Military Time Line
1754-1763– The 7 year’s War ends. Known as the French & Indian War here in colonies.
1763 – The Proclamation of 1763
1763 thru 1770 – Several ‘Acts’, or laws, were passed by Parliament and ordered in effect by the King on the colonies. (see the ‘road to Declaration’ page)
The resulting tensions led up to The Boston Massacre, 1770.
1773 – The Boston tea party
1775 – Apr. 18, Paul Revere and William Dawes ride out from Boston to warn the populace that Gen. Gage’s British regulars are on their way from Boston to locate & seize stockpiles of arms & ammunition the local militia had hidden in Concord. ( Hence the cry “ the Regulars are coming!”, not the British are coming)They also had orders to arrest John Hancock and Sam Adams.
Apr. 19, Dawn, the British column reaches Lexington and is confronted by 77 members of the militia under the command of Capt. John Parker. They are ordered to lay down their arms and disperse, Capt. Parker orders his men to disperse. At this point someone discharges their gun, ‘the shot heard ‘round the world’. In the following confusion the British respond and execute a bayonet charge, killing and wounding several militiamen and on-lookers and clearing the way to Concord. The British reach Concord, found and burned some military stores. The journey back from Lexington to Boston is known as ‘Battle road’. More than 1,000 militia had gathered to harass and almost completely eliminate the British force on their way back. A relief force of 1,000 regulars prevented the total annihilation of the column.
After their withdraw into Boston, more than 15,000 militia from all over New England had gathered to bottle up the British. It was this force of men that Gen. Washington assumed command over, the First Continental Army. The Revolutionary War had begun.
May 10, The second Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia.
May 10, Ft. Ticonderoga, NY. Is captured
June 15, George Washington named Commander in Chief
June 17, Battle of Bunker Hill
July 3, Washington assumes command of the Continental Army
1776
March 17, The British evacuate Boston. During the siege, Washington orders Knox to retrieve the cannons from Ft. Ticonderoga, a 300 mi. journey in frozen weather, to fortify Dorchester Heights, overlooking Boston. The presence of the cannon forced the British to withdraw completely from Boston via ship, taking Loyalist citizens with them to Halifax, thus ending the siege and providing a major victory for the Continental Army and Gen. Washington.
July 4, Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence.
Aug.27, British forces defeat the Continentals at the Battle of Long Island.
Sept. 15, The British occupation of New York City begins
Sept.16, The Continentals hold their ground at the Battle of Harlem Heights for a victory.
Oct. 28, Americans retreat from White planes New York.
Dec.25, On this night, during one of the strongest ‘nor-easter’ on record, Gen. Washington and his Continental Army of 2,400, cross the Delaware River, 9Mi. north of Trenton, in order to take the town from the Hessians. Successfully crossing with 18 cannon, they marched the nine miles, only loosing 3 killed and six wounded during the journey and fighting. This stunning victory is know as the turning point of the Revolution and Gen. Washington’s reputation as a commander.
1777
Jan.6-May 28, Washington’s winter encampment is in Morristown, NJ.
July 5, Ft. Ticonderoga is surrendered to the British.
July 27, Lafayette arrives in Philadelphia
Aug.25, British General Howe lands at Head of Elk, Maryland
Sept.11, British win the Battle of Brandywine, Pa.
Sept.19, Burgoyne checked by Americans at Saratoga.
Sept. 21, Paoli Massacre
Sept. 26, British occupy Philadelphia
Oct.4, Americans fail to drive back the British at Germantown, Pa.
Oct.7, Burgoyne looses second battle at Saratoga
Oct.17, Burgoyne surrenders to American General Gates at Saratoga, NY
Oct.22, The Hessian attack on Fort Mercer, NJ is repulsed
Nov. 16, Fort Mifflin is captured by the British.
Dec.5-7 The British are defeated by the Americans at White Marsh, Pa.
Dec.19, Washington’s army winters in Valley Forge.
1778
Feb.8, The United States and France sign the French Alliance
March 7, British General William Howe replaced by Henry Clinton.
June18, The British leave Philadelphia and return to New York.
June19, Washington’s Army leaves the Valley Forge encampment
June 28, The Continental Army catches up to British forces on their way to NY. The Armies fight to a draw, the British slip away during the night. The engagement, the Battle of Monmouth, NJ., is considered a victory for Gen. Washington, who rallied to troops during their initial retreat.
1779
Feb.14, Andrew Pickens & Elijah Clarke beat Loyalists at Kettle Creek, GA
Feb.23,24, American George Rogers Clark captures Vincennes
June 21, Spain declares war on Great Britain.
July15-16, ‘Mad’ Anthony Wayne captures Stony Point, NY.
Sept 23, John Paul Jones, aboard the Bonhomme Richard, captures British man-of-war Serapis near the English coast.
Nov.-June23, Washington’s 2nd winter at Morristown, NJ (the harshest winter of the 18th century.)
1780
July11, French troops arrive at Newport, RI, to aid the American cause.
Sept.23, John André arrested, leading to the exposure of Benedict Arnold’s plans to turn over the fort at West Point to the British.
Oct.2, King’s Mountain, SC: battle lasts 65 minutes. American troops led by Isaac Shelby & John Sevier defeat Maj. Patrick Ferguson and one-third of General Cornwallis’s army.
Oct.14, Washington names Nathanael Greene commander of the Southern Army.
1781
Jan.17, Patriot Morgan overwhelmingly defeats British Col. Tarleton at Cowpens, SC.
March 15, French troops arrive at Newport, RI, to aid the American cause.
Sept.15, French fleet drives British naval force from Chesapeake Bay.
Oct.19, Cornwallis is surrounded on land and sea by American and French forces and surrenders at Yorktown, VA.
1782
July 11, British evacuate Savannah, GA
Nov.30, British and Americans sign preliminary Articles of Peace.
Dec.14, British leave Charleston, SC.
1783
Sept.3, The United States and Great Britain sign the Treaty of Paris.
Nov.25, British troops leave New York City
Dec.23, Washington resigns as Commander
For more in-dpeth information, visit US History.org