Sponsored Link

American Revolution History Guide..

Featured Site: History Timelines on the Web

| Visit our main History Home Page! |

The American Revolutionary War (also known as the American War of Independence and American Revolution) was a war fought between the British Crown and its colonies in North America, allied with France, from 1775 to 1783. The eventual outcome was the recognition of independence of the 13 southernmost of the colonies, as well as lightly settled territories west to the Mississippi River.

Before the revolution most people in the British North American Colonies considered themselves loyal subjects of the British Crown, with the same rights and obligations as people in Britain. However, under the doctrine of mercantilism the British considered the Colonies more as a resource to be utilized for the benefit of their own economy and had little respect for the Colonialists. This difference in perception led to a vicious circle of Colonialists acting against what they saw as unfair policies, harsh British reaction, followed by stronger Colonial reaction, leading to even harsher British reaction -- all of this spiraling into the revolution.

As the Colonialists started rejecting the Crown they also started becoming more radicalized in other ways, paying more attention to the idea of a broad democracy and to people like Thomas Paine who not long previously would have been condemned as a leveller.

It should be noted however that a large proportion, probably a majority, of the population did stay loyal or neutral during the war. Loyalists, known as Tories, included members of the aristocracy who had a lot to lose as well as recent immigrants who identified more with their birthplace than their new home. Following the war many Tories were forced to flee to Canada or Britain. Many Native Americans also opposed the revolution realizing that they were likely to suffer more at the hands of independent Americans than the British.

The revolution started in April 1775 when British troops quartered in Boston attempted to seize munitions stored by colonial militias at Concord, Massachusetts. Conflict spread and the outnumbered British garrisons in the 13 Southernmost colonies were quickly defeated. Fort Ticonderoga fell in May, Montreal in August. Boston was evacuated by British troops in October. By the end of 1775 Britain's holdings in North America had been reduced to the Canadian Maritimes and a besieged garrison at Quebec City in Canada.

In 1776, the British sent 75,000 troops to North America to quell the rebellion. The colonists met in Philadelphia in June of 1776 and declared independence from England on July 4, 1776. See United States Declaration of Independence. The colonial army proved no match for the well-armed British and suffered an embarrassing series of defeats in the Battle of Brooklyn Heights. By the end of 1776, Quebec, New York City and much of New Jersey were in British hands. However, during Christmas week, General George Washington, who had retreated into Pennsylvania, crossed the Delaware River back into New Jersey and rolled up outlying British garrisons at Trenton and Princeton. This established a pattern that held for the rest of the war. The British controlled the territory they occupied with major forces -- primarily New York City and Philadelphia. The colonists controlled everything else.

In 1777, a force of 10,000 troops started down from Quebec to cut the colonies in half. Simultaneously the much larger army in New Jersey moved across the Delaware River and took Philadelphia -- the colonial capitol and the largest city in North America. However, after retaking Ticonderoga with little trouble, the Northern army suffered a series of serious defeats at Bennington, Fort Stanwix and in two battles near Saratoga. By October the 5,700 survivors found themselves surrounded, outnumbered and short of supplies in the wilderness 130 miles (210 km) south of Montreal with winter approaching.

On October 17th General Burgoyne surrendered an entire British Army to the colonials. News of the surrender arrived in Paris hard on the heels of news that colonial troops had caused supposedly invincible British regulars to flee in disarray in the early stages of the Battle of Germantown. Convinced by Benjamin Franklin and the news from North America that the Colonials had a reasonable chance of victory, the French agreed to support the colonists.

With the French in the war, the conflict settled into a war of attrition. The Colonials were too weak to dislodge the British from Philadelphia and New York. The British tried various strategies, but were unable to establish permanent control over the countryside and the vast majority of the population. The economy of the colonies slowly disintegrated and the British economy -- drained by the costs of a War with France and supporting the large occupation forces in America -- also suffered substantially.

In 1781, the British strategy changed to focus on the Southern colonies. General Cornwallis led a force of 7,000 troops whose mission was to support loyalists in the South. He was opposed by Nathaniel Greene who despite losing every battle, was able to demoralize Cornwallis' troops. Running low on supplies, Cornwallis moved his forces to Yorktown, Virginia to await supplies and reinforcements.

Accounts of what happened next are remarkably diverse -- possibly due to a desire by some American authors to minimize the French role in the events. All sources agree that French naval forces defeated the British Royal Navy on September 5th at the Battle of the Chesapeake, cutting off Cornwallis' supplies and transport. Washington moved his troops from New York and a combined Colonial-French force of 16,000 or 17,000 troops was assembled and commenced the Battle of Yorktown on October 6, 1781. Cornwallis' position quickly became untenable. On October 19th a substantial British Army once again surrendered to the Colonials; as they marched out and turned their weapons over, the British regimental band was instructed to play a popular song of the day entitled "The World Turned Upside Down".

In April 1782, the British House of Commons voted to end the war with the American colonies and the government of war proponent Lord North was ousted. The British removed their troops from Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia in the Summer of 1782. In November 1782 a peace agreement was reached although the formal end of the War did not occur until the Treaty of Paris was signed in November of 1783.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This history article licensed under GFDL.

• Battle of Lexington and Concord
• Battle of Saratoga
• Battle of Yorktown

• Abigal Adams
• John Adams
• Samuel Adams
• Ethan Allen
• Benedict Arnold
• John Burgoyne
• Benjamin Franklin
• King George III of England
• John Hancock
• Thomas Jefferson
• John Paul Jones
• Thomas Paine
• Paul Revere
• John Stark
• George Washington

• Kids and Teens > School Time > Social Studies > History > By Region > North America > United States > Wars > Revolutionary War
• Society > History > By Region > North America > United States
• Society > History > By Region > North America > United States > Colonial
• Society > History > By Time Period > Eighteenth Century

• Alexander Majors Chapter Sons of the American Revolution - History, preservation, and genealogy of the American Revolution. Also includes info on Alexander Majors Chapter of Kansas City, Missouri; George Washington and other founding fathers
• Amazing Women in War and Peace - Tells the stories of Deborah Samson, Anne Bailey, and other women who took part in the war.
• American Longrifles - Dedicated to the study and building of historically correct American longrifles, otherwise known as Kentucky rifles.
• American Revolution - Intended for children; includes a comprehensive collection of links and unique content relating to The American Revolution and early American government.
• The American Revolution - Designed to complement PBS' "Liberty!" series, the site features 16 lucid essays on some of the complex political and social issues of the period.
• The American Revolution - Brief information about the battles, people and political events of the American revolution.
• American Revolution: A Revolution? - Essay examines whether the American conflict was a true revolution.
• The American Revolution: First Phase - Excerpt from American Military History of the Army Historical Series.
• American Revolution Forum Frigate - Forum devoted to discussing all aspects of the American Revolution.
• American Revolutionary Facts - Interesting and little known facts about the American Revolutionary War from the Delaware Facts Page.
• AmericanRevolution.Org - Educational information, history and genealogy referring to the American War of Independence from 1775 to 1783. From the Riverside, California Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution.
• America's Beginnings: The Real Story - The story of the war of independence and the founding fathers from a biblical perspective.
• Causes of the American Revolution - There were many causes that led to the American Revolution. Learn what some of them were.
• Conflict and Revolution 1775-1776 - A timeline of significant events during the early years of the American Revolution. From The History Place.
• The Contemplator's Short History of Women in the Revolutionary Era - A brief essay on women's lives during the American Revolutionary War period, with bibliography and related links.
• The David Library of the American Revolution - General information, facts, and links to resources concerning the American Revolution.
• Forgotten Founders - "Benjamin Franklin, the Iroquois and the Rationale for the American Revolution." On-line reproduction of the book by Bruce Johansen (1982), that examines Native American impacts on the creation of the United States government.
• Women Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War - History raves about the heroics of men in war... but few instances are mentioned in which female courage was displayed. Yet during every conflict, and the peaceful years between, they too were there.
• Historic Valley Forge - References the area known historically as Valley Forge, and chronicles its place in the American Revolutionary War.
• History Central: Revolutionary War - Examines the causes of the conflict, as well as major battles and events. Also includes teacher's guide.
• Intelligence in the War of Independence - The Central Intelligence Agency's review of intelligence gathering during the American Revolution.
• A Journey Towards Freedom - Includes illustrated tour of Valley Forge, an in-depth look at Washington's Crossing, an extensive document collection, biographical section with a comprehensive list of key historical figures, and related games.
• Liberty! The American Revolution - Official online companion to the PBS series features a potpourri of interactive information on the war, timelines, a revolutionary game, and video clips from the series.
• Merchant Mariners in the Revolutionary War - From the United States Merchant Marines, a brief history of merchant seamen who contributed to America's effort for independence. With select biographies.
• On-Line Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies - A collection of primary source transcriptions, original content and other resources for those researching Loyalist military history, genealogy or living history units.
• The Patriot Movie & History Resource - Describes the events of the Southern Campaign (1780-1781) and the prominant figures involved, comparing the actual events with those depicted in the movie The Patriot.
• Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution - Provides information about this society and its work. Includes illustrations of each of the society's large collection of reproduction flags.
• People, Places and Terms - Alphabetical listing of people, places, events and terms referring to the American Revolution.
• The Privateers and the American Revolution - Encyclopedia article discussing the use of privateers to attack British merchant shippping.
• PublicBookshelf: Our Country Vol. 2 - Large collection of articles covering the period 1760 to 1800 but dealing mainly with the Revolutionary War.
• A Revolutionary Day Along Historical US Route 7 - An suggested tour from Pittsfield MA to Burlingtom VT taking in many Revolutionary War sites, with modern-day directions and pictures.
• Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Preservation Study - American Battlefield Protection Program of the National Park Service.
• Revolutionary War Discussion Port - Forum for discussing all aspects of the American Revolution.
• Revolutionary War Virtual Battlefield Tours - Photographs of Revolutionary War battlefields and explanations of the fighting.
• Uniforms of Loyalist Units in the Americas - Listing and brief description of the uniforms worn by American units fighting for the British.
• US History - Exploring American history with a special focus on Colonial and Revolutionary Philadelphia.
• Virtualology Revolutionary War Hall - Large collection of profiles of people, places and events compiled by school students.
• The Winning of Independence: 1777-1783 - Extracted from American Military History from the Army Historical Series.