise of the Chickamauga Cherokee, who perpetuated the Cherokee–American wars against American settlers for decades after hostilities with Britain ended.[#finger2001, Finger 2001, pp. 43–64]
Muscogee people, Creek and Seminole allies of Britain fought against Americans in Georgia and South Carolina. In 1778, a force of 800 Creeks destroyed American settlements along the Broad River (Georgia), Broad River in Georgia. Creek warriors also joined Thomas Brown (loyalist), Thomas Brown's raids into South Carolina and assisted Britain during the Siege of Savannah.[#wardH1999, Ward, H. 1999, p. 198] Many Native Americans were involved in the fight between Britain and Spain on the Gulf Coast and along the British side of the Mississippi River. Thousands of Creeks, Chickasaws, and Choctaws fought in major battles such as the Battle of Fort Charlotte, the Battle of Mobile (1781), Battle of Mobile, and the Siege of Pensacola.[#o'brien2008, O'Brien 2008, pp. 123–126]
The Iroquois Confederacy was shattered as a result of the American Revolutionary War, whatever side they took; the Seneca nation, Seneca, Onondaga (tribe), Onondaga, and Cayuga nation, Cayuga tribes sided with the British; members of the Mohawk nation, Mohawks fought on both sides; and many Tuscarora (tribe), Tuscarora and Oneida tribe, Oneida sided with the Americans. To retaliate against raids on American settlement by Loyalists and their Indian allies, the Continental Army dispatched the Sullivan Expedition on a punitive expedition throughout New York to debilitate the Iroquois tribes that had sided with the British. Mohawk leaders Joseph Louis Cook and Joseph Brant sided with the Americans and the British respectively, which further exacerbated the split.[ Ferling 2007, pp. 200–203]
In the western theater of the American Revolutionary War, conflicts between settlers and Native Americans led to lingering distrust.[#reidD2017, Reid, D. 2017, p.] In the Treaty of Paris (1783), 1783 Treaty of Paris, Great Britain ceded control of the disputed lands between the Great Lakes and the Ohio River, but the Indian inhabitants were not a part of the peace negotiations.[#carroll2001, Carroll 2001, p. 24] Tribes in the Northwest Territory
The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...
joined as the Western Confederacy and allied with the British to resist American settlement, and their conflict continued after the Revolutionary War as the Northwest Indian War.[ Ferling 2007, pp. 354–355]
Britain's "American war" and peace
Changing Prime Ministers
Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford, Lord North, Prime Minister since 1770, delegated control of the war in North America to Lord George Germain and the John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, Earl of Sandwich, who was First Lord of the Admiralty, head of the Royal Navy from 1771 to 1782. Defeat at Saratoga in 1777 made it clear the revolt would not be easily suppressed, especially after the Franco-American alliance of February 1778, and French declaration of war in June. With Spain also expected to join the conflict, the Royal Navy needed to prioritize either the war in America or in Europe; Germain advocated the former, Sandwich the latter.[#syrett1998, Syrett 1998, pp. 18–22]
British negotiators now proposed a second peace settlement to Congress.[#hibbert2000, Hibbert 2000, p. 160] The terms presented by the Carlisle Peace Commission included acceptance of the principle of self-government. Parliament would recognize Congress as the governing body, suspend any objectionable legislation, surrender its right to local colonial taxation, and discuss including American representatives in the House of Commons. In return, all property confiscated from Loyalists would be returned, British debts honored, and locally enforced martial law accepted. However, Congress demanded either immediate recognition of independence or the withdrawal of all British troops; they knew the commission were not authorized to accept these, bringing negotiations to a rapid end.[#whiteley1996, Whiteley 1996, p. 175]
When the commissioners returned to London in November 1778, they recommended a change in policy. Sir Henry Clinton, the new British Commander-in-Chief in America, was ordered to stop treating the rebels as enemies, rather than subjects whose loyalty might be regained.[#hibbert2000, Hibbert 2000, pp. 160–61] Those standing orders would be in effect for three years until Clinton was relieved.[ Greene & Pole 2008, p. 325]
North initially backed the Southern strategy attempting to exploit divisions between the mercantile north and slave-owning south, but after the defeat of Yorktown, he was forced to accept the fact that this policy had failed.[ Hibbert 2008, p. 333] It was clear the war was lost, although the Royal Navy forced the French to relocate their fleet to the Caribbean in November 1781 and resumed a close blockade of American trade.[#davisengerman2006, Davis, L. and Engerman 2006, p. 64] The resulting economic damage and rising inflation meant the US was now eager to end the war, while France was unable to provide further loans; Congress could no longer pay its soldiers.[#Rappleye2010, Rappleye 2010, pp. 300–313]
On February 27, 1782, a Whig motion to end the offensive war in America was carried by 19 votes.[#namier1985, Namier and Brooke 1985, p. 246] North now resigned, obliging the king to invite Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, Lord Rockingham to form a government; a consistent supporter of the Patriot cause, he made a commitment to US independence a condition of doing so. George III reluctantly accepted and the Second Rockingham ministry, new government took office on March 27, 1782; however, Rockingham died unexpectedly on July 1, and was replaced by Shelburne ministry, Lord Shelburne who acknowledged American independence.[#wardA1925, Ward and Prothero 1925, p. 458]
American Congress signs a peace
When Lord Rockingham, the Whig leader and friend of the American cause was elevated to Prime Minister, Congress consolidated its diplomatic consuls in Europe into a peace delegation at Paris. All were experienced in Congressional leadership. The dean of the delegation was Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania. He had become a celebrity in the French Court, but he was also an Enlightenment scientist with influence in the courts of European great powers in Prussia, England's former ally, and Austria, a Catholic empire like Spain. Since the 1760s he had been an organizer of British American inter-colony cooperation, and then a colonial lobbyist to Parliament in London. John Adams of Massachusetts had been consul to the Dutch Republic and was a prominent early New England Patriot. John Jay of New York had been consul to Spain and was a past president of the Continental Congress. As consul to the Dutch Republic, Henry Laurens of South Carolina had secured a preliminary agreement for a trade agreement. He had been a successor to John Jay as President of the Continental Congress, president of Congress and with Franklin was a member of the American Philosophical Society. Although active in the preliminaries, he was not a signer of the conclusive treaty.
The Whig negotiators for Lord Rockingham and his successor, Prime Minister Lord Shelburne, included long-time friend of Benjamin Franklin from his time in London, David Hartley (the Younger), David Hartley and Richard Oswald (merchant), Richard Oswald, who had negotiated Laurens' release from the Tower of London. The Preliminary Peace signed on November 30 met four key Congressional demands: independence, territory up to the Mississippi, navigation rights into the Gulf of Mexico, and fishing rights in Newfoundland.
British strategy was to strengthen the US sufficiently to prevent France from regaining a foothold in North America, and they had little interest in these proposals.[#Black2011, Black 2011, pp. 117–18] However, divisions between their opponents allowed them to negotiate separately with each to improve their overall position, starting with the American delegation in September 1782.[#Harvey2004, Harvey 2004, pp. 531–32] The French and Spanish sought to improve their position by creating the U.S. dependent on them for support against Britain, thus reversing the losses of 1763.[#cogliano2003, Cogliano 2003, p. 85] Both parties tried to negotiate a settlement with Britain excluding the Americans; France proposed setting the western boundary of the US along the Appalachians, matching the British Royal Proclamation of 1763, 1763 Proclamation Line. The Spanish suggested additional concessions in the vital Mississippi River Basin, but required the cession of Georgia in the American Revolution, Georgia in violation of the Franco-American alliance.
Facing difficulties with Spain over claims involving the Mississippi River, and from France who was still reluctant to agree to American independence until all her demands were met, John Jay promptly told the British that he was willing to negotiate directly with them, cutting off France and Spain, and Prime Minister Lord Shelburne, in charge of the British negotiations, agreed.[#morris1965, Morris, 1983 [1965], pp. 221–323, 331–333] Key agreements for America in obtaining peace included recognition of United States independence, that she would gain all of the area east of the Mississippi River, north of Florida, and south of Canada; the granting of fishing rights in the Grand Banks, off the coast of Newfoundland and in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence; the United States and Great Britain were to each be given perpetual access to the Mississippi River.[#dull1975, Dull 1987 [1975], pp. 144–151][#morris1965, Morris, 1983 [1965], pp. 218–221]
An Anglo-American Preliminary Peace was formally entered into in November 1782, and Congress endorsed the settlement on April 15, 1783. It announced the achievement of peace with independence; the "conclusive" treaty was signed on September 2, 1783, in Paris, effective the next day September 3, when Britain signed its treaty with France. John Adams, who helped draft the treaty, claimed it represented "one of the most important political events that ever happened on the globe". Ratified respectively by Congress and Parliament, the final versions were exchanged in Paris the following spring.[#lskaplan1983, Kaplan, L. 1983, "Treaty of Paris"] On 25 November, the last British troops remaining in the US were evacuated from New York to Halifax.[#ketchum2014b, Ketchum 2014b, p. 287]
Aftermath
Washington expressed astonishment that the Americans had won a war against a leading world power, referring to the American victory as "little short of a standing miracle".[ Ferling 2007, p. 562] The conflict between British subjects with the Crown against those with the Congress had lasted over eight years from 1775 to 1783. The last uniformed British troops Evacuation Day (New York), departed their last East Coast port cities in Savannah, Charleston, and New York City, by November 25, 1783. That marked the end of British occupation in the new United States.[ Ferling 2007, pp. 557–558]
On April 9, 1783, Washington issued orders that he had long waited to give, that "all acts of hostility" were to cease immediately. That same day, by arrangement with Washington, Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, General Carleton issued a similar order to British troops. British troops, however, were not to evacuate until a prisoner of war exchange occurred, an effort that involved much negotiation and would take some seven months to effect.[ Ferling 2007, p. 553]
As directed by a Congressional resolution of May 26, 1783, all non-commissioned officers and enlisted were furloughed "to their homes" until the "definitive treaty of peace", when they would be automatically discharged. The US armies were directly disbanded in the field as of Washington's General Orders on Monday, June 2, 1783.[#armour1941, Armour 1941, p. 350] Once the conclusive Treaty of Paris was signed with Britain, Washington resigned as commander-in-chief at Congress, leaving for his Army retirement at Mount Vernon.
Territory
The expanse of territory that was now the United States was ceded from its colonial Homeland#Motherland, Mother country alone. It included millions of sparsely settled acres south of the Great Lakes, Great Lakes Line between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River. The tentative colonial migration west became a flood during the years of the Revolutionary War. Virginia's Kentucky County counted 150 men in 1775. By 1790 fifteen years later, it numbered over 73,000 and was seeking statehood in the United States.[#herring2011, Herring 2011 [2008], p. 41]
Britain's extended post-war policy for the US continued to try to establish an Indian buffer state below the Great Lakes as late as 1814 during the War of 1812. The formally acquired western American lands continued to be populated by a dozen or so American Indian tribes that had been British allies for the most part. Though British forts on their lands had been ceded to either the French or the British prior to the creation of the United States,[#USCon1795, Treaty of Greenville 1795, U.S. Congress and "Tribes Northwest of the Ohio River"] Natives were not referred to in the British cession to the US.[Benn 1993, p. 17]
While tribes were not consulted by the British for the treaty, in practice the British refused to abandon the forts on territory they formally transferred. Instead, they provisioned military allies for continuing frontier raids and sponsored the Northwest Indian War, Northwest Indian War (1785–1795), including erecting an additional British Fort Miami (Ohio). British sponsorship of local warfare on the United States continued until the Anglo-American Jay Treaty went into effect. At the same time, the Spanish also sponsored war within the US by Indian proxies in its Southwest Territory ceded by France to Britain, then Britain to the Americans.
Of the European powers with American colonies adjacent to the newly created United States, Spain was most threatened by American independence, and it was correspondingly the most hostile to it. Its territory adjacent to the US was relatively undefended, so Spanish policy developed a combination of initiatives. Spanish soft power diplomatically challenged the British territorial cession west to the Mississippi and the previous northern boundaries of Spanish Florida.[#herring2011, Herring 2011 [2008], p. 46] It imposed a high tariff on American goods, then blocked American settler access to the port of New Orleans. Spanish hard power extended war alliances and arms to Southwestern Natives to resist American settlement. A former Continental Army General, James Wilkinson settled in History of Kentucky#Kentucky in the American Revolution (1775–1783), Kentucky County, Virginia in 1784, and there he fostered settler secession from Virginia during the Spanish-allied Cherokee–American wars, Chickamauga Cherokee war. Beginning in 1787, he received pay as Spanish Agent 13, and subsequently expanded his efforts to persuade American settlers west of the Appalachians to secede from the United States, first in the Washington administration, and later again in the Jefferson administration.
Casualties and losses
The total loss of life throughout the conflict is largely unknown. As was typical in wars of the era, diseases such as smallpox claimed more lives than battle. Between 1775 and 1782, a 1775–82 North American smallpox epidemic, smallpox epidemic broke out throughout North America, killing an estimated 130,000 among all its populations during those years. Historian Joseph Ellis suggests that Washington's decision to have his troops Variolation, inoculated against the disease was one of his most important decisions.[#ellis2004, Ellis 2004, p. 87]
Up to 70,000 American Patriots died during active military service.[#peckham74, Peckham 1974, p.] Of these, approximately 6,800 were killed in battle, while at least 17,000 died from disease. The majority of the latter died while prisoners of war of the British, mostly in the Prisoners in the American Revolutionary War, prison ships in New York Harbor.[#burrows2008b, Burrows 2008b, p.] The number of Patriots seriously wounded or disabled by the war has been estimated from 8,500 to 25,000.[#chambers1999, Chambers 1999 p. 849]
The French suffered 2,112 killed in combat in the United States.[#CITEREFRignault2004, Dawson 2017, "Frenchmen who died"] The Spanish lost a total of 124 killed and 247 wounded in West Florida.[#white2020, White 2010, "Essay"]
A British report in 1781 puts their total Army deaths at 6,046 in North America (1775–1779). Approximately 7,774 Germans in the American Revolution#Allies of Great Britain, Germans died in British service in addition to 4,888 deserters; of the former, it is estimated 1,800 were killed in combat.
Legacy
The American Revolution established the United States with its numerous civil liberties and set an example to overthrow both monarchy and colonial governments. The United States has the world's oldest written constitution, and the constitutions of other free countries often bear a striking resemblance to the US Constitution, often word-for-word in places. It inspired the French, Haitian, Latin American Revolutions, and others into the modern era.[#bailyn2007, Bailyn, 2007, pp. 35, 134–49]
Although the Revolution eliminated many forms of inequality, it did little to change the status of women, despite the role they played in winning independence. Most significantly, it failed to end slavery which continued to be a serious social and political issue and caused divisions that would ultimately end in American Civil War, civil war. While many were uneasy over the contradiction of demanding liberty for some, yet denying it to others, the dependence of southern states on slave labor made abolition too great a challenge. Between 1774 and 1780, many of the states banned the importation of slaves, but the institution itself continued.[#morgan2012, Morgan, 2012 [1956], pp. 96–97]
In 1782, Virginia passed a law permitting manumission and over the next eight years more than 10,000 slaves were given their freedom.[#morgan2012, Morgan, 2012 [1956], p. 97] With support from Benjamin Franklin, in 1790 the Quakers petitioned Congress to abolish slavery;[#middlekauff1982, Middlekauff, 2007 [1982], p. 557] the number of abolitionist movements greatly increased, and by 1804 all the northern states had outlawed it.[#wood1992, Wood, 1992, pp. 3–8, 186–7] However, even many like Adams who viewed slavery as a 'foul contagion' opposed the 1790 petition as a threat to the Union.[#wood2017, Wood, 2017, p. 348] In 1808, Jefferson passed legislation Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, banning the importation of slaves, but allowed the domestic slave trade to continue, arguing the federal government had no right to regulate individual states.[#wood2017, Wood, 2017, p. 416]
Historiography
A large historiography concerns the reasons the Americans revolted and successfully broke away.[Paul David Nelson, "British Conduct of the American Revolutionary War: A Review of Interpretations." ''Journal of American History'' 65.3 (1978): 623–653]
online
/ref> The "Patriots", an insulting term used by the British that was proudly adopted by the Americans, stressed the constitutional rights of Englishmen, especially "No taxation without representation." Contemporaries credited the American Enlightenment with laying the intellectual, moral and ethical foundations of the Revolution among the Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Fathers. Founders referred to the liberalism in the philosophy of John Locke as powerful influences. Although ''Two Treatises of Government'' has long been cited as a major influence on American thinkers, historians David Lundberg and Henry F. May demonstrate that Locke's ''Essay Concerning Human Understanding'' was far more widely read than were his political ''Treatises''.[See David Lundberg and Henry F. May, "The Enlightened Reader in America," ''American Quarterly'', vol. 28, no. 2 (1976): 267.] Historians since the 1960s have emphasized that the Patriot constitutional argument was made possible by the emergence of a sense of American nationalism that united all 13 colonies. In turn, that nationalism was rooted in a republicanism in the United States, Republican value system that demanded consent of the governed and opposed aristocratic control. In Britain itself, republicanism was a fringe view since it challenged the aristocratic control of the British political system. Political power was not controlled by an aristocracy or nobility in the 13 colonies, and instead, the colonial political system was based on the winners of free elections, which were open to the majority of white men. In the analysis of the coming of the Revolution, historians in recent decades have mostly used one of three approaches.[Robin Winks, ed. ''Historiography'' (1999) 5:95]
* The Atlantic history view places the American story in a broader context, including subsequent revolutions in France and Haiti. It tends to reintegrate the historiographies of the American Revolution and the British Empire.[Eliga H. Gould, Peter S. Onuf, eds. ''Empire and Nation: The American Revolution in the Atlantic World'' (2005)]
* The "new social history" approach looks at community social structure to find cleavages that were magnified into colonial cleavages.
* The ideological approach that centers on republicanism in the United States. Republicanism dictated there would be no royalty, aristocracy or national church but allowed for continuation of the British common law, which American lawyers and jurists understood and approved and used in their everyday practice. Historians have examined how the rising American legal profession adopted British common law to incorporate republicanism by selective revision of legal customs and by introducing more choices for courts.[Ellen Holmes Pearson. "Revising Custom, Embracing Choice: Early American Legal Scholars and the Republicanization of the Common Law", in Gould and Onuf, eds. ''Empire and Nation: The American Revolution in the Atlantic World'' (2005) pp. 93–113][Anton-Hermann Chroust, ''Rise of the Legal Profession in America'' (1965) vol 2.]
Commemorations of the Revolutionary War
After the first U.S. postage stamp was issued in 1849, the U.S. Post Office frequently issued commemorative stamps celebrating the various people and events of the Revolutionary War. However, it would be more than 140 years after the Revolution before any stamp commemorating that war itself was ever issued. The first such stamp was the 'Liberty Bell' issue of 1926.
File:150th Anniversary of the Liberty Bell, 1926 Issue-2c.jpg, 150th anniversary of American independence. Issue of 1926
File:Saratoga 1777 Oriskany 1927 Issue-2c.jpg, 150th anniversary of Saratoga
issue of 1927
File:Washington at Prayer Valley Forge 1928 Issue-2c.jpg, 150th anniversary
issue of 1928
File:Yorktown 1931 Issue-2c.jpg, 150th anniversary of Yorktown
issue of 1931
See also
* 1776 in the United States: events, births, deaths, and other years
* Timeline of the American Revolution
Topics of the Revolution
* Committee of safety (American Revolution)
* Diplomacy in the American Revolutionary War
* Financial costs of the American Revolutionary War
* Flags of the American Revolution
* Naval operations in the American Revolutionary War
Social history of the Revolution
* Black Patriot
* Christianity in the United States#American Revolution
* The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution
* History of Poles in the United States#American Revolution
* List of clergy in the American Revolution
* List of Patriots (American Revolution)
* Quakers in the American Revolution
* Scotch-Irish Americans#American Revolution
Others in the American Revolution
* Nova Scotia in the American Revolution
* Watauga Association
Lists of Revolutionary military
* List of American Revolutionary War battles
* List of British Forces in the American Revolutionary War
* List of Continental Forces in the American Revolutionary War
* List of infantry weapons in the American Revolution
* List of United States militia units in the American Revolutionary War
"Thirteen Colony" economy
* Economic history of the United States#Colonial economy, Economic history of the US: Colonial economy to 1780
* Shipbuilding in the American colonies
* Slavery in the United States
Legacy and related
* American Revolution Statuary
* Commemoration of the American Revolution
* Founders Online
* Independence Day (United States)
* The Last Men of the Revolution
* List of plays and films about the American Revolution
* Museum of the American Revolution
* Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the American Revolution
* United States Bicentennial
* List of wars of independence
Bibliographies
* Bibliography of the American Revolutionary War
* Bibliography of Thomas Jefferson
* Bibliography of George Washington
Notes
Citations
:''Year dates enclosed in [brackets] denote year of original printing''
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* History.org
* Maryland State House
* The History Place
* Totallyhistory.com
* U.S. Merchant Marine
* U.S. National Archives
* Valley Forge National Historic Park
* Yale Law School, Massachusetts Act
Further reading
A selection of works relating to the war not listed above;
* Allison, David, and Larrie D. Ferreiro, eds. ''The American Revolution: A World War'' (Smithsonian, 2018
excerpt
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Volumes committed to the American Revolution
Vol. 7
Vol. 8
Vol. 9
Vol. 10
* Bobrick, Benson. ''Angel in the Whirlwind: The Triumph of the American Revolution''. Penguin, 1998 (paperback reprint)
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* Chartrand, Rene. ''The French Army in the American War of Independence'' (1994). Short (48pp), very well illustrated descriptions.
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* Henry Steele Commager, Commager, Henry Steele and Richard B. Morris, eds. ''The Spirit of 'Seventy-Six': The Story of the American Revolution as told by Participants''. (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1958)
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* Conway, Stephen. ''The War of American Independence 1775–1783''. Publisher: E. Arnold, 1995. . 280 pp.
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* Eric Foner, Foner, Eric, "Whose Revolution?: The history of the United States' founding from below" (review of Woody Holton, ''Liberty Is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution'', Simon & Schuster, 2021, 800 pp.), ''The Nation'', vol. 314, no. 8 (18–25 April 2022), pp. 32–37. Highlighted are the struggles and tragic fates of America's Indians and Black slaves. For example, "In 1779 [George] Washington dispatched a contingent of soldiers to upstate New York to burn Indian towns and crops and seize hostages 'of every age and sex.' The following year, while serving as governor of Virginia, [Thomas] Jefferson ordered troops under the command of George Rogers Clark
George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American surveyor, soldier, and militia officer from Virginia who became the highest-ranking American patriot military officer on the northwestern frontier during the Ame ...
to enter the Ohio Valley and bring about the expulsion or 'extermination' of local Indians." (pp. 34–35.)
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* Kwasny, Mark V. ''Washington's Partisan War, 1775–1783''. Kent, Ohio: 1996. . Militia warfare.
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* May, Robin. ''The British Army in North America 1775–1783'' (1993). Short (48pp), very well illustrated descriptions.
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* National Institute of Health
* Neimeyer, Charles Patrick. ''America Goes to War: A Social History of the Continental Army'' (1995)
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* Stoker, Donald, Kenneth J. Hagan, and Michael T. McMaster, eds. ''Strategy in the American War of Independence: a global approach'' (Routledge, 2009
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* Symonds, Craig L. ''A Battlefield Atlas of the American Revolution'' (1989), newly drawn maps emphasizing the movement of military units
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* U.S. Army
''American Military History'' Volume I, 2005.
* U.S. National Park Service
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* Zlatich, Marko; Copeland, Peter. ''General Washington's Army (1): 1775–78'' (1994). Short (48pp), very well illustrated descriptions.
* ——. ''General Washington's Army (2): 1779–83'' (1994). Short (48pp), very well illustrated descriptions.
Primary sources
In addition to this selection, many primary sources are available at the Princeton University Law School Avalon Project and at the Library of Congress Digital Collections (previously LOC webpage, ''American Memory''). Original editions for titles related to the American Revolutionary War can be found open-sourced online at Internet Archive and Hathi Trust Digital Library.
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* Emmerich, Adreas. ''The Partisan in War'', a treatise on light infantry tactics written by Colonel Andreas Emmerich in 1789.
External links
Maps of the Revolutionary War from the United States Military Academy
Bibliographies online
compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History
Political bibliography
from Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture
{{Authority control
American Revolutionary War,
Conflicts in 1775
Conflicts in 1776
Conflicts in 1777
Conflicts in 1778
Conflicts in 1779
Conflicts in 1780
Conflicts in 1781
Conflicts in 1782
Conflicts in 1783
Global conflicts
Rebellions against the British Empire
Wars between the United Kingdom and the United States
Wars of independence