Encyclopedia
The
American Revolutionary War , also known as the
American War of Independence, was a war between
Great Britain and revolutionaries within
thirteen British colonies, who
declared their independence as the
United States of America in 1776. The war was the culmination of the
American Revolution, a colonial struggle against political and
economic policies of the
British Empire. The war eventually widened far beyond British North America; many
Native Americans also fought on both sides of the conflict.
Throughout the war, the British were able to use their naval superiority to capture and occupy coastal cities, but control of the countryside largely eluded them. After an American
victory at Saratoga in 1777,
France, with
Spain and the
Netherlands as its allies, entered the war against Great Britain. French involvement proved decisive, with a naval
victory in the Chesapeake leading to the surrender of a British army at
Yorktown in 1781. The Treaty of Paris in 1783 recognized the independence of the United States.
Combatants before 1778
Armies, militias, and mercenaries
Colonists were divided over which side to support in the war; in some areas, the struggle was a civil war. The Revolutionaries had the active support of about 40 to 45 percent of the colonial population. About 15 to 20 percent of the population supported the British Crown during the war and were known as Loyalists . Loyalists fielded perhaps 50,000 men during the war years in support of the British Empire. After the war, some 70,000 Loyalists departed the United States, most going to
Canada, Great Britain, or to British colonies in the
Caribbean.
When the war began, the Americans did not have a
regular army . Each colony had traditionally provided for its own defenses through the use of local
militia. Militiamen served for only a few weeks or months at a time, were reluctant to go very far from home, and were thus generally unavailable for extended operations. Militia lacked the training and discipline of regular soldiers but were occasionally effective against regular troops. American militia were sometimes adept at partisan warfare and were particularly effective at suppressing Loyalist activity when British regulars were not in the area.
Seeking to coordinate military efforts, the Continental Congress established a regular army—the
Continental Army—in June 1775, and appointed
George Washington as commander-in-chief. The development of the Continental Army was always a work in progress, and Washington reluctantly augmented the regular troops with militia throughout the war. Although as many as 250,000 men may have served as regulars or as militiamen for the Revolutionary cause in the eight years of the war, there were never more than 90,000 total men under arms for the Americans in any given year. Armies in North America were small by European standards of the era; the greatest number of men that Washington personally commanded in the field at any one time was fewer than 17,000.
Early in 1775, the
British Army consisted of about 36,000 men worldwide, but wartime
recruitment steadily increased this number. Additionally, over the course of the war the British hired about 30,000
German mercenaries, popularly known in the colonies as "Hessians" because many of them came from Hesse-Kassel. Germans would make up about one-third of the British troop strength in North America. By 1779, the number of British and German troops stationed in North America was over 60,000, though these were spread from
Canada to
Florida.
African-Americans and Native Americans
African-Americans—
slaves and free blacks—served on both sides during the war. Black soldiers served in northern militias from the outset, but this was forbidden in the South, where slave owners feared arming slaves. In November 1775,
Lord Dunmore, the Royal Governor of
Virginia, issued a proclamation promising freedom to runaway slaves who fought for the British; Sir Henry Clinton issued a similar edict in
New York in 1779. Tens of thousands of slaves escaped to the British lines, although possibly as few as 1,000 served under arms. Many of the rest served as orderlies, mechanics, laborers, servants, scouts and guides. More than half died in
smallpox epidemics that swept the British forces and many were driven out of the British lines when food ran low. Despite Dunmore's promises, the majority were not given their freedom.
Because of manpower shortages, Washington lifted the ban on black enlistment in the Continental Army in January 1776. All-black units were formed in
Rhode Island and
Massachusetts; many were slaves promised freedom for serving instead of their masters. Another all-black unit came from
Haiti with French forces. At least 5,000 black soldiers fought for the Revolutionary cause.
Most
American Indians east of the
Mississippi River were affected by the war, with many communities divided over the question of how to respond to the conflict. Most Native Americans joined the fight against the United States, since native lands were threatened by expanding American settlement. An estimated 13,000 warriors fought on the British side; the largest group, the
Iroquois Confederacy, fielded about 1,500 men.
War in the north, 1775–1777
Massachusetts
Before the war,
Boston,
Massachusetts, had been the scene of much revolutionary activity, leading to the effective abolition of the provincial government of Massachusetts by the
British parliament in 1774. Popular resistance to these measures, however, compelled the newly appointed royal officials in Massachusetts to resign or to seek refuge in Boston. Lieutenant General
Thomas Gage, the British Commander-in-Chief, North America, commanded four regiments of British regulars from his headquarters in Boston, but the countryside was in the hands of the Revolutionaries.
On the night of April 18 1775, General Gage sent 900 men to seize munitions stored by the colonial militia at
Concord, Massachusetts. Riders alerted the countryside, and when the British troops entered
Lexington on the morning of April 19, they found 75
minutemen formed up on the village common. Shots were exchanged, and the British moved on to Concord, where there was more fighting. By the time the British began their return march to Boston, thousands of militiamen had arrived on the scene, inflicting much damage upon the detachment. With the
Battles of Lexington and Concord, the war had begun.
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. The Americans fell back, but British losses were so heavy that the attack was not followed up. The siege was not broken, and Gage was soon replaced by Howe as the British commander-in-chief.
In July 1775, newly appointed General Washington arrived outside Boston to take charge of the colonial forces and to organize the Continental Army. The standoff continued throughout the fall and winter. In early March 1776, heavy
cannons that the Patriots had
captured at Fort Ticonderoga were
placed on Dorchester Heights, overlooking the British positions. Howe's situation was now untenable, and the British evacuated the city on March 17, 1776, sailing for temporary refuge in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Washington then took most of the Continental Army to fortify
New York City.
Canada
During the long standoff at Boston, the Continental Congress sought a way to seize the initiative elsewhere. Congress had initially invited the French Canadians to join them as the fourteenth colony, but when that failed to happen, Congress authorized an invasion of Canada. The goal was to remove British rule from the primarily
francophone province of Quebec .
Two Canada-bound expeditions were undertaken. On September 16, 1775, Brigadier General
Richard Montgomery marched north from
Fort Ticonderoga with about 1,700 militiamen, capturing
Montreal on November 13. General
Guy Carleton, the governor of Canada, escaped to
Quebec City. The second expedition, led by Colonel
Benedict Arnold, was a logistical nightmare, with many men succumbing to smallpox. By the time Arnold reached Quebec City in early November, he had but 600 of his original 1,100 men. Montgomery's force joined Arnold's, and they attacked Quebec City on December 31, but were soundly defeated by Carleton. The remaining Americans held on outside Quebec City until the spring of 1776, and then withdrew.
Another attempt was made by the Americans to push back towards Quebec, but they failed at Trois-Rivičres 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 of Canada had begun. The invasion of Canada ended as a disaster for the Americans, but Arnold's efforts in 1776 delayed a full-scale British counteroffensive until the
Saratoga campaign of 1777.
New York and New Jersey
Having withdrawn his army from Boston, General Howe now focused on capturing New York City. To defend the city, General Washington divided his 20,000 soldiers between
Long Island and
Manhattan. While British troops were assembling on
Staten Island for the campaign, Washington had the newly issued
Declaration of American Independence read to his men. On August 27, 1776, after landing about 22,000 men on Long Island, the British
drove the Americans back to Brooklyn Heights. Howe then laid siege to fortifications there, but Washington managed to evacuate his army to Manhattan.
On September 15, Howe landed about 12,000 men on lower Manhattan, quickly taking control of New York City. The Americans withdrew to Harlem Heights, where they skirmished the next day but held their ground. When Howe moved to encircle Washington's army in October, the Americans again fell back, and a
battle at White Plains was fought on October 28, 1776. Once more Washington retreated, and Howe returned to Manhattan and captured Fort Washington in mid November, taking about 2,000 prisoners .
General Lord Cornwallis continued to chase Washington's army through
New Jersey, until the Americans withdrew across the
Delaware River into
Pennsylvania in early December. With the campaign at an apparent conclusion for the season, the British entered winter quarters. Although Howe had missed several opportunities to crush the diminishing rebel army, he had killed or captured over 5,000 Americans and was in a good position to resume operations in the spring, with the rebel capital of
Philadelphia in striking distance.
The outlook of the Continental Army was bleak. "These are the times that try men's souls," wrote
Thomas Paine, who was with the army on the retreat. The army had dwindled to fewer than 5,000 men fit for duty, and would be reduced to 1,400 after enlistments expired at the end of the year. Congress had abandoned Philadelphia in despair, although popular resistance to British occupation was growing in the countryside.
Washington decided to take the offensive, stealthily
crossing the Delaware on
Christmas night and capturing nearly 1,000 Hessians at the
Battle of Trenton on December 26, 1776. Cornwallis marched to retake Trenton but was outmaneuvered by Washington, who successfully attacked the British rearguard at
Princeton on January 3, 1777. Washington then entered winter quarters at
Morristown, New Jersey, having given a morale boost to the American cause. New Jersey militia continued to harass British and Hessian forces throughout the winter.
Saratoga and Philadelphia
When the British began to plan operations for 1777, they had two main armies in North America: Carleton's army in Canada, and Howe's army in New York. In London,
Lord George Germain approved campaigns for these armies which, because of miscommunication, poor planning, and rivalries between commanders, did not work in conjunction. Although Howe successfully captured Philadelphia, the northern army was lost in a disastrous surrender at Saratoga. Both Carleton and Howe resigned after the 1777 campaign.
Saratoga campaign
The first of the 1777 campaigns was an expedition from Canada led by General
John Burgoyne. The goal was to seize the
Lake Champlain and
Hudson River corridor, effectively isolating
New England from the rest of the American colonies. Burgoyne's invasion had two components: he would lead about 10,000 men along Lake Champlain towards
Albany, New York, while a second column of about 2,000 men, led by Barry St. Leger, would move down the
Mohawk River valley and link up with Burgoyne in
Albany, New York.
Burgoyne set off in June, and recaptured Fort Ticonderoga in early July. Thereafter, his march was slowed by Americans who destroyed bridges and felled trees in his path. A detachment was sent out to seize supplies but was
decisively defeated by American militia in August, depriving Burgoyne of nearly 1,000 men.
Meanwhile, St. Leger—half of his force American Indians led by
Joseph Brant—had laid siege to
Fort Stanwix. American militiamen and their Indian allies marched to relieve the siege but were ambushed and scattered at the
Battle of Oriskany on August 6. When a second relief expedition approached, this time led by Benedict Arnold, St. Leger broke off the siege and returned to Canada.
Burgoyne's army was now reduced to about 6,000 men. Despite these setbacks, he determined to push on towards Albany—a fateful decision which would later produce much controversy. An American army of 8,000 men, commanded by the General
Horatio Gates, had entrenched about 10 miles south of
Saratoga, New York. Burgoyne tried to outflank the Americans but was checked at the
first battle of Saratoga in September. Burgoyne's situation was desperate, but he now hoped that help from Howe's army in New York City might be on the way. It was not: Howe had instead sailed away on an expedition to capture Philadelphia. American militiamen flocked to Gates's 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.
Saratoga is often regarded as the turning point of the war. Revolutionary confidence and determination, suffering from Howe's successful occupation of Philadelphia, was renewed. More importantly, the victory encouraged France to enter the war against Great Britain. For the British, the war had now become much more complicated.
Philadelphia campaign
Meanwhile, having secured New York City in 1776, in 1777, General Howe concentrated on capturing Philadelphia, the seat of the Revolutionary government. He moved slowly, landing 15,000 troops in late August at the northern end of
Chesapeake Bay. Washington positioned his 11,000 men between Howe and Philadelphia but was driven back at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777. The Continental Congress once again abandoned Philadelphia, and on September 26, Howe finally outmaneuvered Washington and marched into the city unopposed. Washington
unsuccessfully attacked the British encampment in nearby
Germantown in early October and then retreated to watch and wait.
After repelling a British attack at
White Marsh, Washington and his army encamped at
Valley Forge in December 1777, about 20 miles from Philadelphia, where they stayed for the next six months. Over the winter, 2,500 men died from disease and exposure. The next spring, however, the army emerged from Valley Forge in good order, thanks in part to a training program supervised by
Baron von Steuben.
Meanwhile, there was a shakeup in the British command, with General Clinton replacing Howe as commander-in-chief. French entry into the war had changed British strategy, and Clinton abandoned Philadelphia in order to reinforce New York City, now vulnerable to French naval power. Washington shadowed Clinton on his withdrawal and forced a battle at Monmouth on June 28, 1778, the last major battle in the north. Clinton's army escaped to New York City in July, just before a French fleet under
Admiral d'Estaing arrived off the American coast. Washington's army returned to
White Plains, New York. Although both armies were back where they had been two years earlier, the nature of the war had now changed.
An international war, 1778–1783
In 1778, the colonial rebellion in North America became an international war. After learning of the American victory at Saratoga, France signed the Treaty of Alliance with the United States on February 6, 1778. Spain entered the war as an ally of France in June 1779, a renewal of the Bourbon Family Compact. Unlike France, however, Spain refused to recognize the independence of the United States—Spain was not keen on encouraging similar anti-colonial rebellions in the
Spanish Empire. The Netherlands also became a combatant in 1780. All three countries had quietly provided financial assistance to the American rebels since the beginning of the war, hoping to dilute British power.
Widening of the naval war
When the war began, the British had overwhelming naval superiority over the American colonists. The
Royal Navy had over 100
ships of the line, although this fleet was old and in poor condition, a situation which would be blamed on
Lord Sandwich, the
First Lord of the Admiralty. During the first 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 Continental Congress authorized the creation of a small
Continental Navy on October 13, 1775, which was primarily used for commerce raiding.
John Paul Jones became the first well-known American naval hero, capturing the HMS
Drake on April 24, 1778, the first victory for any American military vessel in British waters.
French entry into the war meant that British naval superiority was now contested. The Franco-American alliance began poorly, however, with failed operations at Rhode Island in 1778 and Savannah, Georgia, in 1779. Part of the problem was that France and the United States had different military priorities: France hoped to capture British possessions in the
West Indies before helping to secure American independence. While French financial assistance to the American war effort was already of critical importance, French military aid to the Americans would not show positive results until the arrival in July 1780 of an expeditionary force led by the
Comte de Rochambeau.
Spain entered the war with the goal of invading
England as well as recapturing
Gibraltar and
Minorca, which had been lost to the British in 1704 during the
War of the Spanish Succession. The Franco-Spanish invasion of England never materialized.
Gibraltar was besieged for more than three years, but the British garrison there was resupplied after Admiral Sir
George Rodney's victory in the "Moonlight Battle" on 16 January 1780. Further Franco-Spanish efforts to capture Gibraltar were unsuccessful. On February 5, 1782, Spanish and French forces captured
Minorca, which Spain retained after the war.
West Indies and Gulf Coast
There was much action in the West Indies, with several islands changing hands, especially in the
Lesser Antilles. Ultimately, at the
Battle of the Saintes in April 1782, a victory by Rodney's fleet over the French Admiral de Grasse dashed the hopes of France and Spain to take
Jamaica and other colonies from the British. On May 8, 1782, Count Bernardo de Gálvez, the Spanish governor of
Louisiana, captured the British naval base at
New Providence in
the Bahamas. Nevertheless, except for the French retention of the small island of
Tobago, sovereignty in the West Indies was returned to the
status quo ante bellum in the 1783 peace treaty.
On the
Gulf Coast, Gálvez seized three British
Mississippi River outposts in 1779: Manchac, Baton Rouge, and
Natchez. Gálvez then captured Mobile in 1780 and forced the surrender of the British outpost at
Pensacola in 1781. His actions led to Spain acquiring
East and
West Florida in the peace settlement, as well as controlling the mouth of the Mississippi River after the war—which would prove to be a major source of tension between Spain and the United States in the years to come.
India and the Netherlands
The Franco-British war spilled over into
India in 1780, in the form of the Second Anglo-Mysore War. The two chief combata
