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The British Empire decided to tax American colonists for the first time in the Stamp Act of 1765

This was done to help the British Empire pay for troops stationed in the colonies during the Seven Years' War.

The American colonists refused to pay this tax, saying "No taxation without representation!"

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American colonists began boycotting British goods.

The British Empire repealed the Stamp Act this year.

The Declaratory Act of 1766 was signed, stating that the British Empire could make laws for the American colonies "in all cases whatsoever."

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The British enacted taxes on imports such as tea, paper, paint, lead, and glass. Resources that American colonists were reliant on.

This increased tensions between American colonists and the British Empire.

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The British Empire sailed 4,000 soldiers into Massachusetts to threaten and intimidate Americans in Boston.

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Five American colonists were killed by British troops during an incident in Boston. Word was spread throughout the colonies.

For more information, click the image above!

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Members of the "Sons of Liberty", disguised as Native Americans, boarded British ships and dumped the tea into the sea, costing the British Empire over $1 million in modern costs!

The following link on Khan Academy provides a more in-depth retelling of the Boston Tea Party

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The Boston Tea Party, which involved the willful destruction of 342 crates of British tea, proved a significant development on the path to the American Revolution.

The Boston Tea Party, which occurred on December 16, 1773 and was known to contemporaries as the Destruction of the Tea, was a direct response to British taxation policies in the North American colonies.

The British response to the Boston Tea Party was to impose even more stringent policies on the Massachusetts colony. The Coercive Acts levied fines for the destroyed tea, sent British troops to Boston, and rewrote the colonial charter of Massachusetts, giving broadly expanded powers to the royally appointed governor.

British taxation policies

After the conclusion of the Seven Years' War in 1763, the British Empire was in financial distress. Though the British had won the war, they had spent vast amounts of blood and treasure in the process. At the end of the war, the British Parliament sought to replenish its depleted coffers by taxing the North American colonies.

When the British Prime Minister, Lord North, proposed the Tea Act in May 1773, he was not even thinking of the North American colonies, but rather of the East India Company, which had assumed control over India. In exchange for the power to appoint its governors, North loaned the company £1.5 million-the equivalent of about $270 million today. North also granted the company a monopoly on the right to sell tea in the North American colonies.

The Boston Tea Party

As the British authorized the shipment of thousands of pounds of tea to its colonies in North America-Boston, Charleston, New York City, and Philadelphia-colonial tea merchants protested.

In Boston, Governor Thomas Hutchinson, a pro-British Loyalist, demanded that the ships be allowed to dock and that colonial merchants pay the duties on the cargo. Boston was the center of colonial revolutionary fervor, and its radicals did not take kindly to Hutchinson's demands. The Sons of Liberty, a secret society formed by radical colonists to protest British taxation policies after the passage of the Stamp Act in 1765, spearheaded the opposition to the Tea Act.

On December 16, 1773 at Griffin's Wharf, a group of approximately 50 Bostonians disguised as Native Americans boarded the ships Beaver, Dartmouth, and Eleanor, and proceeded to dump 342 crates of tea into the Boston harbor. In doing so, they destroyed almost 10 thousand pounds sterling worth of tea-worth about $1.7 million today-that belonged to the British East India Company. The incident, referred to at the time by John Adams as the Destruction of the Tea, would not become known as the Boston Tea Party for another fifty years.

Paul Revere carried the news of the destruction of the tea to New York, which in turn refused to allow the British ships to unload. In Philadelphia, as well, townspeople gathered to turn the British ships away from harbor. In Charleston, the ship was docked, but customs officials seized the cargo.

The British empire strikes back

Instead of reforming their tax policies or accommodating the demands of the colonists, the British responded to the incident by passing the Coercive Acts, which shut down Boston's port, modified the charter of Massachusetts-effectively shutting down the colony's legislative assembly-and sent British troops under General Thomas Gage to occupy Boston.

Gage was appointed governor, with broadly expanded powers to appoint local sheriffs, lodge troops in private homes, and deny townspeople permission to hold meetings. In response, the colonies called for a continental congress. The First Continental Congress convened in the autumn of 1774 and approved a general boycott of British goods. The stage was set for the ultimate showdown between the British and the colonies in the American War for Independence.

What do you think?

How would you describe British tax policies in the colonies?

How important do you think the Boston Tea Party was in the ultimate outbreak of war between Britain and its North American colonies?

Why do you think the British refused to back down in the face of opposition to its policies?

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The Boston Tea Party (article) | Khan Academy

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Learn for free about math, art, computer programming, economics, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, finance, history, and more. Khan Academy is a nonprofit with the mission of providing a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere.

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As a result of the Boston Tea Party, the British Empire punished the colonies in what is known as the "Intolerable Acts" which consisted of the following:

Boston Port Act: Closed the port to Boston until the colonists repaid the damages of the Boston Tea Party.

Administration of Justice Act: Ensured a fair trial for British officials charged with capital offenses while upholding the law in the American colonies.

Massachusetts Government Act: Reduced colonial control over their own government. Gave British General Thomas Gage absolute authority.

Quartering Act: Great Britain would house its soldiers in American barracks and public homes.

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The Massachusetts Provincial Congress was formed in protest of the Massachusetts Government Act. John Hancock, as president of this congress, ignored royal rule.

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American Patriots from twelve of the thirteen colonies met in Philadelphia to form the First Continental Congress. The Congress petitioned King George III of the following:

1. Remove taxes imposed on American colonists.

2. Remove Great Britain's involvement in American affairs.

3. Agreed to trade regulations between the American colonies and Great Britain.

4. To remove British troops in American colonies during peacetime.

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Despite the famous quote, Paul Revere never actually said "The British are coming."

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Paul Revere "The British are coming!" (April)

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Paul Revere "The British are coming!" (April)

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Massachusetts was declared a "state of rebellion" and by April of 1775, Great Britain declared that the leaders of the rebellion were to be disarmed and arrested.

Paul Revere and others rode ahead of the British to warn leaders in Lexington and Concord. British troops were surprised by the number of forces and retreated.

The war had begun.

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Quick facts of the Battle of Bunker Hill

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Result: British victory

For quick facts and a summary of the battle, click the image above!

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The American patriots were defeated at the Battle of Bunker Hill, but they proved they could hold their own against the superior British Army. The fierce fight confirmed that any reconciliation between England and her American colonies was no longer possible.

How it ended

British victory. The battle was a tactical victory for the British, but it was a sobering experience. The British sustained twice as many casualties as the Americans and lost many officers. After the engagement, the patriots retreated and returned to their lines outside the perimeter of Boston.

In context

By early 1775 tensions between Britain and her colonies had escalated. The colonists began to mobilize for war, while the British Army secured gunpowder and cannon in anticipation of an uprising. On April 19, it all came to a head in the Massachusetts towns of Lexington and Concord. After that historic engagement, the British retreated to their camp in Boston, and local militias prepared for future British attacks. Militiamen marched to defend Boston, some from as far away as Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and what is now the state of Vermont.

British Commander-in-Chief General Sir Thomas Gage was under pressure to quash the colonial rebellion. By June, he had reinforcements and was ready to implement a new strategy. The British Army planned to launch an attack against the Americans on the heights north and south of Boston. Details of the attack were leaked, however, and a detachment of 1,000 Massachusetts and Connecticut soldiers-more of an armed mob than a military unit-gathered to defend a hill in Charlestown. Among the defenders were several enslaved and free African Americans as well. The violent clash of these forces on what is mistakenly known as "Bunker Hill" signaled that the colonial revolt would not be easily extinguished.

Before the Battle

The sheer number of militiamen gathered on the hills outside of Boston deeply troubles Gen. Thomas Gage and his newly arrived subordinates, Gens. William Howe, Henry Clinton, and John Burgoyne. On June 15 and June 16, the Patriots move forward to Breed's Hill on the Charlestown peninsula, where they prepare a fortified position that all but invites a British response. General John Stark from New Hampshire recognizes that the left flank of the fortified position is exposed along the south bank of the Mystic River. He and his men assemble a makeshift split rail barricade to blunt any flanking action employed by the British. When the British officers look out at what has been erected in the short span of one evening they are stunned. Gage knows he has to take action.

During the Battle

June 17. On this sultry afternoon, Gage and his commanders order British regulars and grenadiers to move across Boston Harbor and disembark in lower Charlestown, where Gage will force the rabble's hand with an assault. As the British move into position, the fatigued but spirited defenders are on the alert inside their hastily built fortifications.

Led by Gen. William Howe, King George's troops climb Breed's Hill in perfect battle formation. Legend has it that as they advance, American officer William Prescott cautions his men not to waste their powder, exclaiming "don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes." When British troops near the redoubt, the patriots unleash a withering volley, creating an absolute slaughter. One patriot remarks afterward, "They advanced toward us in order to swallow us up, but they found a choaky[sic] mouthful of us." It is a veritable bloodbath as the British retreat back to their lines.

Once more the British push up the hill, stepping over the bodies of their dead and wounded comrades who lay "as thick as sheep in a fold," and again they receive another patriot volley. Finally, on the third try -and just when the patriots run out of powder and shot-the British succeed in breaking through the patriot works. Intense hand-to-hand fighting occurs inside the fortification. The British are victorious but at a cost. At some point in the struggle, a "black soldier named Salem" is credited with killing British Maj. John Pitcairn, the officer despised for allegedly ordering his men to fire on patriots during the battle of Lexington and Concord weeks earlier.

Aftermath

"Our three generals," a British officer wrote of his commanders in Boston, "expected rather to punish a mob than fight with troops that would look them in the face." The King's troops count 282 dead and another 800 wounded. Patriot casualties are less than half of the British total. British General Sir Henry Clinton is appalled at the carnage, calling it "a dear bought victory." Badly depleted, the British abandon plans to seize another high point near the city and ultimately evacuate Boston.

Though defeated, the Patriots are not demoralized. Those who choose to stay and keep the British bottled up in Boston become the nucleus of the Continental Army. The task of transforming the mob into a fighting force falls on the shoulders of Virginian George Washington, who assumes command in Cambridge, Massachusetts, within two weeks of the erroneously named Battle of Bunker Hill.

Bunker Hill: Featured Resources

Massachusetts | Apr 19, 1775 - Mar 17, 1776

Result: American Victory
Est. Casualties: 98
American: 19
British: 79

Massachusetts | Apr 19, 1775

Result: American Victory
Est. Casualties: 393
American: 93
British: 300

Massachusetts | Jun 17, 1775

Result: British Victory
Est. Casualties: 1,532
American: 450
British: 1,054

Related Battles

Massachusetts | June 17, 1775

Massachusetts | Apr 19, 1775 - Mar 17, 1776

Result: American Victory
Est. Casualties: 98
American: 19
British: 79

Massachusetts | Apr 19, 1775

Result: American Victory
Est. Casualties: 393
American: 93
British: 300

Massachusetts | Jun 17, 1775

Result: British Victory
Est. Casualties: 1,532
American: 450
British: 1,054

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The American patriots were defeated at the Battle of Bunker Hill, but they proved they could hold their own against the superior British Army. The fierce fight...

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George Washington gathered his army and positioned cannons overlooking the British-occupied city of Boston.

British forces evacuated to Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Washington then moved his forces south to New York City, knowing it would make for a strategic naval base.

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In Philadelphia, Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence. It would be ratified on July 4th, 1776.

By clicking the image above, you will have access to the transcript of the Declaration of Independence.

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The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Back to Main Declaration Page

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Declaration of Independence: A Transcription

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Note: The following text is a transcription of the Stone Engraving of the parchment Declaration of Independence (the document on display in the Rotunda at the National Archives Museum.) The spelling and punctuation reflects the original.

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Quick facts of the Battle of Long Island

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British troops stationed south of American forces in New York attacked, driving Washington's troops north.

Result: British victory

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George Washington's efforts to fortify New York City from a British attack led to the Revolutionary War 's biggest battle. The crushing defeat for the Americans allowed Britain to hold the valuable port until the end of the war.

How it ended

British victory. Shortly after fighting began, the British cornered Washington and 9,000 of his men in Brooklyn Heights. He was surrounded on all sides with the East River to his back and no feasible means of winning the battle. Instead of surrendering, Washington evacuated the army and retreated to Manhattan, a decision that saved the Continental Army and the patriot cause.

In context

New York played a pivotal role throughout the American Revolution, particularly early on. Its central position in the American Colonies and its port made it vital to commerce and a key strategic location. After compelling the British evacuation of Boston in the early months of 1776, General George Washington accurately guessed that the Redcoats' next target would be New York City. Washington transferred his Continental Army to the city in April and May, hoping to turn back or at least severely cripple the next wave of British invaders.

The Continentals fortified the city in fits and starts. Discipline was sorely lacking among the Americans, many of whom had never been so far from home and had never served in a professional military. They were awed by the arrival of the British fleet in late June. One man remarked that it looked like "all London afloat." The British infantry disembarked on Staten Island.

The British warships had the potential to dominate the river waterways that cut through New York City, rendering the American defense untenable. Nevertheless, Washington sought to fight a battle and inflict some damage before abandoning his position. His defensive arrangement, however, was fatally flawed. He split his forces between Brooklyn and Manhattan, preventing easy reinforcement or escape across the Hudson and East Rivers. Furthermore, his line atop Guan Heights did not stretch to cover the Jamaica Pass, a hole that was exploited by British regulars.

Although a timely retreat saved the Continental Army from destruction at Brooklyn, Washington's failure there left New York firmly in British hands until the end of the war.

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George Washington's efforts to fortify New York City from a British attack led to the Revolutionary War's biggest battle. The crushing defeat for the Americans...

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Washington Crosses the Delaware River - The Battle of Trenton

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Washington Crosses the Delaware River - The Battle of Trenton

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On Christmas of 1776, Washington and his men stealthily crossed the Delaware River and surprised British forces in Trenton, New Jersey.

Result: American victory

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After crossing the Delaware River in a treacherous storm, General George Washington's army defeated a garrison of Hessian mercenaries at Trenton. The victory set the stage for another success at Princeton a week later and boosted the morale of the American troops.

How it ended

American victory. The army that the British thought was all but defeated destroyed a major garrison and suffered very few casualties. The Americans also managed to capture critical supplies, including food and clothing, in the process. Emboldened, General George Washington recrossed and crossed the Delaware again over the next week, fighting a delaying action at the Battle of the Assunpink and winning another stunning victory at the Battle of Princeton.

In context

In late 1776, morale in the Continental Army was at a low after losses at the Battle of White Plains in October and at Forts Washington and Lee in November. Chased by the British, General Washington retreated across New Jersey and into Pennsylvania. His force, in threadbare uniforms and many without shoes, was reduced to a few thousand and enlistments were set to expire. By December, the troops were huddled along the western banks of the Delaware River, with the waterway and winter weather helping to keep the British at bay. Thomas Paine's The American Crisis was passed around campfires, reigniting a passion for the revolutionary cause and helping to steady the soldiers' spirits and resolve.

On the night of Christmas, December 25, 1776, Washington implemented at audacious plan that would improve the fortunes of the American forces. The general daringly led his men across the icy Delaware River and on a ten-mile march into Trenton, New Jersey, where they surprised a garrison of 1,500 Hessians. The Americans dominated the fight and prevailed again in Princeton a week later. In these battles, Washington demonstrated his ingenuity and resilience as a leader, won the loyalty of his soldiers, and revived the Continental Army.

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After crossing the Delaware River in a treacherous storm, General George Washington's army defeated a garrison of Hessian mercenaries at Trenton. The victory...

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After fleeing from Philadelphia, Washington and his men survived the winter in Valley Forge where many of his men would die of starvation and disease.

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France Declares Allegiance to the United States

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France Declares Allegiance to the United States

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In order to combat the British Empire from getting too powerful, France joins the United States' fight for independence.

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The British Empire offered terms of reconciliation with the American colonies, rather than allowing them to become independent.

The American Congress unanimously rejected the deal.

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Spain declares their support for the United States

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Spain declares their support for the United States

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Joining France, Spain declared their allegiance with the United States, forcing the British Empire to remove troops from the war effort in the American colonies in order to fight threats elsewhere in the world.

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After the fighting in the northern American colonies had gone to a stalemate, British troops moved south to strengthen their stronghold in the south and gain support from loyalists in the southern colonies.

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Benedict Arnold betrays the United States!

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Benedict Arnold betrays the United States!

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In 1780, after years of fighting, American army officer Benedict Arnold fled the fight and joined the British.

Horatio Gates took over in the conflict in the south and was defeated in the Battle of Camden, this meant that South Carolina and Georgia was back under British control.

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Quick facts and summary of the Battle of Yorktown

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The British forces set up base in Yorktown, but their naval fleet was fought off by French ships. At the same time, George Washington and French General Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau surrounded them, causing the British army to surrender.

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The Battle of Yorktown proved to be the decisive engagement of the American Revolution. The British surrender forecast the end of British rule in the colonies and the birth of a new nation-the United States of America.

How it ended

American victory. Outnumbered and outfought during a three-week siege in which they sustained great losses, British troops surrendered to the Continental Army and their French allies. This last major land battle of the American Revolution led to negotiations for peace with the British and the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

In context

After six years of war, both the British and Continental armies were exhausted. The British, in hostile territory, held only a few coastal areas in America. On the other side of the Atlantic, Britain was also waging a global war with France and Spain. The American conflict was unpopular and divisive, and there was no end in sight. For the colonies, the long struggle for independence was leading to enormous debt, food shortages, and a lack of morale among the soldiers. Both sides were desperately seeking a definitive victory.

General George Washington and his Continental Army had a decision to make in the spring of 1781. They could strike a decisive blow to the British in New York City or aim for the south, in Yorktown, Virginia, where Gen. Charles Lord Cornwallis's troops were garrisoned. Washington and his French ally, Lt. Gen. Comte de Rochambeau, bet on the south, where they were assured critical naval support from a French fleet commanded by Adm. Comte de Grasse. The Allied armies marched hundreds of miles from their headquarters north of New York City to Yorktown, making theirs the largest troop movement of the American Revolution. They surprised the British in a siege that turned the tide toward an American victory in the War for Independence.

Before the Battle

In the fall of 1781, the British occupy Yorktown, where Cornwallis intends to refit and resupply his 9,000-man army. While he awaits supplies and much-needed reinforcements from the Royal Navy, the Continental Army seizes an opportunity. On receiving word that the French fleet will be available for a siege south of New Jersey, Washington and Rochambeau move their force of almost 8,000 men south to Virginia, planning to join and lead about 12,000 other militia, French troops, and Continental troops in a siege of Yorktown.

On September 5, while the Allied army is still on route, the French fleet guards the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay. The Royal Navy, attempting to sail up the Bay to Cornwallis, is met by French warships at the mouth of the Chesapeake. In this encounter, called the Battle of the Capes, the British fleet is soundly defeated and forced to abandon Cornwallis's army at Yorktown.

During the Battle

September 28. After a grueling march, the American and French forces arrive near Yorktown and immediately begin the hard work of laying siege to Cornwallis and his men. Cornwallis has thrown up a series of redoubts on the outskirts of Yorktown while the majority of his men hunker down in the town.

With the help of French engineers, American and French troops begin to dig a series of parallel trenches, which bring troops and artillery close enough to inflict damage on the British. Feverishly working night and day, soldiers of the combined forces employ spades and axes to create a perimeter line of trenches that will trap the British. As the work on the parallels continues, the British attempt to disrupt Allied operations by using what little artillery they have left. Their attempts prove futile.

October 9. The Allied lines are now within musket range of the British and American and French artillery are in place. In the afternoon, the Allied barrage begins, with the French opening the salvo. On the American side, George Washington touches off the first cannon to commence their assault. His artillery consists of three 24-pounders, three 18-pounders, two 8-inch (203 mm) howitzers, and 6 mortars, totaling 14 guns. For nearly a week the artillery barrage is ceaseless, shattering whatever nerve the British have remaining and punching holes in British defenses.

October 11. Washington orders troops to dig a second parallel 400 yards closer to the British lines. British redoubts #9 and #10 prevent the second parallel from extending to the river and the British are still able to reinforce the garrisons inside the redoubts. They have to be taken by force. The new line is in place by the morning of October 12.

October 14. On a moonless night, after firing incessant artillery to weaken British defenses, American and French forces prepare a surprise assault on redoubts #9 and #10. To maintain stealth, soldiers do not to load or prime their weapons. The password for the operation is "Rochambeau," which the Americans translate as "Rush on boys!" The assault commences with a diversionary attack on a redoubt further to the north of Yorktown at 6:30 p.m., giving the appearance that the town itself was to be stormed. Then, Lt. Col. Alexander Hamilton's force, consisting of a detachment of 400 of his light infantry, assaults redoubt #10 with bayonets fixed and muskets unloaded. To prevent the British defenders from escaping the coming onslaught, Lt. Col. John Laurens 's troops cover the rear of the redoubt.

As American troops hack at the abatis with axes, the British are alerted. A British sentry fires at the Americans and the Americans proceeded to assault the fortification, climbing over the parapet and descending into the redoubt. Serious fighting ensues in close quarters, but the British are overwhelmed. It is a stunning victory with the Americans sustaining only 34 casualties.

The French simultaneously assault redoubt #9 and, after an equally fierce firefight, wrest control from the British. Cornwallis's position is untenable as the Franco-American alliance has artillery on three of his sides, with additional new pieces positioned in redoubts #9 and #10 after their fall. In a last-ditch effort, Cornwallis orders a futile counterattack on October 15, which fails miserably.

October 17. That morning, a lone British drummer boy, beating "parley" and British officer waving a white handkerchief tied to the end of a sword are seen on a parapet at the forward position of the British lines. Blindfolded and brought inside American lines, the British officer secures terms of surrender for the British Army.

October 19. In a field outside of Yorktown, the capitulation takes place as British troops and their Hessian allies, with flags furled and cased, march sullenly between contingents of American and French forces. The British seek honorable terms of surrender, but Washington refuses as American forces were denied the that honor in Charleston, South Carolina, earlier in the war.

Aftermath

The Battle of Yorktown marks the collapse of the British war efforts. Later, it is said that the British band played the tune "The World's Turned Upside Down" during the surrender at Yorktown-an apocryphal story that has become part of American folklore. But the world truly changes that day as the military operations of the War for Independence cease.

When news of Cornwallis's surrender reaches London on November 25, the Prime Minister, Lord North, declares, "Oh God. It is all over. It is all over." On March 5, 1782, Parliament passes a bill authorizing the government to make peace with America. Lord North resigns 15 days later. Although it takes the Americans two more years of skillful diplomacy to formally secure their independence through the Treaty of Paris, the war is won with the British defeat at Yorktown.

Yorktown: Featured Resources

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Virginia | September 28, 1781

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Yorktown was George Washington's decisive victory over General Lord Charles Cornwallis. Learn about the last major land battle of the American Revolutionary War.

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After the news of the Battle of Yorktown reached Great Britain, the Prime Minister resigned and was replaced by one who recognized American Independence. This marked the end of the American Revolution!

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The United States and the British Empire had signed the Treaty of Paris, officially signed over the lands that became the United States of America

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NOTE TO READERS
"Milestones in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations" has been retired and is no longer maintained. For more information, please see the full notice.

In 1782, Benjamin Franklin rejected informal peace overtures from Great Britain for a settlement that would provide the thirteen states with some measure of autonomy within the British Empire. Franklin insisted on British recognition of American independence and refused to consider a peace separate from France, America's staunch ally. Franklin did agree, however, to negotiations with the British for an end to the war. Joined by peace commissioners John Adams and John Jay, Franklin engaged the British in formal negotiations beginning on September 27, 1782.

American Negotiations of the Peace of Paris

Although Franklin demanded the cessation of Canada to an independent America, he knew that the British Government of Lord Shelburne, opposed to American independence, was unprepared to accept that offer. Two months of hard bargaining resulted in a preliminary articles of peace in which the British accepted American independence and boundaries, resolved the difficult issues of fishing rights on the Newfoundland banks and prewar debts owed British creditors, promised restitution of property lost during the war by Americans loyal to the British cause, and provided for the evacuation of British forces from the thirteen states. The preliminary articles signed in Paris on November 30, 1782, were only effective when Britain and France signed a similar treaty, which French Foreign Minister Vergennes quickly negotiated. France signed preliminary articles of peace with Great Britain on January 20, 1783, followed by a formal peace of Paris signed on September 3, 1783.

The illustration above, a copy of a sketch by the studio of Benjamin West, shows the American negotiators of the Peace of Paris. The sketch remains incomplete because British negotiators chose not to sit for their half of the portrait: it serves as a powerful symbol of the division between Great Britain and its former American colonies.

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Milestones: 1776-1783 - Office of the Historian

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NOTE TO READERS "Milestones in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations" has been retired and is no longer maintained. For more information, please see the full notice. In 1782, Benjamin Franklin rejected informal peace overtures from Great Britain for a settlement that would provide the thirteen states with some measure of autonomy within the British Empire.