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Newsela | French relationships with Native Americans

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Newsela | French relationships with Native Americans

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The French had comparatively peaceful relationships with the Native Americans, forging positive partnerships based on mutual respect and trade.

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Learn about Patriots and Loyalists during the Revolutionary War. One side wanted independence while the other wanted to remain part of Britain.

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Newsela | Time Machine (1773): The Boston Tea Party

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The Signing of the Declaration of Independence

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The Signing of the Declaration of Independence

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Newsela | The signing of the Declaration of Independence

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A chronology of the drafting, adoption and initial publication of the nation's founding document.

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Major Battles of the American Revolution

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Major Battles of the American Revolution

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The Sons of Liberty

In Boston in early summer of 1765 a group of shopkeepers and artisans who called themselves The Loyal Nine, began preparing for agitation against the Stamp Act. As that group grew, it came to be known as the Sons of Liberty. And grow it did! These were not the leading men of Boston, but rather workers and tradesmen. It was unseemly that they would be so agitated by a parliamentary act. Though their ranks did not include Samuel and John Adams, the fact may have been a result of a mutually beneficial agreement. The Adams' and other radical members of the legislature were daily in the public eye; they could not afford to be too closely associated with violence, neither could the secretive Sons of Liberty afford much public exposure. However, amongst the members were two men who could generate much public sentiment about the Act. Benjamin Edes, a printer, and John Gill of the Boston Gazette produced a steady stream of news and opinion. Within a very short time a group of some two thousand men had been organized under Ebenezer McIntosh, a South Boston shoemaker.

The first widely known acts of the Sons took place on August 14, 1765, when an effigy of Andrew Oliver (who was to be commissioned Distributor of Stamps for Massachusetts) was found hanging in a tree on Newbury street, along with a large boot with a devil climbing out of it. The boot was a play on the name of the Earl of Bute and the whole display was intended to establish an evil connection between Oliver and the Stamp Act. The sheriffs were told to remove the display but protested in fear of their lives, for a large crowd had formed at the scene. Before the evening a mob burned Oliver's property on Kilby street, then moved on to his house. There they beheaded the effigy and stoned the house as its occupants looked out in horror. They then moved to nearby Fort Hill were they built a large fire and burned what was left of the effigy. Most of the crowd dissipated at that point, however McIntosh and crew, then under cover of darkness, ransacked Oliver's abandoned home until midnight. On that evening it became very clear who ruled Boston. The British Militia, the Sheriffs and Justices, kept a low profile. No one dared respond to such violent force.

By the end of that year the Sons of Liberty existed in every colony. Their most popular objective was to force Stamp Distributors throughout the colonies to resign. The groups also applied pressure to any Merchants who did not comply with the non-importation associations. Wherever these groups existed they were either directed in secret by leading men in the community or actually lead by them. However, there were opportunists everywhere, too, who would use the name Sons of Liberty to carry out acts of revenge and other violence not related to the cause. For example, in South Carolina a group of sailors, calling themselves The Sons of Liberty, formed a mob to coerce money from people on the streets*. Such behavior could certainly undermine the cause, so the Sons spent a great deal of time policing themselves and pretenders. This was the origin on names such as "True Sons," and "True-born Sons" of Liberty.

The success of these movements in undermining the Stamp Act cannot be attributed to violence alone. Their most effective work was performed in newsprint. A great many of the Sons were printers and publishers themselves and even those who were not, were sympathetic to the cause. It was they who would pay the most in duties, after all. Nearly every newspaper in the colonies carried daily reports of the activities of the Sons. Accounts of the most dramatic escapades spread throughout the colonies. In one most remarkable incident, an account of the Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions was printed far and wide. It is not certain how many of the editors who reprinted it were aware of the status of the resolutions, but seven were printed, while only five actually passed (the fifth was in fact rescinded the day after adoption.) The ultimate effect of such propaganda was to embolden both citizens and Legislatures in every colony. When the Stamp Act became effective on the 1st of November, 1765, nearly all of these papers went right on publishing without the required Stamp.

In the early months of 1766 there was such chaos that many of the royal governors had gone into hiding. The Sheriffs and Militia that they might have counted on to keep the peace were mostly members of the Sons of Liberty. Governors were afraid to unlock the weapons stores. Few royal troops were available and they were vastly outnumbered in any case. The Sons of Liberty had displaced the royal government in nearly every colony. The Stamp Act Congress had concluded its business, but there was little hope that its petition to Gr. Britain would be heard. Correspondence between the various groups began, toward the mutual support and defense of the cause. It was expected that eventually British troops would land and attempt to reassert control. So it was that the first efforts to unite the colonies were not undertaken by their respective legislatures, but by these independent radical groups. The various Sons throughout the colonies began to correspond and develop a larger organization.

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A short article on the Sons of Liberty, a group of American patriots who protested and resisited British imperialism, especially the Stamp Act

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Sons of Liberty was a group established to undermine British rule in colonial America and was influential in organizing The Boston Tea Party.

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https://newsela.com/read/bio-paul-revere

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Newsela | Revolutionary Leaders: Paul Revere

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DK Find Out! | Fun Facts for Kids on Animals, Earth, History and more!

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Visit DK Find Out! to learn about dinosaurs, space, animals, nature & more. Fun learning activities for kids with videos, quizzes & galleries at DKFindOut.com

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Trouble had been brewing in Boston for some time. The city was considered the beating heart of the Patriot cause, and its residents had organized spirited and occasionally violent resistance to British tax policies. When Bostonians responded to 1767's Townshend Acts with mass protests and riots, the Crown dispatched several regiments of soldiers to police the city. Many denounced the Redcoats as occupiers, and it wasn't long before locals began clashing with soldiers. On March 2 and 3 of 1770, British troops and a band of Boston ropemakers squared off in a series of street brawls that left one infantryman with a fractured skull. By March 5, the city was awash with rumors that an even bigger confrontation was in the offing. British regulars spoke of their desire to get revenge on the townspeople, and a local minister reported that he heard many Boston men planned on "fighting it out with the soldiers."

That evening, British Private Hugh White stood watch near the Custom House on King Street. Boston had just emerged from a cold snap, and the roads were blanketed with a foot of snow and frozen ice. As White shivered in his sentry box, a group of British soldiers and Boston townsmen crossed paths on the street in front of him. "There goes the fellow that won't pay my master for dressing his hair," wigmaker's apprentice Edward Garrick yelled towards a British captain. The officer kept walking, but White came to his defense, saying the captain was an honorable man who would settle his debts. When Garrick responded with another insult, White went into a rage. He bashed the colonist in the head with the butt of his musket, dropping him to the ground.

The scuffle caught the attention of bystanders, who rushed to Garrick's aid and began taunting White and heaving snowballs at him. The private took cover on the steps of the Custom House and loaded his weapon. At some point, the colonists' stream of insults was interrupted by the sound of church bells in the distance-the traditional warning that a fire had broken out. More men began pouring into the streets, forming a mob of some 50 people. White found himself pinned near the locked door of the Custom House with no means of escape. He began screaming for help.

Word of White's predicament soon reached British Captain Thomas Preston, an Irishman who was well-liked by most of the Boston citizenry. Preston was loath to send troops into the fray, but he feared for the private's safety as well as that of the Custom House, which served as the storage site for the Crown's tax revenues. After some deliberation, he led seven men through the crowd. Upon reaching White, the soldiers formed into a semicircle and used their bayonets to keep the townsmen at bay. The mob had now swelled to several hundred people. Captain Preston screamed at them to disperse and return to their homes, but they responded only with jeers and a barrage of snowballs. Some even dared the soldiers to shoot. "Why do you not fire?" they yelled. "Damn you, you dare not fire. Fire and be damned."

The sea of humanity stood only inches from the tips of the soldiers' bayonets, and the troops were being pelted by a steady stream of ice chunks and debris. As the men grew restless, local ropemaker Richard Palms stepped out of the rabble brandishing a wooden stick. "Are your soldiers' guns loaded?" he asked Preston. The captain answered that they were. "I hope you don't intend the soldiers shall fire on the inhabitants," Palms said. "By no means," Preston replied, pointing out that he was standing in the front of his men. Only moments later, someone hurled a wooden club from the crowd, striking Private Hugh Montgomery. The soldier struggled to his feet and raised his weapon. "Damn you! Fire!" he yelled, before discharging his musket.

After the shot rang out, Palms struck Montgomery with his stick and gave Captain Preston a whack on the arm. Exactly what happened next would be the subject of considerable debate. Some said the crowd rushed toward Preston's men; others claimed the soldiers simply panicked. Whatever the cause, the line unleashed a gruesome volley of musket fire. Two bullets hit and killed Crispus Attucks, a former slave-turned-sailor who had been at the front of the fray wielding a club. Another shot struck colonist Samuel Gray, leaving a hole the size of a fist in his head. Sailor James Caldwell was hit twice and fell dead, and Samuel Maverick and Patrick Carr were both mortally wounded. By the time Captain Preston got his troops to stop firing, five men lay dead or dying and six more were injured.

Boston rattled with tension for the rest of the night. After the shocked crowd scattered from King Street, word went out to colonists in neighboring towns instructing them to take up arms and rush to the city at once. Preston rallied the rest of his troops and prepared for battle. The city seemed on the brink of a general insurrection. Potential disaster was only averted when acting Governor Thomas Hutchinson addressed the people and gave his word that he would conduct a full investigation into the killings. "The law shall have its course," he promised the furious masses. "I will live and die by the law." Captain Preston and his eight men were promptly taken into custody. At the urging of the governor's council, the rest of the British troops later withdrew to Castle Island in Boston Harbor.

Over the next several weeks, Patriots and loyalists published competing narratives of the shootings. Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty labeled the dead colonists "martyrs" and helped organize a group funeral attended by thousands. A pamphlet titled "A Short Narrative of the Horrid Massacre" began circulating in the colonies and abroad, and Paul Revere released a now-famous engraving showing the soldiers coldly gunning down a group of defenseless townsmen. Pro-British interests responded with their own pamphlet titled "A Fair Account of the Late Unhappy Disturbance at Boston," which painted the colonists as treasonous rabble-rousers who attacked "troops who were sent thither to preserve the public peace."

Although he was aligned with the Patriots, Samuel Adam's cousin John Adams believed the British soldiers deserved a fair day in court. Putting his reputation on the line, the future president teamed with attorney Josiah Quincy to argue their case. At Preston's trial in October 1770, Adams asserted that the Captain and his soldiers had acted in self-defense. He characterized the mob as a "motley rabble of saucy boys" that had besieged the redcoats and forced them to react with deadly force. He also found a star witness in Richard Palms, who reluctantly testified that Preston had voiced his intention to hold his fire in the moments before Montgomery was struck by debris. "Facts are stubborn things," Adams concluded to the court, "and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." Preston was found not guilty, and the soldiers were all later acquitted except for Montgomery and Private Matthew Kilroy, who were convicted of manslaughter for their role in setting off the shootings. Both were punished by being branded on the thumb with a hot iron.

John Adams would later describe his work in the trials as "one of the best pieces of service I ever rendered my country," but the hearings only temporarily cooled the political climate in Boston. Samuel Adams was among the many who denounced the soldiers' acquittals as a grave miscarriage of justice, and the following year, he helped organize the first of several March 5 "Massacre Day" remembrances. This annual day of mourning kept the incident fresh in the minds of the colonists, and the killings later became a rallying cry during the early days of the Revolutionary War. Even John Adams would eventually acknowledge that "the foundation of American independence was laid" the night shots rang out in Boston.

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Trouble had been brewing in Boston for some time. The city was considered the beating heart of the Patriot cause, and its residents had organized spirited and occasionally violent resistance to British tax policies. When Bostonians responded to 1767's Townshend Acts with mass protests and riots, the Crown dispatched several regiments of soldiers to police the city.

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Newsela | Revolutionary Leaders: Paul Revere

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Newsela | George Washington crosses the Delaware

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Why was the moment depicted in Emanuel Leutze's painting so vital to the American Revolution?

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Newsela | Time Machine (1770): The Boston Massacre

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Causes of The American Revolution - Review Rap Song

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Newsela | Events Leading to American Independence

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Key events in history that led the English and colonists into war

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Kids learn about the history of the French and Indian War of the American Colonies between 1754 and 1763 including major battles, events, ending, and results.

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Learn about the American Revolution including causes, battles fought, timeline, Boston Massacre, Stamp Act, Continental Congress, important people, daily life, and fun facts.

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American Revolutionary War

Left, Continental infantry at Redoubt 10, Yorktown; Washington rallying the broken center at Monmouth; USS Bonhomme Richard capturing HMS Serapis

Date

April 19, 1775 - September 3, 1783
(8 years, 4 months and 15 days)

Location

Result

Territorial
changes

Great Britain cedes control of all territories east of the Mississippi R.; south of the Great Lakes & St. Lawrence R. to Spanish Florida

Belligerents

Spain

Combatants
Combatants

Commanders and leaders

Strength

Casualties and losses

The American Revolutionary War was a war fought between Great Britain and the original 13 British colonies in North America. The war took place from 1775 to 1783 with fighting in North America and other places. The Continental Army ( army of the colonies), led by George Washington and helped by France and other powers, defeated the armies of the British Empire.

After the war ended, the Thirteen Colonies became independent, which meant that the British Empire was no longer in charge of them. They together became the first 13 states of a new country called the United States of America.

Background and causes

The war started after years of problems between the British Empire and the colonists of North America after the French and Indian War (The seven years war). People in the Thirteen Colonies disliked many of the actions of the British Government, such as the Intolerable Acts. For many years the British government decided which countries could trade with the colonies, instead of the colonies deciding it themselves. Many colonists wanted free trade.

In 1765, the British Parliament needed money to pay back the debt for the French and Indian War. They passed a Law called the Stamp Act. This law said that colonists had to buy stamps for legal papers, newspapers, and even playing cards, as other British people did. The money from the stamps went to the King. The colonies did not follow this law. The colonies kept refusing to do what the King wanted. The Boston Tea Party and Boston Massacre caused people to become more angry about the situation. The British sent more soldiers (who were called Red Coats by the colonists to insult them) to keep control of the colonies and they sometimes had to fight. In 1774, the British passed the Intolerable Acts to punish the colonists in Boston for the Boston Tea Party.

Not all colonists wanted to leave the British Empire. The , or Tories, stayed loyal to Great Britain. They were not going to change their views. The , or Whigs, wanted independence. Before the Revolutionary War, most people in America were Loyalists; but after it, most people were Patriots.

Many colonists wrote letters showing how they felt. Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense, a famous pamphlet about independence from Britain. Other colonial leaders, such as Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson wanted independence.

Northern battles

The first battles of the American Revolutionary War were Lexington and Concord. One of the first major battles was the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775. After that, the British controlled Boston. Around that time, the Second Continental Congress sent an Olive Branch Petition to King George III (which he rejected) and named George Washington head of the army. Early in 1776, Washington's army drove the British out of Boston.

A few months later the Continental Army and British troops under William Howe fought the New York and New Jersey Campaign. During the New York battles, the British started using Hessian troops, who were from Germany. Though the colonists lost New York (the British would hold it for the rest of the war), Washington was able to hold onto most of his army. Over Christmas, 1776-77, Washington crossed the Delaware River and defeated the Hessians at Trenton and the British at Princeton.

In 1777, the British attacked the city of Philadelphia, then the American capital. Two battles were fought over Philadelphia: Brandywine and Germantown. Again, the Americans lost a major city, but Washington was able to keep most of his army. Around this time, the Frenchman Lafayette joined the American Army. In 1778, the British left Philadelphia. Between 1778 and 1781, most battles between Washington and the British were inconclusive (they did not have any major effect militarily).

One of the most important battles was the Battle of Saratoga in 1777. American soldiers under Horatio Gates forced a British surrender under John Burgoyne. This led to France and Spain joining the war on the side of Americans. These powerful countries fought the British around the world. From 1778 to 1780, there was fighting in the West.

The Scottish (fighting on the side of the Americans) commerce raider John Paul Jones also won several naval battles over the British, but the French navy did most of the fighting at sea. The Americans tried to capture Canada several times.

Southern battles

In 1779 major fighting shifted to Georgia and South Carolina. As fighting spread northward, General Nathanael Greene led the Rebel campaign. He caused many people in the South to be Patriots instead of Loyalists, and won several battles against the British.

In 1781, Washington and French general Jean Rochambeau led an offensive against British troops in Yorktown, Virginia. This was called the Battle of Yorktown. When their soldiers lost this battle, the British surrendered.

The British continued to fight the French and Spanish for two years, winning in India, Gibraltar and elsewhere.

End of the war

The American Revolution came to an end in 1783 when a peace treaty was signed in Paris, France. In the Treaty of Paris, the British King, George III accepted the independence of the colonies and recognized the newly created nation as the United States of America.

The treaty also gave all the land Britain said it owned which was west of the Appalachians as far as the Mississippi River to the new country. This land would eventually become part of the US, and lead to the creation of 35 new states (some of which later rebelled as part of the Confederate States of America) that now make up the contiguous United States. Many Loyalists fled to Canada.

Casualties

As usual for 18th-century wars, casualty figures (killed/wounded/missing/captured) for the American Revolution are poorly known. Unlike American Civil War casualties which were published in newspapers, Revolutionary War casualty reports are found in local town histories; total casualties of the Revolution are rough estimates. Estimates are around 25,000 Americans and 27,294 British and German seaman.

Revolution beyond America

The American Revolution had a strong immediate impact in Great Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, and France. Many British and Irish Whigs openly supported the Patriots in America, and the revolution was the first lesson in politics for many Europeans who later became active during the era of the French Revolution.

The American Revolution set an example to the rest the world. For the first time in the western world, a people had successfully overthrown the rule of a major country. The revolution encouraged the people in other countries to fight for their rights, and showed that they could be successful like the Americans.

Similarly, in the early 19th century, revolutions broke out in the colonies in South America against Portugal and Spain. Years later, similar revolutions occurred in Asia and other places.

The American Revolution established the United States with its numerous civil liberties and set an example to overthrow both monarchy and colonial governments. The United States has the world's oldest written constitution, and the constitutions of other free countries often bear a striking resemblance to the US Constitution, often word-for-word in places. It inspired the French, Haitian, Latin American Revolutions, and others into the modern era.

Although the Revolution eliminated many forms of inequality, it did little to change the status of women, despite the role they played in winning independence. Most significantly, it failed to end slavery which continued to be a serious social and political issue and caused divisions that would ultimately end in civil war. While many were uneasy over the contradiction of demanding liberty for some, yet denying it to others, the dependence of southern states on slave labor made abolition too great a challenge. Between 1774 and 1780, many of the states banned the importation of slaves, but the institution itself continued.

In 1782, Virginia passed a law permitting manumission and over the next eight years more than 10,000 slaves were given their freedom. With support from Benjamin Franklin, in 1790 the Quakers petitioned Congress to abolish slavery; the number of abolitionist movements greatly increased, and by 1804 all the northern states had outlawed it. However, even many like Adams who viewed slavery as a 'foul contagion' opposed the 1790 petition as a threat to the Union. In 1808, Jefferson passed legislation banning the importation of slaves, but allowed the domestic slave trade to continue, arguing the federal government had no right to regulate individual states.

Commemorations of the Revolutionary War

After the first U.S. postage stamp was issued in 1849, the U.S. Post Office frequently issued commemorative stamps celebrating the various people and events of the Revolutionary War. However, it would be more than 140 years after the Revolution before any stamp commemorating that war itself was ever issued. The first such stamp was the 'Liberty Bell' issue of 1926.

Related pages

Images for kids

British North America, 1777 post-1763 concessions to Britain from France (green) and Spain (yellow)

Iconic 1851 painting of Washington Crossing the Delaware

British siege of Charleston, worst US defeat of the war, May 1780

American Revolution principal campaigns. British movement (red) & American (blue) The timeline shows British won most battles in the first half; Americans won most in the second.

Military Governors and Staff Officers in British North America and West Indies 1778 and 1784

USS Ranger, Capt. Jones. France gives the US flag its first foreign salute

USS Alliance, Capt. Barry won the last engagement

The 1763 Royal Proclamation set the western boundary for the 13 Colonies

In Spanish: Guerra de Independencia de los Estados Unidos para niños

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American Revolutionary War Facts for Kids

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Learn American Revolutionary War facts for kids

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This worksheet has a free sample available to download.

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King George III of England and Ireland (1738-1820) was the longest reigning monarch before Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II. He was the king of Great Britain when the American Revolutionary War broke out and the colonists gained independence from the British crown. Keep reading for the comprehensive on site fact file detailing key events in the life of King George III or download our entire worksheet bundle to teach in the home or classroom environment.

He was the eldest son of Frederick Prince of Wales, of the Hanover dynasty, and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. The young George was privately tutored by John Stuart. At the age of 8, he knew the English, German, and French languages. His interest in natural sciences was seen through his own astronomical observatory.

In 1751, after his father's death, George inherited the title 'Duke of Edinburgh', making him the next heir to the throne. Nine years later, he ascended to the throne when his grandfather died. In his 50-year married life, George III had 15 children with his only wife, Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

As the new king, he inherited the ongoing Seven Years War with the French. After the war in 1763, Great Britain faced a huge financial deficit. George Grenville (George III's Prime Minister) urged the king and Parliament to impose taxes on the American colonies to gain revenue.

By 1764 and 1765, the Sugar Act and Stamp Act were passed by the Parliament with the king's approval. The Stamp Act was one of the main reasons why the colonists questioned the British Crown and Parliament over the issue of taxation without representation. From Boston, Massachusetts, the battle cry against the imposition of the Stamp Act spread to other colonial cities. The Stamp Act was the imposition of taxes on all printed documents produced and used within the colony. Legal documents, pamphlets, newspapers and even playings cards were included.

In 1766, the Stamp Act was repealed by King George III after a series of colonists movements, including the Declaration of Rights and Grievances made by the delegates through the Stamp Act Congress. Though it was repealed, the Parliament passed the Declaratory Act, subjecting the colonists to British laws.

Amidst the colonists' refusal, the Parliament continued to pass taxation laws over the thirteen colonies. Examples are the Townshend Act, Tea Act, and the Intolerable Act. After the series of events in Boston, the American Revolutionary War broke out, led by the Continental Army with General George Washington as the commander. He was appointed by the Second Continental Congress along with the last negotiation piece (the Olive Branch Petition) sent to King George III and the Parliament.

In 1779, George III insisted that the British troops fought the Continental army. But, in 1781, the colonists found the French as an ally and defeated the British troops, securing the treaty for independence in 1783.

In 1789, George III regained his fame after winning the war with Napoleonic France at the Battle of Waterloo and incorporating Ireland to Great Britain.

He was also known as Mad King George III. In 1811, the king suffered from mental illness after personal and political pressures. As a result, the Parliament passed the Regency Act, enabling Prince George, the eldest son, to rule Great Britain according to the will of his father.

George III died at Windsor Castle on January 29, 1820, after almost 60 years as the King of England and Ireland.

King George III Worksheets

This bundle contains 11 ready-to-use King George III Worksheets that are perfect for students who want to learn more about King George III of England and Ireland (1738-1820) who was the longest reigning monarch before Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II. He was the king of Great Britain when the American Revolutionary War broke out and the colonists gained independence from the British crown

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King George III Facts, Biography & Worksheets For Kids

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This worksheet has a free sample available to download. ( Download sample) King George III of England and Ireland (1738-1820) was the longest reigning monarch before Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II. He was the king of Great Britain when the American Revolutionary War broke out and the colonists gained independence from the British crown.

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Table of Contents

1. Why Did the French and Indian War Start?

2. British Victory in Canada

3. The Treaty of Paris Ends the War

4. Impact of the Seven Years' War on the American Revolution

Also known as the Seven Years' War, the French and Indian war marked another chapter in the long imperial struggle between Britain and France. When France's expansion into the Ohio River valley brought repeated conflict with the claims of the British colonies, a series of battles led to the official British declaration of war in 1756. Boosted by the financing of future Prime Minister William Pitt, the British turned the tide with victories at Louisbourg, Fort Frontenac and the French-Canadian stronghold of Quebec. At the 1763 peace conference, the British received the territories of Canada from France and Florida from Spain, opening the Mississippi Valley to westward expansion.

Why Did the French and Indian War Start?

The Seven Years' War (called the French and Indian War in the colonies) lasted from 1756 to 1763, forming a chapter in the imperial struggle between Britain and France called the Second Hundred Years' War.

In the early 1750s, France's expansion into the Ohio River valley repeatedly brought it into conflict with the claims of the British colonies, especially Virginia. In 1754, the French built Fort Duquesne where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers joined to form the Ohio River (in today's Pittsburgh), making it a strategically important stronghold that the British repeatedly attacked.

During 1754 and 1755, the French won a string of victories, defeating in quick succession the young George Washington, Gen. Edward Braddock and Braddock's successor, Governor William Shirley of Massachusetts.

In 1755, Governor Shirley, fearing that the French settlers in Nova Scotia (Acadia) would side with France in any military confrontation, expelled hundreds of them to other British colonies; many of the exiles suffered cruelly. Throughout this period, the British military effort was hampered by lack of interest at home, rivalries among the American colonies and France's greater success in winning the support of the Indians.

In 1756 the British formally declared war (marking the official beginning of the Seven Years' War), but their new commander in America, Lord Loudoun, faced the same problems as his predecessors and met with little success against the French and their Indian allies.

The tide turned in 1757 because William Pitt, the new British leader, saw the colonial conflicts as the key to building a vast British empire. Borrowing heavily to finance the war, he paid Prussia to fight in Europe and reimbursed the colonies for raising troops in North America.

British Victory in Canada

In July 1758, the British won their first great victory at Louisbourg, near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. A month later, they took Fort Frontenac at the western end of the river.

In November 1758, General John Forbes captured Fort Duquesne for the British after the French destroyed and abandoned it, and Fort Pitt-named after William Pitt-was built on the site, giving the British a key stronghold.

The British then closed in on Quebec, where Gen. James Wolfe won a spectacular victory in the Battle of Quebec on the Plains of Abraham in September of 1759 (though both he and the French commander, the Marquis de Montcalm, were fatally wounded).

With the fall of Montreal in September 1760, the French lost their last foothold in Canada. Soon, Spain joined France against England, and for the rest of the war Britain concentrated on seizing French and Spanish territories in other parts of the world.

The Treaty of Paris Ends the War

The French and Indian War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in February 1763. The British received Canada from France and Florida from Spain, but permitted France to keep its West Indian sugar islands and gave Louisiana to Spain. The arrangement strengthened the American colonies significantly by removing their European rivals to the north and south and opening the Mississippi Valley to westward expansion.

Impact of the Seven Years' War on the American Revolution

The British crown borrowed heavily from British and Dutch bankers to bankroll the war, doubling British national debt. King George II argued that since the French and Indian War benefited the colonists by securing their borders, they should contribute to paying down the war debt.

To defend his newly won territory from future attacks, King George II also decided to install permanent British army units in the Americas, which required additional sources of revenue.

In 1765, parliament passed the Stamp Act to help pay down the war debt and finance the British army's presence in the Americas. It was the first internal tax directly levied on American colonists by parliament and was met with strong resistance.

It was followed by the unpopular Townshend Acts and Tea Act, which further incensed colonists who believed there should be no taxation without representation. Britain's increasingly militaristic response to colonial unrest would ultimately lead to the American Revolution.

Fifteen years after the Treaty of Paris, French bitterness over the loss of most of their colonial empire contributed to their intervention on the side of the colonists in the Revolutionary War.

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The French and Indian War, or Seven Years War, a conflict primarily fought between Britain and France over territory in the Americas, ended with a British victory.

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Despite having little experience in commanding large, conventional military forces, Washington's strong leadership presence and fortitude held the American military together long enough to secure victory at Yorktown and independence for his new nation.

1. Washington was appointed commander of the Continental Army on June 14, 1775

On June 14, 1775, the Second Continental Congress, responding to the growing crisis near Boston, directed that one of its own constituents - George Washington - take command of the newly designated Continental Army. Not only did Washington have the most military experience amongst the Congressional delegates, but as John Adams pointed out there were also great political advantages in having a someone outside of New England take command of a military force that was congregated around Boston and largely made up of New Englanders.

Arriving shortly after the conclusion of the Battle of Bunker Hill, Washington moved swiftly to assume command of the ragtag forces surrounding besieging the British garrison within the city of Boston. What Washington did not realize at the time was that it would be six long years of battle, marching, siege, crises, and winter encampments before Washington had an opportunity to return to his beloved Mount Vernon. In September 1781, as the combined American and French forces made their way down to Yorktown, Virginia, Washington was able to make a brief visit to his home along the Potomac River. During this visit, Washington and Rochambeau refined their plan for defeating Charles Cornwallis' forces trapped on the York Peninsula.

2. Prior to his appointment as head of the Continental Army, Washington had never commanded a large army in the field

George Washington was but one of only a handful of candidates considered by the Second Continental Congress who possessed any significant military experience. But by European standards Washington's experience in commanding large conventional armies was non-existent. Leading up to the French & Indian War, Washington had ably commanded the Virginia Regiment, but this provincial military unit never had more than 2,000 men in its ranks. In 1754 Washington commanded roughly 100 regulars and 300 militia at the ill-fated Battle of Fort Necessity.

Despite this seeming lack of experience in managing large army formations, Washington brought a number of strengths to his new position as commander of the Continental Army. Washington had learned many important command principles from the British regular officers that he marched with during the French & Indian War and British army manuals that he studied. He also witnessed, firsthand, how vulnerable British formations could be in the rough, timbered frontier land that predominated in North America. His verve, impressive physical presence, and command instincts helped to hold together an ill-equipped force that outlasted his more experienced opponents. And as Benjamin Franklin would famously state, "[a]n American planter, who had never seen Europe, was chosen by us to Command our Troops, and continued during the whole War. This man sent home to you, one after another, five of your best generals, baffled, their Heads bare of Laurels, disgraced even in the Opinion of their Employers."

So much for conventional experience.

3. Washington and the Continental army narrowly escaped total destruction in the New York campaign of 1776

Unlike the successful Siege of Boston, the efforts to defend the city of New York ended in near disaster for the Continental Army and the cause of independence. In what proved to be the largest battle of the Revolutionary War in terms of total combatants, Washington's forces on August 22, 1776, were flanked out of their positions atop the Gowanus Heights (part of today's modern Brooklyn) and soundly defeated by William Howe's roughly 20,000 man force on Long Island.

Confronted by a powerful British army to his front and the East River to his back, Washington rapidly formulated a risky plan to save his threatened army atop Brooklyn Heights. With the constant threat that the Royal Navy would enter the East River and block his avenue of retreat, Washington ordered that all available flatboats be brought down to his position so that the army could be moved to nearby Manhattan on the night of August 29-30, 1776. Aided by a providential fog that hid the evacuation, Washington was able to successfully move all 9,000 of his troops to Manhattan without losing a man - a remarkable military feat that astounded his British enemy.

As the New York campaign progressed, Washington's forces were subsequently defeated at the Battle of White Plains on October 28, 1776, and later at Fort Washington on November 16, 1776. The debacle at Fort Washington cost the Americans 59 killed and another 2,837 captured. Chased from New York, Washington's fractured and demoralized army retreated all the way across New Jersey and into Pennsylvania.

It was during these dark days at the close of 1776 that Thomas Paine's words from the recently published American Crisis rang most true - "These are the times that try men's souls...the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."

4. Washington crossed the Delaware River twice in December 1776

Washington's great triumph against the Hessian forces at Trenton on December 26, 1776, is one of the best-known episodes of the Revolutionary War. ( Map: Battle of Trenton) Fearing a counterattack by British regulars, Washington hustled his tired warriors and frozen Hessian captives back to the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River.

Would this single victory over a Hessian garrison be enough to sustain the morale and inspiration of the beleaguered Patriot cause? Encouraged by reports of the enemies' general confusion in New Jersey and a successful campaign to extend the enlistments of many soldiers ready in his ranks, Washington decided to seize the initiative once more. Determined to expand upon his initial success Washington shuttled his army and artillery back across the frozen Delaware on December 30, 1776, and into a strong position along the Assunpink Creek outside of Trenton. It was here that Washington awaited the arrival of Gen. Charles Cornwallis' force of 8,000 Redcoats and Hessians.

Disdaining any complicated maneuvers, a confident Cornwallis ordered three successive frontal assaults on January 2, 1777, by his Hessian grenadiers and British Regulars. Each attack across the narrow Assunpink bridges and fords was driven back with heavy loss of life. The casualties were so heavy that one soldier remarked that the bridge to his front "looked red as blood, with their killed and wounded and their red coats." ( Map: Battle of Second Trenton)

With the rapid onset of an early winter's eve, Cornwallis ordered a cessation of offensive actions. Certain of a victory the following day, the British general boasted that "we've got the old fox safe now. We'll go over and bag him in the morning." Unfortunately for Cornwallis, the morning sun that illuminated the empty American camps proved that the "old fox" was gone. Washington during the night had stolen a march and had marched his army north to Princeton where the Americans proved victorious once more on January 3, 1777 ( Map: Battle of Princeton).

The victories at Trenton and Princeton, not only helped to bolster the morale of the American army and encourage recruitment, but these bold actions also greatly impressed the French who were actively weighing their involvement in the war.

Learn More: 10 Facts About Washington's Crossing of the Delaware

5. Washington's smallpox inoculation program was one of his best decisions of the war

Up until modern times, disease, not bullets, bayonets, or cannon fire, had been the great killer of soldiers in all armies. In 1775, smallpox had so devastated the American army in Canada that John Adams bemoaned that "...smallpox is ten times more terrible than the British, Canadians and Indians together."

Having survived his own bout with smallpox in 1751, Washington was altogether familiar with how disease could rob the cause of a viable army. Not only would smallpox kill off soldiers in the ranks, but the threat of infection also scared away many of the recruits that Washington's army depended upon.

Starting during the winter of 1777 in Morristown, New Jersey, Washington took the bold and controversial move to have soldiers in his army inoculated against smallpox infection using a technique called variolation. Later during the winter encampment at Valley Forge, Washington went even further, demanding that his entire army be inoculated - an action that required great secrecy since inoculated soldiers were incapacitated for a period of time. By some reports, death by smallpox in the ranks dropped from 17% of all deaths to a low of 1% of all reported deaths - a tremendous reduction.

Historian Elizabeth Fenn, author of Pox Americana: The Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1775-1782, claims that "Washington's unheralded and little-recognized resolution to inoculate the Continental forces must surely rank with the most important decisions of the war..."

Learn More: George Washington and the Inoculation of the Continental Army

6. Supply issues became one of Washington's greatest challenges

One of the oldest of military adages is that amateurs study tactics while professional warriors study logistics. As with all military campaigns, providing for the vast material needs of an army in the field requires a focus on organization and effective supply management. Unfortunately for Washington and the Continental Army, a poor supply chain became a chronic issue that negatively impacted combat effectiveness. Biographer Ron Chernow states that "[s]eldom in history has a general been handicapped by such constantly crippling conditions...He repeatedly had to exhort Congress and the thirteen states to remedy desperate shortages of men, shoes, shirts, blankets, and gunpowder. This meant dealing with selfish, apathetic states and bureaucratic incompetence in Congress. He labored under a terrible strain that would have destroyed a lesser man."

Nowhere were supply troubles more evident and onerous than during the Valley Forge winter encampment of 1777-1778. Rather than snow and frigid temperatures, it was actually the rainy, temperate weather at Valley Forge that turned the surrounding roads to mud, further hindering an already tenuous supply network.

Local farmers were more likely to send their foodstuffs and supplies to the nearby British who had hard currency to offer in return. The Continental Army, by comparison, could only offer payment in greatly devalued paper currency or through IOUs. Washington became so concerned over the poor state of supply that he appointed Gen. Nathanael Greene as his new quartermaster. Greene, who was initially concerned about taking this thankless job, overhauled the inefficient supply system and greatly improved the state of the Continental Army through his efforts.

Video: Valley Forge in the American Revolution

7. Mount Vernon escaped destruction in 1781, but the method used to gain its security alarmed Washington

In April of 1781, the British sloop of war HMS Savage anchored menacingly in the Potomac River near George Washington's plantation home at Mount Vernon. The Savage, under the command of Captain Thomas Graves, had been raiding up and down the Potomac and now demanded that the General's estate provide the sloop with "a large supply of provisions." If the order to provide supplies was actively resisted, Mount Vernon was likely to have been put to the torch as other nearby plantation homes had been.

While the Savage was anchored close to shore, seventeen intrepid Mount Vernon slaves made their way down to the ship and gained their freedom as they arrived on the warship's deck. Lund Washington, George Washington's distant cousin and estate manager, first thought to resist this ultimatum per his master's instruction, but later agreed to provide sheep, hogs, and "an abundant supply of other articles" to the Savage, partially in an attempt to win back the escaped slaves. Captain Graves gladly accepted the supplies, spared the plantation, and refused to return the slaves.

Washington, once he learned of Lund's decision to provide supplies to the enemy, was incensed. From his headquarters in New Windsor, New York, he wrote Lund and dismissed any significant concern over the escaped slaves, but noted that "It would have been a less painful circumstance to me, to have heard, that in consequence of your non-compliance with [the HMS Savage's request], they had burnt my House, and laid the Plantation in ruins."

Learn More: The HMS Savage at Mount Vernon

8. Prior to its decisive victory at Yorktown, the American military teetered upon total collapse

Years of rampant military spending, economic mismanagement, and hyperinflation fueled by a successful British campaign to flood the colonies with counterfeit paper money had left the American financial coffers bare. Washington, in a letter to John Laurens in France, declared in January 1781 that he could not even pay the teamsters that were required to bring supplies to his troops. A gloomy and frustrated Washington admitted that "we are at the end of our tether, and that now or never our deliverance must come." French setbacks in Rhode Island, news of British successes in the Southern theater, and intelligence reports indicating a possible French exit in 1781 all added to the sense of impending defeat.

In late May 1781 Washington's situation and the fate of the American cause began to rapidly improve. Comte de Rochambeau, the commander of the French troops in America, informed Washington that France had made a 6,000,000 livre gift to the Continental Army. But it was the news that Rochambeau did not initially share with Washington that made an even bigger impact. The French fleet, now operating in strength in North American waters, had been secretly directed to the Chesapeake and a real opportunity to defeat Cornwallis' force now existed. Washington, who had been stubbornly fixated on attacking the British base at New York City, rallied to Rochambeau's plan and moved his army south to Virginia. On September 5, 1781, the French fleet under the command of Admiral de Grasse drove off the British fleet sent to relieve Cornwallis. The trap was now set. The siege of Yorktown began on September 28, 1781, and ended with a Franco-American victory on October 19, 1781 - the decisive battle of the Revolutionary War.

Learn More: The Yorktown Campaign | Watch "Now or Never: The Yorktown Campaign of 1781"

9. Washington deftly put down a growing military rebellion

Despite having achieved a decisive victory at the Battle of Yorktown in October of 1781, threats to the Patriotic cause continued. In March of 1783, a growing number of American military officers, discouraged by lack of regular pay and ongoing financial support, began to openly discuss options that included a wanton disbandment of the army or possibly even a military show of force pointed directly at Congress.

Washington, who learned of the "Newburgh Conspiracy" through a printed camp circular, appeared at a March 15, 1783 meeting and challenged the gathered group of officers. "My God! What can this writer have in view, by recommending such measures! Can he be a friend to the army? Can he be a friend to this country? Rather is he not an insidious foe?" Towards the end of his address, Washington reached into his pocket to retrieve a pair of spectacles and in a theatrical gesture remarked that "...I have not only grown gray, but almost blind in service to my country." This display of self-sacrifice from their longstanding leader deeply affected many of the officers who in turn abandoned their treasonous thoughts and returned the obvious affection of their leader.

Videos: Washington and the Newburgh Conspiracy

10. Washington's greatest display of power was his surrender of power

On December 23, 1783, Washington strode into the statehouse at Annapolis, Maryland and surrendered his military commission to a grateful Congress. In front of the gathered congressmen, Washington declared, "Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the great theatre of Action-and bidding an Affectionate farewell to this August body under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my Commission, and take my leave of all the employments of public life."

History is filled with example after example of military commanders seizing political power during times of revolution - Julius Caesar, Oliver Cromwell, Napoleon Bonaparte, Mao Zedong, and Muammar Gaddaffi are just some of the better-known examples. We take it for granted today that the United States Armed Forces are subordinated to civilian rule, but in the 18th century, it was far from certain that any general would simply surrender power to a civilian authority. But for George Washington, civilian control of the military was a core part of his beliefs. Washington's resignation signaled to the world and the American people that this new nation would be founded on different principles.

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Ten Facts About George Washington and the Revolutionary War

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Despite having little experience in commanding large, conventional military forces, Washington's strong leadership presence and fortitude held the American military together long enough to secure victory at Yorktown and independence for his new nation.

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NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!

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Learn about the The Stamp Act of 1765. A tax the Britain placed on the American colonies eventually leading the Revolutionary War.

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Learn about spies during the American Revolution including secret messages, invisible ink, famous agents, the Culper Spy Ring, disguises, and interesting facts.

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Primary Sources: The Declaration of Independence 

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Primary Sources: The Declaration of Independence 

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Newsela | Primary Sources: The Declaration of Independence

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A General in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, Benedict Arnold served with distinction in several battles but was passed over for promotions several times. Arnold was also investigated by the Continental Congress during his service and faced various accusations from opponents. Frustrated by the opposition he encountered, Arnold eventually started working for the British even while continuing to serve in the Continental Army. Ultimately his betrayal was discovered and Arnold fled to New York City, accepting a commission in the British Army. Arnold's name has become synonymous with treasonous behavior and is perhaps one of the most infamous figures in American history.

Benedict Arnold was born in 1741 to a prominent Connecticut family. Arnold lost most of his siblings to yellow fever, calamitous events that triggered alcoholism in his father. As a teenager, Arnold's family faced financial hardship. At the age of sixteen, Arnold enlisted in a militia and served in the French and Indian War in upstate New York. During the 1760s, Arnold started a successful apothecary business.

Arnold's role as a prominent businessman brought him into direct conflict with both the Stamp Act and the Sugar Act, where the British government sought to regulate and tax colonial business transactions. Arnold joined the Sons of Liberty and continued his business in defiance of the British acts, effectively becoming a smuggler. He was elected to the position of captain in the Connecticut militia in 1775, and participated in the siege of Boston, the capture of Fort Ticonderoga, and the Battle of Saratoga where he received a leg wound.

Despite this service, Arnold was the focus of hostility from multiple officers in the Continental Army. Arnold brought complaints against Moses Hazen which led to his court-martial. Afterwards, Hazen leveled counter charges. Arnold also became involved in conflicts with both John Brown and James Easton. Brown in response published a pamphlet that claimed of Arnold, "Money is this man's God, and to get enough of it he would sacrifice his country."

After being passed over for promotion to the post of Major General, Arnold tendered his resignation. George Washington, however, refused to accept the withdrawal. Soon after, Arnold participated in the Battle of Saratoga, where he was again wounded in his left leg, the same leg that had been injured previously. Soon after, Washington appointed Arnold military commander of Philadelphia, where his attempts to profit from his position ran afoul of local officials. In 1778 and 1779, Arnold expressed disappointment and pessimism about the prospects of the United States, and evidence mounted that he was conspiring with the British by exchanging sensitive military information for money. Although cleared of a court-martial, Arnold was rebuked by Washington, who called his conduct "imprudent and improper."

Arnold resigned his post in Philadelphia and eventually gained command at West Point where he entered into secret negotiations with the British. He transferred money to British forces and passed on information that would aid the British in capturing West Point, while weakening the fort's defenses and thinning out its supplies.

, Arnold's British contact, was captured and ultimately executed for his role in the plot. Arnold narrowly avoided capture by the Americans and eventually fled to England. Arnold served in the British army for the duration of the war, and then engaged in business in Canada and England until his death in 1801. Since then, his name has become synonymous with moral failure, betrayal, and sinister self-interest. His complex legacy, however, is reflected in the unusual memorial to him at the Saratoga National Historic Park. The memorial consists of a statue of a detached leg in a boot, alluding to Arnold's heroism at Saratoga and the leg wound he suffered there. However, the statue does not bear his name.

Katie Uva
The Graduate Center of the City University of New York

Notes:
1. Quoted in James Kirby Martin, Benedict Arnold, Revolutionary Hero: An American Warrior Reconsidered (New York: NYU Press, 2000), 324.

2. " 6 April 1780, General Orders," The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745-1799, ed. John C. Fitzpatrick (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office). Quoted in James Thomas Flexner, The Traitor and the Spy: Benedict Arnold and John Andre (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1991), 304.

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A General in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, Benedict Arnold served with distinction in several battles but was passed over for promotions several times. Frustrated by the opposition he encountered, Arnold eventually started working for the British even while continuing to serve in the Continental Army.

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George III - Children, Facts & The American Revolution

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During his 59-year reign, King George III led Britain to victory in the Seven Years’ War, successfully resisted Revolutionary and Napoleonic France, and presided over the loss of the American Revolution. He spent his last decade in a fog of insanity and blindness.

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French and Indian War, Part 1 | History In A Nutshell

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Although the French and Indian War began officially in 1756, rising tension and engagements between British and French colonists happened years prior. With the English, French, and Native Americans all living in North America, a conflict between the three groups was only inevitable.

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Causes of the Revolutionary War

For more than a decade before the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775, tensions had been building between colonists and the British authorities.

The French and Indian War, or Seven Years' War (1756-1763), brought new territories under the power of the crown, but the expensive conflict lead to new and unpopular taxes. Attempts by the British government to raise revenue by taxing the colonies (notably the Stamp Act of 1765, the Townshend Acts of 1767 and the Tea Act of 1773) met with heated protest among many colonists, who resented their lack of representation in Parliament and demanded the same rights as other British subjects.

Colonial resistance led to violence in 1770, when British soldiers opened fire on a mob of colonists, killing five men in what was known as the Boston Massacre. After December 1773, when a band of Bostonians altered their appearance to hide their identity boarded British ships and dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor during the Boston Tea Party, an outraged Parliament passed a series of measures (known as the Intolerable, or Coercive Acts) designed to reassert imperial authority in Massachusetts.

Did you know? Now most famous as a traitor to the American cause, General Benedict Arnold began the Revolutionary War as one of its earliest heroes, helping lead rebel forces in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga in May 1775.

In response, a group of colonial delegates (including George Washington of Virginia, John and Samuel Adams of Massachusetts, Patrick Henry of Virginia and John Jay of New York) met in Philadelphia in September 1774 to give voice to their grievances against the British crown. This First Continental Congress did not go so far as to demand independence from Britain, but it denounced taxation without representation, as well as the maintenance of the British army in the colonies without their consent. It issued a declaration of the rights due every citizen, including life, liberty, property, assembly and trial by jury. The Continental Congress voted to meet again in May 1775 to consider further action, but by that time violence had already broken out.

On the night of April 18, 1775, hundreds of British troops marched from Boston to nearby Concord, Massachusetts in order to seize an arms cache. Paul Revere and other riders sounded the alarm, and colonial militiamen began mobilizing to intercept the Redcoats. On April 19, local militiamen clashed with British soldiers in the Battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts, marking the "shot heard round the world" that signified the start of the Revolutionary War.

HISTORY Vault: The Revolution

Declaring Independence (1775-76)

When the Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia, delegates-including new additions Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson-voted to form a Continental Army, with Washington as its commander in chief. On June 17, in the Revolution's first major battle, colonial forces inflicted heavy casualties on the British regiment of General William Howe at Breed's Hill in Boston. The engagement, known as the Battle of Bunker Hill, ended in British victory, but lent encouragement to the revolutionary cause.

Throughout that fall and winter, Washington's forces struggled to keep the British contained in Boston, but artillery captured at Fort Ticonderoga in New York helped shift the balance of that struggle in late winter. The British evacuated the city in March 1776, with Howe and his men retreating to Canada to prepare a major invasion of New York.

By June 1776, with the Revolutionary War in full swing, a growing majority of the colonists had come to favor independence from Britain. On July 4, the Continental Congress voted to adopt the Declaration of Independence, drafted by a five-man committee including Franklin and John Adams but written mainly by Jefferson. That same month, determined to crush the rebellion, the British government sent a large fleet, along with more than 34,000 troops to New York. In August, Howe's Redcoats routed the Continental Army on Long Island; Washington was forced to evacuate his troops from New York City by September. Pushed across the Delaware River, Washington fought back with a surprise attack in Trenton, New Jersey, on Christmas night and won another victory at Princeton to revive the rebels' flagging hopes before making winter quarters at Morristown.

Saratoga: Revolutionary War Turning Point (1777-78)

British strategy in 1777 involved two main prongs of attack aimed at separating New England (where the rebellion enjoyed the most popular support) from the other colonies. To that end, General John Burgoyne's army marched south from Canada toward a planned meeting with Howe's forces on the Hudson River. Burgoyne's men dealt a devastating loss to the Americans in July by retaking Fort Ticonderoga, while Howe decided to move his troops southward from New York to confront Washington's army near the Chesapeake Bay. The British defeated the Americans at Brandywine Creek, Pennsylvania, on September 11 and entered Philadelphia on September 25. Washington rebounded to strike Germantown in early October before withdrawing to winter quarters near Valley Forge.

Howe's move had left Burgoyne's army exposed near Saratoga, New York, and the British suffered the consequences of this on September 19, when an American force under General Horatio Gates defeated them at Freeman's Farm in the first Battle of Saratoga. After suffering another defeat on October 7 at Bemis Heights (the Second Battle of Saratoga), Burgoyne surrendered his remaining forces on October 17. The American victory Saratoga would prove to be a turning point of the American Revolution, as it prompted France (which had been secretly aiding the rebels since 1776) to enter the war openly on the American side, though it would not formally declare war on Great Britain until June 1778. The American Revolution, which had begun as a civil conflict between Britain and its colonies, had become a world war.

Stalemate in the North, Battle in the South (1778-81)

During the long, hard winter at Valley Forge, Washington's troops benefited from the training and discipline of the Prussian military officer Baron Friedrich von Steuben (sent by the French) and the leadership of the French aristocrat Marquis de Lafayette. On June 28, 1778, as British forces under Sir Henry Clinton (who had replaced Howe as supreme commander) attempted to withdraw from Philadelphia to New York, Washington's army attacked them near Monmouth, New Jersey. The battle effectively ended in a draw, as the Americans held their ground, but Clinton was able to get his army and supplies safely to New York. On July 8, a French fleet commanded by the Comte d'Estaing arrived off the Atlantic coast, ready to do battle with the British. A joint attack on the British at Newport, Rhode Island, in late July failed, and for the most part the war settled into a stalemate phase in the North.

The Americans suffered a number of setbacks from 1779 to 1781, including the defection of General Benedict Arnold to the British and the first serious mutinies within the Continental Army. In the South, the British occupied Georgia by early 1779 and captured Charleston, South Carolina in May 1780. British forces under Lord Charles Cornwallis then began an offensive in the region, crushing Gates' American troops at Camden in mid-August, though the Americans scored a victory over Loyalist forces at King's Mountain in early October. Nathanael Green replaced Gates as the American commander in the South that December. Under Green's command, General Daniel Morgan scored a victory against a British force led by Colonel Banastre Tarleton at Cowpens, South Carolina, on January 17, 1781.

Revolutionary War Draws to a Close (1781-83)

By the fall of 1781, Greene's American forces had managed to force Cornwallis and his men to withdraw to Virginia's Yorktown peninsula, near where the York River empties into Chesapeake Bay. Supported by a French army commanded by General Jean Baptiste de Rochambeau, Washington moved against Yorktown with a total of around 14,000 soldiers, while a fleet of 36 French warships offshore prevented British reinforcement or evacuation. Trapped and overpowered, Cornwallis was forced to surrender his entire army on October 19. Claiming illness, the British general sent his deputy, Charles O'Hara, to surrender; after O'Hara approached Rochambeau to surrender his sword (the Frenchman deferred to Washington), Washington gave the nod to his own deputy, Benjamin Lincoln, who accepted it.

Though the movement for American independence effectively triumphed at the Battle of Yorktown, contemporary observers did not see that as the decisive victory yet. British forces remained stationed around Charleston, and the powerful main army still resided in New York. Though neither side would take decisive action over the better part of the next two years, the British removal of their troops from Charleston and Savannah in late 1782 finally pointed to the end of the conflict. British and American negotiators in Paris signed preliminary peace terms in Paris late that November, and on September 3, 1783, Great Britain formally recognized the independence of the United States in the Treaty of Paris. At the same time, Britain signed separate peace treaties with France and Spain (which had entered the conflict in 1779), bringing the American Revolution to a close after eight long years.

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Revolutionary War - Timeline, Facts & Battles | HISTORY

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The Revolutionary War (1775-83), also known as the American Revolution, arose from growing tensions between residents of Great Britain's 13 North American colonies and the colonial government, which represented the British crown.

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Benedict Arnold's Early Life

Benedict Arnold was born on January 14, 1741, in Norwich, Connecticut. His mother came from a wealthy family, but his alcoholic father squandered their estate. As a young man, Arnold apprenticed at an apothecary business and served in the militia during the French and Indian War.

In 1767, Arnold, who became a prosperous trader, married Margaret Mansfield. The couple had three children before Margaret's death in 1775.

Arnold at Fort Ticonderoga

When the Revolutionary War broke out between Great Britain and its 13 American colonies in April 1775, Arnold joined the Continental Army. Acting under a commission from the revolutionary government of Massachusetts, Arnold partnered with Vermont frontiersman Ethan Allen and Allen's Green Mountain Boys to capture the unsuspecting British garrison at Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York on May 10, 1775.

Later that year, Arnold led an ill-fated expedition on a harrowing trek from Maine to Quebec. The purpose of the expedition was to rally the inhabitants of Canada behind the Patriot cause and deprive the British government of a northern base from which to mount strikes into the 13 colonies.

Battle of Quebec

With the enlistments of many of his men expiring on New Year's Day, Arnold had no choice but to launch a desperate attack against well-fortified Quebec City through a blizzard on December 31, 1775.

Early in the battle, Arnold received a grave wound to his leg and was carried to the back of the battlefield. The assault continued, but the Battle of Quebec failed miserably. Hundreds of American soldiers were killed, wounded or captured, and Canada remained in British hands.

By the later part of 1776, Arnold had recovered sufficiently from his wound to once again take the field. He played a crucial role in hindering a British invasion from Canada into New York in the autumn of that year. Correctly predicting that British General Guy Carleton would sail an invading force down Lake Champlain, Arnold supervised the hasty construction of an American flotilla on that lake to meet Carleton's fleet.

Valcour Island

On October 11, 1776, the American fleet surprised its foe near Valcour Bay. Although Carleton's flotilla drove the Americans away, Arnold's action delayed Carleton's approach long enough that, by the time the British general reached New York, the battle season was near an end, and the British had to return to Canada. Arnold's performance at Valcour Island rescued the Patriot cause from potential disaster.

Despite his military successes, Arnold felt he did not receive the recognition he deserved. Indeed, many of his fellow officers reportedly found General Arnold to be vain, emotional and greedy. One officer presciently stated that "Money is this man's God, and to get enough of it he would sacrifice his country."

He resigned from the Continental Army in 1777 after Congress promoted five junior officers above him. General George Washington, the commander in chief of the Continental Army, urged Arnold to reconsider.

Battle of Bemis Heights

Arnold rejoined the army in time to participate in the defense of central New York from an invading British force under General John Burgoyne in the fall of 1777.

In the battles against Burgoyne, Arnold served under General Horatio Gates, an officer whom Arnold came to hold in contempt. The antipathy was mutual, and Gates at one point relieved Arnold of his command. Nonetheless, at the pivotal Battle of Bemis Heights on October 7, 1777, Arnold defied Gates' authority and took command of a group of American soldiers whom he led in an assault against the British line.

Arnold's attack threw the enemy into disarray and contributed greatly to the American victory. Ten days later, Burgoyne surrendered his entire army at Saratoga. News of the surrender convinced France to enter the war on the side of the Americans.

Did you know? In an unusual tribute to an ex-hero, a statue near the Saratoga battlefield commemorates Benedict Arnold's leg, which he wounded badly both there and in Quebec in combat against the British. The statue shows nothing of Arnold's body but his leg, and doesn't mention him by name.

Once again, Arnold had brought his country a step closer to independence. However, Gates downplayed Arnold's contributions in his official reports and claimed most of the credit for himself.

Meanwhile, Arnold seriously wounded the same leg he had injured at Quebec in the battle. Rendered temporarily incapable of a field command, he accepted the position of military governor of Philadelphia in 1778. While there, his loyalties began to change.

Benedict Arnold's Wife

During his term as governor, rumors-not entirely unfounded-circulated through Philadelphia accusing Arnold of abusing his position for his personal profit. Questions were also raised about Arnold's courtship and marriage to the young Peggy Shippen, the daughter of a man suspected of Loyalist sympathies.

Arnold and his second wife, with whom he would have five children, lived a lavish lifestyle in Philadelphia, accumulating substantial debt.

The debt and the resentment Arnold felt over not being promoted faster were motivating factors in his choice to become a turncoat. He concluded that his interests would be better served assisting the British than continuing to suffer for an American army he saw as ungrateful.

What Did Benedict Arnold Do?

In 1779, Arnold was appointed commander of the American fort at West Point, New York. But by the end of 1779, Arnold had begun secret negotiations with the British to surrender, in return for money and a command in the British army.

Arnold's chief intermediary was British Major John André. André was captured in September 1780, while crossing between British and American lines, disguised in civilian clothes.

Papers found on André incriminated Arnold in treason. Learning of André's capture, Arnold fled to British lines before the Patriots could arrest him. West Point remained in American hands, and Arnold only received a portion of his promised bounty. André was hanged as a spy in October 1780.

Arnold soon became one of the most reviled figures in U.S. history. Ironically, his treason became his final service to the American cause. By 1780, Americans had grown frustrated with the slow progress toward independence and their numerous battlefield defeats. However, word of Arnold's treachery re-energized the Patriots' sagging morale.

What Happened to Benedict Arnold?

After fleeing to the enemy side, Arnold received a commission with the British army and served in several minor engagements against the Americans. In one battle, he captured Richmond, Virginia, for the British.

After the war, which ended in victory for the Americans with the Treaty of Paris in 1783, Arnold resided in England. The British regarded him with ambivalence, while his former countrymen despised him."Judas sold only one man," Benjamin Franklin wrote, "Arnold three million."

After years of suffering from gout and other health conditions, Arnold died in London on June 14, 1801, at age 60. Following his death, Arnold's memory lived on in the land of his birth, where his name became synonymous with the word "traitor."

Sources

Why Benedict Arnold Turned Traitor Against the American Revolution. Smithsonian Magazine.
Benedict Arnold. George Washington's Mount Vernon.
Benedict Arnold. American Battlefield Trust.

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Benedict Arnold: Traitor, Wife & West Point | HISTORY

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Benedict Arnold, an American colonist, was a Revolutionary War hero who later became a despised traitor when he schemed to turn West Point over to the British.

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Why Did the Boston Tea Party Happen?

In the 1760s, Britain was deep in debt, so British Parliament imposed a series of taxes on American colonists to help pay those debts.

The Stamp Act of 1765 taxed colonists on virtually every piece of printed paper they used, from playing cards and business licenses to newspapers and legal documents. The Townshend Acts of 1767 went a step further, taxing essentials such as paint, paper, glass, lead and tea.

The British government felt the taxes were fair since much of its debt was earned fighting wars on the colonists' behalf. The colonists, however, disagreed. They were furious at being taxed without having any representation in Parliament, and felt it was wrong for Britain to impose taxes on them to gain revenue.

Boston Massacre Enrages Colonists

On March 5, 1770, a street brawl happened in Boston between American colonists and British soldiers.

Later known as the Boston Massacre, the fight began after an unruly group of colonists-frustrated with the presence of British soldiers in their streets- flung snowballs, ice and oyster shells at a British sentinel guarding the Boston Customs House.

Reinforcements arrived and opened fire on the mob, killing five colonists and wounding six. The Boston Massacre and its fallout further incited the colonists' rage towards Britain.

Tea Act Imposed

Britain eventually repealed the taxes it had imposed on the colonists except the tea tax. It wasn't about to give up tax revenue on the nearly 1.2 million pounds of tea the colonists drank each year.

In protest, the colonists boycotted tea sold by British East India Company and smuggled in Dutch tea, leaving British East India Company with millions of pounds of surplus tea and facing bankruptcy.

In May 1773, British Parliament passed the Tea Act which allowed British East India Company to sell tea to the colonies duty-free and much cheaper than other tea companies-but still tax the tea when it reached colonial ports.

Tea smuggling in the colonies increased, although the cost of the smuggled tea soon surpassed that of tea from British East India Company with the added tea tax.

Still, with the help of prominent tea smugglers such as John Hancock and Samuel Adams -who protested taxation without representation but also wanted to protect their tea smuggling operations-colonists continued to rail against the tea tax and Britain's control over their interests.

Sons of Liberty

The Sons of Liberty were a group of colonial merchants and tradesmen founded to protest the Stamp Act and other forms of taxation. The group of revolutionists included prominent patriots such as Benedict Arnold, Patrick Henry and Paul Revere, as well as Adams and Hancock.

Led by Adams, the Sons of Liberty held meetings rallying against British Parliament and protested the Griffin's Wharf arrival of Dartmouth, a British East India Company ship carrying tea. By December 16, 1773, Dartmouth had been joined by her sister ships, Beaver and Eleanor; all three ships loaded with tea from China.

That morning, as thousands of colonists convened at the wharf and its surrounding streets, a meeting was held at the Old South Meeting House where a large group of colonists voted to refuse to pay taxes on the tea or allow the tea to be unloaded, stored, sold or used. (Ironically, the ships were built in America and owned by Americans.)

Governor Thomas Hutchison refused to allow the ships to return to Britain and ordered the tea tariff be paid and the tea unloaded. The colonists refused, and Hutchison never offered a satisfactory compromise.

Facts: What Happened at the Boston Tea Party

That night, a large group of men-many reportedly members of the Sons of Liberty- disguised themselves in Native American garb, boarded the docked ships and threw 342 chests of tea into the water.

Said participant George Hewes, "We then were ordered by our commander to open the hatches and take out all the chests of tea and throw them overboard, and we immediately proceeded to execute his orders, first cutting and splitting the chests with our tomahawks, so as thoroughly to expose them to the effects of the water."

Hewes also noted that "We were surrounded by British armed ships, but no attempt was made to resist us."

Did you know? It took nearly three hours for more than 100 colonists to empty the tea into Boston Harbor. The chests held more than 90,000 lbs. (45 tons) of tea, which would cost nearly $1,000,000 dollars today.

Boston Tea Party Aftermath

While some important colonist leaders such as John Adams were thrilled to learn Boston Harbor was covered in tea leaves, others were not.

In June of 1774, George Washington wrote: "the cause of Boston...ever will be considered as the cause of America." But his personal views of the event were far different. He voiced strong disapproval of "their conduct in destroying the Tea" and claimed Bostonians "were mad." Washington, like many other elites, held private property to be sacrosanct.

Benjamin Franklin insisted the British East India Company be reimbursed for the lost tea and even offered to pay for it himself.

No one was hurt, and aside from the destruction of the tea and a padlock, no property was damaged or looted during the Boston Tea Party. The participants reportedly swept the ships' decks clean before they left.

Who Organized the Boston Tea Party?

Though led by Samuel Adams and his Sons of Liberty and organized by John Hancock, the names of many of those involved in the Boston Tea Party remain unknown. Thanks to their Native American costumes, only one of the tea party culprits, Francis Akeley, was arrested and imprisoned.

Even after American independence, participants refused to reveal their identities, fearing they could still face civil and criminal charges as well as condemnation from elites for the destruction of private property. Most participants in the Boston Tea Party were under the age of 40 and 16 of them were teenagers.

Coercive Acts

But despite the lack of violence, the Boston Tea Party didn't go unanswered by King George III and British Parliament.

In retribution, they passed the Coercive Acts (later known as the Intolerable Acts) which:

Closed Boston Harbor until the tea lost in the Boston Tea Party was paid for

Ended the Massachusetts Constitution and ended free elections of town officials

Moved judicial authority to Britain and British judges, basically creating martial law in Massachusetts

Required colonists to quarter British troops on demand

Extended freedom of worship to French-Canadian Catholics under British rule, which angered the mostly Protestant colonists

Britain hoped the Coercive Acts would squelch rebellion in New England and keep the remaining colonies from uniting, but the opposite happened: All the colonies viewed the punitive laws as further evidence of Britain's tyranny and rallied to Massachusetts' aid, sending supplies and plotting further resistance.

Second Boston Tea Party

A second Boston Tea Party took place in March 1774, when around 60 Bostonians boarded the ship Fortune and dumped nearly 30 chests of tea into the harbor.

The event didn't earn nearly as much notoriety as the first Boston Tea Party, but it did encourage other tea-dumping demonstrations in Maryland, New York and South Carolina.

First Continental Congress Is Convened

Many colonists felt Britain's Coercive Acts went too far. On September 5, 1774, elected delegates from all 13 American colonies except Georgia met in Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia for the First Continental Congress to figure out how to resist British oppression.

The delegates were divided on how to move forward but the Boston Tea Party had united them in their fervor to gain independence. By the time they adjourned in October 1774, they'd written The Declaration and Resolves which:

Censured Britain for passing the Coercive Acts and called for their repeal

Established a boycott of British goods

Declared the colonies had the right to govern independently

Rallied colonists to form and train a colonial militia

Britain didn't capitulate and within months, the " shot heard round the world," rang out in Concord, Massachusetts, sparking the start of the American Revolutionary War.

Sources

A Tea Party Timeline: 1773-1775. Old South Meeting House.
The Boston Tea Party. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
The Boston Tea Party. Massachusetts Historical Society.
The Boston Tea Party, 1773. EyewitnesstoHistory.com.
The Intolerable Acts. U.S.History.org.

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Boston Tea Party - Definition, Dates & Facts | HISTORY

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The Boston Tea Party was a political protest staged on December 16, 1773 at Griffin's Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts. American colonists, frustrated at Britain for imposing "taxation without representation," dumped 342 chests of British tea into the harbor. The event was the first major act of defiance to British rule over the colonists.

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The Culper Spy Ring - Facts, Code & Importance

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The Culper Spy Ring was a small group of men and women gathered in 1778 by a young cavalry officer named Benjamin Tallmadge from his hometown of Setauket, Long Island. Tallmadge's homegrown network became the most effective of any intelligence-gathering operation on either side during the Revolutionary War.

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Learn about the Causes of the American Revolution including the French and Indian War, taxes, the Intolerable Acts, Boston Massacre, and more.

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Learn more about some of the spies that aided the Patriot cause during the American Revolution.

Nathan Hale

During the Battle of Long Island, Nathan Hale--a captain in the Continental Army--volunteered to go behind enemy lines in disguise to report back on British troop movements. Hale was captured by the British army and executed as a spy on September 22, 1776. Hale remains part of popular lore connected with the American Revolution for his purported last words, "I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country."

Benjamin Tallmadge

In November 1778, George Washington charged Major Benjamin Tallmadge with creating a spy ring in New York City, the site of British headquarters. Tallmadge led the creation of the Culper Spy Ring, recruiting friends to work as his informants. Tallmadge served as the main handler for the Culper Spy Ring until the end of the war.

Learn More: The Culper Spy Ring

Austin Roe

A tavern owner, Austin Roe was closely tied to other members of the Culper Ring, even growing up near the home of fellow spy Caleb Brewster. Roe served as the group's courier, transporting materials from Robert Townsend's New York City coffee shop all the way back to Setauket, Long Island, a trip of more than fifty miles. Roe's position as courier was fraught with danger, traveling a long distance with the possibility of being caught with incriminating evidence of his activities.

Abraham Woodhull

A farmer and the son of a local Patriot judge, Abraham Woodhull joined the Culper ring in November of 1778. Woodhull was essentially the leader of the Culper Spy Ring, deciding what information was transmitted throughout the group, which would eventually make its way to George Washington. In order to evade British detection, Woodhull operated under the pseudonym, "Samuel Culper Sr."

Anna Strong

Well-connected within the New York, colonial, upper class, Anna Strong utilized her farmstead on Long Island to help transfer intelligence information to the other members of the Culper ring. Strong's husband, Selah Strong III, was a prominent Patriot judge who served as a captain during the war. Anna Strong arranged clothes on her clothesline as a means to signal fellow Culper spy Caleb Brewster regarding the location of hidden documents to be transported.

Robert Townsend

A tavern owner in New York City, Robert Townsend participated in a complex cover up to mask his true loyalties. Townsend was a Patriot who publicly presented himself as a Loyalist supporter of Britain, even writing for a Loyalist newspaper to build credibility. The guise worked as Townsend was trusted with sensitive information, even from British military officers. Townsend then relayed the information to Austin Roe.

James Armistead Lafayette

An enslaved African-American who volunteered to join the army under Lafayette in 1781, Armistead served as a double agent working for the Patriots. Armistead posed as a runaway slave who agreed to work with the British, though in actuality he was collecting intelligence from the British and reporting back to Patriot forces. Armistead spied on Brigadier General Benedict Arnold (who had already defected to lead British forces), and eventually visited the camp of Lord Cornwallis to gather information about the British plans for troop deployment and armaments. The intelligence reports from Armistead's efforts were instrumental in helping to defeat the British during the Battle of Yorktown.

Primary Source: Lafayette's Testimonial to James Armistead Lafayette (November 21, 1784 )

Ann Bates

A Philadelphia school teacher and the wife of a British soldier, Ann Bates claimed to be a Patriot in order to collect and identify important information to send to British forces. After walking into George Washington's White Plains headquarters, Bates explained that she "had the opportunity of going through their whole army remarking at the same time the strength and situation of each brigade, and the number of cannon, with their situation and weight of ball each cannon was charged with." Bates' information influenced General Henry Clinton's decision to send more forces to defend Rhode Island, leading to American and French armies to withdraw from Newport.

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Learn more about some of the spies that aided the Patriot cause during the American Revolution.

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Revolutionary War Spies! Read about their techniques.

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Learn about the important role that espionage played during the Revolutionary War and George Washington's role as one of our nation's first spymasters.

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Learn about the biography of Benedict Arnold, general who turned traitor during the Revolutionary War.

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Did you know George Washington was a Spymaster? Read about it here.

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Part two briefly outlines the French and Indian War.

After England officially declares war on France in 1756, this marks the beginning of both the French and Indian War, and the Seven Years War. French Forces under Lieutenant General Louis Joseph De Montcalm defeated John Campbell's British forces time and again, until William Pitt became England's new Secretary of State. Pitt enacted some new changes, and the tide turned in favor of the British. The last, and largest battle of the French and Indian War, the Battle of Quebec, was a crucial victory for the British, who could now take control of most of North America. Engagements after 1760 were more sporadic in nature, since Native Americans still attacked British settlements after France backed out of the conflict.

Although the Treaty of Paris in 1763 signified Britain's victory in the French and Indian War, England was left in massive debt. These debts would end up setting the stage for the American colonies to declare independence from Great Britain.

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French and Indian War, Part 2 | History In A Nutshell

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Part two briefly outlines the French and Indian War. After England officially declares war on France in 1756, this marks the beginning of both the French and Indian War, and the Seven Years War. French Forces under Lieutenant General Louis Joseph De Montcalm defeated John Campbell's British forces time and again, until William Pitt became England's new Secretary of State.

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American Revolutionary War

Left, Continental infantry at Redoubt 10, Yorktown; Washington rallying the broken center at Monmouth; USS Bonhomme Richard capturing HMS Serapis

Date

April 19, 1775 - September 3, 1783
(8 years, 4 months and 15 days)

Location

Result

Territorial
changes

Great Britain cedes control of all territories east of the Mississippi R.; south of the Great Lakes & St. Lawrence R. to Spanish Florida

Belligerents

Spain

Combatants
Combatants

Commanders and leaders

Strength

Casualties and losses

The American Revolutionary War was a war fought between Great Britain and the original 13 British colonies in North America. The war took place from 1775 to 1783 with fighting in North America and other places. The Continental Army ( army of the colonies), led by George Washington and helped by France and other powers, defeated the armies of the British Empire.

After the war ended, the Thirteen Colonies became independent, which meant that the British Empire was no longer in charge of them. They together became the first 13 states of a new country called the United States of America.

Background and causes

The war started after years of problems between the British Empire and the colonists of North America after the French and Indian War (The seven years war). People in the Thirteen Colonies disliked many of the actions of the British Government, such as the Intolerable Acts. For many years the British government decided which countries could trade with the colonies, instead of the colonies deciding it themselves. Many colonists wanted free trade.

In 1765, the British Parliament needed money to pay back the debt for the French and Indian War. They passed a Law called the Stamp Act. This law said that colonists had to buy stamps for legal papers, newspapers, and even playing cards, as other British people did. The money from the stamps went to the King. The colonies did not follow this law. The colonies kept refusing to do what the King wanted. The Boston Tea Party and Boston Massacre caused people to become more angry about the situation. The British sent more soldiers (who were called Red Coats by the colonists to insult them) to keep control of the colonies and they sometimes had to fight. In 1774, the British passed the Intolerable Acts to punish the colonists in Boston for the Boston Tea Party.

Not all colonists wanted to leave the British Empire. The , or Tories, stayed loyal to Great Britain. They were not going to change their views. The , or Whigs, wanted independence. Before the Revolutionary War, most people in America were Loyalists; but after it, most people were Patriots.

Many colonists wrote letters showing how they felt. Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense, a famous pamphlet about independence from Britain. Other colonial leaders, such as Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson wanted independence.

Northern battles

The first battles of the American Revolutionary War were Lexington and Concord. One of the first major battles was the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775. After that, the British controlled Boston. Around that time, the Second Continental Congress sent an Olive Branch Petition to King George III (which he rejected) and named George Washington head of the army. Early in 1776, Washington's army drove the British out of Boston.

A few months later the Continental Army and British troops under William Howe fought the New York and New Jersey Campaign. During the New York battles, the British started using Hessian troops, who were from Germany. Though the colonists lost New York (the British would hold it for the rest of the war), Washington was able to hold onto most of his army. Over Christmas, 1776-77, Washington crossed the Delaware River and defeated the Hessians at Trenton and the British at Princeton.

In 1777, the British attacked the city of Philadelphia, then the American capital. Two battles were fought over Philadelphia: Brandywine and Germantown. Again, the Americans lost a major city, but Washington was able to keep most of his army. Around this time, the Frenchman Lafayette joined the American Army. In 1778, the British left Philadelphia. Between 1778 and 1781, most battles between Washington and the British were inconclusive (they did not have any major effect militarily).

One of the most important battles was the Battle of Saratoga in 1777. American soldiers under Horatio Gates forced a British surrender under John Burgoyne. This led to France and Spain joining the war on the side of Americans. These powerful countries fought the British around the world. From 1778 to 1780, there was fighting in the West.

The Scottish (fighting on the side of the Americans) commerce raider John Paul Jones also won several naval battles over the British, but the French navy did most of the fighting at sea. The Americans tried to capture Canada several times.

Southern battles

In 1779 major fighting shifted to Georgia and South Carolina. As fighting spread northward, General Nathanael Greene led the Rebel campaign. He caused many people in the South to be Patriots instead of Loyalists, and won several battles against the British.

In 1781, Washington and French general Jean Rochambeau led an offensive against British troops in Yorktown, Virginia. This was called the Battle of Yorktown. When their soldiers lost this battle, the British surrendered.

The British continued to fight the French and Spanish for two years, winning in India, Gibraltar and elsewhere.

End of the war

The American Revolution came to an end in 1783 when a peace treaty was signed in Paris, France. In the Treaty of Paris, the British King, George III accepted the independence of the colonies and recognized the newly created nation as the United States of America.

The treaty also gave all the land Britain said it owned which was west of the Appalachians as far as the Mississippi River to the new country. This land would eventually become part of the US, and lead to the creation of 35 new states (some of which later rebelled as part of the Confederate States of America) that now make up the contiguous United States. Many Loyalists fled to Canada.

Casualties

As usual for 18th-century wars, casualty figures (killed/wounded/missing/captured) for the American Revolution are poorly known. Unlike American Civil War casualties which were published in newspapers, Revolutionary War casualty reports are found in local town histories; total casualties of the Revolution are rough estimates. Estimates are around 25,000 Americans and 27,294 British and German seaman.

Revolution beyond America

The American Revolution had a strong immediate impact in Great Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, and France. Many British and Irish Whigs openly supported the Patriots in America, and the revolution was the first lesson in politics for many Europeans who later became active during the era of the French Revolution.

The American Revolution set an example to the rest the world. For the first time in the western world, a people had successfully overthrown the rule of a major country. The revolution encouraged the people in other countries to fight for their rights, and showed that they could be successful like the Americans.

Similarly, in the early 19th century, revolutions broke out in the colonies in South America against Portugal and Spain. Years later, similar revolutions occurred in Asia and other places.

The American Revolution established the United States with its numerous civil liberties and set an example to overthrow both monarchy and colonial governments. The United States has the world's oldest written constitution, and the constitutions of other free countries often bear a striking resemblance to the US Constitution, often word-for-word in places. It inspired the French, Haitian, Latin American Revolutions, and others into the modern era.

Although the Revolution eliminated many forms of inequality, it did little to change the status of women, despite the role they played in winning independence. Most significantly, it failed to end slavery which continued to be a serious social and political issue and caused divisions that would ultimately end in civil war. While many were uneasy over the contradiction of demanding liberty for some, yet denying it to others, the dependence of southern states on slave labor made abolition too great a challenge. Between 1774 and 1780, many of the states banned the importation of slaves, but the institution itself continued.

In 1782, Virginia passed a law permitting manumission and over the next eight years more than 10,000 slaves were given their freedom. With support from Benjamin Franklin, in 1790 the Quakers petitioned Congress to abolish slavery; the number of abolitionist movements greatly increased, and by 1804 all the northern states had outlawed it. However, even many like Adams who viewed slavery as a 'foul contagion' opposed the 1790 petition as a threat to the Union. In 1808, Jefferson passed legislation banning the importation of slaves, but allowed the domestic slave trade to continue, arguing the federal government had no right to regulate individual states.

Commemorations of the Revolutionary War

After the first U.S. postage stamp was issued in 1849, the U.S. Post Office frequently issued commemorative stamps celebrating the various people and events of the Revolutionary War. However, it would be more than 140 years after the Revolution before any stamp commemorating that war itself was ever issued. The first such stamp was the 'Liberty Bell' issue of 1926.

Related pages

Images for kids

British North America, 1777 post-1763 concessions to Britain from France (green) and Spain (yellow)

Iconic 1851 painting of Washington Crossing the Delaware

British siege of Charleston, worst US defeat of the war, May 1780

American Revolution principal campaigns. British movement (red) & American (blue) The timeline shows British won most battles in the first half; Americans won most in the second.

Military Governors and Staff Officers in British North America and West Indies 1778 and 1784

USS Ranger, Capt. Jones. France gives the US flag its first foreign salute

USS Alliance, Capt. Barry won the last engagement

The 1763 Royal Proclamation set the western boundary for the 13 Colonies

In Spanish: Guerra de Independencia de los Estados Unidos para niños

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American Revolutionary War Facts for Kids

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Learn American Revolutionary War facts for kids

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Victorious general of the American Revolution, the first President of the United States, successful planter and entrepreneur. Explore the life and legacies of George Washington.

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The Culper Code Book was used by the Culper spy ring to send coded messages to George Washington's headquarters during the Revolutionary War.

Under the orders of General George Washington, Major Benjamin Tallmadge organized the Culper Spy Ring in 1778 to gather information on British troop movements, fortifications, and military plans in the New York area.

Informants used fake names and a numerical code book consisting of seven hundred and sixty-three numbers representing words, names, and places to communicate their information. Developed by Tallmadge, the Culper Code Book was essential in protecting the vital communications and identities of this important intelligence gathering group.
View Primary Source

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The Culper Code Book was used by the Culper spy ring to send coded messages to George Washington's headquarters during the Revolutionary War. Under the orders of General George Washington, Major Benjamin Tallmadge organized the Culper Spy Ring in 1778 to gather information on British troop movements, fortifications, and military plans in the New York area.

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Nathan Hale statue at Yale in New Haven, Connecticut, where he attended college

Patriot Nathan Hale Was Hanged
September 22, 1776
"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." Have you heard this famous declaration before? American patriot Nathan Hale said it on September 22, 1776, his last words before he was hanged for spying on British troops. How did this come to pass? Hale, born in Coventry, Connecticut, on June 6, 1755, and a teacher by trade, joined his five brothers in the fight for independence against the British.

page 1 of 3

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Nathan Hale statue at Yale in New Haven, Connecticut, where he attended college Patriot Nathan Hale Was Hanged September 22, 1776 "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." Have you heard this famous declaration before?

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Loyalists were people in the Thirteen Colonies who opposed the American Revolutionary War. They were also called Tories. They fought with the British against the Continental Army and Continental Congress that they felt was oppressing them. In many areas, Loyalists were treated very roughly by revolutionaries (who often called themselves " Patriots"). Tory lands and other properties were taken away, and sometimes they were put into jail or even killed. Some formed militias, fighting along with the British Army against the rebels.

After the war, many Loyalists sought asylum in Canada to escape the new United States and to stay loyal to King George and the British Empire.

Loyalists came from all walks of life. The majority were small farmers, artisans and shopkeepers. Not surprisingly, most British officials remained loyal to the Crown. Wealthy merchants tended to remain loyal, as did Anglican ministers, especially in Puritan New England. Loyalists also included some blacks (to whom the British promised freedom), Indians, indentured servants and some German immigrants, who supported the Crown mainly because George III was of German origin.

The number of Loyalists in each colony varied. Recent estimates suggest that half the population of New York was Loyalist; it had an aristocratic culture and was occupied throughout the Revolution by the British. In the Carolinas, back-country farmers were Loyalist, whereas the Tidewater planters tended to support the Revolution.

During the Revolution, most Loyalists suffered little from their views. However, a minority, about 19,000 Loyalists, armed and supplied by the British, fought in the conflict.

The Paris Peace Treaty required Congress to restore property confiscated from Loyalists. The heirs of William Penn in Pennsylvania, for example, and those of George Calvert in Maryland received generous settlements. In the Carolinas, where enmity between rebels and Loyalists was especially strong, few of the latter regained their property. In New York and the Carolinas, the confiscations from Loyalists resulted in something of a social revolution as large estates were parceled out to yeoman farmers.

About 100,000 Loyalists left the country, including William Franklin, the son of Benjamin, and John Singleton Copley, the greatest American painter of the period. Most settled in Canada. Brantford, Ontario for example was started by Iroquois refugees. Some eventually returned, although several state governments excluded the Loyalists from holding public office. Most of the Black Loyalists left, as they faced re-enslavement if they remained in the USA. In the decades after the Revolution, Americans preferred to forget about the Loyalists. Apart from Copley, the Loyalists became nonpersons in American history.

Images for kids

Britannia offers solace and a promise of compensation for her exiled American-born Loyalists. (Reception of the American Loyalists by Great Britain in the Year 1783. Engraving by H. Moses after Benjamin West.)

Johnson Hall, seat of Sir John Johnson in the Mohawk Valley

Benjamin West's "John Eardley Wilmot"

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Loyalist (American Revolution) Facts for Kids

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Loyalists were people in the Thirteen Colonies who opposed the American Revolutionary War. They were also called Tories. They fought with the British against the Continental Army and Continental Congress that they felt was oppressing them. In many areas, Loyalists were treated very roughly by revolutionaries (who often called themselves " Patriots").

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The Proclamation of 1763

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Read about George Washington having different ideas about the Proclamation of 1763.

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The Proclamation of 1763 was a critical event leading up to the American Revolution. The proclamation was issued on October 7, 1763 by King George III. There are two likely reasons that the proclamation was created. First, it was for the protection of the Natives from the settlers. The other reason was to pen the colonists along the Atlantic coast, making it easier for England to regulate them. The settlers had no say in the creation of the proclamation, and anger arose.

After the French and Indian War, the colonists were looking to explore the western frontier. Because the British had won the war, England had control over the eastern part of North America. The settlers wanted more land, which would enable them to make a bigger profit. They would be able to build new homes and have more room for large plantations. They also wanted to trade with the Natives. The victory in the war opened many opportunities to the colonists.

When the West was opened to the colonists, the conflicts with the Natives became more numerous. The Ottawa chief, Pontiac, was dissatisfied with the British rule. The Natives were no longer welcome in the forts, and the colonists would basically force them off their hunting grounds. Pontiac gathered the support of many of the Indian tribes. They then went on to attack the nearest British forts and settlements.

In retaliation, the settlers gave out blankets to the Natives. The blankets were infected with smallpox, and many of the Indians died. There was also a group named the Paxton Boys. They went to a settlement of the Conestoga Indians, killed six Natives, and kidnapped fourteen. Later on, they killed the prisoners as well.

To stop the conflicts between the Colonists and the Natives, England issued the Proclamation of 1763. It created a boundary line along the crest of the Appalachian Mountains. The settlers were to live on the eastern side of the the line. Those who lived on the west side were forced to leave their homes and move. They were not payed for what they had lost, and it was difficult for many to start again. Settlers were now unable to expand their colonies westward like they had planned to.

To reinforce the boundary line, England put royal posts along the border. British officials were stationed there to keep settlers from crossing. It was to "protect" both the colonists and the Natives. The posts were very expensive, and because it was a service for the colonies, they were forced to pay more taxes. This angered the settlers, not only because of the money, but because they believed it was unfair.

The proclamation also said that they were not able to buy land from the Natives. Any purchases would be made by the Crown, and the settlers had no say in the transactions. Only licensed traders were allowed to cross the boundary line and trade furs with the Indians. Many people rebelled and bought illegal land anyways. Even George Washington gave full support in buying the land, for he believed it to be only a brief act to appease the Indians.

Finally, the boundary was moved outwards in 1768. In the Treaty of Stanwix, the Iroquois Indians agreed to give up land in present-day Pennsylvania, Kentucky, West Virgina, and New York. They were promised money, gifts, and the guarantee of a permanent border. The last promise was later broken, but at that moment, both sides were mainly content. The settlers were happy to have more land, and the Iroquois, although upsetting the Indian tribes that lived on that land, were satisfied with their benefits.

I think that the proclamation was both good and bad. It did help to stop the fights, which could have led to many more people dying. At the same time, it was first unfair to those that lived on the west side of the border. They were kicked out, and in my opinion, should have been given money or land to compensate with what they had lost. Also, the colonists were not able to voice their ideas and judgements. All deals, laws, promises, etc. were made by England. The settlers should have been able to have a say in what happened, since it was after all, their homes and land.

When the settlers gave blankets to the Natives, what were they infected with?

In what year was the boundary line moved outward?

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The Proclamation of 1763 was a critical event leading up to the American Revolution. The proclamation was issued on October 7, 1763 by King George III. There are two likely reasons that the proclamation was created. First, it was for the protection of the Natives from the settlers.

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The True Story of the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere

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The Sons of Liberty were groups of American colonists who disagreed with British rule of the 13 North American colonies. Among the members were many well-known patriots, such as Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Paul Revere. Their activities helped lead the colonies into the American Revolution.

The first Sons of Liberty group formed in Boston in 1765. Other groups soon appeared elsewhere in the colonies. The groups took their name from a speech by Isaac Barré, a member of the British Parliament. Barré defended colonists who opposed unfair British laws. He called them the "sons of liberty."

The first goal of the Sons of Liberty was to overturn the Stamp Act. Passed by Parliament in 1765, the act required colonists to pay a tax on newspapers and legal documents. Like many other colonists, the Sons of Liberty thought that they should not be taxed unless they were represented in Parliament.

The Sons of Liberty met in secret to plan their activities. They published explanations of why they thought the Stamp Act was unfair. They organized protests. Some members even destroyed property or used violence against British officials. The Sons of Liberty convinced many colonists to disobey the Stamp Act. They celebrated when Parliament repealed the act in 1766.

After that victory, the Sons of Liberty continued to act out against British rule. Members were involved in many later protests, including the Boston Tea Party of 1773.

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The Sons of Liberty were groups of American colonists who disagreed with British rule of the 13 North American colonies. Among the members were many well-known patriots, such as Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Paul Revere. Their activities helped lead the colonies into the American Revolution.

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Learn about the Sons of Liberty of the American Revolution including how they got their name, important members, protests, the Stamp Act, the Boston Tea Party, and interesting facts.

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Paul Revere's Ride:  The Landlord's Tale

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Paul Revere's Ride:  The Landlord's Tale

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Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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Culper Spy Ring. At the center of this ring, appointed by General George Washington to provide military intelligence from the British headquarters in New York City, was Major Benjamin Tallmadge.

Benjamin Tallmadge was born on February 25, 1754, in Setauket, New York, on Long Island. He was the second of five sons born to the Rev. Benjamin Tallmadge and Mrs. Susannah Tallmadge (née Smith). Benjamin Tallmadge was well-educated in the classics by his father, and recounts in his memoir that, "President Dagget[t, at that time the President of Yale University], on a visit to [his] father, examined and admitted [Tallmadge] as qualified to enter college, when [he] was twelve or thirteen years old." Though qualified, Tallmadge's father did not choose to send him to Yale until 1769. While a student there, Tallmadge developed a close personal friendship with Nathan Hale, who would also eventually become involved in American espionage, though with a far more tragic end. After completing his studies in 1773, Tallmadge took up a teaching post at a school in Wethersfield, Connecticut.

After the Battles of Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill, Tallmadge began to think seriously about joining the army in support of American independence. When the position of lieutenant in one of Connecticut's six-month regiments of the Continental Army was offered to him by a Captain Chester of Wethersfield in 1776, Tallmadge readily accepted. He first saw action in the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, which ended in a British victory. His older brother William Tallmadge was taken prisoner at this battle and according to Tallmadge's memoir, "literally starved to death in one of [the British] prisons." By December 1776, Benjamin Tallmadge had been appointed a captain in Colonel Elisha Sheldon's prestigious 2d Regiment of Light Dragoons, and subsequently rose to the rank of major in April 1777. Tallmadge was present at major engagements, including the Battle of Brandywine and the Battle of Germantown.

In 1778, Tallmadge was appointed director of military intelligence by George Washington, with the objective of securing information on the British in New York City. After the war ended, when Tallmadge reflected on this appointment in his memoir, he was demure in his description, saying only that "[he] opened a private correspondence with some persons in New York (for Gen. Washington) which lasted through the war." These "persons" to whom Tallmadge referred were friends he knew during his youth on Long Island and included Abraham Woodhull, Caleb Brewster, Anna Strong, and Austin Roe. Together, they formed the Culper Spy Ring, Culper in reference to the pseudonym, Samuel Culper, used by Abraham Woodhull. Tallmadge went by the name John Bolton, to which his informants addressed their correspondence. In addition to pseudonyms, Tallmadge and Washington utilized other innovative espionage tactics to pass intelligence out of New York. Tallmadge created a system in which numbers were substituted for common words, names, and places to encode messages, and provided a key to Washington, Woodhull, and Robert Townsend, another member of the spy ring.

Washington also supplied invisible ink to help protect Tallmadge and Woodhull's letters from being read if intercepted by the enemy. A message would be written in the invisible ink, sometimes on the back of a letter entirely normal in appearance, and then the recipient of the letter would treat the paper with a reagent to reveal the secret communication. It is clear that this ink saw significant use. On April 30, 1779, Washington informed Tallmadge, "I have not any of the Ink, but I will endeavor to provide some of it as soon as possible," as Woodhull and Tallmadge seemed to have run out and were requesting more.

In a major accomplishment, Tallmadge's Culper Spy Ring prevented a British fleet from sailing for Rhode Island in July 1780, which would have hindered plans for Major General Marquis de Lafayette and Comte de Rochambeau to land 6,000 troops at Newport. Because Woodhull successfully passed intelligence of this fleet to Tallmadge, who then alerted Washington, a plan of misinformation was put into motion, giving the British the false impression that Washington was planning an attack on New York. This supposed threat caused them to quickly recall their ships from the Rhode Island expedition.

Tallmadge played a significant role in the apprehension of Major John André, a British spy involved in the treason of Benedict Arnold. After being captured by three militiamen in September 1780, André, who had been using a false name, was turned over to the 2d Regiment Light Dragoons. As Arnold's treachery was not initially known, the commanding officer of the 2d Regiment Light Dragoons had thought to send André to Arnold's headquarters at West Point. Tallmadge, however, was highly suspicious of André and prevented him from being transferred. Had André been sent to West Point, he undoubtedly would have escaped, as did Arnold once he became aware of André's capture.

After the war, Tallmadge returned to civilian life with his wife Mary Floyd Tallmadge and their seven children in Connecticut. He entered into various business and financial ventures, serving as president of the Phoenix Bank, joining the Ohio Company to purchase and resell land in the west, and eventually purchasing, along with 36 other speculators, the entire Western Reserve of Ohio (a portion of land originally claimed for Connecticut veterans). During Washington's first presidential term, Tallmadge was given the position of postmaster for Litchfield, Connecticut. He was elected to Congress in 1800 as a Federalist and remained in the House of Representatives until 1817. Benjamin Tallmadge died at the age of 81 in 1835.

Kathryn White
George Washington University
Notes:
1. Benjamin Tallmadge, Memoir of Col. Benjamin Tallmadge (New York: Thomas Holman, Book and Job Printer, 1858), 6.

2. Tallmadge, Memoir, 9.

3. Tallmadge, Memoir, 29.

4. George Washington to Benjamin Tallmadge, April 30, 1779, The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, 8:323.

Bibliography:

Nagy, John A. Invisible Ink: Spycraft of the American Revolution. Yardley, PA: Westholme Publishing, 2009.

Rose, Alexander. Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring. New York: Bantam Books, 2007.

Tallmadge, Benjamin. Memoir of Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge. Edited by Henry Phelps Johnston. New York: Gilliss Press, 1904.

Welch, Richard F. General Washington's Commando: Benjamin Tallmadge in the Revolutionary War. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2014.

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American espionage has its roots in the Revolutionary War, specifically in the network known as the Culper Spy Ring. At the center of this ring, appointed by General George Washington to provide military intelligence from the British headquarters in New York City, was Major Benjamin Tallmadge.