The American Revolution: A Timeline of Key Battles and Events, 1774-1783, Schemes and Mind Maps of French

Download The American Revolution: A Timeline of Key Battles and Events, 1774-1783 and more Schemes and Mind Maps French in PDF only on Docsity! Timeline of the American Revolution 1763 - 1783 Key Events in Bolded Italic Prelude Early Americans had made the risky Atlantic crossing seeking a better life, adventure, religious freedom and political autonomy. They built a society in the New World and for generations ran it with little outside meddling. After the French and Indian War, Britain initiated policies aimed at bringing the colonists under closer control. Tensions grew. Many Americans stood firm in their belief that the King had suspended their natural rights. Increasingly, resistance leaders banded together. The stage for the Revolution was set. February 10, 1763 The Treaty of Paris ends Seven Year’s War (French and Indian War). Left in debt from war, Great Britain looks to colonies for revenue. October 7, 1763 Proclamation of 1763 bars settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. April 5, 1764 Sugar Act imposes stricter trade regulation and duties on sugar and molasses. March 22, 1765 Stamp Act places tax on printed matter and legal documents. June 29, 1767 Townshend Revenue Acts create new import duties for the colonists. October 1768 British soldiers arrive in Boston to enforce compliance with new regulations. March 5, 1770 “Boston Massacre.” King's troops kill five civilians before British back off and troops leave Boston. All Townshend duties removed except for tax on tea. December 16, 1773 Chests of tea destroyed in protest at Boston “Tea Party.” March-June 1774 Coercive Acts close port of Boston, bring Massachusetts’s government under crown control, and allow for quartering of British troops on private property. September-October 1774 First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia and approves collective strategy to deal with Coercive Acts. Declare common grievances and adopt comprehensive boycotts of British goods. October 1774 “Minute Man” companies formed. 1775 “Rage Militare” On the eve of the Revolution the patriots succeeded in organizing a home defense; militias stood mobilized and ready. Fighting broke out at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, on April 19. At the Battle of Bunker Hill in June, the patriots lost, but learned that they could stand against British regulars. Soon after, George Washington assumed command of the newly created Continental Army. April 19 Battles of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, occur. A rallying militia drives British back in retreat to Boston. May 10 Second Continental Congress convenes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Fort Ticonderoga, New York, captured by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold. June 14 Congress establishes Continental Army. June 15 Congress appoints George Washington as commander-in-chief. June 17 At the Battle of Bunker Hill (Breed’s Hill), Massachusetts, the British seize their objective, but suffer severe casualties. July 3 George Washington assumes command of the Continental Army in Massachusetts. July 5 Continental Congress adopts Olive Branch Petition in effort to reconcile differences with Britain. August 28 Hoping to gain a fourteenth colony to aid in fight against Britain, patriots begin a campaign to capture Quebec, Canada. October 13 Congress authorizes Continental Navy. November Lord Dunmore, Royal Governor of Virginia, offers freedom to slaves who join Crown forces. King George III rejects Olive Branch Petition. November 10 Congress establishes Continental Marines. November 14 General Richard Montgomery’s forces occupy Montreal. December 9 Patriots defeat British at Great Bridge, Virginia. December 30 George Washington orders recruiting officers to allow free blacks to join the Continental Army. December 25 With army enlistment about to expire at year’s end, Washington must act. Continental Army begins daring Christmas night crossing of the Delaware River. December 26 Washington’s victory over the Hessians at Trenton, New Jersey, gives new life to the cause. In the coming year, Congress and Washington build an army for the war based on long- term enlistment. 1777 At What Price? In 1777 the Americans cut short a British plan to divide and conquer the colonies. The British surrendered a large force to the Continental Army after the battles of Saratoga in New York, but were able to capture the patriot capital at Philadelphia. In December, an optimistic, but weary Continental Army marched into winter quarters at Valley Forge. January 3 Washington follows up triumph at Trenton with a victory at the Battle of Princeton, New Jersey. January 6 Continental Army enters second winter encampment of the war at Morristown, New Jersey. May After facing defeat by patriot militia along the southern frontier, Cherokee Indians are forced from their land in South Carolina. May 28 Continental Army leaves Morristown, New Jersey, encampment. June British under General John Burgoyne begin lake-route invasion from Canada. July 6 British force Americans to abandon Fort Ticonderoga. July 20 After struggle with patriot forces along the Carolina and Georgia frontiers, Cherokee give up land in western North Carolina. July 27 Marquis de Lafayette arrives in Philadelphia to volunteer for the American cause. August 2 - 23 Patriots successfully defend Fort Stanwix, New York, against intimidating British assault, halting one prong of planned English offensive. August 6 In one of the bloodiest actions of the war, Mohawk war chief, Joseph Brant and British-allied Indians ambush and engage New York militia outside Fort Stanwix at Oriskany, New York. August 16 Hessian component of General Burgoyne’s offensive defeated at Bennington (Vermont). August 25 British land at Head of Elk (Chesapeake Bay), Maryland, and begin campaign to capture Philadelphia. September 2 Zealous Pennsylvania government arrests prominent Philadelphia Quakers for not supporting patriot causes and sends them into exile in Virginia. September 11 Washington gives ground after losing hard-fought Battle of Brandywine, Pennsylvania. September 19 At the first Battle of Saratoga (Freeman’s Farm), New York, Burgoyne’s army is shaken by encounter with Arnold and Morgan’s riflemen. September 21 British carry out victorious nighttime bayonet assault on Anthony Wayne’s Pennsylvania troops at the Battle of Paoli, Pennsylvania. September 22 - 26 English outmaneuver Continental Army and capture Philadelphia. October 4 Washington’s bold counter attack at the Battle of Germantown, Pennsylvania, falls short. October 7 At Second Battle of Saratoga (Bemis Heights) New York, Arnold defeats British again and forces them to retreat. October 17 Burgoyne surrenders his trapped army to General Horatio Gates. October 22 Hessian attack on Fort Mercer, New Jersey, is firmly repulsed. November 10 - 15 Fort Mifflin, Pennsylvania, reduced and evacuated after valiant American defense. November 15 Articles of Confederation adopted by Continental Congress in York, Pennsylvania. December 19 Continental Army enters the third winter encampment of the war at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. 1778 The Tide Turns European recognition, assistance, and military professionalism came to America in 1778. By February American diplomatic efforts and military achievements yielded an alliance with France. At the Battle of Monmouth, New Jersey, in June, the Americans claimed victory over their opponent. In November the army set up their winter quarters with business-like efficiency at Middlebrook, New Jersey. February Rhode Island Assembly enacts temporary law granting freedom to slaves who enlist in the predominately African American First Rhode Island regiment. February 6 French Alliance treaties signed in Europe. February 23 Former Prussian officer Baron von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge to begin training program. May 6 Continental Army formally celebrates French Alliance at Valley Forge. June 18 British withdraw from Philadelphia. June 19 Continental Army leaves Valley Forge in pursuit. June 28 Steuben-trained Continentals prove their mettle and force the King’s troops from the field at Battle of Monmouth, New Jersey. July George Rogers Clark carries out audacious operation against British-held posts in present-day Indiana and Illinois, capturing Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Fort Sackville at Vincennes. July 10 France declares war on Great Britain. August 29 French Alliance gets off to a rocky start as uncoordinated Franco-American attack on Newport, Rhode Island, fails. November 11 Loyalist leaders Walter Butler and Joseph Brant lead tory and Indian attack on Cherry Valley, New York. November Continental Army begins fourth winter camp at Middlebrook, New Jersey. December 17 British retake Vincennes. December 29 British expedition captures Savannah, Georgia. 1779 World at War By 1779 the war had spread across the globe. In spring Spain entered the war as an ally of France and soon declared war on Great Britain. As the year closed, the Continental Army entered into 1781 Upside Down Nathanael Greene's masterful strategies as well as Franco-American cooperation secured victory in the South. After Greene frustrated General Cornwallis' designs in the Carolinas, the British general moved to Virginia where the Allies trapped his army. Yorktown was not the end of the war, as Washington and his generals had to contend with the British garrisons that remained. January Pennsylvania and New Jersey troops mutiny over pay and enlistment grievances. To prevent further spread of revolt among army, Washington and his officers deal harshly with the mutineers, executing several men. January 17 Daniel Morgan wins one-sided victory against British at the Battle of Cowpens, South Carolina. February 14 Continental Army under Greene's command exhausts Cornwallis in marching contest, covering forty miles in sixteen hours. February 20 Congress appoints Robert Morris, “The Financier of the Revolution” as Superintendent of Finances. During trying financial period, Morris astutely manipulates accounts to keep the war effort funded. March 1 States formally ratify the Articles of Confederation. March 15 Greene further weakens British stamina in a fierce clash of arms at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina. April 25 Finding his position untenable, Greene withdraws during the Battle of Hobkirk's Hill, South Carolina. May 9 Spanish capture British outpost at Pensacola (Florida). July 6 Finding himself outnumbered nearly 10 to 1, Anthony Wayne saves his troops from capture by charging straight into Cornwallis’ men at Green Spring Plantation, Virginia. August 21 Combined armies of Washington and Rochambeau slip away from New York before the British can discover them missing, marching south to confront Cornwallis in Yorktown, Virginia. September 5 The Battle of the Virginia Capes and subsequent naval operations prevent the British fleet from entering Chesapeake Bay to rescue Cornwallis. September 8 Greene fights sharp action at Eutaw Springs, South Carolina, and orders another tactical withdrawal. September-October Allied siege of Yorktown, Virginia, by land seals Cornwallis’ fate. October 19 Cornwallis surrenders along with his full contingent of 8,000 troops, marking the beginning of the end for the British. November The Netherlands extends the first of four crucial loans to the United States. Continental Army returns to Hudson Highlands and New Jersey for its seventh winter encampment. 1782 Stay The Course By spring England initiated peace negotiations, yet fighting continued. On the seas, British, French, and Spanish navies continued to battle for supremacy. In America, warfare threatened security on the frontier and in the South. By November, however, Britain and the United States signed a draft peace agreement. January As the British begin to withdraw forces, loyalists flee the United States in great numbers. Over the course of the war, 100,000 tories depart. April 12 Peace talks between Britain and the United States begin in Paris. April 19 The Netherlands recognizes American sovereignty. July 11 British end their occupation of Savannah, Georgia. August 1 Haym Salomon, Broker to the Office of Finance, delivers the first of many large sums that help alleviate the nation's financial crisis at war's end. August 15 - 19 Tories and Indians attack Bryan's Station (Kentucky). Daniel Boone and Kentuckians lose skirmish at Blue Licks. August 27 John Laurens, promising young leader and former aide-de-camp to Washington, dies in fight at Combahee Ferry, South Carolina. November 10 In the last battle of the American Revolution, George Rogers Clark attacks Shawnee town of Chillicothe (Ohio). November Continental Army moves into its eighth and final winter quarters, the New Windsor cantonment in the Hudson Highlands. November 30 American and British ministers agree upon preliminary peace treaty. December 14 British evacuate Charleston, South Carolina. 1783 Peace In 1783 America acquired independence, but domestic troubles threatened. As the war wound down, George Washington drew on his leadership ability to keep order amongst a mostly idle, unpaid, and discontented army. On September 3 ministers signed the Treaty of Paris that officially ended the war. Washington bade a tearful farewell to his officers and then resigned his commission. January 20 Britain signs preliminary peace articles with France and Spain. April 11 Congress proclaims cessation of hostilities. April 19 Washington declares end to fighting eight years to the day after war began. September 3 Final peace treaty between Britain and the United States signed in Paris British-allied tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy lose most of their lands as they are left out of the settlement. Some bands settle in southern Ontario with Joseph Brant. November 2 Washington issues farewell orders to the “Armies of the United States.” November 25 British finally evacuate New York. December 4 Washington bids farewell to his officers at Fraunces’ Tavern in New York City. December 23 Washington resigns his commission before the Continental Congress in Annapolis, Maryland. Legacy On a personal level the Revolutionary War produced a mixed legacy of positive and negative consequences. On the patriot side, the cost of founding an independent republic was high. Approximately 25,000 sacrificed their lives, and many forfeited their livelihood. The success of the Revolution brought scorn to those loyal to the Crown, and most of them lost fortunes and homes. The war broadened the horizons and prospects of many revolutionaries. Numerous former soldiers felt wanderlust and formed the vanguard of westward expansion. In turn this relentless advance forced thousands of American Indians off their rich domain. For some African Americans, service brought freedom, yet many remained enslaved. While women gained new outlooks, their actual status remained unchanged. As the sound of combat grew fainter, the battle for individual rights began.