Revolutionary War

1775 - American Revolutionary War

The Revolutionary War led to the birth of a new nation - the United States. The war, which is also called the American Revolution, was fought between Great Britain and its 13 colonies that lay along the Atlantic Ocean in North America. The war began on April 19, 1775, when British soldiers and American patriots clashed at Lexington, Massachusetts, and at nearby Concord. The war lasted eight years. On Sept. 3, 1783, Britain signed the Treaty of Paris, by which it recognized the independence of the United States.

Tension had been building between Great Britain and the American Colonies for more than 10 years before the Revolutionary War began. Starting in the mid-1760's, the British government passed a series of laws to increase its control over the colonies. Americans had grown used to a large measure of self-government. They strongly resisted the new laws, especially tax laws. Fierce debate developed over the British Parliament's right to tax the colonies without their consent.

The disobedience of the American Colonies angered the British government. In 1775, Britain's Parliament declared Massachusetts--the site of much protest--to be in rebellion. The British government ordered its troops in Boston to take swift action against the rebels. The Revolutionary War broke out soon afterward.

The American Colonies were unprepared for war. They lacked a central government, an army, and a navy. Delegates from the colonies formed the Continental Congress, which took on the duties of a national government. The Congress directed the war effort and voted to organize an army and a navy. It appointed George Washington, a wealthy Virginia landowner and former military officer, commander in chief of the Continental Army. On July 4, 1776, the Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, in which the colonies declared their freedom from British rule.

Great Britain launched a huge land and sea effort to crush the revolution. Britain had a far larger and better-trained army than did the Americans. However, Britain had to transport and supply its army across the Atlantic Ocean. Although the British won many battles, they gained little from their victories. The American patriots could always form new forces and fight on.

In 1777, the Americans won an important victory at Saratoga, N.Y. The victory convinced France that the Americans could win the war. As a result, France went to war against Britain, its long-time enemy. France provided the Americans with the money and military equipment they badly needed to fight the war.

In October 1781, a large British force surrendered to Washington at Yorktown, Virginia. That defeat led the British government to begin peace talks with the Americans. The Treaty of Paris formally ended the war in 1783.

The Revolutionary War in America stood as an example to peoples in many lands who later fought to gain their freedom. In 1836, the American author Ralph Waldo Emerson referred to the first shot fired by the patriots at Concord as "the shot heard round the world."

Great Britain's power in North America was at its height in 1763, only 12 years before the Revolutionary War began. Britain had just defeated France in the French and Indian War (1754-1763). The treaty that ended the war gave Britain almost all of France's territory in North America. That territory stretched from the Appalachian Mountains in the east to the Mississippi River and included much of Canada. Most American colonists took pride in being part of the British Empire, which was then the world's most powerful empire.

Yet in 1775, the American Colonies rebelled against British authority. The dramatic turnabout resulted from disagreements over the proper relationship between Great Britain and its colonies. As the "mother country," Britain expected obedience from its "children," the colonies. The colonists, on the other hand, believed that they had certain rights which Britain should respect. They wished to be treated like adults, not children. Each side refused to yield, which led to a military showdown and eventual independence for the colonies.

The Proclamation of 1763 was issued by King George to halt the expansion of the American Colonies beyond the Appalachian Mountains. Before the French and Indian War, France had helped prevent colonists from settling on Indian hunting lands west of the Appalachians. But settlers began crossing the frontier soon after Britain defeated France. To preserve Indian hunting grounds, an Ottawa chief named Pontiac led an uprising in the spring of 1763. Indian tomahawks killed hundreds of colonists along the western frontier.

Britain feared a long and bloody Indian war, which it could not afford. To prevent future uprisings, King George issued the Proclamation of 1763. The document reserved lands west of the Appalachians for Indians and forbade white settlements there. Britain sent soldiers to guard the frontier and keep settlers out. The colonists deeply resented the Proclamation of 1763. They felt that Britain had no right to restrict their settlement. In addition, many Americans hoped to profit from the purchase of western lands.

The First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia from Sept. 5 to Oct. 26, 1774, to protest the Intolerable Acts. Representatives attended from all the colonies except Georgia. The leaders included Samuel Adams and John Adams of Massachusetts and George Washington and Patrick Henry of Virginia. The Congress voted to cut off colonial trade with Great Britain unless Parliament abolished the Intolerable Acts. It also approved resolutions advising the colonies to begin training their citizens for war.

None of the delegates to the First Continental Congress called for independence from Great Britain. Instead, the delegates hoped that the colonies would regain the rights which Parliament had taken away. The Congress agreed to hold another Continental Congress in May 1775 if Britain did not change its policies before that time.

Fighting broke out between American patriots and British soldiers in April 1775. The Americans in each colony were defended at first by the members of their citizen army, the militia. The militiamen came out to fight when the British neared their homes. The patriots soon established a regular military force known as the Continental Army. Britain depended chiefly on professional soldiers who had enlisted for long terms. The British soldiers were known as redcoats because they wore bright red jackets.

The patriots won several victories in New England and the Southern Colonies during the early months of the Revolutionary War. As the fighting spread, many Americans became convinced of the need to cut their ties with Great Britain. In July 1776, more than a year after the start of the Revolutionary War, the colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence.

In February 1775, Parliament declared that Massachusetts was in open rebellion. This declaration made it legal for British troops to treat troublesome colonists as rebels and shoot them on sight. The king and his ministers hoped to avoid a war by crushing the disorder in Boston. In April, General Gage received secret orders from the British government to take military action against the Massachusetts troublemakers and arrest their principal leaders.

Boston patriots learned about the secret orders before Gage did. The leaders of the rebellion fled Boston to avoid arrest. Gage decided to capture or destroy arms and gunpowder stored by the patriots in the town of Concord, near Boston. On the night of April 18, 1775, about 700 British soldiers marched toward Concord. Joseph Warren, a Boston patriot, discovered that the British were on the march. He sent two speedy couriers, Paul Revere and William Dawes, to ride to Concord and warn the people about the approaching redcoats.

The redcoats reached the town of Lexington, on the way to Concord, near dawn on April 19, 1775. Revere's ride had alerted volunteer soldiers called minutemen, members of the militia who were highly trained and prepared to take up arms on a minute's notice. About 70 minutemen waited for the redcoats in Lexington. No one knows who fired the first shot. But 8 minutemen fell dead, and 10 more were wounded. One British soldier had been hurt.

The British continued on to Concord, where they searched for hidden arms. One group of redcoats met minutemen at North Bridge, just outside Concord. In a brief clash, 3 redcoats and 2 minutemen were killed. The British then turned back to Boston. Along the way, patriots fired at them from behind trees and stone fences. British dead and wounded for the day numbered about 250, and American losses came to about 90.

Word spread rapidly that fighting had broken out between British troops and the Americans. Militiamen throughout New England took up arms and gathered outside Boston. The Americans prepared to pounce on Gage's troops if they marched out of Boston. Three British officers--Major Generals John Burgoyne, Henry Clinton, and William Howe--arrived in Boston with more troops in late May 1775.

The British and the Americans each hoped to gain an advantage by occupying hills overlooking Boston. The Americans moved first. They had intended to fortify Bunker Hill. Instead, they dug in on Breed's Hill, closer to the city.

On June 17, 1775, British troops led by Howe attacked American positions on Breed's Hill. To save ammunition, the patriots were ordered: "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes." The Americans drove back two British charges before they ran out of ammunition. During a third charge, British bayonets forced the Americans to flee. The fighting, usually called the Battle of Bunker Hill, was the bloodiest battle of the entire war. More than 1,000 British soldiers and about 400 Americans were killed or wounded.

The Second Continental Congress began meeting in Philadelphia in May 1775, soon after the battles at Lexington and Concord. Patriot leaders in Massachusetts urged the Congress to take charge of militia units outside Boston and raise an army strong enough to challenge the redcoats. On June 14, the Congress established the Continental Army. The next day, George Washington was made the army's commander in chief. The Congress named 13 more generals soon afterward. It then had to figure out how to recruit troops, supply an army, and pay for a war.

Washington took command of the military camps near Boston on July 3, 1775. He immediately worked to establish order and discipline in the army. The militia units were poorly trained and undisciplined. They lacked weapons and overall organization. Their camps were filthy. Most soldiers had volunteered for service to defend their families and farms. They expected to return home after a few months. Washington issued a flood of orders and dismissed junior officers who failed to enforce them. Soldiers who disobeyed were punished.

To prevent British forces from sweeping down from Canada into New York, the Continental Congress ordered an invasion of Canada. Some delegates also hoped that Canada might join the colonies in their rebellion against Great Britain.

In the fall of 1775, two American expeditions marched northward into Canada. Benedict Arnold led one force along rivers and over rugged terrain toward the city of Quebec. Disease and hunger caused many of his men to turn back. The other expedition, under Brigadier General Richard Montgomery, headed toward Montreal. Montgomery captured Montreal on November 13. He then joined Arnold outside Quebec.

On Dec. 31, 1775, under cover of a blizzard, the Americans stormed Quebec. But they failed to take the city. Montgomery died in the attack, and Arnold was seriously wounded. Major General Guy Carleton, governor of the colony of Quebec, commanded the British forces in Canada. The Americans retreated to New York in the spring, after British reinforcements reached Canada. The invasion of Canada had ended in failure for the patriots.

Some Southern planters feared that a rebellion against Great Britain in the name of liberty might inspire black slaves to rise up against them. Those colonists hesitated to support the war at first. For that reason, Britain expected to restore its authority more easily in the Southern Colonies than in the North. However, the patriots enjoyed great success in the South at the start of the Revolutionary War. In urging his fellow Virginians to arm, Patrick Henry reportedly uttered the stirring words, "I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death."

In November 1775, the British governor of Virginia, Lord Dunmore, offered to free black slaves who took up arms on Britain's side. From 1,000 to 2,000 blacks joined Dunmore. In December, the patriots defeated a force led by Dunmore at Great Bridge, south of Norfolk. Dunmore fled Virginia the following summer.

North Carolina's governor, Josiah Martin, also hoped to crush the rebellious colonists by force. He urged North Carolinians loyal to Great Britain to join him. More than 1,500 colonists answered Martin's call and marched toward the coast to join British troops arriving by sea. But on the way, these colonists took a beating from patriot forces at Moore's Creek Bridge, near Wilmington. British troops under General Clinton had sailed southward from Boston. However, they failed to arrive in time to prevent the defeat at Moore's Creek Bridge on Feb. 27, 1776.

The British warships continued on to Charleston, S.C., the chief port in the South. They opened fire on a fort outside the city on June 28, 1776. However, the attack was called off later that day, after gunfire from the fort damaged several ships. Clinton soon rejoined British forces in the North.

When the Second Continental Congress opened in May 1775, few delegates wanted to break ties with the mother country. John Dickinson of Pennsylvania led the group that urged a peaceful settlement with Great Britain. Dickinson wrote the Olive Branch Petition, which the Congress approved in July 1775. The document declared that the colonists were loyal to the king and urged him to remedy their complaints. However, George III ignored the petition. On August 23, he declared all the colonies to be in rebellion. A few months later, Parliament closed all American ports to overseas trade. Those actions convinced many delegates that a peaceful settlement of differences with Britain was impossible.

Support for American independence continued to build early in 1776. In January, the political writer Thomas Paine issued a sensational pamphlet titled Common Sense. Paine attacked George III as unjust, and he argued brilliantly for the complete independence of the American Colonies.

In June 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introduced the resolution in the Congress "That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States. ..." The Congress appointed a committee to draft a declaration of independence in case Lee's resolution was adopted. On July 2, the Congress approved Lee's resolution. It adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, and the United States of America was born. See Declaration of Independence.

After the Americans declared their independence, they had to win it by force. The task proved difficult, partly because the people never fully united behind the war effort. A large number of colonists remained unconcerned about the outcome of the war and supported neither side. As many as a third of the people sympathized with Great Britain. They called themselves Loyalists. The patriots called them Tories, after Britain's Tory Party, which strongly supported the king. Victory in the Revolutionary War depended on the patriots, who made up less than a third of the population.

Although the patriots formed a minority of the colonial population, they had many advantages over the British in the Revolutionary War. They had plenty of manpower, if they could only persuade citizens to come out and fight. Unlike the British, they did not have to supply their army across an ocean. In addition, the patriots fought on familiar terrain and could retreat out of reach of the British. In time, Britain's chief rivals, France and Spain, joined the war. Their aid enabled the patriots to win independence.

The American patriots also benefited from British blunders. The British expected an easy victory. They thought that the patriots would turn and run at the sight of masses of redcoats. Yet British military leaders were cautious in their battle plans. American military leaders were less experienced and less assured than British officers. But they were more willing to take chances. In the long run, daring leadership provided the Americans with a valuable advantage.

The American Colonies entered the Revolutionary War without an army or a navy. Their fighting forces consisted of militia units in the various colonies. The militias were made up of white men from 16 to 60 years old. Those citizen-soldiers were ready to defend their homes and families when danger threatened. The colonies could call up militiamen for periods of service ranging from a few days to a few months.

Great Britain had an army of well-trained and highly disciplined soldiers. Britain also hired professional German soldiers. Such soldiers were often called Hessians because most of them came from the German state of Hesse-Kassel. American Loyalists and Indians also joined British fighting forces during the war. At its peak, the British military force in North America numbered about 50,000.

George Washington and other patriot leaders doubted that part-time militias could defeat the British in a long war. Washington worked to build an army made up of disciplined soldiers who had enlisted for several years. However, recruitment for the Continental Army remained a constant problem. Most citizens preferred to serve in local militias and support the Continental Army when a major battle threatened nearby.

Washington rarely commanded as many as 15,000 soldiers at a time, and he frequently commanded far fewer. Soldiers often went without pay, food, and proper clothing because the Continental Congress was so poor and transportation in the colonies was so bad. Yet many poor soldiers stayed in the army because they had been promised free land after the war. They fought as much for economic gain as for political liberty. In time, most states permitted blacks to serve in the Continental Army. In all, about 5,000 blacks fought on the patriot side in the war. Many were slaves who had been promised freedom in exchange for military service.

Britain's powerful navy loosely blockaded America's Atlantic coast and at times raided port towns. The Americans had a small navy, which was too weak to challenge large British warships. However, the Continental Navy sank or captured many smaller British vessels, especially cargo ships. Privately owned American vessels known as privateers also captured enemy cargo ships. The stolen cargoes were then sold, with the profits going to investors, the ship captains, and the crews.

The Continental Congress provided leadership for the 13 former British colonies during most of the Revolutionary War. After the Declaration of Independence was adopted, each former colony called itself a state. The Congress drew up a plan called the Articles of Confederation to unify the states under a central government. The Articles left nearly all powers to the states because many delegates distrusted a strong central government. By March 1781, all 13 states had approved the Articles.

Each state formed a government to replace its former British administration. In most states, an elected legislature drafted a new constitution that defined the powers of the government. In 1780, Massachusetts became the last state to introduce a new constitution.

Patriot committees in each state stirred support for the war effort. Such committees tormented citizens suspected of sympathizing with Great Britain. Many Loyalists left the colonies rather than submit to the demands of patriot committees. By the end of the war, as many as 100,000 Loyalists had fled to Canada, England, the Bahamas, and other British territories.

The Revolutionary War battles of 1775 convinced the British that defeating the American Colonies required a major military effort and an effective strategy. As a result, Britain sent additional troops and a large naval force to America. British strategy called for crushing the rebellion in the North first. Once New England was knocked out of the war, Britain expected resistance to crumble in the remaining colonies.

Britain nearly conquered the patriots several times during the fighting in the North, which lasted from 1775 to 1778. But British generals failed to carry out British strategy effectively. In 1777, a British army surrendered to the Americans at Saratoga in New York. Soon afterward, France entered the Revolutionary War on the patriot side.

Immediately after the British evacuated Boston in March 1776, General Howe began to plan his return from Canada to the American Colonies. In July, he landed on Staten Island in New York Harbor. Howe was joined by General Clinton's men, following their defeat in South Carolina, and by Hessian troops from Europe. Howe commanded a total force of more than 45,000 experienced soldiers and sailors. They faced about 20,000 poorly trained and ill-equipped Americans.

Washington had shifted his forces to New York City after the redcoats withdrew from Boston. He did not expect to hold New York City, but he wanted to make the British fight for it. To defend the city, patriot troops fortified Brooklyn Heights, an area of high ground on the western tip of Long Island.

Howe saw an opportunity to trap large numbers of patriot troops in Brooklyn. In August 1776, British troops landed on Long Island in front of the American lines. Howe surrounded the patriots' forward positions in the Battle of Long Island on August 27. However, the slow-moving Howe paused before attacking again, enabling the remainder of the Americans to escape. In September, Washington sent Captain Nathan Hale behind British lines to obtain information about British positions on Long Island. Hale was caught and hanged for spying. Before being hanged, he reportedly said, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."

By mid-September 1776, Howe had driven Washington's troops from New York City. Howe slowly pursued the Americans as they retreated toward White Plains, N.Y. His hesitation cost the British a chance to crush Washington's army. But another patriot force remained on Manhattan Island to defend Fort Washington. The fort fell to Howe in November, and Britain captured nearly 3,000 Americans. New York City remained in British hands until the war ended.

During the summer and fall of 1776, General Carleton led a British force southward from Canada. British strategy called for Carleton to link up with Howe in the Hudson River Valley, thereby cutting New England off from the rest of the colonies. But Carleton met heavy resistance from patriot forces under Brigadier General Benedict Arnold in a naval battle near Valcour Island on Lake Champlain. In November, Carleton turned back to Canada for the winter.

The patriot situation appeared dark at the end of 1776. Washington's discouraged forces had withdrawn to New Jersey. In late November, British troops led by Major General Charles Cornwallis poured into New Jersey in pursuit of Washington. The patriots barely escaped to safety by crossing the Delaware River into Pennsylvania on December 7.

Washington's forces were near collapse, and New Jersey militiamen had failed to come to their aid. Yet Howe again missed an opportunity to destroy the Continental Army. He decided to wait until spring to attack and ordered his troops into winter quarters in Trenton, Princeton, and other New Jersey towns. Clinton was assigned to capture Newport, R.I.

Howe believed he had broken the patriot rebellion. But he was quite mistaken. Although Washington had few troops, he decided to strike at Trenton. The town was defended by Hessians. On the stormy and bitterly cold night of Dec. 25, 1776, Washington and about 2,400 troops crossed the Delaware River. They landed 9 miles (14 kilometers) north of Trenton and marched through the night. The next morning, they surprised the Hessians and took more than 900 prisoners.

On Jan. 2, 1777, Cornwallis advanced toward Trenton. He planned to attack the Americans the next day. But during the night, Washington's troops silently stole away and marched past Cornwallis' army. The following morning, Washington attacked at Princeton. He won a brilliant victory over redcoats on their way to join Cornwallis. Washington then moved his troops northward to winter headquarters near Morristown, N.J. He soon began to rebuild his army.

The victories at Trenton and Princeton revived patriot hopes. The Continental Army had almost been destroyed. But it had kept going and regained most of New Jersey. In spite of superior strength, the British had again failed to defeat the rebels.

Washington's successful maneuvering at Trenton and Princeton had embarrassed Howe. In the spring of 1777, Howe sought to lure Washington into battle and destroy his army. After failing to draw Washington into battle in New Jersey, Howe set out to take Philadelphia, the patriot capital.

In the summer of 1777, Howe's redcoats sailed from New York City to the top of Chesapeake Bay, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Philadelphia. Washington had rebuilt his army during the spring, and he had received weapons from France. He positioned his troops between Howe's forces and Philadelphia.

The opposing armies clashed on Sept. 11, 1777, at Brandywine Creek in southeastern Pennsylvania. One wing of the British army swung around the Americans and attacked them from behind. The surprised patriots had to retreat. Howe skillfully moved his troops after the Battle of Brandywine and occupied Philadelphia on September 26. The Continental Congress had fled to York, Pennsylvania, where it continued to direct American affairs.

On Oct. 4, 1777, Washington struck back at British forces camping at Germantown, north of Philadelphia. But his complicated battle plan created confusion. In a heavy fog, patriot forces fired on one another. The Americans again had to retreat.

While Howe won victories at Brandywine Creek and Germantown, another British force became stranded near Saratoga, N.Y. That force had advanced southward from Canada under Lieutenant General John Burgoyne.

Burgoyne had a successful start against the Americans. On July 6, 1777, he recaptured the British post of Fort Ticonderoga in New York from the Americans without a struggle. A second British expedition, led by Lieutenant Colonel Barry St. Leger, marched up the Mohawk River Valley to meet Burgoyne. In August, St. Leger ambushed militiamen outside Oriskany, N.Y. In the bloody Battle of Oriskany, the British beat back patriot forces. General Arnold stopped St. Leger soon afterward. By then, conditions favored the patriots.

As Burgoyne advanced southward, patriot forces destroyed bridges and cut down trees to block his path. Riflemen fired on British soldiers from the woods. Burgoyne ran short of food and other supplies. In August 1777, the Congress appointed Major General Horatio Gates to command the Northern Department of the Continental Army. Gates was popular with New England patriots, and they poured out to support him and his Continentals. On August 16, militiamen overwhelmed two groups of Hessians and Loyalists searching for horses and food near Bennington, Vermont.

Burgoyne trudged slowly through the wilderness along the Hudson River. His poor progress gave the Americans time to fortify a wooded area along the Hudson about 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of Albany. On Sept. 19, 1777, British troops attacked the fortifications. But they were met by patriot forces in a clearing on a nearby farm. Nightfall and the bravery of Hessian soldiers saved Burgoyne's troops from destruction in what became known as the First Battle of Freeman's Farm.

Although the patriot forces greatly outnumbered his army, Burgoyne decided not to retreat toward Canada. On Oct. 7, 1777, Burgoyne attacked again. Arnold's daring leadership won the Second Battle of Freeman's Farm for the patriots. Burgoyne finally began to retreat. But he soon found himself encircled by the Americans at Saratoga. On October 17, Burgoyne surrendered to Gates. The Americans took nearly 6,000 prisoners and large supplies of arms.

The victory at Saratoga marked a turning point in the Revolutionary War. It revealed the failure of British strategy. More important, the great victory at Saratoga helped convince France that it could safely enter the war on the American side.

Washington's army of about 10,000 soldiers spent the winter camped at Valley Forge, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia. Many of the troops lacked shoes and other clothing. They also suffered from a severe shortage of food. By spring 1778, nearly a fourth of the soldiers had died of malnutrition, exposure to the cold, and such diseases as smallpox and typhoid fever. Many soldiers deserted because of the horrid conditions.

In February 1778, a Prussian soldier called Baron Friedrich von Steuben arrived at Valley Forge. He convinced Washington that he could train the Continental Army in European military formations and bayonet charges. By late spring, Steuben had created a disciplined fighting force. The Marquis de Lafayette, a young French soldier, also spent part of the winter at Valley Forge. Fired with enthusiasm for the revolution, Lafayette had joined Washington's staff as a major general without pay.

France's entry into the Revolutionary War in 1778 forced Great Britain to defend the rest of its empire. The British expected to fight the French in the West Indies and elsewhere, and so they scattered their military resources. As a result, Britain no longer had a force strong enough to battle the Americans in the North.

In May 1778, General Clinton became commander in chief of British forces in North America. He replaced Howe, who had been occupying Philadelphia since September 1777. Clinton received orders to abandon Philadelphia and go to New York City. He was also told to send troops to the West Indies and other areas.

Clinton left Philadelphia on June 18, 1778, and marched across New Jersey toward New York City. The Continental Army followed him. On June 28, the patriots attacked near Monmouth Court House, N.J. Clinton soon counterattacked. After early confusion, the Americans held their ground, and the battle ended in a draw. During the night, Clinton's exhausted forces limped off the battleground and continued the march toward New York. The Battle of Monmouth was the last major Revolutionary War battle in the North.

Washington hoped to drive the British from New York City in a joint operation with the French. In July 1778, a French fleet under Admiral Charles Hector d'Estaing reached America. But the French warships were unable to cross a sandbar at the mouth of New York Harbor. Later that summer, a combined French and American effort to take Newport, R.I., also failed. In November, d'Estaing sailed southward to protect the French West Indies from British attack.

Problems along the western frontier also troubled Washington in 1778. That year, Loyalists and Iroquois Indians massacred frontier settlers in Pennsylvania and New York. Washington sent Major General John Sullivan to take revenge in 1779. Patriot troops burned Iroquois villages and destroyed crops. Many Iroquois starved to death as a result.

Great Britain changed its strategy after France entered the Revolutionary War. Rather than attack in the North, the British concentrated on conquering the colonies from the South. British leaders believed that most Southerners supported the king. Although the British failed to find as much Loyalist support as they expected, they defeated the Americans in several important battles. The patriots were forced onto the defensive in the South. But they attacked successfully in the West and at sea.

Fighting in the West broke out because land-hungry colonists crossed the Appalachian Mountains and settled on Indian territory. During the Revolutionary War, Indians raided white settlements in the wilderness with British encouragement. In 1778, Virginia sent militiamen led by Lieutenant Colonel George Rogers Clark to strike back at the British. Clark captured several settlements in what are now southern Illinois and southern Indiana. The British recaptured the settlement at Vincennes in Indiana. Clark and his men fought their way back to Vincennes across flooded countryside and took its British and Indian defenders by surprise in February 1779.

Congress established the Continental Navy in 1775. Its few ships had little effect on the war's outcome. However, one American naval officer carried the war to British waters. In April 1778, Captain John Paul Jones raided the coast of England. The following year, Jones engaged in battle the heavily armed British warship Serapis. Jones captured the Serapis, though his own ship, the Bonhomme Richard, was badly damaged and later sank. When the British demanded his surrender during the battle, Jones reportedly replied: "I have not yet begun to fight."

The first stage of Great Britain's Southern strategy called for the capture of a major Southern port, such as Charleston, South Carolina, or Savannah, Georgia. Britain would then use the port as a base for rallying Southern Loyalists and for launching further military campaigns. After its army moved on, the British expected Loyalists to keep control of the conquered areas. Britain assumed it could more easily retake the North after overcoming resistance in the South.

Britain's Southern campaign opened late in 1778. On December 29, a large British force that had sailed from New York City easily captured Savannah. Within a few months, the British controlled all Georgia.

The Congress named Major General Benjamin Lincoln commander of the Southern Department of the Continental Army. In October 1779, Lincoln and Admiral d'Estaing failed to drive the British from Savannah. Afterward, d'Estaing returned to France, and Lincoln retreated to Charleston. A joint operation by French and American forces had again ended in failure, and Georgia remained in British hands.

Success at Savannah led the British to invade South Carolina. Early in 1780, British forces under General Clinton landed near Charleston. They slowly closed in on the city, trapping its defenders. On May 12, General Lincoln surrendered his force of about 5,500 patriots--almost the entire Southern army. Clinton placed General Cornwallis in charge of British forces in the South and returned to New York City.

The loss of Charleston and so many patriot soldiers badly damaged American morale. However, the British victory had an unexpected result. Soon afterward, bands of South Carolina patriots began to roam the country side, battling Loyalists and attacking British supply lines. The rebels made it risky for Loyalists to support Cornwallis. The chief rebel leaders included Francis Marion, Andrew Pickens, and Thomas Sumter.

In July 1780, the Continental Congress ordered General Gates, the victor at Saratoga, to form a new Southern army to replace the one lost at Charleston. Gates hastily assembled a force made up largely of untrained militiamen. The rest of his men consisted of disciplined Continentals. He rushed to challenge Cornwallis at a British base in Camden, S.C.

On Aug. 16, 1780, the armies of Gates and Cornwallis unexpectedly met outside Camden and soon went into battle. The militiamen quickly panicked. Most of them turned and ran without firing a shot. The Continentals fought on until heavy casualties forced them to withdraw. The British had defeated a second American army in the South.

The disaster at Camden marked the low point in the Revolutionary War for the patriots. They then received a further blow. In September 1780, the patriots discovered that General Arnold, who commanded a military post at West Point, N.Y., had joined the British side. The Americans learned of Arnold's treason just in time to stop him from turning West Point over to the enemy.

Cornwallis' victory at Camden in August 1780 led him to act more boldly. In September, he charged into North Carolina before the Loyalists had gained firm control of South Carolina. After Cornwallis' departure, rebels in South Carolina terrorized suspected Loyalists. In addition, patriot frontiersmen turned out to fight the British.

In October 1780, the left wing of Cornwallis' army, which was made up of Loyalist troops, was surrounded and captured on Kings Mountain, just inside South Carolina. After the defeat at Kings Mountain, Cornwallis temporarily halted his Southern campaign and retreated to South Carolina.

The fighting in the Revolutionary War centered in Virginia during 1781. In January, the traitor Benedict Arnold began conducting raids in Virginia for the British, who had made him a brigadier general. Arnold's troops set fire to crops, military supplies, and other patriot property. General Washington sent Lafayette with a force of Continentals to rally Virginia's militia and go after Arnold. But Lafayette had too few troops to stop Arnold.

Cornwallis rushed into Virginia in the spring of 1781 and made it his new base in the campaign to conquer the South. However, Cornwallis had violated Britain's Southern strategy by failing to gain control of North and South Carolina before advancing northward. General Clinton believed that the Southern campaign was therefore doomed. He also feared an American attack on his base at New York City. Clinton ordered Cornwallis to adopt a defensive position along the Virginia coast and prepare to send his troops north. Cornwallis moved to Yorktown, which lay along Chesapeake Bay.

The last major battle of the Revolutionary War was fought at Yorktown. French and American forces cooperated to deliver a crushing defeat to British forces under Cornwallis.

About 5,500 French soldiers had reached America in July 1780. They were led by Lieutenant General Jean Rochambeau. Washington still hoped to drive the British from New York City in a combined operation with the French. In August 1781, however, Washington learned that a large French fleet under Admiral Francois de Grasse was headed toward Virginia. De Grasse planned to block Chesapeake Bay and prevent Cornwallis from escaping by sea. Washington and Rochambeau rushed their forces southward to trap Cornwallis on land. A British naval force sailed from New York City and battled de Grasse at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay in early September. But after several days, the British ships returned to New York for repairs.

By late September 1781, Cornwallis knew that he was in trouble. A combined French and American force of about 18,000 soldiers and sailors surrounded him at Yorktown. The soldiers slowly and steadily closed in on the trapped British troops. Cornwallis made a desperate attempt to ferry his forces across the York River to safety on the night of October 16. But a storm drove them back. Cornwallis asked for surrender terms the next day.

The surrender at Yorktown took place on Oct. 19, 1781. More than 8,000 men laid down their arms as a British band reportedly played a tune called "The World Turned Upside Down." They represented about a fourth of Britain's military force in America.

Britain's defeat at Yorktown did not end the Revolutionary War. The fighting dragged on in some areas for two more years. However, British leaders feared they might lose other parts of Britain's empire if they continued the war in America. Cornwallis' defeat at Yorktown brought a new group of British ministers to power early in 1782. They began peace talks with the Americans.

Peace discussions between the Americans and the British opened in Paris in April 1782. Richard Oswald, a wealthy merchant, represented the British government. The statesmen Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay negotiated for the United States.

The Congress instructed the American delegates to consult with the French before they took any action. But the Americans disregarded the instructions and concluded a preliminary peace treaty with Great Britain on Nov. 30, 1782. The Congress approved the treaty on April 15, 1783, and it was signed on Sept. 3, 1783.

The Treaty of Paris recognized the independence of the United States and established the new nation's borders. United States territory extended west to the Mississippi River, north to Canada, east to the Atlantic Ocean, and south to about Florida. Britain gave Florida to Spain. The treaty also granted the Americans fishing rights off the coast of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. In addition, it instructed the Congress to recommend that the states restore property taken from Loyalists during the war. The last British soldiers were withdrawn from New York City in November 1783.

As a result of the Revolutionary War, the 13 British colonies threw off royal rule. In its place, they established governments ruled by law and dedicated to the guarantee of certain basic rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Admiration for the principles that guided the revolution led peoples elsewhere to demand political reforms. Thomas Paine declared that the Revolutionary War "contributed more to enlighten the world, and diffuse a spirit of freedom and liberality among mankind, than any human event ... that ever preceded it."

Most historians estimate that about 7,200 Americans were killed in battle during the Revolutionary War. Approximately 8,200 more were wounded. About 10,000 others died in military camps from disease or exposure. Some 8,500 died in prison after being captured by the British. American military deaths from all causes during the war thus numbered about 25,700. In addition, approximately 1,400 soldiers were missing. British military deaths during the war totaled about 10,000.

Many soldiers in the Continental Army came out of the war penniless. They had received little or no pay while they served. Soldiers who had enlisted for the entire war received certificates for Western land. But many veterans had to sell the certificates because they needed money before Western lands became available. In 1818, Congress agreed to pay pensions to needy veterans.

Who were the other 56 men that signed the Declaration of Independence?

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the revolutionary army, another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hard ships of the revolutionary war.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners, men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers or both, looted the properties of Ellery, Clymer, Hall, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his head quarters. The owner quietly urged General George Washington toopen fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his grist mill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart. Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.

Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

They gave you and I a free and independent America. We didn't just fight the British. We were British subjects at that time and we fought our own government!