CHRONOLOGY of the AMERICAN REVOLUTION

1775
Apr 19 Skirmish with British Soldiers at Lexington / Concord, Mass., with Patriot Minutemen.
May 10 The Green Mountain Boys ("Rangers") seize Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain, upper New York State.
Jun 17 Battle of Bunker Hill, Mass. (actually Breed's Hill)
Jul 3 George WASHINGTON assumes command of the Continental Army with 14,000 men at Cambridge, MASS.
Nov 13 Patriot force led by Gen'l Richard MONTGOMERY occupies Montreal, CANADA.
Oct 18 British forces burn Falmouth (Portland, Maine).
Dec 31 Battle of Quebec (Canada) - American forces driven back.

1776
Jan 9 Thomas PAINE published pamphlet entitled "COMMON SENSE".
Feb 27 Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge, near Wilmington, Delaware, the British were defeated.
Mar 4/5 American forces capture Dorchester Heights, overlooking Boston Harbor, with cannons from Fort Ticonderoga (Henry KNOX).
Mar 17 Evacuation of Boston, by British, led by Gen'l William HOWE, after being seiged by Patriots, for months, with cannon brought down from Fort Ticonderoga.
Apr 13 George WASHINGTON leads Continental Army to New York City.
Jun British fleet under General William HOWE & Admiral Richard HOWE, arrive in New York City.
Jul 4 Declaration of Independence.
Aug 1 After British defeat at Charleston, General Clinton forces join HOWE in New York City.
Aug 27 Battle of Long Island, (Jamaica,NY); Washington defeated by General HOWE's forces - withdraws forces from Brooklyn Heights to Manhattan.
Sep 12 Washington evacuates New York City.
Sep 16 Continental Army repulses a British attack at Harlem Heights, (Upper Manhattan).
Sep 21 Fire sweeps through New York City destroying most of its buildings.
Oct 11 Benedict ARNOLD's fleet on Lake Champlain is defeated by British fleet commanded by General Guy CARLETON.
Oct 13 British occupy Crown Point, New York.
Oct 28 British & Patriot forces clash - Battle of White Plains, NY. Washington's army retreats to Delaware River; loss 4,000.
Nov 16 British and Hessian troops under General HOWE capture Fort Washington (northern Manhattan Island).
Nov 19 British forces (General CORNWALLIS) forces troops under Nathaniel GREENE to evacuate Fort Lee, New Jersey.
Dec 12 Congress moves from Philadelphia to Baltimore.
Dec 13 American General Charles LEE is captured by British patrol at Basking Ridge, New Jersey.
Dec 25/26 In a daring surprise operation, Washington crosses the Delaware River, attacking Hessian troops at Trenton, New Jersey, defeating the British, there.

1777
Jan 3 Washington drives the British out of Princeton, New Jersey.
Jan 6 Continental Army goes into winter quarters at Morristown, New Jersey.
Apr 27 Benedict ARNOLD defeats a British force at Ridgefield, Conn.
Jun 14 Stars & Stripes adopted.
Jul 6 General BURGOYNE captures Fort Ticonderoga from American General Arthur St CLAIR.
Aug 6 Battle of Oriskany, New York. British forces, under Lt Col Barry St LEGER, ambushed the American reinforcements at Fort Stanwix (Schuyler).
Aug 16 Battle of Bennington, Vermont. BURGOYNE lost battle and 800 men. Colonel Friedrich BAUM, British, was killed.
Sep 11 Battle of Brandywine, ( Chadds Ford, PA), General HOWE's forces drive Washington's army back toward Philadelphia.
Sep 26 British capture Philadelphia.
Oct 4/5 Battle of Germantown, (outside Philadelphia), Pennsylvania, British troops defeat Washington's troops.
Oct 17 Second Battle of Saratoga,(FREEMAN's Farm), NY - Surrender of Gen'l BURGOYNE's entire army to American General GATES.
Dec 17 Continental Army goes into winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
Dec David BUSHNELL, inventor, lays a minefield to harass British ships around Philadelphia.

1778
Feb 23 Prussian officer Baron von STEUBEN arrives at Valley Forge.
Jun 18 British General Henry CLINTON leaves Philadelphia, marching his troops to New York City.
Jun 19 WASHINGTON breaks camp, sending General Charles LEE to attack Clinton's forces.
Jun 27/28 Battle of Monmouth, New Jersey. WASHINGTON and CLINTON fight to a standstill. General Charles LEE is dismissed.
Jul 9 British naval force raid and burns Fairfield & Norwalk, Connecticut.
Aug 8 Patriot forces unsuccessfully try to seize British-held Newport, Rhode Island.
Nov 11 Cherry Valley Massacre, invaded by 500 Indians + 200 Rangers. Mohawk Chief Joseph BRANT & Capt Walter BUTLER, Tory vs. Maj WHITING, Dedham, Mass.
Dec 29 British start campaign in South with capture of Savannah, Georgia from American General Robert HOWE.

1779
Jan 29 British capture Augusta, Georgia.
Feb 25 Battle of Vincennes - Indian fighter George Rogers CLARK defeated British Lt Col Henry HAMILTON.
Jun 1 British General Henry CLINTON captures forts at Stony Point and Verplank, New York, but fails to reach West Point.
Sep 23 John Paul JONES, commanding the BONHOMME RICHARD, captures the British warship SERAPIS in a hard-fought battle.
Oct 17 WASHINGTON leads his men into winter quarters at Morristown, New Jersey, where soldiers suffer even worse hardships than during winter at Valley Forge, Penn.

1780
May 12 American General Benjamin LINCOLN surrenders Charleston, South Carolina, to the British (B/G HOWE) in a major defeat for the American cause.
Jun 13 Congress commissions Horatio GATES as leader of the Continental Army in the Southern colonies.
Jun 23 Battle of Springfield, New Jersey, American General Nathanael GREENE defeats the British forces.
Jul 11 Led by Count de ROCHAMBEAU, 5,000 French soldiers arrive in Newport, Rhode Island to supplement Continental forces.
Sep 8 British forces under Lord CORNWALLIS begin the invasion of North Carolina...........BUT
Oct 7 At King's Mountain, North Carolina, a Loyalist force is defeated by American militia, which convinces CORNWALLIS to give up his invasion plans of North Carolina.
Oct 14 General Nathanael GREENE replaces Horatio GATES as Commander of the Patriot forces in the South.

1781

Jan 1 Battle of Cowpens, South Carolina - Daniel MORGAN clashed with British Colonel TARLETON, who barely escaped with 140 horsemen.
Mar 15 Battle of Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina, CORNWALLIS achieves victory, but suffers heavy losses from American forces under Generals GREENE and MORGAN.....then
Mar 18 CORNWALLIS retreats to Wilmington, Delaware to await reinforcements from General CLINTON.
Apr 25 CORNWALLIS begins the British occupation of Virginia.
Jun 10 American forces under Marquis de LaFAYETTE, in Virginia, are joined by General Anthony WAYNE's men. Baron von STEUBEN joins them. The combined force combats raids by Benedict ARNOLD and General CORNWALLIS.
Aug 1 CORNWALLIS arrives in Yorktown, Virginia, to set up a base of operations.
Aug 14 WASHINGTON decides to lead his and ROCHAMBEAU's men to Philadelphia, Penn.
Aug 30 Count de GRASSE's French fleet arrives off the coast of Virginia.
Aug 31 French troops join LaFAYETTE's American troops to cut off CORNWALLIS.
Sep 1 Forces of ROCHAMBEAU / WASHINGTON reach Philadelphia, Penn.
Sep 5/8 Count deGRASSE defeats the British fleet in a naval battle in Chesapeake Bay; .........and then
Sep 14-24 Sends ships to transport the forces of WASHINGTON & ROCHAMBEAU to Virginia.
Sep 28 Allied army of Americans and French begin the siege of Yorktown.
Oct 19 General CORNWALLIS surrenders his entire force, making the end of British hopes for victory in America.

1783
Sep 3 The Treaty of Paris was signed. Britain gave all it's North American territory (except Canada) to the United States. They also pledged to respect American independence. Nov 25 The last British troops left New York City.

THE COSTS

Total losses of British, killed or wounded, about 9,000

Total losses of Americans, killed or wounded, about 8,000

Total cost of the war to British, about $ 500,000,000

Total cost of the war to Americans, about $ 200,000,000

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

DECISIVE BATTLES of the AMERICAN REVOLUTION
by Lt Col Joseph B MITCHELL 1962 Putnam 973.33 M69 217 pgs

The DIARY of the AMERICAN REVOLUTION
by Frank MOORE 1967 Wash Square Press 973.3 M78 600 pgs

THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR - A Sourcebook of Colonial America
by Carter SMITH 1991 Millbrook Press 973.3 Rev 96 pgs

The AMERICAN REVOLUTION
by Roger PARKINSON 1971 Putnam 973.3 P229 127 pgs

The WAR of the AMERICAN REVOLUTION
by Robert W COAKLEY & Stetson CONN 1975 Washington,DC
Center of Military History, United States Army

A CHRONICLE of the AMERICAN REVOLUTION - 1763 - 1783
By Martha McHutchison DIMOCK 1976 New York Harper & Row

The WORLD ALMANAC of the AMERICAN REVOLUTION
by L Edward PURCELL & David F BURG 1992 New York World Almanac

SEVEN WHO SHAPED OUR DESTINY
By Richard B MORRIS 1973 Harper 331 pgs
John ADAMS Dr Benjamin FRANKLIN Alexander HAMILTON
John JAY Thomas JEFFERSON James MADISON

****** General George WASHINGTON

November 5, 1998
S A R - Syracuse