Timeline of the American Revolution—

timeline A timeline is a list of events displayed in chronological order. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled with dates paralleling it, and usually contemporaneous events. Timelines can use any suitable scale representing t ...

of the political upheaval culminating in the 18th century in which

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

joined together for independence from the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

, and after victory in the Revolutionary War combined to form the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

. The

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

includes political, social, and military aspects. The revolutionary era is generally considered to have begun with the passage of the Stamp Act in 1765 and ended with the ratification of the

United States Bill of Rights The United States Bill of Rights comprises the first ten list of amendments to the United States Constitution, amendments to the United States Constitution. It was proposed following the often bitter 1787–88 debate over the Timeline of dr ...

in 1791. The military phase of the revolution, the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, lasted from 1775 to 1783. A

list of American Revolutionary War battles This is a list of military actions in the American Revolutionary War. Actions marked with an asterisk involved no casualties. Major campaigns, theaters, and expeditions of the war * Boston campaign (1775–1776) * Invasion of Quebec (1775� ...

gives details.

1400s

1497

John Cabot John Cabot ( ; 1450 – 1499) was an Italians, Italian navigator and exploration, explorer. His 1497 voyage to the coast of North America under the commission of Henry VII of England, Henry VII, King of England is the earliest known Europe ...

explores the coast of North America under the commission of

Henry VII of England Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509), also known as Henry Tudor, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henr ...

. It is the earliest known European exploration of coastal North America since the Norse visits to

Vinland Vinland, Vineland, or Winland () was an area of coastal North America explored by Vikings. Leif Erikson landed there around 1000 AD, nearly five centuries before the voyages of Christopher Columbus and John Cabot. The name appears in the V ...

in the 11th century.

1600s

1606

Virginia Company The Virginia Company was an English trading company chartered by King James I on 10 April 1606 with the objective of colonizing the eastern coast of America. The coast was named Virginia, after Elizabeth I, and it stretched from present-day ...

established as a corporation to colonize the east coast of North America.

1607

* Jamestown founded (14 May) as the first permanent English settlement in North America by the

1619

House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses () was the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly from 1619 to 1776. It existed during the colonial history of the United States in the Colony of Virginia in what was then British America. From 1642 to 1776, the Hou ...

established, the first representative legislature in the Americas, meeting in Jamestown, Virginia, (July 19)

1620

Mayflower Compact The Mayflower Compact, originally titled Agreement Between the Settlers of New Plymouth, was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the men aboard the ''Mayflower,'' consisting of Separatist Puritans, adventurers, a ...

Nov. 21, 1620, founding document of the

Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes spelled Plimouth) was the first permanent English colony in New England from 1620 and the third permanent English colony in America, after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony. It was settled by the passengers on t ...

, signed aboard the ship ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English sailing ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, reac ...

'' *Pilgrims establish

, elect William Bradford governor

1624

* Virginia becomes a royal colony

1629

*The

Cambridge Agreement The Cambridge Agreement''T ...

(August 26, 1629)

1630

John Winthrop John Winthrop (January 12, 1588 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and a leading figure in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the fir ...

leads Puritan settlers to Massachusetts Bay.

1632

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

grants Lord Baltimore a charter for a colony in Maryland

1635

*Roger Williams banished from Massachusetts, founds Rhode Island colony

1636

Thomas Hooker Thomas Hooker (July 5, 1586 – July 7, 1647) was a prominent English colonial leader and Congregational church, Congregational minister, who founded the Connecticut Colony after dissenting with Puritan leaders in Massachusetts. He was know ...

departs Massachusetts and helps found the Connecticut colony

1643

*Establishment of the

New England Confederation The United Colonies of New England, commonly known as the New England Confederation, was a confederal alliance of the New England colonies of Massachusetts Bay Colony, Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth Colony, Plymouth, Saybrook Colony, Saybrook (Conn ...

for mutual aid and defense against Native Americans and the Dutch; first cooperative effort of English colonies.

1663

*Carolina proprietors receive a charter for Carolina colony

1664

*English seize Dutch colony of

New Netherland New Netherland () was a colony of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod. Settlements were established in what became the states ...

, renaming it New York *Charles II grants New York to his brother James, Duke of York as proprietor. He subdivides it and creates New Jersey.

1676-77

Bacon's Rebellion Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion by Virginia settlers that took place from 1676 to 1677. It was led by Nathaniel Bacon against Colonial Governor William Berkeley, after Berkeley refused Bacon's request to drive Native American India ...

of English frontiersmen Virginia against the royal governor William Berkeley for his failure to drive Native Americans from Virginia

1683

*The Lords of Trade issues

quo warranto In the English-American common law, ''quo warranto'' (Medieval Latin for "by what warrant?") is a prerogative writ issued by a court which orders someone to show what authority they have for exercising some right, power, or franchise they clai ...

writs for the charters of several North American colonies, including Massachusetts (June 3)

1684

* Revocation of the Charter by Charles II. For technical reasons the Massachusetts writ is never served, and the agreement is formally vacated when the chancery court issues a

scire facias In English law, a writ of ''scire facias'' (Latin, meaning literally "make known") is a writ founded upon some judicial record directing the sheriff to make the record known to a specified party, and requiring the defendant to show cause why th ...

writ formally annulling the charter. The proceedings are arranged so that the time for the colonial authorities to defend the charter expires before they even learn of the event (June 18)

1686

*Disestablishment of the

*Royal Charter arrives in Boston establishing the Dominion of New England in America (May 14), centralizing the administration of formerly separate crown colonies in New England and the Middle colonies during the reign of

James II of England James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...

1688

*Ouster of Catholic

as monarch by Protestant royals

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily () * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg (1817–1890) N ...

and

Mary II Mary II (30 April 1662 – 28 December 1694) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England, List of Scottish monarchs, Scotland, and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland with her husband, King William III and II, from 1689 until her death in 1694. Sh ...

, becoming joint monarchs after the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

but with power held by Parliament

1689

1689 Boston revolt The 1689 Boston revolt was a popular uprising on April 18, 1689, against the rule of Sir Edmund Andros, the governor of the Dominion of New England. A well-organized "mob" of provincial militia and citizens formed in the town of Boston, the ca ...

, Leaders of the former

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...

reclaim control of the government. In other colonies, members of governments displaced return to power (April 18) *

Leisler's Rebellion Leisler's Rebellion was an uprising in late-17th century colonial New York in which German American merchant and militia captain Jacob Leisler seized control of the southern portion of the colony and ruled it from 1689 to 1691. The uprising too ...

in New York, breaking territory away from the

Dominion of New England The Dominion of New England in America (1686–1689) was a short-lived administrative union of English colonies covering all of New England and the Mid-Atlantic Colonies, with the exception of the Delaware Colony and the Province of Pennsylvani ...

, ending in 1691. *

Protestant Revolution (Maryland) The Protestant Revolution, also known Coode's Rebellion after one of its leaders, John Coode, took place in the summer of 1689 in the English Province of Maryland when Protestants, by then a substantial majority in the colony, revolted against ...

, also known as Coode's rebellion, overthrew the Catholic proprietary government.

1691

and

approve the charter formally establishing the

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in New England which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of Eng ...

(October 7)

1700-1765

1732

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

colony royal charter granted to

James Oglethorpe Lieutenant-General James Edward Oglethorpe (22 December 1696 – 30 June 1785) was a British Army officer, Tory politician and colonial administrator best known for founding the Province of Georgia in British North America. As a social refo ...

George II of England George II (George Augustus; ; 30 October / 9 November 1683 – 25 October 1760) was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover) and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 ( O.S.) until hi ...

, to be a buffer zone between the Carolinas as Spanish Florida Benjamin Franklin - Join or Die

1747

Ohio Company of Virginia The Ohio Company, formally known as the Ohio Company of Virginia, was a land speculation company organized for the settlement by Virginians of the Ohio Country (approximately the present U.S. state of Ohio) and to trade with the Native America ...

formed, land speculation company

1748

Lord Halifax Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax (16 April 1881 – 23 December 1959), known as the Lord Irwin from 1925 until 1934 and the Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944, was a British Conservative politician of the 1930s. He h ...

appointed head of the British

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for Business and Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

, the only royal office dealing solely with the American colonies; attempts to end previous royal policy of

salutary neglect In American history, salutary neglect was the 18th-century policy of the British Crown of avoiding the strict enforcement of parliamentary laws, especially trade laws, as long as British colonies remained loyal to the government and contributed to ...

of colonial affairs, allowing much local autonomy and loose oversight of royal officials. Implementation of a new, unitary and restrictive approach to royal control largely a failure, but renewed in 1763, after the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, called in colonial America the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

1754

* Outbreak of the

(1754-1763), the North American portion of the global conflict of the

; colonial militias play a role; Virginia planter, Col.

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

makes a name for himself as a military leader *

Albany Congress The Albany Congress (June 19 – July 11, 1754), also known as the Albany Convention of 1754, was a meeting of representatives sent by the legislatures of seven of the British colonies in British America: Connecticut Colony, Connecticut, Prov ...

, the first time in the 18th century that American colonial representatives meet to discuss some manner of formal union; attempts to gain Iroquois support (June 18–July 11)

1757

* Prime Minister William Pitt commits to all-out effort in the war, incurring massive debt for the royal treasury

1759

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, capital of

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, 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 Kingdom of Great Br ...

falls to the British *

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

falls to the British

1760

* Pierre de Rigaud, Governor of

, capitulates to Field Marshal

Jeffrey Amherst Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, (29 January 1717 – 3 August 1797) was a British Army officer and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in the British Army. Amherst is credited as the architect of Britain's successful campaig ...

. This ends most fighting in North America between

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

in the

. Amherst becomes the first British Governor-General of territories that would later become

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

plus lands (

Ohio Country The Ohio Country (Ohio Territory, Ohio Valley) was a name used for a loosely defined region of colonial North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and south of Lake Erie. Control of the territory and the region's fur trade was disputed i ...

and

Illinois Country The Illinois Country ( ; ; ), also referred to as Upper Louisiana ( ; ), was a vast region of New France claimed in the 1600s that later fell under Spanish and British control before becoming what is now part of the Midwestern United States. Whi ...

) west of the American Colonies (September 8) *King

George II of Great Britain George II (George Augustus; ; 30 October / 9 November 1683 – 25 October 1760) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Electorate of Hanover, Hanover) and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Em ...

dies and is succeeded by his grandson

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

(October 25)

1763

*The Treaty of Paris ends the

(1756-1763), (Feb. 10) called in North America the

(1754-63). France cedes most of its territories in North America to Great Britain, but

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

is ceded to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

(February 10); George III is dissatisfied with the terms of the treaty, which he deems favorable to the losing powers France and Spain rather than the winner, Great Britain. *

Pontiac's War Pontiac's War (also known as Pontiac's Conspiracy or Pontiac's Rebellion) was launched in 1763 by a confederation of Native Americans who were dissatisfied with British rule in the Great Lakes region following the French and Indian War (1754– ...

is launched by a

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

confederation in the Great Lakes region under the overall command of the eponymous Ottawa chief. Previously allied with France, they were dissatisfied by the policies of the British under Amherst (April 25, 1763 – July 25, 1766) *

Royal Proclamation of 1763 The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued by British 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 ...

establishes royal control in territories newly ceded by France. To prevent further violence between White settlers and Native Americans, the Proclamation sets a western boundary on the American colonies (October 7). American colonies view this as a limitation on their previous rights to continue encroachment on Native American territory *

Navigation Acts The Navigation Acts, or more broadly the Acts of Trade and Navigation, were a series of English laws that developed, promoted, and regulated English ships, shipping, trade, and commerce with other countries and with its own colonies. The laws al ...

re-enforced by

George Grenville George Grenville (14 October 1712 – 13 November 1770) was a British Whig statesman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain, during the early reign of the young George III. He served for only two years (1763-1765), and attempted to solv ...

as a part of his attempt to reassert unified economic control over the

following the

1764

*The

Sugar Act The Sugar Act 1764 or Sugar Act 1763 ( 4 Geo. 3. c. 15), 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 stat ...

(April 5), intended to raise revenues, and the

Currency Act The Currency Act or Paper Bills of Credit Act is one of several Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain that regulated paper money issued by the colonies of British America. The Acts sought to protect British merchants and creditors from being ...

(September 1), prohibiting the colonies from issuing paper money, are passed by

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 ...

. These Acts, coming during the economic slump that followed the French and Indian War, are resented by the colonists and lead to protest

1765-1775

1765

* Parliament enacts (March 22) the Stamp Act to impose control and help defray the cost of keeping troops in America to control the colonists, imposing a tax on many types of printed materials used in the colonies. Seen as a violation of rights, the Act sparks violent demonstrations in several Colonies. In May, Virginia's

Patrick Henry Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736 ld Style and New Style dates, O.S. May 18, 1736une 6, 1799) was an American politician, planter and orator who declared to the Virginia Conventions, Second Virginia Convention (1775): "Give me liberty or give m ...

sponsors the

Virginia Resolves The Virginia Resolves were a series of resolutions passed on May 29, 1765, by the Virginia House of Burgesses in response to the Stamp Act 1765, which had imposed a tax on the British colonies in North America requiring that material be print ...

claiming that, under British law, Virginians could be taxed only by an assembly to which they had elected representatives * Parliament enacts (March 24) the

Quartering Act The Quartering Acts were several acts of the Parliament of Great Britain which required local authorities in the Thirteen Colonies of British North America to provide British Army personnel in the colonies with housing and food. Each of the Qua ...

, requiring the

Colonies A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...

to provide housing, food, and other provisions to British troops. The act is resisted or circumvented in most of the colonies. In 1767 and again in 1769, Parliament suspended the governor and legislature of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

for failure to comply *

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 p ...

created in Boston with

Samuel Adams Samuel Adams (, 1722 – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, Political philosophy, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colonial Massachusetts, a le ...

prominent * Delegates from nine colonies attend the

Stamp Act Congress The Stamp Act Congress (October 7 – 25, 1765), also known as the Continental Congress of 1765, was a meeting held in New York City in the colonial Province of New York. It included representatives from most of the British colonies in Nort ...

which adopts (October 19) a

Declaration of Rights and Grievances In response to the Stamp and Tea Acts, the Declaration of Rights and Grievances was a document written by the Stamp Act Congress and passed on October 14, 1765. American colonists opposed the acts because they were passed without the consideration ...

and petitions Parliament and the king to repeal the Act

1766

*British Parliament repeals the unpopular Stamp Act but simultaneously issues the

Declaratory Act The American Colonies Act 1766 ( 6 Geo. 3. 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 repeale ...

, Parliament asserts its "full power and authority to make laws and statutes ... to bind the colonies and people of America ... in all cases whatsoever"; designed to overrule actions by the legislative assemblies of each colony, which had traditionally held authority (March 18) *

Liberty pole A liberty pole is a wooden pole, or sometimes spear or lance, surmounted by a "cap of liberty", mostly of the Phrygian cap. The symbol originated in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of the Roman dictator Julius Caesar by a group of Rom ...

erected in New York City commons in celebration of the Stamp Act repeal (May 21). An intermittent skirmish with the British garrison over the removal of this and other poles, and their replacement by the

, rages until the

Province of New York The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...

is under the control of the revolutionary

New York Provincial Congress The New York Provincial Congress (1775–1777) was a revolutionary provisional government formed by colonists in 1775, during the American Revolution, as a pro-American alternative to the more conservative New York General Assembly, and as a repla ...

in 1775

1767

*Parliament aims to assert its right to tax the American colonies after the failure of the

and Stamp Act. The

Townshend Acts The Townshend Acts () or Townshend Duties were a series of British acts of Parliament enacted in 1766 and 1767 introducing a series of taxes and regulations to enable administration of the British colonies in America. They are named after Char ...

, named for

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...

Charles Townshend Charles Townshend (27 August 1725 – 4 September 1767) was a British politician who held various titles in the Parliament of Great Britain. His establishment of the controversial Townshend Acts is considered one of the key causes of the Amer ...

, are passed by Parliament, placing duties on many items imported into America (June 29). The American colonists, who were denied any representation in Parliament, strongly condemned the Acts as an egregious abuse of power.

1768

* Britain's

Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom's government minister, minister in charge of managing certain parts of the British Empire. The colonial secretary never had responsibility for t ...

, Lord Hillsborough, orders colonial governors to stop their own assemblies from endorsing Adams' circular letter (April). Hillsborough also orders the governor of Massachusetts to dissolve the general court if the Massachusetts assembly does not revoke the letter. By month's end, the assemblies of

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

have endorsed the letter * A British warship, , armed with 50 cannons sailed into Boston harbor after a call for help from custom commissioners who were constantly being harassed by Boston agitators (May). A customs official was later locked up in the cabin of ''Liberty'', a sloop owned by John Hancock (June). Imported wine was unloaded illegally into Boston without payment of duties. Following this incident, customs officials seized Hancock's sloop as '' HMS Liberty (1768)''. After threats of violence from Bostonians, the customs officials escaped to an island off Boston, then requested the intervention of British troops. An account of the Liberty Affair was published in the Boston Chronicle detailing the seizure of the ship. * The governor of Massachusetts dissolves the general court (July) after the legislature defies his order to revoke Adams' circular letter. In August, in Boston and New York, merchants agree to boycott most British goods until the Townshend Acts are repealed. In September, at a town meeting in Boston, residents are urged to arm themselves. Later in September, British warships sail into Boston Harbor, then two regiments of British infantry land in Boston and set up permanent residence to keep order

1769

*''To the Betrayed Inhabitants of the City and Colony of New York'' broadside published anonymously by local Son of Liberty

Alexander McDougall Alexander McDougall (1732 9 June 1786) was a Scottish-born American seaman, merchant, a Sons of Liberty leader from New York City before and during the American Revolution, and a military leader during the Revolutionary War. He served as a maj ...

(December 16) *Hancock’s confiscated ship was refitted in Rhode Island to serve as a Royal Navy ship, renamed HMS Liberty, and then used to patrol off Rhode Island for customs violations. On 19 July 1769, the crew of Liberty under Captain William Reid accosted Joseph Packwood, a New London captain, and seized and towed two Connecticut ships into Newport. In retribution, Packwood and a mob of Rhode Islanders confronted Reid, then boarded, scuttled, and later burned the ship on the north end of Goat Island in Newport harbor as one of the first overt American acts of defiance against the British Crown.

1770

* Golden Hill incident in New York involving the

; British troops wound civilians, including one death (January 19) *

Lord North Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (13 April 17325 August 1792), better known by his courtesy title Lord North, which he used from 1752 to 1790, was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most of the ...

becomes Prime Minister of Great Britain (January 28) *Shooting of

Christopher Seider Christopher Seider (or Snider) (1758 – February 22, 1770) was a boy who is considered to be the first American killed in the American Revolution. He was 11 years old when he was shot and killed by customs officer Ebenezer Richardson in Boston ...

(February 22) *

Boston Massacre The Boston Massacre, known in Great Britain as the Incident on King Street, was a confrontation, on March 5, 1770, during the American Revolution in Boston in what was then the colonial-era Province of Massachusetts Bay. In the confrontati ...

(March 5)

1771

Battle of Alamance The Battle of Alamance, which took place on May 16, 1771, was the final confrontation of the Regulator Movement, a rebellion in colonial North Carolina over various issues with the Colonial Government. The Regulators primarily wanted reforms ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

(May 16)

1772

organizes the

Committees of Correspondence The committees of correspondence were a collection of American political organizations that sought to coordinate opposition to British Parliament and, later, support for American independence during the American Revolution. The brainchild of Sa ...

Pine Tree Riot The Pine Tree Riot was an act of resistance to Great Britain, British royal authority undertaken by American colonists in Weare, New Hampshire, Weare, New Hampshire, on April 14, 1772, placing it among the disputes between the Crown, Crown and co ...

(April 13–14), New Hampshire colonists' resistance to royal regulations on the cutting of pine trees *The

Watauga Association The Watauga Association (sometimes referred to as the Republic of Watauga) was a semi-autonomous government created in 1772 by frontier settlers living along the Watauga River in what is now Elizabethton, Tennessee. Although it lasted only a fe ...

in what would become Tennessee declares itself independent (May) * ''Gaspee'' Affair (June 9)

1773

James Rivington James Rivington (1724 – July 4, 1802) was an English-born American journalist who published a Loyalist newspaper in the American colonies called ''Rivington's Gazette''. He was driven out of New York by the Sons of Liberty, but was very li ...

's ''New-York Gazetteer'' begins publication (April 22) *

passes 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 he ...

, requiring the colonies to buy tea solely from the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

rather than a variety of sources now deemed illegal (May 10) *''Association of the Sons of Liberty in New York'' published by local

(December 15) *Colonists in all major ports refuse to allow tea to be landed *

Boston Tea Party The Boston Tea Party was a seminal American protest, political and Mercantilism, mercantile protest on December 16, 1773, during the American Revolution. Initiated by Sons of Liberty activists in Boston in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colo ...

(December 16)

1774

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

, Massachusetts' agent in London, is ridiculed before Parliament (January 29) *

Lord Dunmore's War Lord Dunmore's War, also known as Dunmore's War, was a brief conflict in the fall of 1774 between the British Colony of Virginia and the Shawnee and Mingo in the trans-Appalachia region of the colony south of the Ohio River. Broadly, the war incl ...

(May–October) *British pass

Intolerable Acts The Intolerable Acts, sometimes referred to as the Insufferable Acts or Coercive Acts, were a series of five punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 after the Boston Tea Party. The laws aimed to punish Massachusetts colonists fo ...

, including: **

Boston Port Act The Boston Port Act, also called the Trade Act 1774 ( 14 Geo. 3. c. 19), was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain which became law on March 31, 1774, and took effect on June 1, 1774. It was one of five measures (variously called the ''Into ...

(March 31) **

Administration of Justice Act Administration of Justice Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in the United Kingdom relating to the administration of justice. The Bill for an Act with this short title may have been known as a Administration of J ...

(May 20) **

Massachusetts Government Act The Massachusetts Government Act ( 14 Geo. 3. c. 45) was passed by the Parliament of Great Britain, receiving royal assent on 20 May 1774. The act effectively abrogated the 1691 charter of the Province of Massachusetts Bay and gave its royally-ap ...

(May 20) **A second

(June 2) **

Quebec Act The Quebec Act 1774 ( 14 Geo. 3. c. 83) () was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain which set procedures of governance in the Province of Quebec. One of the principal components of the act was the expansion of the province's territory t ...

(June 22) set the terms for the governance of territory won from France in the

; continuation of French civil law and governmental, and toleration of Catholicism; the territorial boundaries extended through the Ohio Valley, which Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut colonies expected to develop themselves. *

Powder Alarm The Massachusetts Powder Alarm was a major popular reaction to the removal of gunpowder from a magazine near Boston by British soldiers under orders from General Thomas Gage, royal governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, on September 1 ...

, General Gage's secret raid on the Cambridge powder magazine (September 1) *

First Continental Congress The First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates of twelve of the Thirteen Colonies held from September 5 to October 26, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia at the beginning of the American Revolution. The meeting was organized b ...

, (September 5 – October 26); 12 colonies send delegates; major actions: **

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 18th-century. As a staunch opponent of American independence, he wo ...

's Plan of Union debated September 1774, calling for the creation of a Grand Council for the American colonies, with each having representation and hold and exercise power within the British Empire; rejected by the Continental Congress. ** Declaration and Resolves, also known as Declaration of Rights (October 14) **

Continental Association The Continental Association, also known as the Articles of Association or simply the Association, was an agreement among the Thirteen Colonies, American colonies, adopted by the First Continental Congress, which met inside Carpenters' Hall in Phi ...

(October 20) **

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 the repeal of the Intolerable Acts. The King's rejection of the petition was one of the causes of the later United States Dec ...

(October 26) to repeal the

; addressed to George III, but since 1688 the monarch could not act independently of Parliament, which had passed the acts *

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 ...

Suffolk County, Massachusetts Suffolk County ( ) is located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 797,936, making it the fourth-most populous county in Massachusetts. The county comprises the cities of Boston ...

(September 9) *Burning of the (October 19) in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

for contravening calls to boycott British tea landings, "the Annapolis teaparty" *

Capture of Fort William and Mary The Capture of Fort William and Mary took place in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on December 14, 1774, when local patriot (American Revolution), Patriots led by John Langdon (politician), John Langdon stormed Fort William ...

(December 14) *

Greenwich Tea Party The Greenwich Tea Party was an incident that took place on December 22, 1774, early in the American Revolution, in Greenwich, a small community in Cumberland County, New Jersey, on the Cohansey River. Of the six tea parties during this time, it was ...

(December 22)

1775

Conciliatory Resolution The Conciliatory Resolution was a resolution proposed by Lord North and passed by the British Parliament in February 1775, in an attempt to reach a peaceful settlement with the Thirteen Colonies about two months prior to the outbreak of the Americ ...

(February 27) in Parliament * Paul Revere's Midnight Ride (April 18) *

Battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 were the first major military actions of the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot militias from America's Thirteen Co ...

, (April 19) skirmishes between British regular troops and Massachusetts citizen militias, outbreak of armed conflict of the

Siege of Boston The siege of Boston (April 19, 1775 – March 17, 1776) was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War. In the siege, Patriot (American Revolution), American patriot militia led by newly-installed Continental Army commander George Wash ...

(19 April 1775 - 17 March 1776), American blockade of British forces in the port of Boston, garnering other colonies' support, ending with British withdrawal. *

Gunpowder Incident The Gunpowder Incident (or Powder Alarm or Gunpowder Affair) was a conflict early in the American Revolutionary War between John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, Lord Dunmore, the Royal Governor of the Colony of Virginia, and militia led by Patrick ...

, Virginia (April 21) *Skenesboro, New York (now

Whitehall, New York Whitehall is a town in Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 4,023 at the 2020 census. The Town of Whitehall contains a village also named Whitehall. H ...

) captured by Lieutenant Samuel Herrick (May 9) * Fort Ticonderoga captured by

Ethan Allen Ethan Allen ( – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, writer, military officer and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolutionary War, and wa ...

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold (#Brandt, Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of ...

, and the Green Mountain Boys (May 10), American victory *

Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress (1775–1781) was the meetings of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, which established American independence ...

meets (May 10) *

Roderigue Hortalez and Company Roderigue Hortalez and Company was an enterprise that funneled covert military and financial aid by France and Spain to American revolutionaries prior to the formal alliance of France with the American revolutionary government against Britain. Wi ...

founded in May in Paris to coordinate clandestine financial and military aid from France and Spain to the American rebels to weaken their rival, Britain. *

Battle of Machias The Battle of Machias (June 11–12, 1775) was an early naval engagement of the American Revolutionary War, also known as the Battle of the ''Margaretta'', fought around the port of Machias, Maine. Following the outbreak of the war, British a ...

(June 11–12) *

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

created by Congress with

of Virginia as commanding general (June 14) *

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, Boston, Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peri ...

, Boston (June 17), pyrrhic British victory with large losses *Washington arrives in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

to take command of the

(July 2) *

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. Written by Thomas Jefferson and revised by John Dickinson, Boyd, Julian P., ed. '' The Papers of Thomas Jef ...

issued (July 6) *

Olive Branch Petition The Olive Branch Petition was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 5, 1775, and signed on July 8, 1775, in a final attempt to avoid war between Great Britain and the Thirteen Colonies in America. The Congress had already authoriz ...

adopted by the Second Continental Congress and sent to

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

(July 8), last ditch effort for peace. *King George III issues a proclamation declaring the colonies in rebellion (August 23) *

Continental Navy The Continental Navy was the navy of the United Colonies and United States from 1775 to 1785. It was founded on October 13, 1775 by the Continental Congress to fight against British forces and their allies as part of the American Revolutionary ...

established by the Second Continental Congress (October 13) *

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 ...

(November–December) *

Dunmore's Proclamation Dunmore's Proclamation is a historical document signed on November 7, 1775, by John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, Colonial government in the Thirteen Colonies, royal governor of the British colony of Virginia. The proclamation declared martial law ...

issued by Virginia royal governor

Lord Dunmore Earl of Dunmore is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The title Earl of Dunmore was created in 1686 for Lord Charles Murray, son of John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl. The title passed down through generations, with various earls serving ...

, offering freedom to enslaved men held by rebel masters if they fight for the British (November 7) *

Continental Marines The Continental Marines were the Amphibious warfare, amphibious infantry of the Thirteen Colonies, American Colonies (and later the United States) during the American Revolutionary War. The Corps was formed by the Continental Congress on Novem ...

established by Continental Congress. They would become the modern day

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

(November 10) *

Battle of Kemp's Landing The Battle of Kemp's Landing, also known as the Skirmish of Kempsville, was a skirmish in the American Revolutionary War that occurred on November 15, 1775. Militia companies from Princess Anne County in the Province of Virginia assembled at K ...

(November 15) *

Siege of Savage's Old Fields A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

(November 19–21) *

Henry Knox Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806) was an American military officer, politician, bookseller, and a Founding Father of the United States. Knox, born in Boston, became a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionar ...

transported fifty-nine captured cannons (taken from

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. It was constructed between October 1755 and 1757 by French-Canadian ...

and

Fort Crown Point Fort Crown Point was built by the combined efforts of British and Colonial troops from New York and the New England Colonies in 1759 at a narrows on Lake Champlain on the border between New York and Vermont. It was erected to secure the region ag ...

) from upstate New York to Boston, Massachusetts; took 56 days to complete (December 5, 1775 – January 24, 1776) *

Battle of Great Bridge The Battle of Great Bridge was fought December 9, 1775, in the area of Great Bridge, Virginia, early in the American Revolutionary War. The refusal by colonial Virginia militia forces led to the departure of Royal Governor Lord Dunmore and any ...

(December 9) * Battle of Quebec (December 31, 1775) major British victory; American Gen.

Richard Montgomery Richard Montgomery (2 December 1738 – 31 December 1775) was an Irish-born American military officer who first served in the British Army. He later became a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and ...

killed, Gen. Benedict Arnold (then fighting for the Americans) wounded. French Canadians do not support the American invasion.

1776-1783

1776

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 specif ...

(January 1) *

ratifies the first state constitution (January 5) *Publication of ''

Common Sense Common sense () is "knowledge, judgement, and taste which is more or less universal and which is held more or less without reflection or argument". As such, it is often considered to represent the basic level of sound practical judgement or know ...

'' 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 ...

(January 10). It becomes a runaway bestseller, convincing many colonists that independence was the only course *

David Mathews David Mathews ( – July 28, 1800) was an American born British lawyer and politician from New York City. He was a Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War and was the 43rd and last Colonial Mayor of New York City from 1776 until 1783. As N ...

appointed Mayor of New York, the highest ranking civilian officer for English North America for the duration of the Revolution *

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, North Carolina, Wilmington (present-day Pender County, North Carolina, Pender County), North Carolina, on February 27, 1776. The v ...

(February 27) *

Battle of the Rice Boats The Battle of the Rice Boats, also called the Battle of Yamacraw Bluff, was a land and naval battle of the American Revolutionary War that took place in and around the Savannah River on the border between the Province of Georgia and the Provinc ...

(March 2–3) *

Battle of Nassau The Raid of Nassau (March 3–4, 1776) was a naval operation and amphibious assault by American forces against the British port of Nassau, Bahamas, during the American Revolutionary War. The raid, designed to resolve the issue of gunpowder sho ...

(March 3–4) *

Fortification of Dorchester Heights The Fortification of Dorchester Heights was a decisive action early in the American Revolutionary War that precipitated the end of the siege of Boston and the withdrawal of British troops from that city. On March 4, 1776, troops from the Conti ...

results in British forces evacuating Boston (March 4–5) * British evacuate Boston (March 17), end of the successful American nearly yearlong

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 t ...

sent to France by the Continental Congress as a purchasing agent for the Continental Army (March) *The

departs its first winter encampment at

(April 4) *Congress opens American ports to trade with all other nations except Britain (April 6) * Pennsylvania Provincial Conference (June 18–25) *

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 Empire, British attempt to capture the ci ...

(June 28) * Thomas Hickey hanged for role in plot to assassinate George Washington (June 28). British Colonial Loyalist New York Mayor David Mathews previously arrested in

Flatbush, Brooklyn Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood consists of several subsections in central Brooklyn and is generally bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park to the nort ...

for his role in the plot (June 22) *

Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet The Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet (June 29, 1776) was an important, early naval victory for the Continental Navy and the future "Father of the American Navy", Captain John Barry. It was the first privateer battle of the American Revolutionary War. ...

(June 29) * Declaration of Independence - Second Continental Congress enacts (July 2) a resolution declaring independence from the British Empire (July 2) *Largest assembly of British naval fleet in history commences off the coasts of

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and New Jersey (July 3) *Proclamation of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress (July 4) *

topple the statue of

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

(July 9) *

Battle of Long Island The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at and near the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn ...

, a.k.a. ''Battle of Brooklyn'' (August 27) - British victory; British occupation of New York for the duration of the war; Washington's largely intact forces escape capture, a repeated strategy in the war * British prison ships begin in

Wallabout Bay Wallabout Bay is a small body of water in Upper New York Bay along the northwest shore of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, between the present Williamsburg and Manhattan Bridges. It is located opposite Corlear's Hook in Manhattan, across ...

, New York *

Staten Island Peace Conference The Staten Island Peace Conference was a brief informal diplomatic conference held between representatives of the British Crown and its rebellious North American colonies in the hope of bringing a rapid end to the nascent American Revolution. ...

(September 11) unsuccessful meeting between British authorities and members of the Continental Congress (Ben Franklin, John Adams) to end armed hostilities *

Landing at Kip's Bay The Landing at Kip's Bay was a British amphibious landing during the New York campaign in the American Revolutionary War on September 15, 1776. It occurred on the East River shore of Manhattan north of what then constituted New York City. Heavy ...

(September 15) *

Battle of Harlem Heights The Battle of Harlem Heights was fought during the New York and New Jersey campaign of the American Revolutionary War. The action took place on September 16, 1776, in what is now the Morningside Heights area and east into the future Harlem neigh ...

(September 16) *

Great Fire of New York The 1835 Great Fire of New York was one of three fires that rendered extensive damage to New York City in the 18th and 19th centuries. The fire occurred in the middle of an economic boom, covering 17 city blocks, killing two people, and destroyi ...

(September 21–22) *

Nathan Hale Nathan Hale (June 6, 1755 – September 22, 1776) was an American Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot, soldier and spy for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He volunteered for an Military intelligence, intelligence ...

captured and executed for

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...

(September 22) *

Battle of Valcour Island The Battle of Valcour Island, also known as the Battle of Valcour Bay, was a naval engagement that took place on October 11, 1776, on Lake Champlain. The main action took place in Valcour Bay, a narrow strait between the Province of New York, Ne ...

(October 11) *

Battle of Pell's Point A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

(October 18) *

Battle of White Plains The Battle of White Plains took place during the New York and New Jersey campaign of the American Revolutionary War on October 28, 1776, near White Plains, New York. Following the retreat of George Washington's Continental Army northward from N ...

(October 29) *

Battle of Fort Cumberland The Battle of Fort Cumberland (also known as the Eddy Rebellion) was an attempt by a small number of militia commanded by Jonathan Eddy to bring the American Revolutionary War to Nova Scotia in late 1776. With minimal logistical support from M ...

(November 10–29) *

Battle of Fort Washington The Battle of Fort Washington was fought in New York on November 16, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War between the United States and Great Britain. It was a British victory that gained the surrender of the remnant of the garrison of ...

(November 16) *

Battle of Fort Lee Fort Lee Historic Park is located atop a bluff of the Hudson Palisades overlooking Burdett's Landing, known as Mount Constitution, in Fort Lee, New Jersey, United States. The park was conceived as early as 1952. Native Americans appear to ha ...

(November 20) *

Ambush of Geary The Ambush of Geary, also known as the Amwell Skirmish, was a skirmish of the American Revolutionary War fought on 14 December 1776 in Amwell Township of Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Cornet Francis Geary, the leader of a company of dragoons, w ...

(December 14) *

Battle of Iron Works Hill The Battle of Iron Works Hill, also known as the Battle of Mount Holly, was a series of minor skirmishes that took place on December 22 and 23, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War. The fighting took place in Mount Holly, New J ...

(December 23–26) *

Battle of Trenton The Battle of Trenton was a small but pivotal American Revolutionary War battle on the morning of December 26, 1776, in Trenton, New Jersey. After General George Washington's George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River, crossing of the ...

(December 26)

1777

Battle of the Assunpink Creek The Battle of the Assunpink Creek, also known as the Second Battle of Trenton, was a battle between Thirteen Colonies, American and Kingdom of Great Britain, British troops that took place in and around Trenton, New Jersey, on January 2, 1 ...

, also known as the Second Battle of Trenton (January 2) *

Battle of Princeton The Battle of Princeton was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, fought near Princeton, New Jersey on January 3, 1777, and ending in a small victory for the Colonials. General Lord Cornwallis had left 1,400 British troops under the comma ...

(January 3) *

enters second winter encampment of the war at Morristown (January 6) *

Forage War The Forage War was a partisan (military), partisan campaign consisting of numerous small skirmishes that took place in New Jersey during the American Revolutionary War between January and March 1777, following the battles of Battle of Trenton, Tr ...

(January–March): **

Battle of Millstone The Battle of Millstone, also known as the Battle of Van Nest's Mill, was a skirmish that occurred near the mill of Abraham Van Neste in Weston, New Jersey (near present-day Manville, New Jersey) on January 20, 1777, during the American Revol ...

(January 20) ** Battle of Drake's Farm (February 1) **

Battle of Quibbletown The Forage War was a partisan campaign consisting of numerous small skirmishes that took place in New Jersey during the American Revolutionary War between January and March 1777, following the battles of Trenton and Princeton. After both Britis ...

(February 8) ** Battle of Spanktown (February 23) *

Battle of Bound Brook The Battle of Bound Brook (April 13, 1777) was a surprise attack by British and Hessian forces on a Continental Army outpost in Bound Brook, New Jersey, during the American Revolutionary War. Although the British aimed to capture the garrison, ...

(April 13) *British regulars, under Major General

William Tryon Lieutenant-General William Tryon (8 June 172927 January 1788) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as governor of North Carolina from 1764 to 1771 and the governor of New York from 1771 to 1777. He also served durin ...

, burn and loot

Danbury, Connecticut Danbury ( ) is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2020 was 86,518. It is the third-largest city in Western Connecticut, and the seventh-largest ...

(April 26) *

Battle of Ridgefield The Battle of Ridgefield was a series of American Revolutionary War skirmishes in Danbury, Connecticut and Ridgefield, Connecticut. History On April 25, a British Army during the American Revolutionary War, British force under the command of th ...

(April 27) *

Battle of Thomas Creek A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

(May 17) *

Meigs Raid The Meigs Raid (also known as the Battle of Sag Harbor) was a military raid by American Continental Army forces, under the command of Connecticut Colonel Return J. Meigs, Sr., Return Jonathan Meigs, on a British Loyalist (American Revolution), L ...

(May 23) *

First Middlebrook encampment "Middlebrook encampment" may refer to one of two different seasonal stays of the Continental Army in central New Jersey near the Middlebrook in Bridgewater Township in Somerset County. They are usually differentiated by either the date of the encam ...

(May 28 – July 2) *

Battle of Short Hills The Battle of the Short Hills (also known as the Battle of Metuchen Meetinghouse and other names) was a conflict between a Continental Army force commanded by Brigadier General William Alexander (American general), William Alexander ("Lord Stirl ...

(June 26) *

abandoned by the Americans due to advancing British troops placing cannon on Mount Defiance (July 5) *British retake

(July 6) *

Battle of Hubbardton The Battle of Hubbardton was an engagement in the Saratoga campaign of the American Revolutionary War fought in the village of Hubbardton, Vermont. Vermont was then a disputed territory sometimes called the New Hampshire Grants, claimed by New ...

(July 7) *Delegates in Vermont, which was not one of the

, establish a

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

and adopt a

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

, the first in what is now the territory of the United States to prohibit

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

(July 8) *

Battle of Fort Anne The Battle of Fort Anne, fought on July 8, 1777, was an engagement between Continental Army forces in retreat from Fort Ticonderoga and forward elements of John Burgoyne's much larger British army that had driven them from Ticonderoga, early in ...

(July 8) *

Siege of Fort Stanwix The siege of Fort Stanwix (also known as Fort Schuyler) began on August 2, 1777, and ended on August 22, 1777. Fort Stanwix, at the western end of the Mohawk River Valley, was a primary defense point for the Continental Army against the British ...

(August 2–23) *

Battle of Oriskany The Battle of Oriskany ( or ) was a major engagement of the Saratoga campaign during the American Revolutionary War. On August 6, 1777, an American column of Tryon County militia and Oneida people, Oneidas marching to relieve the siege of Fort ...

(August 6) *

Battle of Machias (1777) The Battle of Machias (August 13–14, 1777) was an amphibious assault on the Massachusetts town of Machias (in present-day eastern Maine) by British forces during the American Revolutionary War. Local militia aided by Indian allies successfu ...

(August 13–14) *

Battle of Bennington The Battle of Bennington was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, part of the Saratoga campaign, that took place on August 16, 1777, on the John Green farm in Walloomsac, New York, about from its namesake, Bennington, Vermont. An American ...

(August 16) *

Battle of Staten Island The Battle of Staten Island was a failed raid by Continental Army troops under Major General John Sullivan against British forces on Staten Island on August 22, 1777, during the American Revolutionary War. After British Lieutenant General Wi ...

(August 22) * Siege of Fort Henry (September 1) *

Battle of Cooch's Bridge The Battle of Cooch's Bridge, also known as the Battle of Iron Hill, was fought on September 3, 1777, between the Continental Army and militia (United States), American militia and primarily Hessian (soldiers), German soldiers serving alongside ...

(September 3) *

Battle of Brandywine The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American Continental Army of General George Washington and the British Army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777, as part of the Am ...

(September 11) *

Battle of the Clouds A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

(September 16) *

Battle of Paoli The Battle of Paoli, also known as the Battle of Paoli Tavern or the Paoli Massacre, was a battle in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War fought on September 20, 1777, in the area surrounding present-day Malvern, Pennsylva ...

(Paoli Massacre) (September 20) *British occupation of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

(September 26) *

Battle of Germantown The Battle of Germantown was a major engagement in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War. It was fought on October 4, 1777, at Germantown, Pennsylvania, between the British Army led by Sir William Howe, and the American ...

(October 4) Surrender of General Burgoyne

Battle of Forts Clinton and Montgomery The Battle of Forts Clinton and Montgomery was an American Revolutionary War battle fought in the Hudson Highlands of the Hudson River valley, not far from West Point, on October 6, 1777. British forces under the command of General Sir Henry Cli ...

(October 6) *

Battle of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) were two battles between the American Continental Army and the British Army fought near Saratoga, New York, concluding the Saratoga campaign in the American Revolutionary War. The Battle ...

(September 19 and October 7); surrender of the British army under

General Burgoyne General (United Kingdom), General John "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British Army officer, playwright and politician who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1761 to 1792. He first saw acti ...

. Major Continental Army victories Victory is crucial in demonstrating to France that the Americans could win in battle, helping lead to the French formally allying with the Americans in 1778. *

Battle of Red Bank The Battle of Red Bank, also known as the Battle of Fort Mercer, was fought on October 22, 1777, during the American Revolutionary War. A British and Hessian force was sent to take Fort Mercer on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River just s ...

(October 22) *

Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation, officially the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement and early body of law in the Thirteen Colonies, which served as the nation's first Constitution, frame of government during the Ameri ...

, formal legal framework for governance of the U.S. until 1787, adopted by the Second Continental Congress (November 15) *Capture of

Fort Mifflin Fort Mifflin, originally called Fort Island Battery and also known as Mud Island Fort, was commissioned in 1771 and sits on Mud Island (or Deep Water Island) on the Delaware River below Philadelphia, Pennsylvania near Philadelphia International ...

, (November 16) and

Fort Mercer Fort Mercer was an earthen fort on the eastern shores of the Delaware River in New Jersey that was constructed by the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. The fort was built in 1777 by Polish engineer Thaddeus Kosciuszko und ...

, (November 18) *

Battle of Gloucester (1777) The Battle of Gloucester was a skirmish fought between November 25, 1777 and the early morning of November 26, 1777, during the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War. It was the first battlefield command for the Marquis de La ...

(November 25) *

Battle of White Marsh The Battle of White Marsh or Battle of Edge Hill was a battle of the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War fought December 5–8, 1777, in the area surrounding Whitemarsh Township, Pennsylvania. The battle, which took the for ...

(December 5 – December 8) *

Battle of Matson's Ford The Battle of Matson's Ford was a battle in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War fought on December 11, 1777 in the area surrounding Matson's Ford (present-day Conshohocken and West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania). In this ...

(December 11) *Continental Army in third winter quarters at

Valley Forge Valley Forge was the winter encampment of the Continental Army, under the command of George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. The Valley Forge encampment lasted six months, from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778. It was the t ...

(December 19, 1777 – June 19, 1778)

1778

*American treaties of alliance with France with Treaty of Amity and Commerce and

Treaty of Alliance The Treaty of Alliance (), also known as the Franco-American Treaty, was a defensive alliance between the Kingdom of France and the United States formed amid the American Revolutionary War with Great Britain. It was signed by delegates of King L ...

(February 6). The full weight of the France, Britain's longstanding rival, provides crucial support (money, army and naval forces, war materiel) to the Americans. *France is the first foreign country to recognise the flag of the United States, on the ship of

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 – July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-born naval officer who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Often referred to as the "Father of the American Navy", Jones is regard ...

(February 14) *France declares war on Great Britain, starting the

Anglo-French War (1778–1783) The Anglo-French War, also known as the War of 1778 or the Bourbon War in Britain, was a military conflict fought between France and Great Britain, sometimes with their respective allies, between 1778 and 1783. As a consequence, Great Britain wa ...

and formally allying with the United States (March 17) *

Battle of Quinton's Bridge The Battle of Quinton's Bridge was a minor battle of the American Revolutionary War fought on March 18, 1778, during the British occupation of Philadelphia. New Jersey militia companies defending a bridge across Alloway Creek in Salem County, N ...

(March 18) *

, in command of the ''Ranger'', attacks

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It is a port on the north-west coast, and lies outside the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park. ...

in England, America's first naval engagement outside North America (April 20) *The

Great Chain The Hudson River Chains were a series of boom (navigational barrier), chain booms constructed across the Hudson River at West Point, New York, West Point by Continental Army forces from 1776 to 1778 during the American Revolutionary War. These s ...

across the Hudson is completed (April 30) *

Battle of Crooked Billet The Battle of Crooked Billet was a battle in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War fought on May 1, 1778 near the Crooked Billet Tavern (present-day Hatboro, Pennsylvania). In the skirmish action, British forces under the ...

(May 1) *

Battle of Barren Hill The Battle of Barren Hill was a minor engagement during the American Revolution. On May 20, 1778, a British Army force attempted to encircle a smaller Continental Army force then under the command of Marquis de Lafayette. The maneuver failed, ...

(May 20) *

Battle of Cobleskill A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

(May 30) *British forces withdraw from

(June 18) *Whaleboat attack on

to kidnap New York Mayor

and other British and Loyalist figures partially succeeds in securing Captain

James Moncrief James Moncrief (1741 in Scotland – 1793 in Ostend, Flanders) was a trained engineer and military officer of Scottish Highlander descent in the British Royal Engineers. Education Moncrief graduated from the Royal Military Academy at Woo ...

and Theophylact Bache, President of the

New York Chamber of Commerce The New York Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1768 by twenty New York City merchants. As the first such commercial organization in the United States, it attracted the participation of a number of New York's most influential business leaders, inc ...

, for future prisoner exchange (June) *

Battle of Monmouth The Battle of Monmouth, also known as the Battle of Monmouth Court House, was fought near the Village of Monmouth Court House, New Jersey, Monmouth Court House in modern-day Freehold Borough, New Jersey and Manalapan, New Jersey, Manalapan, on J ...

(June 28) *

Battle of Wyoming The Battle of Wyoming, also known as the Wyoming Massacre, was a military engagement during the American Revolutionary War between Patriot militia and a force of Loyalist soldiers and Iroquois warriors. The battle took place in the Wyoming Val ...

(July 3) * Battle of Ushant (July 27) *

Battle of Rhode Island The Battle of Rhode Island (also known as the Battle of Quaker Hill) took place on August 29, 1778. Continental Army and Militia forces under the command of Major General John Sullivan had been besieging the British forces in Newport, Rhode Is ...

(August 29) *

Baylor Massacre The Baylor Massacre (also known as the Skirmish Near Tappan, the Tappan Massacre or the Raid on Old Tappan) was an attack by British forces against Continental Army troops on September 27, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War. A force of B ...

(September 27) * Culper Spy Ring is begun (October) * Battle of Chestnut Neck (October 6) *

Affair at Little Egg Harbor The Affair at Little Egg Harbor took place on October 15, 1778, in South Jersey during the American Revolutionary War. American Loyalists killed 45 Patriot men, bayonetting them as they slept. The massacre took place about one week after the Bat ...

(October 15) *

Cherry Valley massacre The Cherry Valley massacre was an attack by British and Iroquois forces on a fort and the town of Cherry Valley in central New York on November 11, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War. It has been described as one of the most horrific f ...

(November 11) *

Capture of Savannah The Capture of Savannah (also known as the First Battle of Savannah and the Battle of Brewton HillHeitman, pp. 670 and 681) was a battle of the American Revolutionary War fought on December 29, 1778. It pitted an American garrison of Continent ...

, British successfully launch their southern strategy (December 29) *Majority of Continental Army in fourth winter quarters at Middlebrook Cantonment (November 30, 1778 – June 3, 1779) *Major General

Israel Putnam Israel Putnam (January 7, 1718 – May 29, 1790), popularly known as "Old Put", was an American military officer and landowner who fought with distinction at the Battle of Bunker Hill during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). He als ...

chooses

Redding, Connecticut Redding is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,765 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Regi ...

as his winter encampment to keep an eye on the storehouses in

(1778–1779)

1779

Battle of Beaufort The Battle of Beaufort, also known as the Battle of Port Royal Island, was fought on February 3, 1779, near Beaufort, South Carolina, during the American Revolutionary War. The battle took place not long after Kingdom of Great Britain, British ...

(February 3, 1779) *

Battle of Kettle Creek The Battle of Kettle Creek was the first major victory for Patriots in the back country of Georgia during the American Revolutionary War that took place on February 14, 1779. It was fought in Wilkes County about from present-day Washington, ...

(February 14) *

Siege of Fort Vincennes The siege of Fort Sackville, also known as the siege of Fort Vincennes or the Battle of Vincennes, was an American Revolutionary War frontier battle fought in present-day Vincennes, Indiana. In February 1779, an American militia led by Lieutenan ...

(February 23–25) *

Chesapeake raid The Chesapeake Raid was an American Revolutionary War campaign by British naval forces under the command of Commodore Sir George Collier and land forces led by Major General Edward Mathew. Between 10 May and 24 May 1779 these forces raided eco ...

(May 10–24) *

Battle of Stono Ferry The Battle of Stono Ferry was an American Revolutionary War battle, fought on June 20, 1779, near Charleston, South Carolina. The rear guard from a British expedition retreating from an aborted attempt to take Charleston held off an assault by po ...

(June 20) *Spain declares war on Great Britain in alliance with France but not in alliance with the U.S. to recover Gibraltar and Minorca; gives material and logistical support to the American Revolution (June 21) *

Tryon's raid Tryon's Raid occurred in July 1779, during the American Revolutionary War, in which 2700 men, led by British Major General William Tryon, raided the Connecticut ports of New Haven, Fairfield, and Norwalk. They destroyed military and public sto ...

(July 3–14) **Tryon's division lands in

East Haven, Connecticut East Haven is a New England town, town in New Haven County, Connecticut, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town population was 27,923. The town is located east of New Haven, Conne ...

, met with resistance from a band of local militia, take

Black Rock Fort Fort Nathan Hale, also known as Fort Hale Park, Black Rock, is a city park located on the east shore of New Haven Harbor in New Haven, Connecticut. It includes the site of a 1659 fort, a American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War-era fort, a ...

(July 5) **

Battle of Fairfield The Battle of Fairfield was a cavalry engagement during the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War. It was fought July 3, 1863, near Fairfield, Pennsylvania, concurrently with the Battle of Gettysburg, although it was not a formal part o ...

destroying public and private property (July 7) **

Battle of Norwalk The Battle of Norwalk (also known as the Battle of West Rocks or Battle of the Rocks) was a series of skirmishes between the Thirteen Colonies and Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. The attack was one part of a series of raids on ...

weakly opposed by about 50 local militia, easily dispersed. The destruction of the village and its commercial infrastructure destroyed (July 11) *

Battle of Stony Point A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

(July 16) *

Battle of Minisink The Battle of Minisink took place during the American Revolutionary War at Minisink Ford, New York, on July 22, 1779. It was the only major skirmish of the Revolutionary War fought in the upper Delaware River valley. The battle was a decisive Ir ...

(July 22) *

Penobscot Expedition The Penobscot Expedition was a 44-ship American naval armada during the Revolutionary War assembled by the Provincial Congress of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. The flotilla of 19 warships and 25 support vessels sailed from Boston on July ...

(July 24 – August 14) *

Battle of Paulus Hook The Battle of Paulus Hook was fought on August 19, 1779, between Continental Army and British forces in the American Revolutionary War. The Patriots were led by Major Light Horse Harry Lee, and launched a nighttime raid on the British-controll ...

(August 19) *

Sullivan Expedition The 1779 Sullivan Expedition (also known as the Sullivan-Clinton Expedition, the Sullivan Campaign, and the Sullivan-Clinton Campaign) was a United States military campaign under the command of General John Sullivan (general), John Sullivan duri ...

(June 18 – October 3) **

Battle of Newtown The Battle of Newtown (August 29, 1779) was the only major battle of the Sullivan Expedition, an armed offensive led by Major General John Sullivan that was ordered by George Washington to end the threat of the Iroquois who had sided with the Br ...

(August 29) *

Capture of Fort Bute The Capture of Fort Bute, also known as the Battle of Manchac Post, signalled the opening of Spanish intervention in the American Revolutionary War on the side of France and the United States. Mustering an ad hoc army of Spanish regulars, Acadia ...

(September 7) *

Siege of Savannah The siege of Savannah or the second battle of Savannah was an encounter of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) in 1779. The year before, the city of Savannah, Georgia, had been captured by a British expeditionary corps under Lieutena ...

(September 16 – October 18) * Battle of Baton Rouge (September 21) *

Battle of Flamborough Head The Battle of Flamborough Head was a naval battle that took place on 23 September 1779 in the North Sea off the coast of Yorkshire between a combined Franco-American squadron, led by Continental Navy officer John Paul Jones, and two British e ...

(September 23) *Continental Army in fifth winter quarters at Morristown (December 1779 – May 1780)

1780

*Congress establishes the

Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and administer justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law. Courts gene ...

to provide for final adjudication of appeals from state court

prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

cases involving disposition of ships and cargo allegedly seized from the British (January 15) * Battle of Cape St. Vincent (January 16) *A

stockade A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls, made of logs placed side by side vertically, with the tops sharpened as a defensive wall. Etymology ''Stockade'' is derived from the French word ''estocade''. The French word was derived f ...

known as

Fort Nashborough Fort Nashborough, also known as Fort Bluff, Bluff Station, French Lick Fort, Cumberland River Fort and other names, was the stockade established in early 1779 in the French Lick area of the Cumberland River valley, as a forerunner to the sett ...

is founded on the

banks A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. As banks ...

of the

Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...

(January 28). Two years later, the site is renamed

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

*Some 8,000 British forces under General Henry Clinton arrive in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, from New York (February 1) *

cedes to Congress its western claims, including territory west of

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

(February 1). In 1792, New York will sell the

Erie Triangle The Erie Triangle is a roughly 300-square-mile (780-square-kilometre) tract of land that was the subject of several competing colonial-era claims. It was eventually acquired by the U.S. federal government and sold to Pennsylvania so that the st ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

Battle of Young's House The Battle of Young's House was a skirmish fought outside New York City between British and American forces on February 3, 1780 during the American Revolutionary War. A British force attacked and destroyed a Continental Army outpost in Westchest ...

(February 3) (In the north) *

Battle of Fort Charlotte The Battle of Fort Charlotte, also known as the siege of Fort Charlotte, was a two-week siege conducted by Spanish general Bernardo de Gálvez against the Kingdom of Great Britain, British fortifications guarding the port of Mobile, Alabama, Mo ...

(March 2–14) *Spanish success against the British - Bombardment of Fort Charlotte, after a two-week

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

, Spanish general, colonial governor of Louisiana, and

Viceroy of New Spain This article lists the viceroys who ruled the Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1535 to 1821 in the name of the monarch of Spain. In addition to viceroys, this article lists the highest Spanish governors of the viceroyalty, before the appointment o ...

Bernardo de Gálvez Bernardo Vicente de Gálvez y Madrid, 1st Count of Gálvez (23 July 1746 – 30 November 1786) was a Spanish military leader and government official who served as colonial governor of Spanish Louisiana and Cuba, and later as Viceroy of New S ...

captures Fort Charlotte, taking the port of Mobile (in present-day

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

) from the British (March 14). Fort Charlotte was the last remaining British frontier post capable of threatening

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Spanish Louisiana Louisiana (, ), was a province of New Spain from 1762 to 1801. It was primarily located in the center of North America encompassing the western basin of the Mississippi River plus New Orleans. The area had originally been claimed and controlle ...

. Its fall drove the British from the western reaches of

West Florida West Florida () was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico that underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. Great Britain established West and East Florida in 1763 out of land acquired from France and S ...

and reduced the British military presence in West Florida to its capital,

Pensacola Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only city in Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which ha ...

. *

Siege of Charleston The siege of Charleston was a major engagement and major British victory in the American Revolutionary War, fought in the environs of Charles Town (today Charleston), the capital of South Carolina, between March 29 and May 12, 1780. The British ...

(March 29 – May 12) **British Army troops under General Henry Clinton and naval forces under Admiral

Mariot Arbuthnot Admiral of the Blue Mariot Arbuthnot (1711 – 31 January 1794) was a Royal Navy officer who served in the American War of Independence. Early life A native of Weymouth, Dorset in England, Arbuthnot was the son of Robert Arbuthnot and Sarah ...

besiege

. British ships sail past

Fort Moultrie Fort Moultrie is a series of fortifications on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, built to protect the city of Charleston, South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina. The first fort, formerly named Fort Sullivan, built of Cabbage Pal ...

on Sullivan's Island to occupy

Charleston Harbor The Charleston Harbor is an inlet (8 sq mi/20.7 km2) of the Atlantic Ocean at Charleston, South Carolina. The inlet is formed by the junction of Ashley River (South Carolina), Ashley and Cooper River (South Carolina), Cooper rivers at . Morr ...

(April 8) **

Battle of Monck's Corner The Battle of Monck's Corner was fought on April 14, 1780, outside of Charleston, South Carolina, which was under siege by British forces under the command of General Sir Henry Clinton in the American Revolutionary War. The British Legion, un ...

(April 14) **

Battle of Lenud's Ferry The Battle of Lenud's Ferry () was a battle of the American Revolutionary War that was fought on May 6, 1780 in present-day Berkeley County, South Carolina. All of the British soldiers who took part in the Battle of Lenud's Ferry were in fact Lo ...

(May 6) **Fort Moultrie falls to the British (May 7) **American General

Benjamin Lincoln Benjamin Lincoln (January 24, 1733 ( O.S. January 13, 1733) – May 9, 1810) was an American army officer. He served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Lincoln was involved in three major surrender ...

surrenders Charleston to the British. The British lose 255 men while capturing a large American garrison (May 12) *

Bird's invasion of Kentucky Bird's invasion of Kentucky was one phase of an extensive planned series of operations planned by the British in 1780 during the American Revolutionary War, whereby the entire West, from Quebec to the Gulf of Mexico, was to be swept clear of bot ...

(May 25 – August 4) (In the west) *

Battle of Waxhaws The Battle of Waxhaws (also known as the Waxhaws Massacre, Buford's Massacre, and Battle of Waxhaw Creek) was a military engagement which took place on May 29, 1780, during the American Revolutionary War between a Patriot force led by Abraham ...

; a clash between

forces under

Abraham Buford Abraham Buford (July 21, 1747 – June 30, 1833) was a Continental Army officer during the American Revolutionary War, rising to colonel and best known as the commanding officer of the American forces at the Battle of Waxhaws. After the war ...

and a mainly

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 Cr ...

force led by

Banastre Tarleton General Sir Banastre Tarleton, 1st Baronet (21 August 175415 January 1833) was a British military officer and politician. He is best known as the lieutenant colonel leading the British Legion at the end of the American Revolutionary War. He lat ...

occurs near

Lancaster, South Carolina The city of Lancaster () is the county seat of Lancaster County, South Carolina, United States, located in the Charlotte Metropolitan Area. As of the United States Census of 2010, the city population was 8,526. The city was named after the famou ...

in the

Waxhaws The Waxhaws is a geographical area in the Piedmont region of North Carolina and South Carolina, United States. It encompasses the areas of Lancaster County, South Carolina and Union and Mecklenburg counties in North Carolina. The name is deriv ...

area (close to present-day Buford). The British destroyed the American forces (May 29) * Alexander's Old Field in Beckhamville, South Carolina (June 6) *

Battle of Connecticut Farms The Battle of Connecticut Farms, fought June 7, 1780, was one of the last major battles between British and American forces in the northern colonies during the American Revolutionary War. Hessian General Wilhelm von Knyphausen, in command of ...

(June 7) (In the north) *

Battle of Mobley's Meeting House The Battle of Mobley's Meeting House (also sometimes called Gibson's Meeting House) was an engagement that occurred during the American Revolutionary War in the Mobley Settlement, Fairfield County, South Carolina during the southern campaign of L ...

(June 10) *

Battle of Ramsour's Mill The Battle of Ramsour's Mill took place on June 20, 1780 in present-day Lincolnton, North Carolina, during the British campaign to gain control of the southern colonies in the American Revolutionary War. The number of fighters on each side of th ...

(June 20) *

Battle of Springfield The Battle of Springfield was fought during the American Revolutionary War on June 23, 1780, in Union County, New Jersey. After the Battle of Connecticut Farms, on June 7, 1780, had foiled Lieutenant General Wilhelm, Baron von Knyphausen's e ...

; with the attempted British invasion of New Jersey stopped at Connecticut Farms and Springfield, major fighting in the North ends (June 23) *

Robert Morris Robert or Bob Morris may refer to: :''Ordered chronologically within each section.'' Politics and the law * Robert Hunter Morris (1700–1764), lieutenant governor of Colonial Pennsylvania * Robert Morris (financier) (1734–1806), one of the Foun ...

is appointed

Superintendent of Finance Superintendent may refer to: *Building superintendent, a manager, maintenance or repair person, custodian or janitor, especially in the United States; sometimes shortened to "super" *Prison warden or superintendent, a prison administrator *Soprin ...

, a post akin to Prime Minister, by Congress (June 27) *

Expédition Particulière The Special Expedition (French: ''Expédition Particulière'') was an Expeditionary warfare, expeditionary force deployed by Kingdom of France, France to North America to support the United States against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain ...

(July 11) * Battle of Williamson's Plantation (AKA

Huck's Defeat Huck's Defeat or the Battle of Williamson's Plantation was an engagement of the American Revolutionary War that occurred in what is now York County, South Carolina, on July 12, 1780, and was one of the first battles of the southern campaign to b ...

) (July 12) * Battle of Bull's Ferry (July 20–21) (In the north) *

Battle of Colson's Mill The Battle of Colson's Mill was a battle of the American Revolutionary War that took place in North Carolina on July 21, 1780. A Patriot militia under William Lee Davidson scattered a gathering of Loyalists at Colson's Mill, near the junction ...

(July 21) *

Battle of Rocky Mount The Battle of Rocky Mount took place on August 1, 1780 as part of the American Revolutionary War. 600 Loyalists commanded by Lieutenant Colonel George Turnbull occupying an outpost in northern South Carolina withstood an attack by 300 American ...

(August 1) *

Battle of Hanging Rock The Battle of Hanging Rock (August 6, 1780) took place during the American Revolutionary War between the American Patriots and the British. It was part of a campaign by militia General Thomas Sumter to harass or destroy British outposts in th ...

(August 6) *

Battle of Piqua The Battle of Piqua, also known as the Battle of Peckowee, Battle of Pekowi, Battle of Peckuwe and the Battle of Pickaway, was a military engagement fought on August 8, 1780, at the Indian village of Piqua along the Mad River in western Ohio Cou ...

(August 8) (In the west) *

Battle of Camden The Battle of Camden (August 16, 1780), also known as the Battle of Camden Court House, was a major victory for the Kingdom of Great Britain, British in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War. On August 16, 1780, British forces ...

, British General

Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805) was a British Army officer, Whig politician and colonial administrator. In the United States and United Kingdom, he is best known as one of the leading Britis ...

gains a humiliating victory over

Gates Gates is the plural of gate, a point of entry to a space which is enclosed by walls. It may also refer to: People * Gates (surname), various people with the last name * Gates Brown (1939-2013), American Major League Baseball player * Gates McFadd ...

in South Carolina (August 16) *

Battle of Fishing Creek The Battle of Fishing Creek, also called the Battle of Catawba Ford,Heitman, p. 390 was an American Revolutionary War battle fought on August 18, 1780, between American and British forces including the 71st Foot. It was fought near the junctio ...

(August 18) *

Battle of Musgrove Mill The Battle of Musgrove Mill, August 19, 1780, occurred near a ford of the Enoree River, near the present-day border between Spartanburg, Laurens and Union Counties in South Carolina. During the course of the battle, 200 Patriot militiamen def ...

(August 18) *

Battle of Black Mingo The Battle of Black Mingo was a skirmish during the American Revolution. It took place in September 29, 1780 in the vicinity of Dollard's Tavern (also known as Red House) at Willtown near Rhems, South Carolina. General Francis Marion leading Re ...

(August 28) *

Battle of Wahab's Plantation The Battle of Wahab's Plantation was a surprise attack on a Loyalist camp, which included elements of the British Legion commanded by Banastre Tarleton (although at the time of the battle Tarleton had yellow fever and was not in command), by Patr ...

(September 21) *Major

John André Major John André (May 2, 1750 – October 2, 1780) was a British Army officer who served as the head of Britain's intelligence operations during the American War for Independence. In September 1780, he negotiated with Continental Army offic ...

captured and the treason of

is exposed (September 23) *

Battle of Charlotte The Battle of Charlotte was an American Revolutionary War battle fought in Charlotte, North Carolina on September 26, 1780. The battle took place at the Mecklenburg County Court House; which is now the site of the Bank of America tower at Trade ...

(September 26) *John André executed as a spy (October 2) *

Battle of Kings Mountain The Battle of Kings Mountain was a military engagement between Patriot and Loyalist militias in South Carolina during the southern campaign of the American Revolutionary War, resulting in a decisive victory for the Patriots. The battle took pl ...

(October 7) *

Royalton Raid The Royalton raid was a British-led Indian raid in 1780 against various towns along the White River Valley in the Vermont Republic, and was part of the American Revolutionary War. It was the last major Indian raid in New England. Raids In the ...

(October 16) *

Battle of Klock's Field The Battle of Klock's Field was an engagement during the American Revolutionary War in the Mohawk Valley region of New York between British and Loyalist forces led by Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Johnson, and New York militia and levies led by Br ...

(October 19) *

Battle of Fishdam Ford The Battle of Fishdam Ford was an attempted surprise attack by British forces under the command of Major James Wemyss against an encampment of Patriot militia under the command of local Brigadier General Thomas Sumter around 1 am on the morni ...

(November 9) *

Battle of Blackstock's Farm The Battle of Blackstock's Farm, a military engagement of the American Revolutionary War, took place in what today is Union County, South Carolina, a few miles from Cross Anchor, on November 20, 1780. The battle marked the first time during th ...

(November 20) *

enters sixth winter with encampments in

Hudson Highlands The Hudson Highlands are mountains on both sides of the Hudson River in New York (state), New York state lying primarily in Putnam County, New York, Putnam County on its east bank and Orange County, New York, Orange County on its west. They conti ...

, Pompton, and Morristown, New Jersey (December)

1781

*The future

King William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

, the only active member of the

British Royal Family The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...

to visit the former 13 colonies, takes up residence in the

Rose and Crown Tavern The Rose and Crown Tavern was a farmhouse and tavern located in New Dorp, Staten Island, New York. History The tavern was built by Huguenot immigrants in 1665. During the American Revolution the tavern was owned by Cornelius Vanderbilt, the ...

on Staten Island. *

Pennsylvania Line Mutiny The Pennsylvania Line Mutiny was a mutiny of Continental Army soldiers, who demanded higher pay and better housing conditions, and was the cause of the legend and stories surrounding the American heroine Tempe Wick. The mutiny began on Januar ...

(January 1–29) *

Raid on Richmond The Raid on Richmond was a series of British military actions against the capital of Virginia, Richmond, and the surrounding area, during the American Revolutionary War. Led by American defector Benedict Arnold, the Richmond campaign is conside ...

(January 1–19) *

Battle of Cowpens The Battle of Cowpens was a military engagement during the American Revolutionary War fought on January 17, 1781, near the town of Cowpens, South Carolina. American Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot forces, estimated at 2,000 militia and reg ...

(January 17) *

Pompton Mutiny The Pompton Mutiny, also referred to as the Federal Hill Rebellion, was a revolt of Continental Army troops at Pompton Camp in what was then Pompton Township, New Jersey, present-day Bloomingdale, New Jersey, that occurred on January 20, 1781, b ...

(January 20) *

Battle of Cowan's Ford The Battle of Cowan's Ford took place in the Southern Theater of Cornwallis's 1780–1782 Campaign during the American Revolutionary War. It was fought on February 1, 1781, at Cowan's Ford on the Catawba River in northwestern Mecklenburg ...

(February 1) *

Pyle's Massacre Pyle's Massacre (also known as Pyle's defeat, Pyle's hacking match or Battle of Haw River) was fought during the American Revolutionary War in present-day Alamance County, North Carolina on February 24, 1781. The battle was between Patriot tro ...

(February 24) *

ratified (March 1) * Skirmish at Waters Creek (March 8) *

Siege of Pensacola The siege of Pensacola, fought from March 9 to May 10, 1781, was the culmination of Spain's conquest of West Florida during the Gulf Coast Campaign of the American Revolutionary War. The siege was commanded by Bernardo de Gálvez, whose near ...

culminates Spain's conquest of

(March 9 - May 10) *

Battle of Guilford Court House The Battle of Guilford Court House was fought on 15 March 1781 during the American Revolutionary War, near Greensboro, North Carolina. A 2,100-man British force under the command of Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis defeated Major General Na ...

(March 15) *

Battle of Cape Henry The Battle of Cape Henry was a naval battle in the American War of Independence which took place near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay on 16 March 1781 between a British squadron under Vice-admiral Mariot Arbuthnot and a French squadron under Admira ...

(March 16) *

Siege of Fort Watson The siege of Fort Watson was an American Revolutionary War confrontation in South Carolina that began on April 15, 1781, and lasted until April 23, 1781. Continental Army forces under Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee and South Carolina militia under ...

(April 15 - April 23) *

Battle of Blandford The Battle of Blandford (or Blanford), also called the Battle of Petersburg, took place near Petersburg, Virginia on 25 April 1781, late in the American War of Independence. Roughly 2,300 British regulars under the command of Brigadier General ...

(April 25) *

Battle of Hobkirk's Hill The Battle of Hobkirk's Hill (sometimes referred to as the Second Battle of Camden) was a battle of the American Revolutionary War fought on April 25, 1781, near Camden, South Carolina. A small American force under Nathanael Greene occupying Hobk ...

(April 25) *

Action at Osborne's The action at Osborne's (sometimes spelled Osburn's or Osborns), Virginia was a minor naval–land engagement on April 27, 1781, in the James River during the American Revolutionary War. The battle resulted in the near-complete destruction of the ...

(April 27) *

Siege of Fort Motte The siege of Fort Motte was a military operation during the American Revolutionary War. A force of Patriots led by General Francis "Swamp Fox" Marion and Lt. Colonel "Light Horse" Harry Lee set out to capture the British post at Fort Motte, th ...

(May 8–12) *

(March 9 to May 10) *

Siege of Augusta The siege of Augusta took place between May 22, 1781, and June 6, 1781. American Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot forces, led by Brigadier General Andrew Pickens (congressman), Andrew Pickens and Lieutenant Colonel Henry Lee III, Henry "Li ...

(May 22 – June 6) *

Siege of Ninety-Six The siege of Ninety Six was a siege in western South Carolina late in the American Revolutionary War. From May 22 to June 18, 1781, Continental Army Major General Nathanael Greene led 1,000 troops in a siege against the 550 Loyalists in the fort ...

(May 22 – June 19) * Raid of Point of Fork (June 5) * Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary march (June 10 – September 22) *

Battle of Spencer's Ordinary The Battle of Spencer's Ordinary was an inconclusive skirmish that took place on 26 June 1781, late in the American Revolutionary War. British forces under Lieutenant Colonel John Graves Simcoe and American forces under Colonel Richard Butler, ...

(June 26) *

Battle of Green Spring The Battle of Green Spring took place near Green Spring Plantation in James City County, Virginia during the American Revolutionary War. On July 6, 1781 United States Brigadier General "Mad" Anthony Wayne, leading the advance forces of the M ...

(July 6) *

Francisco's Fight Francisco's Fight is the name commonly given to an alleged skirmish between a detachment of the British Legion (American Revolution), British Legion and Peter Francisco, a Continental Army soldier with a long service record, during the American ...

(July 9–24) *

Battle of the Chesapeake The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American Revolutionary War that took place near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 1 ...

(September 5) *

Battle of Groton Heights The Battle of Groton Heights (also known as the Battle of Fort Griswold, and occasionally called the Fort Griswold massacre) was a battle of the American Revolutionary War fought on September 6, 1781 between a small Connecticut militia force le ...

(September 6) *

Battle of Eutaw Springs The Battle of Eutaw Springs on September 8, 1781, was the last major engagement of the Revolutionary War to be fought in the Carolinas. Both sides claimed a victory. Background In early 1781, Major General Nathanael Greene, commander of the ...

(September 8) *The British surrender at Yorktown (October 19) *

returns to

and Morristown New Jersey for its seventh winter encampment (December) *

Bank of North America The Bank of North America was the first chartered bank in the United States, and served as the country's first ''de facto'' central bank. It was chartered by the Congress of the Confederation on May 26, 1781, and opened in Philadelphia, Pennsy ...

chartered (December 31)

1782

*The British House of Commons votes against further war, informally recognizing American independence (February 27) *

Gnadenhutten massacre The Gnadenhutten massacre, also known as the Moravian massacre, was the killing of 96 pacifist Moravian Christian Indians (primarily Lenape and Mohican) by U.S. militiamen from Pennsylvania, under the command of David Williamson, on March 8, ...

(March 8) *

Battle of Little Mountain The Battle of Little Mountain, also known as Estill's Defeat, was fought on March 22, 1782, near Mount Sterling in what is now Montgomery County, Kentucky. One of the bloodiest engagements of the Kentucky frontier, the battle has long been the s ...

(March 22) *

Newburgh letter On May 22, 1782, the Newburgh letter was sent to George Washington who was camped at Newburgh, New York; written for the army officers by Colonel Lewis Nicola, it proposed that Washington should become the King of the United States. Washington r ...

sent to George Washington by

Lewis Nicola Lewis Nicola (1717 – August 9, 1807) was an Irish-born American military officer, merchant, and writer who held various military and civilian positions throughout his career. Nicola is most notable for authoring the Newburgh letter, which ur ...

(May 22) *

Crawford expedition The Crawford expedition, also known as the Battle of Sandusky, the Sandusky expedition and Crawford's Defeat, was a 1782 campaign on the western front of the American Revolutionary War, and one of the final operations of the conflict. The cam ...

(May 25 – June 12) * Siege of Bryan Station (August 15–17) *

Battle of Blue Licks The Battle of Blue Licks, fought on August 19, 1782, was one of the last battles of the American Revolutionary War. The battle occurred ten months after Lord Cornwallis's surrender at Yorktown, which had effectively ended the war in the east. O ...

(August 19) *

Battle of the Combahee River The Battle of the Combahee River took place during the American Revolutionary War on August 27, 1782, near Beaufort, South Carolina, one of many such confrontations after the Siege of Yorktown to occur before the British evacuated Charleston ...

(August 27) *

Siege of Fort Henry (1782) The second siege of Fort Henry was a three-day engagement during the American Revolutionary War that began on September 11, 1782. A force of about 260 Wyandot people, Wyandot, Shawnee, Mingo and Lenape attacked Fort Henry (West Virginia), Fort He ...

(September 11–13) *

moves into its eighth and final winter quarters, at the New Windsor Cantonment and in the

(November) *Preliminary Articles of Peace are signed by British negotiator

Richard Oswald Richard Oswald (5 November 1880 – 11 September 1963) was an Austrian film director, producer, screenwriter, and father of German-American film director Gerd Oswald. Early life and career Richard Oswald, born in Vienna as Richard W. Ornstein, ...

and representatives of the United States of America (November 30) *British evacuate

(December 14) *Last skirmish of the conflict takes place near

Cedar Bridge Tavern The Cedar Bridge Tavern County Historic Site is a historic tavern located in the New Jersey Pine Barrens in Barnegat Township, New Jersey, Barnegat Township. It was built circa 1816 and is believed to have the oldest standing bar in New Jersey. ...

Barnegat Township, New Jersey Barnegat Township (pronounced "BAR-nuh-git") is a Township (New Jersey), township in Ocean County, New Jersey, Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 24,296, the highest ...

(December 27)

1783

Newburgh Conspiracy The Newburgh Conspiracy was a failed apparent threat by leaders of the Continental Army in March 1783, at the end of the American Revolutionary War. The Army's commander, George Washington, successfully calmed the soldiers and helped secure back ...

(March 10–15) *

Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783 The Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783 (also known as the Philadelphia Mutiny) was an anti-government protest by nearly 400 soldiers of the Continental Army in June 1783. The mutiny, and the refusal of the Executive Council of Pennsylvania to stop i ...

(June 20–24) *The

Treaty of Paris (1783) The Treaty of Paris, signed in Paris by representatives of King George III of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and representatives of the United States on September 3, 1783, officially ended the American Revolutionary War and recognized ...

ends the

(September 3) *The British evacuate New York, marking the end of British rule. British loyalist refugees retreat to Quebec and Nova Scotia. General George Washington triumphantly returns with the Continental Army (November 25). * George Washington resigns as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army (December 23)

1784-1787

1784

*The Treaty of Paris is ratified by the

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 ...

(January 14) **

Jay–Gardoqui Treaty The Jay–Gardoqui Treaty (also known as the Liberty Treaty with Spain) of 1786 between the United States and Spain was not ratified. It would have guaranteed Spanish exclusive right to navigate the Mississippi River for 25 years. It also opened S ...

with Spain fails to be ratified. Negotiations continued until 1786 *The Treaty of Paris is ratified by the British (April 9) *Ratified treaties are exchanged in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

between the two nations (May 12) *"The State of Frankland," later known as

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

, secedes from North Carolina (August 23) *

resigns as

and is not replaced (November 1)

1785

*Congress refuses admission of the

State of Franklin The State of Franklin (also the Free Republic of Franklin, Lost State of Franklin, or the State of Frankland) was an unrecognized proposed U.S. state, state located in present-day East Tennessee, in the United States. Franklin was created in ...

to the Union (May 16) *

Treaty of Hopewell Three agreements, each known as a Treaty of Hopewell, were signed between representatives of the Congress of the United States and the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw peoples. They were negotiated and signed at the Hopewell plantation in South ...

(November 28)

1786

* Shays's Rebellion (August 29 – June 1787) * Annapolis Convention fails (September 11–14)

1787

Northwest Ordinance The Northwest Ordinance (formally An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio and also known as the Ordinance of 1787), enacted July 13, 1787, was an organic act of the Congress of the Co ...

enacted (July 13) Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States

* Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia (May 25 - September 17) *

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

(December 7),

(December 12), and

(December 18) ratify the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

1788-1797

1788

*North Carolina reasserted it claim to its Overmountain region, at which time Franklin ceases to exist *

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

and

ratify the Constitution *

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

ratified (June 21) *

Cyrus Griffin Cyrus Griffin (July 16, 1748 – December 14, 1810) was an American lawyer and politician, who served as the final President of the Congress of the Confederation and first United States district judge of the United States District Court for the ...

resigns as "President of the United States in Congress Assembled" (November 2), and with the exceptions of

John Jay John Jay (, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, diplomat, signatory of the Treaty of Paris (1783), Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served from 1789 to 1795 as the first chief justice of the United ...

and John Knox remaining as Secretaries of Foreign Affairs and War respectively; and

Michael Hillegas Michael Hillegas (April 22, 1729 – September 29, 1804) was the first treasurer of the United States. Biography Hillegas was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Margaret Schiebenstock (1710 – July 21, 1770) and George ...

remaining as Treasurer, the United States of America temporarily ceases to exist. *The first federal Elections for the House of Representatives begin *

1788–89 United States presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States from December 15, 1788 to January 7, 1789, under the new Constitution ratified in 1788. George Washington was unanimously elected for the first of his two terms as president and John Adams ...

(December 15, 1788 – January 10, 1789).

is elected president, and

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

is elected vice president.

1789

Philip Pell Philip Pell (July 7, 1753 – May 1, 1811) was an American politician and lawyer from Westchester County, New York. He served in the New York State Assembly and as a delegate for New York to the Confederation Congress. Pell Street in New York ...

, only member in attendance, adjourns the

Congress of the Confederation The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States from March 1, 1781, until March 3, 1789, during the Confederation ...

''sine die'' (March 2) *Members of the

1st United States Congress The 1st United States Congress, comprising the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, met from March 4, 1789, to March 4, 1791, during the first two years of George Washington's presidency, first at Federal Hall ...

begin to take their seats at

Federal Hall Federal Hall was the first capitol building of the United States under the Constitution. Serving as the meeting place of the First United States Congress and the site of George Washington's first presidential inauguration, the building existe ...

, New York (March 4) *

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

first achieves a quorum and elects its officers (April 1) *

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

first achieves a quorum and elects its officers (April 6) *Joint session of Congress counts the

Electoral College An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliament ...

ballots, certifies that George Washington has been unanimously elected

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

(April 6) *Adams becomes the first vice president (April 21) *Washington becomes the first president, at

in New York City (April 30) *The Tariff Act of 1789 is signed into law (July 4) *

Charles Thomson Charles Thomson (November 29, 1729 – August 16, 1824) was an Irish-born Founding Father of the United States and secretary of the Continental Congress (1774–1789) throughout its existence. As secretary, Thomson prepared the Journals of the ...

resigns as secretary of Congress and hands over the Great Seal, bringing an end to the

Confederation Congress The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States from March 1, 1781, until March 3, 1789, during the Confederation ...

(July) *

Judiciary Act of 1789 The Judiciary Act of 1789 (ch. 20, ) was a United States federal statute enacted on September 24, 1789, during the first session of the First United States Congress. It established the federal judiciary of the United States. Article Three of th ...

(September 24) *Congress approves twelve articles of amendment to the Constitution, the

Bill of Rights A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and pri ...

(September 25) *

becomes the 12th state to ratify the Constitution, with a vote of 194–77 (November 21)

1791

ratified. (December 15)

1792

1792 United States presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States from November 2 to December 5, 1792. Incumbent President George Washington was elected to a second term by a unanimous vote in the electoral college, while John Adams was reelected as vice ...

reelected president,

reelected vice president.

1793

*President Washington and Vice President Adams begin their second terms (March 4).

1795

Jay's Treaty The Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, Between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America, commonly known as the Jay Treaty, and also as Jay's Treaty, was a 1794 treaty between the United States and Kingdom of Great Britain, ...

ratified in June toward resolving post Revolution tensions between the United States and Great Britain. First use of arbitration in modern diplomatic history for

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

disputes.

1796

* Six Northwest Territory forts and two Upstate New York forts that remained under British control are ceded to the United States. *

1796 United States presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States from November 4 to December 7, 1796, when electors throughout the United States cast their ballots. It was the first contested American presidential election, the first presidential election ...

is elected president,

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

elected vice president.

1797

* Adams becomes the second president, Jefferson becomes the second vice president (March 4).

1800s

1825

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diploma ...

son of

becomes sixth president.

References

External links

Theamericanrevolution.org: Timeline of the American Revolution
{{Authority control

1775 Events Summary The American Revolutionary War began this year, with the first military engagement on April 19 Battles of Lexington and Concord on the day after Paul Revere's ride. The Second Continental Congress took various steps tow ...

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