American Revolutionary War

Revolutionary War redirects here. For revolutions in

general, see Revolution.
This article is about military actions only. For political
and social developments, including the origins and
aftermath of the war, see American Revolution.

Canada. Burgoynes army was trapped and surrendered

after the Battles of Saratoga in October 1777. This
American victory encouraged France to enter the war in
1778, followed by its ally Spain in 1779.
In 1778, having failed in the northern states, the British
shifted strategy toward the southern colonies, where they
planned to enlist many Loyalist regiments. British forces
had initial success in bringing Georgia and South Carolina under control in 1779 and 1780, but the Loyalist surge was far weaker than expected. In 1781 British
forces moved through Virginia, but their escape was
blocked by a French naval victory. Washington took control of a Franco-American siege at Yorktown and captured the entire British force of over 7,000 men. The
defeat at Yorktown nally turned the British Parliament
against the war. The war at sea continued, and the British
navy scored key victories, especially the Battle of the
Saintes in 1782. In 1783, the Treaty of Paris ended the
war and recognized the sovereignty of the United States
over the territory bounded roughly by what is now Canada
to the north, Florida to the south, and the Mississippi
River to the west. France gained its revenge and little
else except a heavy national debt, while Spain acquired
Britains Florida colonies.[21][22]

The American Revolutionary War (17751783), the

American War of Independence,[N 1] or simply the
Revolutionary War in the United States, was the armed
conict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and
thirteen of its former North American colonies, which
had declared themselves the independent United States
of America.[N 2][19] Early ghting took place primarily on
the North American continent. In 1778 France, eager for
revenge after its defeat in the Seven Years War, signed
an alliance with the new nation. The conict then escalated into a world war with Britain combating France,
Spain, and the Netherlands. Contemporaneous ghting
also broke out in India between the British East India
Company and the French allied Kingdom of Mysore.
The war had its origins in the resistance of many Americans to taxes imposed by the British parliament, which
they claimed were unconstitutional. Patriot protests escalated into boycotts and the destruction of a shipment
of tea at the Boston Tea Party. The British government
punished Massachusetts by closing the port of Boston and
taking away self-government. The Patriots responded
by setting up a shadow government that took control of
the province outside of Boston. Twelve other colonies
supported Massachusetts, formed a Continental Congress
to coordinate their resistance, and set up committees
and conventions which eectively seized power from the
royal governments. In April 1775 ghting broke out between Massachusetts militia units and British regulars at
Lexington and Concord. The Continental Congress appointed General George Washington to take charge of
militia units besieging British forces in Boston, forcing
them to evacuate the city in March 1776. Congress supervised the war, giving Washington command of the new
Continental Army; he also coordinated state militia units.

1 Causes
Main article: American Revolution

1.1 Taxes
The close of the Seven Years War in 1763 (the French
and Indian War in North America) saw Britain triumphant in driving the French from North America,
but also heavily in debt. Taxes in Britain were already
very high and it was thought that the American colonies
should pay for the soldiers to be stationed there. Parliament passed the Stamp Act in March 1765, which
imposed direct taxes on the colonies for the rst time
starting November 1. This met with strong condemnation among American spokesmen, who argued that
their Rights as Englishmen meant that taxes could not
be imposed on them because they lacked representation in Parliament.[23] At the same time the colonists rejected the solution of being provided with the representation, claiming that their local circumstances made it

In July 1776, the Continental Congress formally declared

independence.[20] The British were meanwhile mustering
forces to suppress the revolt. Sir William Howe outmaneuvered and defeated Washington, capturing New York
City and New Jersey. Washington was able to capture a
Hessian detachment at Trenton and drive the British out
of most of New Jersey. In 1777 Howes army launched
a campaign against the national capital at Philadelphia,
failing to aid Burgoynes separate invasion force from
1

CAUSES

regulate trade.
In 1768 violence broke out in Boston and 4000 British
troops were sent to occupy the city. Parliament threatened to try Massachusetts residents for treason in England. Far from being intimidated, the colonists formed
new associations to boycott British goods, albeit with less
eectiveness than previously since the Townshend imports were so widely used. In March 1770 ve colonists
in Boston were killed in the "Boston Massacre", sparking
outrage.[27]
In 1773, in an eort to rescue the East India Company
from nancial diculties, the British attempted to increase its tea sales by exempting the Company from the
tea tax and appointing certain merchants in America to
receive and sell the untaxed tea. The landing of this tea
was resisted in all the colonies and, when the royal governor of Massachusetts refused to send back the tea ships
in Boston, Patriots destroyed the tea chests.[28]

1.2 Crisis

Notice of Stamp Act of 1765 in Newspaper

impossible.[24][25]

This iconic 1846 lithograph by Nathaniel Currier was entitled

The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor"; the phrase Boston
Tea Party had not yet become standard. Contrary to Curriers
depiction, few of the men dumping the tea were actually disguised
as Indians.[29]

Civil resistance prevented the Act from being enforced,

and organized boycotts of British goods were instituted.
This resistance was by and large unexpected and pro- Nobody was punished for the "Boston Tea Party" and
duced a violent and very natural irritation amongst the
in 1774 Parliament ordered Boston harbor closed unBritish.
til the destroyed tea was paid for. It then passed the
A change of government in Britain led to the repeal of Massachusetts Government Act to punish the rebellious
the Stamp Act as inexpedient, but also the passage of colony. The upper house of the Massachusetts legislature
the Declaratory Act, which stated, the said colonies and would be appointed by the Crown, as was already the case
plantations in America have been, are, and of right ought in other colonies such as New York and Virginia. The
to be, subordinate unto, and dependent upon the imperial royal governor was able to appoint and remove at will all
crown and parliament of Great Britain.[26]
judges, sheris, and other executive ocials, and restrict
In their declarations Americans had deemed internal town meetings. Jurors would be selected by the shertaxes like the Stamp Act as unlawful, but not external is and British soldiers would be tried outside the colony
taxes like the long-standing custom duties. So in 1767 for alleged oenses. These were collectively dubbed the
Parliament passed the Townshend Act, which imposed "Intolerable Acts" by the Patriots.
duties on various British goods exported to the colonies. Although these actions were not unprecedented (the MasThe Americans quickly denounced this as illegal as well, sachusetts charter had already been replaced once besince the intent of the act was to raise revenue and not fore in 1691), the people of the colony were outraged.

3
Town meetings resulted in the Suolk Resolves, a declaration not to cooperate with the royal authorities. In October 1774 an illegal "provincial congress" was established
which took over the governance of Massachusetts outside
of British-occupied Boston and began training militia for
hostilities.

policies.[31] Meanwhile, Whig commanders in America

such as Sir William Howe and his brother Admiral Howe
came under the suspicion of Tories and Loyalists for not
vigorously prosecuting the war eort.[32]

Meanwhile, in September 1774 representatives of the

other colonies convened the First Continental Congress
in order to respond to the crisis. The Congress rejected
a "Plan of Union" to establish an American parliament
that could approve or disapprove of the acts of the British
parliament. Instead, they endorsed the Suolk Resolves
and demanded the repeal of all Parliamentary acts passed
since 1763, not merely the tax on tea and the Intolerable
Acts. They stated that Parliament had no authority over
internal matters in America, but that they would cheerfully consent to trade regulations, including customs duties for the benet of the empire.[30] They also required
Britain to acknowledge that unilaterally stationing troops
in the colonies in a time of peace was against the law.
Although the Congress lacked any legal authority, it ordered the creation of Patriot committees who would enforce a boycott of British goods starting on December 1,
1774.

2 First phase, 17751778

2.1 Outbreak of the War 177576
2.1.1 Massachusetts
Main article: Boston campaign
In February 1775 Parliament declared Massachusetts to
be in a state of rebellion. Lieutenant General Thomas
Gage, the British North American commander-in chief,
commanded four regiments of British regulars (about
4,000 men) from his headquarters in Boston, but the
countryside was in the hands of the Revolutionaries. On
April 14, he received orders to disarm the rebels and arrest their leaders.

This time, however, the British would not yield. Edmund

Burke introduced a motion to repeal all the Acts of Parliament the Americans objected to and waive any rights
of Britain to tax for revenue, but it was defeated 210-105.
Parliament voted to restrict all colonial trade to Britain,
prevent them from using the Newfoundland sheries, and
to increase the size of the army and navy by 6,000. In
February 1775 Prime Minister Lord North proposed not
to impose taxes if the colonies themselves made xed
contributions. This would safeguard the taxing rights
of the colonies from future infringement while enabling
them to contribute to maintenance of the empire. This
proposal was nevertheless rejected by the Congress in The British marching to Concord in April 1775
July as an insidious maneuver, by which time hostilities had broken out.
On the night of April 18, 1775, General Gage sent 700
men to seize munitions stored by the colonial militia
at Concord, Massachusetts. Riders including Paul Re1.3 Internal British politics
vere alerted the countryside, and when British troops enDuring this time the British did not present a united front tered Lexington on the morning of April 19, they found
toward the American Patriots. The Parliament of Great 77 Minutemen formed up on the village green. Shots
Britain at this time was informally divided between con- were exchanged, killing several Minutemen. The British
servative (Tory) and liberal (Whig) factions. The Whigs moved on to Concord, where a detachment of three comgenerally favored lenient treatment of the colonists short panies was engaged and routed at the North Bridge by a
of independence while the Tories staunchly upheld the force of 500 minutemen. As the British retreated back to
rights of Parliament. The Whigs felt that the Tory poli- Boston, thousands of militiamen attacked them along the
cies were pushing Americans to rebel, while the Tories roads, inicting many casualties before timely British reBattles
thought Whig leniency (such as repealing the Stamp Act) inforcements prevented a total disaster. With the
[33]
the
war
had
begun.
of
Lexington
and
Concord,
was doing the same. Many Whigs freely associated themselves with the American Patriot cause, which Tories
thought were encouraging the Americans in their resistance. The result was that, although Lord North's Tory
government usually had a Parliamentary majority, a large
Whig minority opposed it and constantly criticized its

The militia converged on Boston, bottling up the British

in the city. About 4,500 more British soldiers arrived
by sea, and on June 17, 1775, British forces under General William Howe seized the Charlestown peninsula at
the Battle of Bunker Hill. Instead of landing behind the

FIRST PHASE, 17751778

Americans, a move that would not only have easily won

the battle but also expose the rest of the rebel army to destruction, the British mounted a costly frontal attack.[34]
The Americans fell back, but British losses totaled over
1,000 men. The siege was not broken, and Gage was soon
replaced by Howe as the British commander-in-chief.[35]
General Gage wrote to the Secretary at War in London:
These people show a spirit and conduct
against us they never showed against the
French.They are now spirited up by a rage
and enthusiasm as great as ever people were
possessed of and you must proceed in earnest
or give the business up. A small body acting
in one spot will not avail, you must have large
armies making diversions on dierent sides, to
divide their force. The loss we have sustained
is greater than we can bear. Small armies cannot aord such losses, especially when the advantage gained tends to do little more than the
gaining of a post.[36]
In July 1775, newly appointed General Washington arrived outside Boston to take charge of the colonial forces
and to organize the Continental Army. Realizing his
armys desperate shortage of gunpowder, Washington
asked for new sources. Arsenals were raided and some
manufacturing was attempted; 90% of the supply (2 million pounds) was imported by the end of 1776, mostly
from France.[37] Patriots in New Hampshire had seized
powder, muskets and cannons from Fort William and
Mary in Portsmouth Harbor in late 1774.[38] Some of the
munitions were used in the Boston campaign.
The stando continued throughout the fall and winter.
During this time Washington was astounded by the failure
of Howe to attack his shrinking, poorly armed force.[39]
In early March 1776, heavy cannons that the patriots had
captured at Fort Ticonderoga were brought to Boston by
Colonel Henry Knox, and placed on Dorchester Heights.
Since the artillery now overlooked the British positions,
Howes situation was untenable, and the British ed on
March 17, 1776, sailing to their naval base at Halifax,
Nova Scotia, an event now celebrated in Massachusetts
as Evacuation Day. Washington then moved most of the
Continental Army to fortify New York City.[40]
2.1.2

Quebec

British soldiers and Provincial militiamen repulse the American

assault at Sault-au-Matelot, Canada, December 1775

gan fortifying St. Johns, and opened negotiations with

the Iroquois and other Native American tribes for their
support. These actions, combined with lobbying by both
Allen and Arnold and the fear of a British attack from the
north, eventually persuaded the Congress to authorize an
invasion of Quebec, with the goal of driving the British
military from that province. (Quebec was then frequently
referred to as Canada, as most of its territory included the
former French Province of Canada.)[41]
Two Quebec-bound expeditions were undertaken. On
September 28, 1775, Brigadier General Richard Montgomery marched north from Fort Ticonderoga with about
1,700 militiamen, besieging and capturing Fort St. Jean
on November 2 and then Montreal on November 13.
General Carleton escaped to Quebec City and began
preparing that city for an attack. The second expedition,
led by Colonel Arnold, went through the wilderness of
what is now northern Maine. Logistics were dicult,
with 300 men turning back, and another 200 perishing
due to the harsh conditions. By the time Arnold reached
Quebec City in early November, he had but 600 of his
original 1,100 men. Montgomerys force joined Arnolds,
and they attacked Quebec City on December 31, but were
defeated by Carleton in a battle that ended with Montgomery dead, Arnold wounded, and over 400 Americans
taken prisoner.[42] The remaining Americans held on outside Quebec City until the spring of 1776, suering from
poor camp conditions and smallpox, and then withdrew
when a squadron of British ships under Captain Charles
Douglas arrived to relieve the siege.[43]
Another attempt was made by the Americans to push
back towards Quebec, but they failed at Trois-Rivires
on June 8, 1776. Carleton then launched his own invasion and defeated Arnold at the Battle of Valcour Island in
October. Arnold fell back to Fort Ticonderoga, where the
invasion had begun. While the invasion ended as a disaster for the Americans, Arnolds eorts in 1776 delayed
any full-scale British counteroensive until the Saratoga
campaign of 1777.

Main article: Invasion of Canada (1775)

Three weeks after the siege of Boston began, the Green
Mountain Boys, a group of militia volunteers led by Ethan
Allen and Benedict Arnold captured Fort Ticonderoga,
a strategically important point on Lake Champlain between New York and the Province of Quebec. After that
action they also raided Fort St. Johns, not far from Montreal, which alarmed the population and the authorities
there. In response, Quebecs governor Guy Carleton be- The invasion cost the Americans their base of support in

2.2

Campaign of 177677

British public opinion, So that the violent measures towards America are freely adopted and countenanced by a
majority of individuals of all ranks, professions, or occupations, in this country.[44] It gained them at best limited
support in the population of Quebec, which, while somewhat supportive early in the invasion, became less so later
during the occupation, when American policies against
suspected Loyalists became harsher, and the armys hard
currency ran out. Two small regiments of Canadiens were
recruited during the operation, and they were with the
army on its retreat back to Ticonderoga.[45] Even after
their retreat, the Patriots continued to view Quebec as a
part of their cause and made specic provisions for it to
join the U.S. under the 1777 Articles of Confederation.

2.1.3

Expelling the royal ocials

At the onset of war, the British had a signicant force

only in Boston, though this force would evacuate by the
signing of the declaration. Patriots in all 13 colonies were
quick to establish new revolutionary governments based
around various committees and conventions that they had
created in 1774 and early 1775. Royal governors and ocials found themselves powerless to stop the rebellion and
in many places were forced to ee. In many places the
Patriots were energetic and were backed by angry mobs
while the Loyalists were too intimidated or poorly organized to be eective without the British army. The term
"lynching" originated when Virginia Patriots held informal courts and arrested Loyalists (the term did not suggest
execution).

2.1.4

Loyalist Writings

Loyalist writings throughout the conict persistently

claimed that they were the majority, and inuenced London ocials to believe that it would be possible to raise
many Loyalist regiments.[46] As late as 1780 the Loyalists were deceiving themselves and top London ocials
about their supposedly strong base of support.[47]

5
2.1.5 British reaction
King George III issued a Proclamation of Rebellion in
August 1775, and addressed Parliament on October 26,
1775. He denounced the authors and promoters of this
desperate conspiracy who had labored to iname my
people in America ... and to infuse into their minds a
system of opinions repugnant to the true constitution of
the Colonies, and to their subordinate relation to Great
Britain ... He detailed measures taken to suppress the
revolt, including "friendly oers of foreign assistance".
The Kings speech was endorsed by both Houses of Parliament, a motion in the House of Commons to oppose
coercive measures was defeated 278-108. The British received an Olive Branch Petition written by the Second
Continental Congress dated July 8, 1775, imploring the
King to reverse the policies of his ministers. The Parliament debated on whether to accept the petition, but
after a lengthy debate rejected it by 53 votes, viewing it
as insincere. Parliament then voted to impose a blockade against the Thirteen Colonies. The popularity of
war in Britain reached a peak in 1777.[48] The king himself took full control as he micromanaged the war effort, despite the opposition of top ocials including the
prime minister North and the civilian heads of the army
and the navy. The king vehemently rejected independence and demanded the use of Indians to distress the
Americans.[49]
Separately, the Irish Parliament pledged its loyalty and
agreed to the withdrawal of troops from Ireland to suppress the rebellion in America.[50] Most Irish Protestants
were against the war and favoured the Americans, but the
Catholic establishment supported the king.[51] The American Revolution was the rst war in which Irish Catholics
were allowed to enlist in the army.[52]
Militarily, the weak British response to the rebellion in
1775 and early 1776 around Boston was a losing cause;
the British lost control of every colony.[53] The peacetime
British army had been deliberately kept small since the
Glorious Revolution to prevent an abuse of power by the
King. To muster a force the British had to launch recruiting campaigns in Britain and Ireland and hire mercenaries from the small German states, both immensely
time-consuming. The king wanted to save money, and
the administration of the army was inecient. Russia refused to rent out soldiers. After a year the British were
able to ship Sir William Howe an army of 32,000 ocers
and men to open a campaign in summer 1776. It was the
largest force the British had ever sent outside of Europe
at that time.[54]

Patriots overwhelmed Loyalists in the Snow Campaign in

South Carolina in late 1775. Virginias governor Lord
Dunmore attempted to rally a loyalist force but was decisively beaten in December 1775 at the Battle of Great
Bridge. In February 1776 British General Clinton took
2,000 men and a naval squadron to assist Loyalists mustering in North Carolina, only to call it o when he
learned they had been crushed at the Battle of Moores
2.2 Campaign of 177677
Creek Bridge. In June he tried to seize Charleston, South
Carolina, the leading port in the South, but the attack
2.2.1 New York
failed as the naval force was repulsed by the Patriot forts.

Apart from thirteen, no other British North American Main article: New York and New Jersey campaign
colony joined the rebellion.
Having withdrawn his army from Boston, General Howe

FIRST PHASE, 17751778

proof ever existed. On October 12 the British made an

attempt to encircle the Americans, which failed because
of Howes decision to land on an island that was easily cut o from the mainland.[60] The Americans evacuated Manhattan, and on October 28 fought the Battle
of White Plains against the pursuing British. During the
battle Howe declined to attack Washingtons highly vulnerable main force, instead attacking a hill that was of no
strategic signicance.[61][62]
Washington retreated, and Howe returned to Manhattan
and captured Fort Washington in mid November, taking
about 3,000 prisoners. Thus began the infamous prison
ships system the British maintained in New York for the
American soldiers in the Battle of Long Island, 1776
rest of the war, in which more American soldiers and
sailors died of neglect and disease than died in every batnow focused on capturing New York City, which then was tle of the entire war, combined.[63]
limited to the southern tip of Manhattan Island. Howes
Howe then detached General Clinton with 6,000 men
force arrived o of Staten Island across the harbor from
to seize Newport, Rhode Island for the British eet,
Manhattan on June 30, 1776, and his army captured it
which was accomplished without encountering any mawithout resistance. To defend the city, General Washjor resistance.[64] Clinton objected to this move, believington spread his forces along the shores of New Yorks
ing the force would have been better employed up the
harbor, concentrated on Long Island and Manhattan.[55]
Delaware River, where they might have inicted irreparaWhile British and recently hired Hessian troops were asble damage on the retreating Americans.[65]
sembling, Washington had the newly issued Declaration
of American Independence read to his men and the citizens of the city.[56]
2.2.2 New Jersey
Washingtons position was extremely dangerous because
he had divided his forces between Manhattan and Long
Island, neither of which could match the full strength of
the opposing force. The British landed 22,000 men on
Long Island in late August and badly defeated the Continental army in the wars largest battle, taking over 1,000
prisoners and driving them back to Brooklyn Heights.
Howe then laid siege to the heights, claiming he wanted to
spare his mens lives from an immediate assault, although
by his own admission such an assault would have succeeded. He had to actively restrain his subordinates from
landing the nishing blow.[57] Washington initially reinforced his exposed position, but then personally directed
the withdrawal of his entire remaining army and all their
supplies across the East River on the night of August 29
30 without loss of men or materiel.[58] Howe had failed
to conduct adequate scouting to detect the retreat.[59]

General Lord Cornwallis continued to chase Washingtons army through New Jersey, but Howe ordered him
to halt[66] and Washington escaped across the Delaware
River into Pennsylvania on December 7.[67] Howe refused
to order a pursuit across the river, even though the outlook of the Continental Army was bleak. These are the
times that try mens souls, wrote Thomas Paine, who was
with the army on the retreat.[68] The army had dwindled
to fewer than 5,000 men t for duty, and would be reduced to 1,400 after enlistments expired at the end of the
year. Congress moved inland and abandoned Philadelphia in despair, although popular resistance to British occupation was growing in the countryside.[69]

A peace conference took place on September 11 to explore the possibility of a negotiated solution. The British
advanced Lord Norths xed contribution formula of
the preceding year and indicated that other laws could be
revised or repealed so long as the authority of Britain was
acknowledged. The American negotiators could not accept a withdrawal of the Declaration of Independence.
Howe then resumed the attack. On September 15, Howe
landed about 12,000 men on lower Manhattan, quickly
taking control of New York City. The Americans withdrew north up the island to Harlem Heights, where they
battled the next day repulsing a British advance. On
September 21 a devastating re broke out in the city
which the Patriots were widely blamed for, although no

Emanuel Leutze's stylized depiction of Washington Crossing the

Delaware

Howe proceeded to divide his forces in New Jersey into

small detachments that were vulnerable to defeat in detail,

2.3

Campaigns of 177778

with the weakest forces stationed the closest to Washingtons army.[70] Washington decided to take the oensive,
stealthily crossing the Delaware on the night of December 2526, and capturing nearly 1,000 surprised and unfortied Hessians at the Battle of Trenton.[71] Cornwallis marched to retake Trenton but was rst repulsed and
then outmaneuvered by Washington, who successfully attacked the British rearguard at Princeton on January 3,
1777, taking around 200 prisoners.[72] Howe then conceded most of New Jersey to Washington, in spite of
Howes massive numerical superiority over him. Washington entered winter quarters at Morristown, New Jersey, having given a morale boost to the American cause.
"The surrender at Saratoga" shows General Daniel Morgan in
Throughout the winter New Jersey militia continued to
front of a French de Vallire 4-pounder.
harass British and Hessian forces near their three remaining posts along the Raritan River.[73] In April 1777 Washington was amazed that Howe made no eort to attack his
weak army.[74]

2.3

Campaigns of 177778

Washington and Lafayette look over the troops at Valley Forge.

main approved a campaign for these armies to converge

on Albany, New York and divide the American colonies
in two, but did not give any express orders to Howe, who
was developing his own plans. In November 1776 Howe
requested large reinforcements so he could launch attacks
against Philadelphia, New England, and Albany. These
reinforcements were not granted so Howe modied his
plan to launch an attack against Philadelphia only. Germain gave his approval to this, believing that Philadelphia
could be taken in time for Howe to coordinate with the
northern army. Howe, on the other hand, opted to send
his army to Philadelphia by sea via the Chesapeake Bay
instead of taking shorter routes either overland through
New Jersey or through the Delaware Bay. This left him
completely incapable of assisting Burgoyne.[75]

2.3.1 Upstate New York

Mohawk leader Joseph Brant led both Native Americans and
white Loyalists in battle.

Main article: Saratoga campaign

When the British began to plan operations for 1777, they

had two main armies in North America: an army in Quebec (later under the command of John Burgoyne), and
Howes army in New York. In London, Lord George Ger-

The rst of the 1777 campaigns was an expedition from

Quebec led by General John Burgoyne. The goal was to
seize the Lake Champlain and Hudson River corridor,
eectively isolating New England from the rest of the

FIRST PHASE, 17751778

American colonies. Burgoynes invasion had two compo- 2.3.2 Pennsylvania

nents: he would lead about 8,000 men along Lake Champlain towards Albany, New York, while a second column Main article: Philadelphia campaign
of about 2,000 men, led by Barry St. Leger, would move Howe began his campaign in June by making a sedown the Mohawk River Valley and link up with Burgoyne in Albany.[76]
Burgoyne set o in June, and recaptured Fort Ticonderoga in early July. Thereafter, his march was slowed
by the Americans who knocked down trees in his path,
and by his armys extensive baggage train. A detachment
sent out to seize supplies was decisively defeated in the
Battle of Bennington by American militia in August, depriving Burgoyne of nearly 1,000 men.
Meanwhile, St. Legermore than half of his force Native Americans led by Sayenqueraghtahad laid siege
to Fort Stanwix. American militiamen and their Native
American allies marched to relieve the siege but were ambushed and scattered at the Battle of Oriskany. When
a second relief expedition approached, this time led by
Benedict Arnold, St. Legers Indian support abandoned
him, forcing him to break o the siege and return to Quebec.
Burgoynes army had been reduced to about 6,000 men
by the loss at Bennington and the need to garrison Ticonderoga, and he was running short on supplies.[77] Despite
these setbacks, he determined to push on towards Albany.
An American army of 8,000 men, ocially commanded
by General Horatio Gates (but eectively being led by
his subordinate Benedict Arnold), had entrenched about
10 miles (16 km) south of Saratoga, New York. Burgoyne tried to outank the Americans but was checked
at the rst battle of Saratoga in September. Burgoynes
situation was desperate, but he now hoped that help from
Howes army in New York City might be on the way. It
was not: Howe had instead sailed away on his expedition
to capture Philadelphia. American militiamen ocked to
Gates army, swelling his force to 11,000 by the beginning of October. After being badly beaten at the second
battle of Saratoga, Burgoyne surrendered on October 17.
British General Clinton in New York City attempted a diversion in favor of Burgoyne in early October, capturing
two key forts but withdrawing after hearing of the surrender.
Saratoga was the turning point of the war. Revolutionary condence and determination, suering from
Howes successful occupation of Philadelphia, was renewed. What is more important, the victory encouraged
France to make an open alliance with the Americans, after two years of semi-secret support. For the British, the
war had now become much more complicated.[78]

Military uniforms of the American Revolution

ries of maneuvers in New Jersey, which failed to engage

Washingtons greatly inferior force.[79] He then loaded
his troops onto transports and slowly sailed to the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay, landing 15,000 troops
on August 25 at the head of the Elk River. Washington
positioned his 11,000 men in a strong position along the
Brandywine River, between the British and Philadelphia,
but Howe outanked and defeated him on September 11,
1777. French observers noted that Howe failed to follow
up on his victory, which could have destroyed Washingtons army.[80]

The Continental Congress again abandoned Philadelphia, and on September 26, Howe nally outmaneuvered Washington and marched into the city unopposed.
A part of Howes army was then split o to reduce
rebel forts blocking his communications up the Delaware
The Americans held the British prisoners taken at River. Hoping to bring about another Trenton-like vicSaratoga until the end of the war, in direct violation of tory while the British were divided, on October 4 Washthe agreed surrender terms, which specied they would ington mounted a surprise assault against the British at
be repatriated immediately.
Germantown. Howe had failed to alert his troops there,
despite being aware of the impending attack the previous day. The British were in danger of a rout, but

9
faulty American decisions resulted in Washington being nothing less than absolute independence. Previously
repulsed with heavy losses.[81]
France had only been willing to act in conjunction with
The armies met at White Marsh in December, where their Spanish ally but now they were willing to go to war
after some skirmishing Howe decided to retire, ignor- alone if necessary. Britain responded by recalling its aming the vulnerability of Washingtons rear, where an at- bassador, although Franco-British hostilities did not actack could have cut o Washington from his baggage tually break out until June 17, 1778.
and provisions.[82] Washington and his army encamped
at Valley Forge in December 1777, about 20 miles (32
km) from Philadelphia, where they stayed for the next six
months. Over the winter, 2,500 men (out of 10,000) died
from disease and exposure and the army was reduced to
4,000 eectives. During this time Howes army, comfortable in Philadelphia, made no eort to exploit the weakness of the American army.[83] The next spring the army
emerged from Valley Forge in good order, thanks in part
to a training program supervised by Baron von Steuben,
who introduced the most modern Prussian methods of organization and tactics.[84]
Historians speculate that the British forfeited several
chances for military victory in 17761777 ...[85] and if
General Howe had violated military tradition by advancing in December on the Continental troops quartered [at
Valley Forge], he might have readily overwhelmed them
and possibly ended the war.[86]
Howe submitted his resignation in October 1777; until it
was accepted he spent his time in Philadelphia preparing
his arguments for an expected parliamentary inquiry. Although he had twice as many men as Washington, the bitter memory of Bunker Hill made him highly reluctant to
attack entrenched American forces. General Clinton replaced Howe as British commander-in-chief on May 24, French troops storming Redoubt #9 during the Siege of Yorktown
1778.[87]

Foreign intervention

Main articles: France in the American Revolutionary

War and Spain in the American Revolutionary War
From the spring of 1776, France and Spain had informally been involved in the American Revolutionary War,
with French admiral Latouche Trville having provided
supplies, ammunition and guns from France to the United
States after Thomas Jeerson encouraged a French alliance. Guns such as de Valliere type were used, playing an important role in such battles as the Battle of
Saratoga.[88] After learning of the American victory at
Saratoga, the French became concerned that the British
would reconcile their dierences with the colonists and
turn on France.[89] In particular, King Louis XVI was inuenced by alarmist reports suggesting that Britain was
preparing to make huge concessions to the colonies and
then, allied with them, strike at French and Spanish possessions in the West Indies.[90] To thwart this, they concluded a Treaty of Alliance with the United States on
February 6, 1778, committing the Americans to seek

In 1776, the Count of Aranda met in representation of

Spain with the rst U.S. Commission composed by Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane and Arthur Lee.[91] The
Continental Congress had charged the commissioners to
travel to Europe and forge alliances with other European
powers that could help break the British naval blockade
along the North American coast. Aranda invited the
commission to his house in Paris, where he was acting
as Spanish ambassador and he became an active supporter of the struggle of the edgling Colonies, recommending an early and open Spanish commitment to the
Colonies. However, he was overruled by Jos Moino,
1st Count of Floridablanca who opted for a more discreet approach. The Spanish position was later summarized by the Spanish Ambassador to the French Court,
Jernimo Grimaldi, in a letter to Arthur Lee who was
in Madrid trying to persuade the Spanish government to
declare an open alliance. Grimaldi told Lee that You
have considered your own situation, and not ours. The
moment is not yet come for us. The war with Portugal
France being unprepared, and our treasure ships from
South America not being arrived makes it improper
for us to declare immediately.[92] Meanwhile, Grimaldi
reassured Lee, stores of clothing and powder were deposited at New Orleans and Havana for the Americans,

10

4 SECOND PHASE, 17781781

and further shipments of blankets were being collected at King George III gave up all hope of subduing AmerBilbao.
ica by more armies, while Britain had a European war
a joke, he said, to think of keeping
Spain nally entered ocially the war against Britain in to ght. It was
[95]
There was no hope of recovering New
Pennsylvania.
June 1779, thus implementing the Treaty of Aranjuez.
England.
But
the
King
was still determined never to acThe Spanish government had been providing assistance
knowledge
the
independence
of the Americans, and to
to the revolutionaries since the very beginning of the war,
punish
their
contumacy
by
the
indenite prolongation of
but it did not recognize the United States ocially. The
[96]
His plan was to
a
war
which
promised
to
be
eternal.
Dutch Republic, which also had assisted the colonists
keep the 30,000 men garrisoned in New York, Rhode Issince 1776, declared war on Britain at the end of 1780,
land, Quebec, and Florida; other forces would attack the
and did recognize the United States diplomatically.[93]
French and Spanish in the West Indies. To punish the
Americans the King planned to destroy their coastingtrade, bombard their ports; sack and burn towns along
4 Second phase, 17781781
the coast and turn loose the Native Americans to attack
civilians in frontier settlements. These operations, the
King felt, would inspire the Loyalists; would splinter the
4.1 British policies
Congress; and would keep the rebels harassed, anxious,
and poor, until the day when, by a natural and inevitable
Following news of the surrender at Saratoga and conprocess, discontent and disappointment were converted
cern over French intervention, the British decided to cominto penitence and remorse and they would beg to repletely accept the original demands made by the Amerturn to his authority.[97] The plan meant destruction for
ican Patriots. Parliament repealed the remaining tax on
the Loyalists and loyal Native Americans, an indenite
tea and declared that no taxes would ever be imposed on
prolongation of a costly war, and the risk of disaster as
colonies without their consent (except for custom duties,
the French and Spanish assembled an armada to invade
the revenues of which would be returned to the colonies).
the British Isles. The King hoped to re-subjugate the reA Commission was formed to negotiate directly with the
bellious colonies after dealing with the Americans EuroContinental Congress for the rst time. The Commispean allies.
sion was empowered to suspend all the other objectionable acts by Parliament passed since 1763, issue general
pardons, and declare a cessation of hostilities. The Com4.2 Northern theater after Saratoga,
missioners arrived in America in June 1778 and oered
177881
to place the colonies in the condition of 1763 if they
would return to the allegiance of the King. Moreover,
they agreed that no troops would be placed in the colonies See also: Northern theater of the American Revolutionwithout their consent. The Congress refused to negoti- ary War after Saratoga
ate with the commission unless they rst acknowledged French entry into the war had changed British strategy,
American independence or withdrew all troops. On Oc- and Clinton abandoned Philadelphia to reinforce New
tober 3, 1778, the British published a proclamation oer- York City, now vulnerable to French naval power. Washing amnesty to any colonies or individuals who accepted ington shadowed Clinton on his withdrawal through New
their proposals within forty days, implying serious con- Jersey and attacked him at Monmouth on June 28, 1778.
sequences if they still refused. There was no positive The battle was tactically inconclusive but Clinton successfully disengaged and continued his retreat to New
reply.[94]
York.[98] It was the last major battle in the north. Clintons army went to New York City in July, arriving just
before a French eet under Admiral d'Estaing arrived
o the American coast. Washingtons army returned to
White Plains, New York, north of New York City. Although both armies were back where they had been two
years earlier, the nature of the war had now changed as
the British had to withdraw troops from North America
to counter the French threats elsewhere.[99]
In August 1778 the Americans attempted to capture
British-held Newport, Rhode Island with the assistance
of France, but the eort failed when the French withdrew
their support. The war in the north then bogged down
into a stalemate, with neither side capable of attacking
the other in any decisive manner. The British instead atOil on canvas painting depicting the Wyoming Massacre by loy- tempted to wear out American resolve by launching varialists and Indians against frontier settlers, July 3, 1778
ous raiding expeditions such as Tryons raid against Con-

4.3

Northern and Western frontier

11
In July 1780 the American cause received a boost when a
5,500 strong French expeditionary force arrived at Newport, Rhode Island. Washington hoped to use this assistance to attack the British at New York and end the war.
Events elsewhere, however, would frustrate this. Additional French reinforcements were prevented from arriving by a British blockade of French ports, and the French
troops at Newport quickly found themselves blockaded
as well. Moreover, the French eet refused to visit the
American coast in 1780, having suered signicant damage in actions in the West Indies.

Portrait of Sir Henry Clinton, British Commander-in Chief in

North America 17781782

necticut in July 1779. In that year the Americans won two

morale-enhancing victories by capturing posts at Stony
Point and Paulus Hook, although the British quickly retook them. In October 1779 the British voluntarily abandoned Newport and Stony Point in order to consolidate
their forces.

Benedict Arnold, the American victor of Saratoga, grew

increasingly disenchanted with struggle and decided to
defect. In September 1780 he attempted to surrender the
key American fort at West Point along the Hudson River
to the British, but his plot was exposed. He escaped and
continued to ght under the British army. He wrote an
open letter justifying his actions by claiming he had only
fought for a redress of grievances and since Britain had
withdrawn those grievances (see above) there was no reason to continue shedding blood, particularly in an alliance
with an ancient and tyrannical enemy like France. He
led the last British attack in the north, a devastating raid
against New London in September 1781.
The British held Staten Island, Manhattan, and Long Island until peace was made in 1783. These areas contained
about 2% of the population of the Thirteen Colonies.

4.3 Northern and Western frontier

During the winter of 177980 the American army suf- Further information: Western theater of the American
fered worse hardships than they had at Valley Forge Revolutionary War
previously.[100] The Congress was ineective, the Con- West of the Appalachian Mountains and along the bortinental currency worthless, and the supply system was
fundamentally broken. Washington was nding it extremely dicult to keep his army together, even without any major ghting against the British. In 1780 actual
mutinies broke out in the American camp. The Continental Armys strength dwindled to such an extent that
the British decided to mount two probing attacks against
New Jersey in June 1780. The New Jersey militia strongly
rallied, however, and the British quickly returned to their
bases.

Map of Newport with the camp of the troops of Rochambeau and

the position of the squadron of Knight Ternay in 1780.

George Rogers Clark's 180 mile (290 km) winter march led to
the capture of General Henry Hamilton, Lieutenant-Governor of
Quebec

der with Quebec, the American Revolutionary War was

12

4 SECOND PHASE, 17781781

an "Indian War". Most Native Americans supported the

British. Like the Iroquois Confederacy, tribes such as the
Shawnee split into factions, and the Chickamauga split
o from the rest of the Cherokee over dierences regarding peace with the Americans. The British supplied
their native allies with muskets, gunpowder and advice,
while Loyalists led raids against civilian settlements, especially in New York, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. Joint
Iroquois-Loyalist attacks in the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania and at Cherry Valley in New York in 1778 provoked Washington to send the Sullivan Expedition into
western New York during the summer of 1779. There
was little ghting as Sullivan systematically destroyed the
Indians winter food supplies, forcing them to ee permanently to British bases in Quebec and the Niagara Falls
area.[101]
In the Ohio Country and the Illinois Country, the Virginia
frontiersman George Rogers Clark attempted to neutralize British inuence among the Ohio tribes by capturing
the outposts of Kaskaskia and Cahokia and Vincennes in
the summer of 1778, at which he succeeded. When General Henry Hamilton, the British commander at Detroit,
retook Vincennes, Clark returned in a surprise march in
February 1779 and captured Hamilton.[102]
In March 1782, Pennsylvania militiamen killed about a
hundred neutral Native Americans in the Gnadenhtten
massacre. In the last major encounters of the war, a force
of 200 Kentucky militia was defeated at the Battle of Blue
Licks in August 1782.

4.4

The British Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton. Painting by Sir Joshua

Reynolds, 1782.

Georgia and the Carolinas, 177881

The remnants of the southern Continental Army began

Main article: Southern theater of the American Revolu- to withdraw to North Carolina but were pursued by Lt.
tionary War
Colonel Banastre Tarleton, who defeated them at the
Waxhaws on May 29, 1780. With these events, orgaDuring the rst three years of the American Revolu- nized American military activity in the region collapsed,
tionary War, the primary military encounters were in though the war was carried on by partisans such as Francis
the north, although some attempts to organize Loyal- Marion. Cornwallis took over British operations, while
ists were defeated, a British attempt at Charleston, South Horatio Gates arrived to command the American eort.
Carolina failed, and a variety of eorts to attack British On August 16, 1780, Gates was defeated at the Battle of
forces in East Florida failed. After French entry into Camden in South Carolina, setting the stage for Cornthe war, the British turned their attention to the southern wallis to invade North Carolina.[105] Georgia and South
colonies, where they hoped to regain control by recruiting Carolina were thus both restored to Britain for the time
large numbers of Loyalists. This southern strategy also being.
had the advantage of keeping the Royal Navy closer to Cornwallis eorts to advance into North Carolina were
the Caribbean, where the British needed to defend eco- frustrated. A Loyalist wing of his army was utterly denomically important possessions against the French and feated at the Battle of Kings Mountain on October 7,
Spanish.[103]
1780, which temporarily aborted his planned advance.
On December 29, 1778, an expeditionary corps from
Clintons army in New York captured Savannah, Georgia.
An attempt by French and American forces to retake Savannah failed on October 9, 1779. Clinton then besieged
Charleston, capturing it and most of the southern Continental Army on May 12, 1780. With relatively few casualties, Clinton had seized the Souths biggest city and
seaport, providing a base for further conquest.[104]

He received reinforcements, but his light infantry under

Tarleton was decisively defeated by Daniel Morgan at
the Battle of Cowpens on January 17, 1781. In spite
of this, Cornwallis decided to proceed, gambling that
he would receive substantial Loyalist support. General
Nathanael Greene, who replaced General Gates, evaded
contact with Cornwallis while seeking reinforcements.
By March, Greenes army had grown to the point where

4.5

Virginia, 1781

he felt that he could face Cornwallis directly. In the

key Battle of Guilford Court House, Cornwallis drove
Greenes much larger army o the battleeld, but in doing so suered casualties amounting to one-fourth of
his army. Compounding this, far fewer Loyalists were
joining up than expected because the Patriots put heavy
pressure on them and their families, who would become
hostages.[106] Cornwallis decided to retreat to coastal
Wilmington, North Carolina for resupply and reinforcement, leaving the interior of the Carolinas and Georgia
open to Greene. He then proceeded north into Virginia
(see below).
American troops in conjunction with Patriot partisans
then began the process of reclaiming territory in South
Carolina and Georgia. Despite British victories at
Hobkirks Hill and at the Siege of Ninety-Six, by the middle of the year they had been forced to withdraw to the
coastal lowlands region of both colonies. The nal battle (Battle of Eutaw Springs) in September 1781 was indecisive but by the end of the year the British held only
Savannah and Charleston.

4.5

13
could be pacied with the limited forces available. Clinton instead favored conducting operations further north in
the Chesapeake region (Maryland, Delaware, and southern Pennsylvania) where he believed there was a strong
Loyalist presence. Upon his arrival at Williamsburg in
June, Cornwallis received orders from Clinton to establish a fortied naval base and a request to send several thousand troops to New York to counter a possible
Franco-American attack. Following these orders, he fortied Yorktown, and, shadowed by Lafayette, awaited the
arrival of the Royal Navy.[107]
The northern, southern, and naval theaters of the war converged in 1781 at Yorktown, Virginia. The French eet
became available for operations, which could either move
against Yorktown or New York. Washington still favored
attacking New York, but the French decided to send the
eet to their preferred target at Yorktown. Learning of
the planned movement of the French eet in August,
Washington began moving his army south to cooperate.
The British eet, not realizing that the French had sent
their entire eet to America, dispatched an inadequate
force under Admiral Graves.

Virginia, 1781

Main article: Yorktown campaign

Cornwallis proceeded from Wilmington north into

The French (left) and British (right) lines at the Battle of the
Chesapeake

Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown by (John Trumbull, 1797)

In early September, French naval forces defeated the

British eet at the Battle of the Chesapeake, cutting
o Cornwallis escape. Cornwallis, still expecting to
receive support, failed to break out while he had the
chance. When Washingtons army arrived outside Yorktown, Cornwallis prematurely abandoned his outer position, hastening his subsequent defeat. The combined
Franco-American force of 18,900 men began besieging
Cornwallis in early October. For several days, the French
and Americans bombarded the British defenses, and then
began taking the outer redoubts. The British attempted to
cobble together a relief expedition, but encountered numerous delays. Cornwallis decided his position was beCornwallis Virginia campaign was strongly opposed by coming untenable and he surrendered his entire army of
his superior, General Clinton, who did not believe such a over 7,000 men on October 19, 1781, the same day that
large and disease-ridden area, with a hostile population, the British eet at New York sailed for his relief.[108]
Virginia, on the grounds that Virginia needed to be subdued in order to hold the southern colonies. Earlier,
in January 1781, a small British raiding force under
Benedict Arnold had landed there, and began moving
through the countryside, destroying supply depots, mills,
and other economic targets. In February, General Washington dispatched General Lafayette to counter Arnold,
later also sending General Anthony Wayne. Arnold
was reinforced with additional troops from New York in
March, and his army was joined with that of Cornwallis
in May. Lafayette skirmished with Cornwallis, avoiding
a large-scale battle while gathering reinforcements.

14

4.6

BRITAIN VS. FRANCE, SPAIN, MYSORE, AND HOLLAND 17781783

Downfall of the North Ministry

News of the surrender at Yorktown arrived in Britain in

November 1781. King George III took the news calmly
and delivered a deant address pledging to continue the
war, a majority of the House of Commons endorsed it.
In the succeeding months news arrived of other reverses,
however. The French and Spanish successfully took several West Indian islands and appeared to be on the verge
of completely expelling the British there. Minorca also
surrendered to a Franco-Spanish force on February 5,
1782 and Gibraltar seemed to be in danger of falling as
well. In light of this, Parliament on February 27, 1782
voted to cease all oensive operations in America and
seek peace. Threatened with votes of no condence, on
March 20 Lord North resigned and his Tory government
was replaced by the Whigs. Ironically, shortly after North
resigned the British won the Battle of the Saintes, putting
an end to the French threat in the West Indies, and they
successfully relieved Gibraltar. Had the North government held out for a few more months they would have
been considerably strengthened and could have continued
the war in spite of Yorktown.

eet was old and in poor condition, a situation that would

be blamed on Lord Sandwich, the First Lord of the Admiralty. During the rst three years of the war, the Royal
Navy was primarily used to transport troops for land operations and to protect commercial shipping. The American colonists had no ships of the line, and relied extensively on privateering to harass British shipping. The privateers caused worry disproportionate to their material
success, although those operating out of French channel
ports before and after France joined the war caused
signicant embarrassment to the Royal Navy and inamed Anglo-French relations. About 55,000 American
sailors served aboard the privateers during the war.[110]
The American privateers had almost 1,700 ships, and
they captured 2,283 enemy ships.[111] The Continental
Congress authorized the creation of a small Continental
Navy in October 1775, which was primarily used for
commerce raiding. John Paul Jones became the rst great
American naval hero, capturing HMS Drake on April 24,
1778, the rst victory for any American military vessel in
British waters.[112]

The new Whig administration accepted American independence as a basis for peace. There were no further
major military activities in North America, although the
British still had 30,000 garrison troops occupying New
York City, Charleston, and Savannah.[109] The war continued elsewhere, including the siege of Gibraltar and
naval operations in the East and West Indies, until peace
was agreed in 1783.

Naval conict
The Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar, September 13,

Further information: Naval operations in the American 1782, by John Singleton Copley
Revolutionary War, France in the American Revolutionary War, Spain in the American Revolutionary War and
Turtle (submersible)
When the war began, the British had overwhelming naval 6 Britain vs.

France, Spain,
Mysore, and Holland 17781783

6.1 Europe
Spain entered the war as a French ally with the goal of
recapturing Gibraltar and Minorca, which had been captured by an Anglo-Dutch force in 1704. Gibraltar was besieged for more than three years, but the British garrison
stubbornly resisted and was resupplied twice: once after
Admiral Rodney's victory over Juan de Lngara in the
1780 Moonlight Battle, and again by Admiral Richard
Howe in 1782. Further Franco-Spanish eorts to capture
Gibraltar were unsuccessful. One notable success took
Combat de la Dominique, April 17, 1780, by Auguste Louis de place on February 5, 1782, when Spanish and French
forces captured Minorca, which Spain retained after the
Rossel de Cercy (17361804)
war. Ambitious plans for an invasion of Great Britain in
superiority over the American colonists although their 1779 had to be abandoned.

6.3

6.2

India

West Indies and Gulf Coast

15

6.3 India

Main article: Caribbean theater of the American Revo- Main article: Second Anglo-Mysore War
.
lutionary War

The Battle of the Saintes fought on 12 April 1782

near Guadeloupe.
Bernardo de Glvez.
Norteamerica, 1792, Jaillot-Elwe, Floridas borders
after Bernardo Glvezs military actions.
There was much action in the West Indies, especially in
the Lesser Antilles. Although France lost St. Lucia early
in the war, its navy dominated the West Indies, capturing
Dominica, Grenada, Saint Vincent, Montserrat, Tobago,
St. Kitts and the Turks and Caicos between 1778 and
1782. Dutch possessions in the West Indies and South
America were captured by Britain but later recaptured by
France and restored to the Dutch Republic. At the Battle
of the Saintes in April 1782, a victory by Rodneys eet
over the French Admiral de Grasse frustrated the hopes
of France and Spain to take Jamaica and other colonies
from the British.

Suren meeting with ally Hyder Ali in 1783. J.B. Morret engraving, 1789

When word reached India in 1778 that France had

entered the war, the British East India Company
moved quickly to capture French colonial outposts there,
capturing Pondicherry after two months of siege.[114] The
capture of the French-controlled port of Mah on Indias west coast motivated Mysore's ruler, Hyder Ali (who
was already upset at other British actions, and beneted
from trade through the port), to open the Second AngloMysore War in 1780. Ali, and later his son Tipu Sultan, almost drove the British from southern India but was
frustrated by weak French support, and the war ended status quo ante bellum with the 1784 Treaty of Mangalore.
French opposition was led in 1782 and 1783 by Admiral the Baillie de Suren, who recaptured Trincomalee
from the British and fought ve celebrated, but largely
inconclusive, naval engagements against British Admiral
Sir Edward Hughes.[115] Frances Indian colonies were returned after the war.

On the Gulf Coast, Count Bernardo de Glvez, the Spanish governor of Louisiana, quickly removed the British
from their outposts on the lower Mississippi River in
1779 in actions at Manchac and Baton Rouge in British
West Florida. Glvez then captured Mobile in 1780
and stormed and captured the British citadel and capital of Pensacola in 1781. On May 8, 1782, Glvez
captured the British naval base at New Providence in
the Bahamas; it was ceded by Spain after the Treaty of
Paris and simultaneously recovered by British Loyalists
in 1783. Glvez' actions led to the Spanish acquisition of
East and West Florida in the peace settlement, denied the
British the opportunity of encircling the American forces
from the south, and kept open a vital conduit for supplies to the American frontier. The Continental Congress 6.4 Fourth Anglo-Dutch War
cited Glvez in 1785 for his aid during the revolution and
George Washington took him to his right during the rst Main article: Fourth Anglo-Dutch War
parade of July 4.[113]
Central America was also subject to conict between
Britain and Spain, as Britain sought to expand its informal trading inuence beyond coastal logging and shing communities in present-day Belize, Honduras, and
Nicaragua. Expeditions against San Fernando de Omoa
in 1779 and San Juan in 1780 (the latter famously led by
a young Horatio Nelson) met with only temporary success before being abandoned due to disease. The Spanish
colonial leaders, in turn, could not completely eliminate
British inuences along the Mosquito Coast. Except for
the French acquisition of Tobago, sovereignty in the West
Indies was returned to the status quo ante bellum in the
peace of 1783.

The Dutch Republic, nominally neutral, had been trading

with the Americans, exchanging Dutch arms and munitions for American colonial wares (in contravention of
the British Navigation Acts), primarily through activity
based in St. Eustatius, before the French formally entered the war.[116] The British considered this trade to
include contraband military supplies and had attempted
to stop it, at rst diplomatically by appealing to previous treaty obligations, interpretation of whose terms the
two nations disagreed on, and then by searching and seizing Dutch merchant ships. The situation escalated when
the British seized a Dutch merchant convoy sailing under Dutch naval escort in December 1779, prompting the

16

Dutch to join the League of Armed Neutrality. Britain

responded to this decision by declaring war on the Dutch
in December 1780, sparking the Fourth Anglo-Dutch
War.[117] The war was a military and economic disaster for the Dutch Republic. Paralyzed by internal political divisions, it could not respond eectively to British
blockades of its coast and the capture of many of its
colonies. In the 1784 peace treaty between the two nations, the Dutch lost the Indian port of Negapatam and
were forced to make trade concessions.[118] The Dutch
Republic signed a friendship and trade agreement with
the United States in 1782, becoming the third country
(after Morocco and later France) to formally recognize
the United States.[119]

Treaty of Paris

Main article: Treaty of Paris (1783)

In London, as political support for the war plummeted
after Yorktown, British Prime Minister Lord North resigned in March 1782. In April 1782, the Commons
voted to end the war in America. Preliminary peace articles were signed in Paris at the end of November 1782;
the formal end of the war did not occur until the Treaty
of Paris (for the U.S.) and the Treaties of Versailles (for
the other Allies) were signed on September 3, 1783. The
last British troops left New York City on November 25,
1783, and the United States Congress of the Confederation ratied the Paris treaty on January 14, 1784.[120]
Britain negotiated the Paris peace treaty without consulting her Native American allies and ceded all Native
American territory between the Appalachian Mountains
and the Mississippi River to the United States. Native
Americans reluctantly conrmed these land cessions with
the United States in a series of treaties, but the ghting would be renewed in conicts along the frontier in
the coming years, the largest being the Northwest Indian
War.[121] The British sought to establish a buer Indian
state in the American Midwest, and continued to pursue
that goal as late as 1814 in the War of 1812.[122][123]
The United States gained more than it expected, thanks
to the award of western territory. The other Allies had
mixed-to-poor results. France made some gains over its
nemesis, Great Britain, but its material gains were minimal and its nancial losses huge. It was already in nancial trouble and its borrowing to pay for the war used
up all its credit and created the nancial disasters that
marked the 1780s. Historians link those disasters to the
coming of the French Revolution. The Dutch clearly lost
on all points. The Spanish had a mixed result; they did
not achieve their primary war goal (recovery of Gibraltar), but they did gain territory. However, in the long
run, as the case of Florida shows, the new territory was
of little or no value.[22]

ANALYSIS OF COMBATANTS

8 Analysis of combatants
The population of Great Britain and Ireland in 1780 was
approximately 12.6 million[124] while the population of
the thirteen colonies for the same year has been estimated
at 2.8 million including over 500,000 slaves.[125] Theoretically this gave Britain a 4.5:1 manpower advantage,
by comparison the Unions manpower advantage over the
Confederacy in the American Civil War was only 2.5:1.
In practice, the British army never had more than a slight
numerical advantage over the Continental Army due to a
number of factors, including the need to maintain significant numbers of troops outside of North America. Conscription outside of naval impressment did not exist in
Britain back then, and the proportion of Americans willing to serve in their own countrys defense was believed
to be considerably larger than the proportion of Britons
willing to serve overseas. One pre-war estimate claimed
that the Patriots could mobilize 100,000 men in a matter
of months,[126] but substantial loyalist or neutralist sentiment would keep Patriot forces much smaller than their
potential.[127][128]
Historians continue to debate whether the odds for American victory were long or short. John E. Ferling says the
odds were so long that the American victory was Almost
A Miracle.[129] On the other hand, Joseph Ellis says the
odds favored the Americans, and asks whether there ever
was any realistic chance for the British to win? He argues that this opportunity came only once, in the summer
of 1776 and the British failed that test. Admiral Howe
and his brother General Howe, missed several opportunities to destroy the Continental Army....Chance, luck,
and even the vagaries of the weather played crucial roles.
Elliss point is that the strategic and tactical decisions of
the Howes were fatally awed because they underestimated the challenges posed by the Patriots. Ellis concludes that once the Howe brothers failed, the opportunity
for a British victory would never come again.[130]:11 The
U.S. Armys ocial textbook argues that while the British
diculties were great, they were hardly insurmountable.
The British forfeited several chances for military victory
in 17761777, and again in 1780 they might have won
had they been able to throw 10,000 fresh troops into the
American war.[131]

8.1 Patriots
Main articles: Continental Army and Minutemen
The Americans began the war with signicant disadvantages compared to the British. They had no national government, no national army or navy, no nancial system,
no banks, no established credit, and no functioning government departments, such as a treasury. The Congress
tried to handle administrative aairs through legislative
committees, which proved inecient. The state governments were themselves brand new and ocials had no
administrative experience. In peacetime the colonies re-

8.1

Patriots

1st Maryland Regiment holding the line at the Battle of Guilford

17
cers; ocers such as George Washington, Horatio Gates,
Charles Lee, Richard Montgomery and Francis Marion
all had military experience with the British Army during the French and Indian War. The Americans solved
their training dilemma during their stint in Winter Quarters at Valley Forge, where they were relentlessly drilled
and trained by General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben,
a veteran of the famed Prussian General Sta. He taught
the Continental Army the essentials of military discipline,
drills, tactics and strategy, and wrote the Revolutionary
War Drill Manual.[136] When the Army emerged from
Valley Forge, it proved its ability to equally match the
British troops in battle when they fought a successful
strategic action at the Battle of Monmouth.[98]

lied heavily on ocean travel and shipping, but that was

now shut down by the British blockade and the Americans had to rely on slow overland travel.
However, the Americans had multiple advantages that in
the long run outweighed the initial disadvantages they
faced. The Americans had a large prosperous population that depended not on imports but on local production for food and most supplies, while the British were
mostly shipped in from across the ocean. The British
faced a vast territory far larger than Britain or France,
located at a far distance from home ports. Most of the
Americans lived on farms distant from the seaportsthe
British could capture any port but that did not give them
control over the hinterland. They were on their home
ground, had a smoothly functioning, well organized system of local and state governments, newspapers and printers, and internal lines of communications. They had a
long-established system of local militia, previously used
to combat the French and Native Americans, with companies and an ocer corps that could form the basis of
local militias, and provide a training ground for the national army created by Congress.[132]
Motivation was a major asset. The Patriots wanted to win;
over 200,000 fought in the war; 25,000 died. The British
expected the Loyalists to do much of the ghting; they
did much less than expected. The British hired German
mercenaries to do much of their ghting.[133]

Population density in the American Colonies in 1775

When the war began, the 13 colonies lacked a professional army or navy. Each colony sponsored local militia.
Militiamen were lightly armed, had little training, and
usually did not have uniforms. Their units served for only
a few weeks or months at a time, were reluctant to travel
far from home and thus were unavailable for extended
operations, and lacked the training and discipline of soldiers with more experience. If properly used, however,
their numbers could help the Continental armies overwhelm smaller British forces, as at the battles of Concord,
Bennington and Saratoga, and the siege of Boston. Both
sides used partisan warfare but the Americans eectively
suppressed Loyalist activity when British regulars were
not in the area.[137]

At the onset of the war, the Americans had no major international allies. Battles such as the Battle of Bennington, the Battles of Saratoga and even defeats such as the
Battle of Germantown[134] proved decisive in gaining the
attention and support of powerful European nations such
as France and Spain, who moved from covertly supplying the Americans with weapons and supplies, to overtly Seeking to coordinate military eorts, the Continental
supporting them militarily, moving the war to a global Congress established a regular army on June 14, 1775,
and appointed George Washington as commander-instage.[135]
The new Continental Army suered signicantly from a chief. The development of the Continental Army was
lack of an eective training regime, and largely inexpe- always a work in progress, and Washington used both his
rienced ocers and sergeants. The inexperience of its regulars and state militia throughout the war.
ocers was compensated for in part by its senior o- The United States Marine Corps traces its institutional

18

ANALYSIS OF COMBATANTS

roots to the Continental Marines of the war, formed by a 8.3 British

resolution of the Continental Congress on November 10,
1775, a date regarded and celebrated as the birthday of Main article: British Army during the American War of
the Marine Corps. At the beginning of 1776, Washing- Independence
tons army had 20,000 men, with two-thirds enlisted in Britain entered the war with condence; it had the worlds
the Continental Army and the other third in the various
state militias.[138] At the end of the American Revolution in 1783, both the Continental Navy and Continental
Marines were disbanded. About 250,000 men served as
regulars or as militiamen for the Revolutionary cause in
the eight years of the war, but there were never more than
90,000 men under arms at one time.
Armies were small by European standards of the era,
largely attributable to limitations such as lack of powder
and other logistical capabilities on the American side.[139]
It was also dicult for Great Britain to transport troops
across the Atlantic and they depended on local supplies
that the Patriots tried to cut o. By comparison, Duy
notes that Frederick the Great usually commanded from
The Death of Major Peirson, in the 1781 Battle of Jersey
23,000 to 50,000 in battle. Both gures pale in comparison to the armies that were elded in the early 19th
century, where troop formations approached or exceeded most powerful navy, a well-trained professional army, a
sound nancial system that could pay the costs, a sta100,000 men.
ble government, and experienced leadership.[145] However they were beset with major challenges. Compared
to the Americans, the British had no major allies, and
only had troops provided by small German states to bol8.2 Loyalists
ster the small British Army. At the onset of the war, the
British Army was less than 48,000 strong worldwide, and
suered from a lack of eective recruiting. By 1778,
Main article: Loyalist (American Revolution)
the army was pardoning criminals for military service and
had extended the age range for service to be from 16 to
Historians[140] have estimated that approximately 40 to 50. Although its ocer and non-commissioned ocer
45 percent of the colonists supported the rebellion, while corps were relatively professional and experienced, this
15 to 20 percent remained loyal to the Crown. The rest professionalism was diluted because wealthy individuals
attempted to remain neutral and kept a low prole.
lacking military experience could purchase commissions
At least 25,000 Loyalists fought on the side of the British. and promotions. As a consequence, inexperienced ofThousands served in the Royal Navy. On land, Loyal- cers sometimes found their way into positions of high
ist forces fought alongside the British in most battles in responsibility.[146]
North America. Many Loyalists fought in partisan units, Distance was also a major problem for the British. Alespecially in the Southern theater.[141]
though the Royal Navy was the largest and most experiThe British military met with many diculties in maximizing the use of Loyalist factions. British historian
Jeremy Black wrote, In the American war it was clear to
both royal generals and revolutionaries that organized and
signicant Loyalist activity would require the presence
of British forces.[142] In the South, the use of Loyalists
presented the British with major problems of strategic
choice since while it was necessary to widely disperse
troops in order to defend Loyalist areas, it was also recognized that there was a need for the maintenance of
large concentrated forces able to counter major attacks
from the American forces.[143] In addition, the British
were forced to ensure that their military actions would
not oend Loyalist opinion, eliminating such options as
attempting to live o the country, destroying property
for intimidation purposes, or coercing payments from
colonists (laying them under contribution).[144]

enced in the world at the time, it sometimes took months

for troops to reach North America, and orders were often
out of date because the military situation on the ground
had changed by the time they arrived.[147] Additionally,
the British had logistical problems whenever they operated away from the coast; they were vulnerable to guerilla
attacks on their supply chains whenever they went far
inland. On a logistical note, the ints used in British
weapons also put them at a disadvantage on the battleeld.
British ints could only re for 6 rounds before requiring
re-sharpening, while American ints could re 60 rounds
before resharpening. A common expression ran among
the redcoats; which was that Yankee int was as good
as a glass of grog.[148] Although discipline was harsh in
the army, the redcoats had little self-discipline; gambling,
looting, promiscuity and heavy drinking were common
problems, among all ranks alike. The army suered from

8.3

British

19

mediocre organisation in terms of logistics, food supplies worldwide, when before they were concentrated only in
were often bad and the sparse land of America oered America.[151]
little in the way of nding reliable substitutes.[149]
The British also had to contend with several psychological
factors during the conict. The need to maintain Loyalist
allegiance provided setbacks, as the British could not use
the harsh methods of suppressing rebellion they had used
in Ireland and Scotland. Loyalists often came from the
same communities as Patriots and as a result, such methods could not be employed for fear of alienating them.
Even despite these limitations, neutral colonists were often driven into the ranks of the Revolutionaries due to
the conict, such as the war in the Carolinas, marked by
heavy brutality on both sides.[152] As a result of the manpower shortage and Patriot control of the countryside,
where the majority of the American population lived, the
British often could not simultaneously defeat the Americans on the eld and occupy the captured areas, evidenced
by withdrawals from Philadelphia and the Carolinas after
great initial success. A single American victory could often reverse the impact of a string of British successes,
as shown by engagements at Trenton, Bennington, Kings
Mountain and even defeats such as Germantown,[134] all
of which went a long way to galvanizing Patriot support
for the war, and of persuading European powers such as
France and Spain to support the rebellion.

Map of campaigns in the Revolutionary War

Suppressing a rebellion in America also posed other problems. At the onset of the war, the British had around
8,000 men stationed in North America, however these
were required to cover an area that stretched from northern Canada to Florida, a distance of almost 2,000 miles
(3,200 km). As the colonies had not been united before
the war, there was no central area of strategic importance.
In European conicts, the capture of a capital city often meant the end of the war; however in America, when
the British seized key cities such as New York, Philadelphia or Bostonor Washington D.C. in the War of 1812
thirty years laterthe war continued unabated. Furthermore, despite the fact that at its height, the British elded
some 56,000 men in the colonies exclusive of mercenaries and militia,[150] they lacked the sucient numbers to
both defeat the Americans on the battleeld and simultaneously occupy the captured areas. It was not unusual for
the Americans to suer a string of defeats, only to have
the British retreat because they could not occupy the captured land. Despite strong Loyalist support, these troops
were often displaced by Patriot militia when British regulars were not in the area, demonstrated at battles such as
Kings Mountain. The manpower shortage became critical when France, Spain and the Netherlands entered the
war, as the British were spread across several theatres

Early in 1775, the British Army consisted of about 36,000

men worldwide, but wartime recruitment steadily increased this number. Great Britain had a dicult time
appointing general ocers, however. General Thomas
Gage, in command of British forces in North America
when the rebellion started, was criticized for being too
lenient (perhaps inuenced by his American wife). General Jerey Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst turned down an
appointment as commander in chief due to an unwillingness to take sides in the conict.[153] Similarly, Admiral
Augustus Keppel turned down a command, saying I cannot draw the sword in such a cause. The Earl of Engham publicly resigned his commission when his 22nd
Regiment of foot was posted to America, and William
Howe and John Burgoyne were members of parliament
who opposed military solutions to the American rebellion. Howe and Henry Clinton stated that they were unwilling participants in the war and were only following
orders.[154]
Over the course of the war, Great Britain signed
treaties with various German states, which supplied about
30,000 soldiers.[155] Germans made up about one-third
of the British troop strength in North America. The
Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel contributed more soldiers
than any other state, and German soldiers became known
as "Hessians" to the Americans. Revolutionary speakers
called German soldiers foreign mercenaries, and they
are scorned as such in the Declaration of Independence.
By 1779, the number of British and German troops stationed in North America was over 60,000, although these
were spread from Canada to Florida.[156] Initially, several
German principalities oered military support to Great

20

ANALYSIS OF COMBATANTS

Britain but these oers were rejected. However, as the resettled in Nova Scotia; other blacks were sold in the
war dragged on it became clear that Great Britain would West Indies.[163][164]
need the extra manpower of the German states and led to
Great Britain seeking support from German principalities
8.5 Native Americans
such as Hesse-Kassel and Ansbach-Bayreuth.[157]
The Secretary of State at War Lord Barrington and the
Adjutant-General Edward Harvey were both strongly opposed to outright war on land. In 1766 Barrington had
recommended withdrawing the army from the Thirteen
Colonies to Canada, Nova Scotia and Florida. At the
beginning of the war he urged a naval blockade, which
would quickly damage the colonists trading activities.[158]

8.4

African Americans

Most Native Americans east of the Mississippi River were

aected by the war, and many communities were divided over the question of how to respond to the conict. Though a few tribes were on friendly terms with the
Americans, most Native Americans opposed the United
States as a potential threat to their territory. Approximately 13,000 Native Americans fought on the British
side, with the largest group coming from the Iroquois
tribes, who elded around 1,500 men.[165] The powerful Iroquois Confederacy was shattered as a result of the
conict; although the Confederacy did not take sides, the
Seneca, Onondaga, and Cayuga nations sided with the
British. Members of the Mohawk fought on both sides.
Many Tuscarora and Oneida sided with the colonists. The
Continental Army sent the Sullivan Expedition on raids
throughout New York to cripple the Iroquois tribes that
had sided with the British. Both during and after the war
friction between the Mohawk leaders Joseph Louis Cook
and Joseph Brant, who had sided with the Americans and
the British respectively, further exacerbated the split.

1780 drawing of American soldiers from the Yorktown campaign

shows a black infantryman from the 1st Rhode Island Regiment.

African Americansslave and freeserved on both

sides during the war. The British recruited slaves belonging to Patriot masters and promised freedom to
those who served by act of Lord Dunmores Proclamation. Because of manpower shortages, George Washington lifted the ban on black enlistment in the Continental Army in January 1776. Small all-black units
were formed in Rhode Island and Massachusetts; many
slaves were promised freedom for serving. (Some of
the men promised freedom were sent back to their masters, after the war was over, out of political convenience.
George Washington received and ignored letters from
the re-enslaved soldiers.) Another all-black unit came
from Saint-Domingue with French colonial forces. At
least 5,000 black soldiers fought for the Revolutionary
cause.[159][160]
Tens of thousands of slaves escaped during the war and
joined British lines; others simply moved o in the chaos.
For instance, in South Carolina, nearly 25,000 slaves
(30% of the enslaved population) ed, migrated or died
during the disruption of the war.[161] This greatly disrupted plantation production during and after the war.
When they withdrew their forces from Savannah and
Charleston, the British also evacuated 10,000 slaves belonging to Loyalists.[162] Altogether, the British evacuated nearly 20,000 blacks at the end of the war. More
than 3,000 of them were freedmen and most of these were

A watercolor painting depicting a variety of Continental Army

soldiers.

Creek and Seminole allies of Britain fought against

Americans in Georgia and South Carolina. In 1778,

9.1

Casualties

21

a force of 800 Creeks destroyed American settlements

along the Broad River in Georgia. Creek warriors also
joined Thomas Browns raids into South Carolina and assisted Britain during the Siege of Savannah.[166] Many
Native Americans were involved in the ghting between
Britain and Spain on the Gulf Coast and up the Mississippi Rivermostly on the British side. Thousands of
Creeks, Chickasaws, and Choctaws fought in or near major battles such as the Battle of Fort Charlotte, the Battle
of Mobile, and the Siege of Pensacola.[167]

8.6

Race and class

Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau at Yorktown, 1781

Pybus (2005) estimates that about 20,000 slaves defected

to or were captured by the British, of whom about 8,000 9.1 Casualties
died from disease or wounds or were recaptured by the
Patriots, and 12,000 left the country at the end of the 9.1.1 Americans and allies
war, for freedom in Canada, the Caribbean or London,
or some enslaved and transported to the West Indies.[168] The total loss of life throughout the war is largely unBaller (2006) examines family dynamics and mobiliza- known. As was typical in the wars of the era, disease
tion for the Revolution in central Massachusetts. He re- claimed far more lives than battle. Between 1775 and
ports that warfare and the farming culture were some- 1782 a smallpox epidemic swept across North America,
times incompatible. Militiamen found that living and killing 40 people in Boston alone. Historian Joseph Elworking on the family farm had not prepared them for lis suggests that Washingtons decision to have his troops
wartime marches and the rigors of camp life. Rugged in- inoculated against the smallpox epidemic, including the
dividualism conicted with military discipline and reg- use of biological warfare by the British, was one of his
[171]
imentation. A mans birth order often inuenced his most important decisions.
military recruitment, as younger sons went to war and At least 25,000 American Patriots died during active milolder sons took charge of the farm. A persons fam- itary service.[15] About 6,800 of these deaths were in
ily responsibilities and the prevalent patriarchy could im- battle; the other 17,000 recorded deaths were from dispede mobilization. Harvesting duties and family emer- ease, including about 8,00012,000 who died of starvagencies pulled men home regardless of the sergeants or- tion or disease brought on by deplorable conditions while
ders. Some relatives might be Loyalists, creating inter- prisoners of war,[172] most in rotting British prison ships
nal strains. On the whole, historians conclude the Revo- in New York. Another estimate, however, puts the tolutions eect on patriarchy and inheritance patterns fa- tal death toll at around 70,000, which if true would make
vored egalitarianism.[169]
the conict proportionately deadlier than the American
[8]
McDonnell (2006) shows a grave complication in Vir- Civil War. The uncertainty arises from the number of
ginias mobilization of troops was the conicting inter- disease deaths, which were believed to be quite numer[8]
ests of distinct social classes, which tended to under- ous, amounting to an estimated 10,000 in 1776 alone.
cut a unied commitment to the Patriot cause. The As- The number of Patriots seriously wounded or disabled
[173]
sembly balanced the competing demands of elite slave- by the war has been estimated from 8,500 to 25,000.
owning planters, the middling yeomen (some owning Proportionate to the population of the colonies, the Reva few slaves), and landless indentured servants, among olutionary War was at least the second-deadliest conict
other groups. The Assembly used deferments, taxes, mil- in American history, ranking ahead of World War II and
itary service substitute, and conscription to resolve the behind only the Civil War.
tensions. Unresolved class conict, however, made these
laws less eective. There were violent protests, many
9.1.2 British and allies
cases of evasion, and large-scale desertion, so that Virginias contributions came at embarrassingly low levels.
In 1784 a British lieutenant compiled a detailed list of
With the British invasion of the state in 1781, Virginia
205 British ocers killed in action during the war, inwas mired in class division as its native son, George
cluding deaths in Europe, the Caribbean, and the East
Washington, made desperate appeals for troops.[170]
Indies.[174] An extrapolation based on this list puts British
Army losses at some 4,000 killed and died of wounds.[8]
A table from 1781 puts total British Army deaths at 6,046
in North America (from 1775-1779) and 3,326 in the
9 Costs of the war
West Indies (from 1778-1780).[175] Approximately 1,800

22

12

REFERENCES

Germans were killed in combat out of a total of 7,774

deaths.[8] British returns in 1783 listed 43,633 rank and
le deaths in the British service.[176]

History of the United States of America

About 171,000 sailors served in the Royal Navy during

the war; about a quarter had been pressed into service.
About 1,240 were killed in battle, while 18,500 died from
disease (gures from 1776-1780 only).[18] The greatest
killer was scurvy, a disease that had been shown to be preventable by issuing lemon or lime juice to sailors but was
not taken seriously. Scurvy would be eradicated in the
Royal Navy in 1790s by the chairman of the Navys Sick
and Hurt Board, Gilbert Blane. About 42,000 British
sailors deserted during the war.[177]

Intelligence in the American Revolutionary War

9.2

Financial costs

Main article: Financial costs of the American Revolutionary War

American gentry

List of British Forces in the American Revolutionary

War
List of Continental Forces in the American Revolutionary War
List of plays and lms about the American Revolution
List of revolutions and rebellions

11 Notes
[1] British writers generally favor American War of Independence, American Rebellion, or War of American
Independence. See Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, Bibliography at the Michigan
State University for usage in titles.

The British spent about 80 million and ended with a

national debt of 250 million, which it easily nanced
at about 9.5 million a year in interest.[178] The French
spent 1.3 billion livres (about 56 million). Their total [2] In this article, the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies who
supported the American Revolution are primarily referred
national debt was 187 million, which they could not easto as Americans, with occasional references to Patriily nance; over half the French national revenue went to
ots, Whigs, Rebels or Revolutionaries. Colonists
debt service in the 1780s. The debt crisis became a major
who supported the British in opposing the Revolution are
enabling factor of the French Revolution as the governreferred to as Loyalists or Tories. The geographical
ment could not raise taxes without public approval.[179]
area of the thirteen colonies is often referred to simply as
The United States spent $37 million at the national level
America.
plus $114 million by the states. This was mostly covered by loans from France and the Netherlands, loans
from Americans, and issuance of an increasing amount of 12 References
paper money (which became not worth a continental).
The U.S. nally solved its debt and currency problems
in the 1790s when Secretary of the Treasury Alexander To avoid duplication, notes for sections with a link to a
Hamilton secured legislation by which the national gov- Main article will be found in the linked article.
ernment assumed all of the state debts, and in addition
created a national bank and a funding system based on [1] A cease-re in America was proclaimed by Congress on
April 11, 1783 pursuant a cease-re agreement between
taris and bond issues that paid o the foreign debts.[180]

10

See also

Britain and France on January 20, 1783. The nal peace

treaty was not signed until September 3, 1783. Hostilities
in India continued until July 1783.

[2] (177883)

Battles of the American Revolutionary War

[3] (177983)

British Army during the American War of Independence

[4] Oneida, Tuscarora, Watauga Association, Catawba,

Lenape, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Mahican, Mi'kmaq(until
1779), Abenaki, Cheraw, Seminole, Pee Dee, Lumbee

Bibliography of the American Revolutionary War

Diplomacy in the American Revolutionary War
First Treaty of San Ildefonso
First League of Armed Neutrality
Fourth Anglo-Dutch War
George Washington in the American Revolution

[5] (178083)
[6] (1780-84)
[7] Onondaga, Mohawk, Cayuga, Seneca, Mi'kmaq (from
1779), Cherokee, Odawa, Muscogee, Susquehannock,
Shawnee
[8] Duncan, Louis C. MEDICAL MEN IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION (1931).

23

[9] Jack P. Greene and J. R. Pole. A Companion to the American Revolution (Wiley-Blackwell, 2003), p. 328.
[10] Jonathan Dull, A Diplomatic History of the American Revolution (Yale University Press, 1985), p. 110.
[11] Mackesy (1964), pp. 6, 176 (British seamen).
[12] Jasano, Maya, Libertys Exiles: American Loyalists in
the Revolutionary World (2011).
[13] A. J. Berry, A Time of Terror (2006) p. 252
[14] Greene and Pole (1999), p. 393; Boatner (1974), p. 545.
[15] Howard H. Peckham, ed., The Toll of Independence: Engagements and Battle Casualties of the American Revolution (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974).
[16] American dead and wounded: Shy, pp. 24950. The
lower gure for number of wounded comes from Chambers, p. 849.
[17] Spanish casualties in The American Revolutionary war..
Necrometrics.
[18] Parliamentary Register (1781), p. 269.
[19] Merrill Jensen, The Founding of a Nation: A History of
the American Revolution, 1763-1776 (2004).
[20] King George refuses Olive Branch Petition. The History
Channel Website. 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
[21] Dull, A Diplomatic History of the American Revolution, ch.
18.
[22] Lawrence S. Kaplan, The Treaty of Paris, 1783: A Historiographical Challenge, International History Review,
September 1983, Vol. 5, Issue 3, pp 43142.
[23] Gladney, Henry M. (2014). No Taxation without Representation: 1768 Petition, Memorial, and Remonstrance
(PDF).
[24] the people of these colonies are not, and from their local circumstances cannot be, represented in the House of
Commons in Great-Britain. quoted from the Resolutions
of the Stamp Act Congress October 19, 1765
[25] "... as the English colonists are not represented, and from
their local and other circumstances, cannot properly be
represented in the British parliament, they are entitled to
a free and exclusive power of legislation in their several
provincial legislatures, where their right of representation
can alone be preserved ... quoted from the Declarations
and Resolves of the First Continental Congress October
14, 1774.
[26] Charles Howard McIlwain (1938). The American Revolution: A Constitutional Interpretation. p. 51.
[27] What was the Boston Massacre?". Boston Massacre Society.
[28] Boston Tea Party. History.com.
[29] Young, Shoemaker, 18385.

[30] Resolved, 4. That the foundation of English liberty, and

of all free government, is a right in the people to participate in their legislative council: and as the English
colonists are not represented, and from their local and
other circumstances, cannot properly be represented in the
British parliament, they are entitled to a free and exclusive power of legislation in their several provincial legislatures, where their right of representation can alone be preserved, in all cases of taxation and internal polity, subject
only to the negative of their sovereign, in such manner as
has been heretofore used and accustomed: But, from the
necessity of the case, and a regard to the mutual interest
of both countries, we cheerfully consent to the operation
of such acts of the British parliament, as are bonde, restrained to the regulation of our external commerce, for
the purpose of securing the commercial advantages of the
whole empire to the mother country, and the commercial
benets of its respective members; excluding every idea
of taxation internal or external, for raising a revenue on
the subjects, in America, without their consent. quoted
from the Declarations and Resolves of the First Continental Congress October 14, 1774.
[31] Lecky, William Edward Hartpole, A History of England
in the Eighteenth Century (1882), p. 545.
[32] Sabine, Lorenzo, Biographical Sketches of Loyalists of
the American Revolution, Vol. I (1864), p. 74.
[33] David Hackett Fischer, Paul Reveres Ride (1994), Pulitzer
Prize-winning history of the campaign.
[34] Adams, Charles Francis, The Battle of Bunker Hill, in
American Historical Review (1895-1896), pp. 401-13.
[35] Higginbotham (1983), pp. 7577.
[36] Hugh F. Rankin, ed. (1987). Rebels and Redcoats:
The American Revolution Through the Eyes of Those who
Fought and Lived it. Da Capo Press. p. 63.
[37] Stephenson (1925), pp. 27181.
[38]

Elwin L. Page. The Kings Powder, 1774, New

England Quarterly Vol. 18, No. 1 (Mar., 1945),
pp. 8392 in JSTOR

[39] Lecky, William Edward Hartpole, A History of England

in the Eighteenth Century (1882), pp. 449-50.
[40] John R. Alden (1989). A History of the American Revolution. Da Capo Press. pp. 18890.
[41] Mark R. Anderson, The Battle for the Fourteenth Colony:
Americas War of Liberation in Canada, 17741776 (University Press of New England; 2013).
[42] Willard Sterne Randall, Benedict Arnold at Quebec,
MHQ: Quarterly Journal of Military History, Summer
1990, Vol. 2, Issue 4, pp 3849.
[43] Thomas A. Desjardin, Through a Howling Wilderness:
Benedict Arnolds March to Quebec, 1775 (2006).
[44] Watson (1960), p. 203.
[45] Arthur S. Lefkowitz, Benedict Arnolds Army: The 1775
American Invasion of Canada during the Revolutionary
War (2007).

24

12

REFERENCES

[46] Lorenzo Sabine, Biographical Sketches of Loyalists of the

American Revolution, Vol. I (1864) p. 48; Sabine adds
they were certainly wrong.

[72] Fischer (2004), pp. 277343.

[47] William Edward Hartpole Lecky (1891). A History of

England: In the Eighteenth Century. p. 139.

[74] Lecky, William, A History of England in the Eighteenth

Century, Vol. IV (1891), p. 57.

[48] Lecky. A History of England. pp. 7072.

[75] Adams, Charles Francis, Campaign of 1777, Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Volume 44
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[49] Lecky. A History of England. pp. 7678.

[50] Frank A. Biletz (2013). Historical Dictionary of Ireland.
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[51] Vincent Morley (2002). Irish Opinion and the American
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[52] Lecky. A History of England. pp. 16265.
[53] John C. Miller (1959). Origins of the American Revolution. Stanford UP. pp. 41012.
[54] David Smith (2012). New York 1776: The Continentals
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[55] Fischer (2004), pp. 5152, 83.
[56] Fischer (2004), p. 29.
[57] Adams, Charles Francis, Battle of Long Island, in American Historical Review (1895-1896), p. 657.
[58] Fischer (2004), pp. 91101.
[59] Adams, Charles Francis, Battle of Long Island, in American Historical Review (1895-1896), p. 662.
[60] John Richard Alden, The American Revolution, 1775
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[73] Fischer (2004), pp. 34558.

[76] Ketchum (1997), p. 84.

[77] Ketchum (1997), pp. 285323.
[78] Higginbotham (1983), pp. 18898
[79] Stedman, Charles, The History of the Origin, Progress and
Termination of the American War Volume I (1794), pp.
28789.
[80] Adams, Charles Francis. Campaign of 1777, Massachusetts Historical Society, Vol. 44 (1910-11), p. 43.
[81] Stephen R. Taae, The Philadelphia Campaign, 17771778 (2003), pp. 95-100 except and text search.
[82] Cadwalader, Richard McCall (1901). Observance of the
One Hundred and Twenty-third Anniversary of the Evacuation of Philadelphia by the British Army. Fort Washington
and the Encampment of White Marsh, November 2, 1777:.
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[83] Noel Fairchild Busch, Winter Quarters: George Washington and the Continental Army at Valley Forge (Liveright,
1974).

[61] Fischer (2004), pp. 10211.

[84] Paul Douglas Lockhart, The Drillmaster of Valley Forge:

The Baron de Steuben and the Making of the American
Army (2008).

[62] Barnet Schecter, The battle for New York: The city at the
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[85] The Winning of Independence, 17771783 American

Military History Volume I (2005).

[63] Larry Lowenthal, Hell on the East River: British Prison

Ships in the American Revolution (2009).

[86] A Concluding Commentary Supplying Washingtons

Army (1981).

[64] David McCullough (2006). 1776. p. 122.

[87] Frances H. Kennedy (2014). The American Revolution: A

Historical Guidebook. Oxford UP. p. 163.

[65] Stedman, Charles, The History of the Origin, Progress and

Termination of the American War Volume I (1794), p.
221.
[66] Stedman, Charles, The History of the Origin, Progress and
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223.
[67] Mary Tucker (1 March 2002). Washington Crossing the
Delaware. Lorenz Educational Press. pp. 2223.

[88] Springeld Armory. Nps.gov. 2013-04-25. Retrieved

2013-05-08.
[89] Perkins, James Breck, France In The Revolution (1911).
[90] Corwin, Edward Samuel, French Policy and the American
Alliance (1916), pp. 121-48.

[68] Fischer (2004), pp. 13840.

[91] E. Chavez, Thomas (1997). Spains Support Vital to United

States Independence, 17771783. United States. Dept. of
Defense. pp. United States.

[69] Fischer (2004), pp. 143205.

[92] Sparks, 1:408.

[70] Stedman, Charles, The History of the Origin, Progress and

Termination of the American War Volume I (1794), pp.
22425.

[93] Jonathan R. Dull, A Diplomatic History of the American

Revolution (1987), ch. 79.

[71] Fischer (2004), pp. 20659.

[94] Terry M. Mays (2009). Historical Dictionary of the American Revolution. Scarecrow Press. p. 7.

25

[95] John Ferling (2007). Almost a Miracle: The American [120] Richard Morris, The Peacemakers: The Great Powers and
Victory in the War of Independence. Oxford UP. p. 294.
American Independence (1983).
[121] Benn (1993), p. 17.

[96] Trevelyan (1912), vol. 1, p. 4.

[122] Dwight L. Smith, A North American Neutral Indian

Zone: Persistence of a British Idea Northwest Ohio Quar[98] John Ferling (2007). Almost a Miracle: The American
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Victory in the War of Independence. Oxford UP. pp. 294
[123] Francis M. Carroll (2001). A Good and Wise Measure:
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The Search for the Canadian-American Boundary, 1783[99] Higginbotham (1983), pp. 17588.
1842. U of Toronto Press. p. 24.
[97] Trevelyan (1912), vol. 1, p. 5.

[100] The Winning of Independence 17771783, American [124] Mulhall, Michael G., Mulhalls Dictionary of Statistics
Military History, Volume 1 (2005).
(1884), p. 357.
[101] Colin Gordon Calloway, The American Revolution in In- [125]
dian Country (1995).
[126]
[102] Lowell Hayes Harrison, George Rogers Clark and the War
in the West (2001).
[127]
[103] Henry Lumpkin, From Savannah to Yorktown: The American Revolution in the South (2000).
[128]
[104] John W. Gordon and John Keegan, South Carolina and the
[129]
American Revolution: A Battleeld History (2007).

Colonial and Pre-Federal Statistics U.S. Census Bureau.

Tyler, Moses. The Literary History of the American Revolution Vol. I (1897), p. 399.
Lecky, William. A History of England in the Eighteenth
Century Vol. IV (1891), p. 287.
Perkins, James Breck France in the Revolution (1911).
John E. Ferling, Almost A Miracle: The American Victory
in the War of Independence (2009), pp. 562-77.

[105] Hugh F. Rankin, North Carolina in the American Revolu[130] Joseph J. Ellis (2013). Revolutionary Summer: The Birth
tion (1996).
of American Independence. Random House.
[106] Lumpkin, From Savannah to Yorktown: The American
[131] Richard W. Stewart, ed., American Military History VolRevolution in the South (2000).
ume 1 The United States Army And The Forging Of A Na[107] Michael Cecere, Great Things are Expected from the Virtion, 1775-1917 (2005) ch 4 The Winning of Indepenginians: Virginia in the American Revolution (2009).
dence, 17771783 (2005), p. 103.
[108] Richard Ferrie, The World Turned Upside Down: George [132] Pole and Greene, eds. Companion to the American RevoWashington and the Battle of Yorktown (1999).
lution, ch. 3639.
[109] Mackesy, p. 435.

[133] Michael Lanning (2009). American Revolution 100: The

Battles, People, and Events of the American War for In[110] Privateers or Merchant Mariners help win the Revoludependence, Ranked by Their Signicance. Sourcebooks.
tionary War. Usmm.org. Retrieved 2013-05-08.
pp. 19596.
[111] John Pike (1907-10-18). Privateers.
rity.org. Retrieved 2013-05-08.

Globalsecu- [134] Trevelyan, p. 249.

[112] Higginbotham (1983), pp. 33146.

[113] Heintze, A Chronology of Notable Fourth of July Celebration Occurrences.
[114] Riddick (2006), pp. 2325.
[115] Fletcher (1909), pp. 15558.

[135] Ketchum (1997), pp. 40548.

[136] Philander D. Chase. Steuben, Friedrich Wilhelm von";
American National Biography Online (2000). Accessed
January 29, 2015.
[137] Black (2001), p. 59. On militia see Boatner (1974), p.
707, and Weigley (1973), ch. 2.

[138] Crocker (2006), p. 51.

[116] Edler (1911), pp. 3738, 4262; The American trade via
St. Eustatius was very substantial. In 1779 more than [139] Boatner (1974), p. 264 says the largest force Washing12,000 hogsheads of tobacco and 1.5 million ounces of
ton commanded was under 17,000"; Duy (1987), p.
indigo were shipped from the Colonies to the island in ex17, estimates Washingtons maximum was only 13,000
change for naval supplies and other goods; Edler, p. 62
troops.
[117] Edler (1911), pp. 95173.

[140] Greene and Pole (1999), p. 235.

[118] Edler (1911), pp. 23346.

[141] Savas and Dameron (2006), p. xli.

[119] Had Elalamy, Moulay (November 21, 2013). Why Mo- [142] Black (2001), p. 12.
rocco Matters To The U.S.. Forbes Magazine. Retrieved
April 12, 2015.
[143] Black (2001), p. 1314.

26

13 FURTHER READING

[144] Black (2001), p. 14.

[167] O'Brien, Greg (April 30, 2008). Pre-removal Choctaw

history: exploring new paths. University of Oklahoma
[145] On the top leaders see Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy,
Press. pp. 123126. ISBN 978-0-8061-3916-6. ReThe Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the Amertrieved March 25, 2011.
ican Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire (Yale University Press, 2013).
[168] Cassadra Pybus, Jeersons Faulty Math: the Question
of Slave Defections in the American Revolution, William
[146] Michael Lanning (2009). American Revolution 100: The
and Mary Quarterly 2005 62(2): 243264. Issn: 0043Battles, People, and Events of the American War for In5597 (subscription required), also Fulltext: in History Codependence, Ranked by Their Signicance. Sourcebooks.
operative.
pp. 19396.
[169] William Baller, Farm Families and the American Revo[147] Black (2001), p. 39; Greene and Pole (1999), pp. 298,
lution, Journal of Family History (2006) 31(1): 2844.
306.
Issn: 0363-1990. Fulltext: online in EBSCO.
[148] Edward E. Curtis, The Organization of the British Army in [170] Michael A. McDonnell, Class War: Class Struggles Durthe American Revolution (Yale U.P. 1926) ch 1 online.
ing the American Revolution in Virginia, William and
Mary Quarterly 2006 63(2): 305344. Issn: 0043-5597
[149] Curtis, The Organization of the British Army in the AmerFulltext: online at History Cooperative.
ican Revolution, ch. 4.
[150] Curtis, The Organization of the British Army in the American Revolution, ch. 3.

[171] Ellis (2004), p. 87.

[172] Burrows, Edwin G. (Fall 2008). Patriots or Terrorists.

American Heritage. 58 (5). Archived from the original on
[151] Higginbotham (1983), pp. 298, 306; Black (2001), pp.
March 23, 2013. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
29, 42.
[152] Black (2001), pp. 1416 (Harsh methods), pp. 35, 38 [173] American dead and wounded: Shy, pp. 24950. The
lower gure for number of wounded comes from Cham(slaves and Indians), p. 16 (neutrals into revolutionaries).
bers, p. 849.
[153] Ketchum (1997), p. 76.
[174] The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography,
Volume 27 (1903), p. 176.
[154] Ketchum (1997), p. 77.
[155] Ingrao, Charles. "" Barbarous Strangers": Hessian State [175] Parliamentary Register (1781), pp. 263-65.
and Society during the American Revolution. American
[176] Annual Register, 1783 (1785), pp. 199-200.
Historical Review (1982): 954-976. in JSTOR.
[156] Black (2001), pp. 2729; Boatner (1974), pp. 42426.

[177] Mackesy (1964), pp. 6, 176 (British seamen).

[178] Robert Tombs and Isabelle Tombs (2006). That Sweet Enemy: The French and the British from the Sun King to the
[158] The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Army (1994),
Present. Knopf Doubleday. p. 179.
p. 12223.
[179] Tombs (2007), p. 179.
[159] Kaplan and Kaplan (1989), pp. 6469.
[180] David Kennedy et al. (2011). The Brief American
[160] Leslie Alexander (2010). Encyclopedia of African AmerPageant: A History of the Republic, Volume I: To 1877.
ican History. ABC-CLIO. p. 356.
Cengage Learning. p. 136.
[157] Morrissey (2004), pp. 20, 21.

[161] Peter Kolchin, American Slavery: 16191877, New York:

Hill and Wang, 1994, p. 73
[162] Kolchin, p.73
[163] William Weir (2004). The Encyclopedia of African American Military History. Prometheus Books. pp. 3132.
[164] Cassadra Pybus, Jeersons Faulty Math: the Question
of Slave Defections in the American Revolution, William
and Mary Quarterly (2005) 62#2 pp: 243264. in JSTOR

13 Further reading
Black, Jeremy. War for America: The Fight for Independence, 17751783. 2001. Analysis from a
noted British military historian.

[165] Greene and Pole (1999), p. 393; Boatner (1974), p. 545.

Benn, Carl.
Historic Fort York, 17931993.
Toronto: Dundurn Press Ltd., 1993. ISBN 0920474-79-9.

[166] Ward, Harry M. (1999). The war for independence and

the transformation of American society. Psychology Press.
p. 198. ISBN 978-1-85728-656-4. Retrieved March 25,
2011.

Boatner, Mark Mayo, III. Encyclopedia of the American Revolution. 1966; revised 1974. ISBN 0-81170578-1. Military topics, references many secondary
sources.

27
Chambers, John Whiteclay II, ed.
in chief.
The Oxford Companion to American Military History. Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN 0-19507198-0.
Crocker III, H. W. (2006). Don't Tread on Me. New
York: Crown Forum. ISBN 978-1-4000-5363-6.
Curtis, Edward E. The Organization of the British
Army in the American Revolution (Yale U.P. 1926)
online
Duy, Christopher. The Military Experience in the
Age of Reason, 17151789 Routledge, 1987. ISBN
978-0-7102-1024-1.
Edler, Friedrich. The Dutch Republic and The
American Revolution. University Press of the Pacic, 1911, reprinted 2001. ISBN 0-89875-269-8.
Ellis, Joseph J. His Excellency: George Washington.
(2004). ISBN 1-4000-4031-0.
Fenn, Elizabeth Anne. Pox Americana: The Great
Smallpox Epidemic of 177582. New York: Hill and
Wang, 2001. ISBN 0-8090-7820-1.

Ketchum, Richard M. Saratoga: Turning Point of

Americas Revolutionary War. Henry Holt, 1997.
ISBN 0-8050-4681-X.
Mackesy, Piers. The War for America: 17751783.
London, 1964. Reprinted University of Nebraska
Press, 1993. ISBN 0-8032-8192-7. Highly regarded examination of British strategy and leadership.
McCullough, David. 1776. New York: Simon &
Schuster, 2005.
Reynolds, Jr., William R. (2012). Andrew Pickens:
South Carolina Patriot in the Revolutionary War.
Jeerson NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN
978-0-7864-6694-8.
Riddick, John F. The History of British India: a
Chronology. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006.
ISBN 978-0-313-32280-8.
Savas, Theodore P. and Dameron, J. David. A Guide
to the Battles of the American Revolution. New York:
Savas Beatie LLC, 2006. ISBN 1-932714-12-X.

David Hackett Fischer. Washingtons Crossing. New

York: Oxford University Press, 2004. ISBN 0-19517034-2.

Schama, Simon. Rough Crossings: Britain, the

Slaves, and the American Revolution, New York,
NY: Ecco/HarperCollins, 2006

Fletcher, Charles Robert Leslie. An Introductory

History of England: The Great European War, Volume 4. E.P. Dutton, 1909. OCLC 12063427.

Shy, John. A People Numerous and Armed: Reections on the Military Struggle for American Independence. New York: Oxford University Press,
1976 (ISBN 0-19-502013-8); revised University of
Michigan Press, 1990 (ISBN 0-472-06431-2). Collection of essays.

Greene, Jack P. and Pole, J.R., eds. The Blackwell

Encyclopedia of the American Revolution. Malden,
Massachusetts: Blackwell, 1991; reprint 1999.
ISBN 1-55786-547-7. Collection of essays focused
on political and social history.
Gilbert, Alan. Black Patriots and Loyalists: Fighting for Emancipation in the War for Independence.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012. ISBN
978-0-226-29307-3.
Higginbotham, Don. The War of American Independence: Military Attitudes, Policies, and Practice,
17631789. Northeastern University Press, 1983.
ISBN 0-930350-44-8. Overview of military topics;
online in ACLS History E-book Project.
Morrissey, Brendan. Monmouth Courthouse 1778:
The Last Great Battle in the North. Osprey Publishing, 2004. ISBN 1-84176-772-7.
Jensen, Merrill. The Founding of a Nation: A History of the American Revolution 17631776. (2004)
Kaplan, Sidney and Emma Nogrady Kaplan. The
Black Presence in the Era of the American Revolution. Amherst, Massachusetts: The University of
Massachusetts Press, 1989. ISBN 0-87023-663-6.

Stephenson, Orlando W. The Supply of Gunpowder in 1776, American Historical Review, Vol. 30,
No. 2 (Jan. 1925), pp. 271281 in JSTOR.
Tombs, Robert and Isabelle. That Sweet Enemy:
The French and the British from the Sun King to the
Present Random House, 2007. ISBN 978-1-40004024-7.
Trevelyan, George Otto. George the Third and
Charles Fox: the concluding part of The American
revolution Longmans, Green, 1912.
Watson, J. Steven. The Reign of George III, 1760
1815. 1960. Standard history of British politics.
Weigley, Russell F. The American Way of War. Indiana University Press, 1977. ISBN 978-0-25328029-9.
Weintraub, Stanley. Iron Tears: Americas Battle
for Freedom, Britains Quagmire: 17751783. New
York: Free Press, 2005 (a division of Simon and
Schuster). ISBN 0-7432-2687-9. An account of the
British politics on the conduct of the war.

28

14

15

Reference literature

These are some of the standard works about the war in

general that are not listed above; books about specic
campaigns, battles, units, and individuals can be found
in those articles.
Billias, George Athan. George Washingtons Generals and Opponents: Their Exploits and Leadership
(1994) scholarly studies of key generals on each side
Conway, Stephen. The War of American Independence 17751783. Publisher: E. Arnold, 1995.
ISBN 0-340-62520-1. 280 pages.
Lowell, Edward J. The Hessians in the Revolution
Williamstown, Massachusetts, Corner House Publishers, 1970, Reprint
Bancroft, George. History of the United States of
America, from the discovery of the American continent. (185478), vol. 710.
Bobrick, Benson. Angel in the Whirlwind: The Triumph of the American Revolution. Penguin, 1998
(paperback reprint).
Fremont-Barnes, Gregory, and Ryerson, Richard
A., eds. The Encyclopedia of the American Revolutionary War: A Political, Social, and Military History (ABC-CLIO, 2006) 5 volume paper and online
editions; 1000 entries by 150 experts, covering all
topics
Frey, Sylvia R. The British Soldier in America: A
Social History of Military Life in the Revolutionary
Period (University of Texas Press, 1981).
Hibbert, Christopher. Redcoats and Rebels: The
American Revolution through British Eyes. New
York: Norton, 1990. ISBN 0-393-02895-X.

EXTERNAL LINKS

Ward, Christopher. The War of the Revolution. (2

volumes. New York: Macmillan, 1952.)History of
land battles in North America.
Wood, W. J. Battles of the Revolutionary War,
17751781. ISBN 0-306-81329-7 (2003 paperback reprint). Analysis of tactics of a dozen battles,
with emphasis on American military leadership.
Men-at-Arms series: short (48pp), very well illustrated descriptions:
Zlatich, Marko; Copeland, Peter. General
Washingtons Army (1): 177578 (1994)
Zlatich, Marko. General Washingtons Army
(2): 177983 (1994)
Chartrand, Rene. The French Army in the
American War of Independence (1994)
May, Robin. The British Army in North America 17751783 (1993)
The Partisan in War, a treatise on light infantry tactics written by Colonel Andreas Emmerich in 1789.

15 External links
Liberty The American Revolution from PBS
American Revolutionary War 17751783 in the
News
Important battles of the American Revolutionary
War

15.1 Bibliographies
Library of Congress Guide to the American Revolution

Kwasny, Mark V. Washingtons Partisan War,

17751783. Kent, Ohio: 1996. ISBN 0-87338546-2. Militia warfare.

Bibliographies of the War of American Independence compiled by the United States Army Center
of Military History

Middlekau, Robert. The Glorious Cause: The

American Revolution, 17631789. Oxford University Press, 1984; revised 2005. ISBN 0-19-5162471. online edition

Political bibliography from Omohundro Institute of

Early American History and Culture

Savas, Theodore; J. David Dameron (2006). Guide

to the Battles of the American Revolution. Savas
Beatie. Contains a detailed listing of American,
French, British, German, and Loyalist regiments; indicates when they were raised, the main battles, and
what happened to them. Also includes the main warships on both sides, And all the important battles.
Symonds, Craig L. A Battleeld Atlas of the American Revolution (1989), newly drawn maps emphasizing the movement of military units

29

16
16.1

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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File:Bandera_de_Espaa_1748-1785.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Bandera_de_Espa%C3%
B1a_1760-1785.svg License: GFDL Contributors: Own work Original artist: Durero
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mil/photos/images/h73000/h73927kc.htm Original artist: V. Zveg (US Navy employee)
File:Battle_of_Guiliford_Courthouse_15_March_1781.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Battle_
of_Guiliford_Courthouse_15_March_1781.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Transferred from en.wikipedia Original artist: Original uploader was Oldwildbill at en.wikipedia
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Currier_colored.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://www.octc.kctcs.edu/mmaltby/his108/Boston%20Tea%20Party.jpg
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https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/British_Army_in_

Original artist: Amos Doolittle

File:Canadian_militiamen_and_British_soldiers_repulse_the_American_assault_at_Sault-au-Matelot.jpg
Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Canadian_militiamen_and_British_soldiers_repulse_the_American_assault_at_
Sault-au-Matelot.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Cover art for The father of British Canada: a chronicle of Carleton, Volume 12
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File:ChappelWyomingMassacre.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/ChappelWyomingMassacre.jpg
License: Public domain Contributors: http://explorepahistory.com/displayimage.php?imgId=1-2-8CD Original artist: Alonzo Chappel
File:Combat_de_la_Dominique_17_Avril_1780_Rossel_de_Cercy_1736_1804.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/
commons/9/99/Combat_de_la_Dominique_17_Avril_1780_Rossel_de_Cercy_1736_1804.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Own
work Original artist: PHGCOM, Rossel_de_Cercy_1736_1804
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brown.edu/catalog/catalog.php?verb=render&id=1240343522807000 Original artist: Charles M. Leerts (1873-1923)
File:Couder_Yorktown_Versailles.JPG
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Versailles.JPG License: CC BY 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Auguste Couder
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