American Offensives in the North

While Washington kept Howe bottled up in Boston, the Americans assumed the offensive to the west and north. In May 1775, Ethan Allen, leading his Green Mountain Boys and accompanied by General Arnold, captured Fort Ticonderoga, on the Lake Champlain waterway (see Allen, Ethan). Generals Philip Schuyler and Richard Montgomery, with 1,200 men, joined Allen at Fort Ticonderoga. On August 30 they marched northward toward Montreal. In September Montgomery laid siege to the Montreal defenses of Fort Chambly and Fort St. Johns. He captured the first in October. Fort St. Johns, with 400 men, fell into American hands in early November. Montreal was entered without further fighting on November 13. About the same time, General Arnold, with 1,000 volunteers, marched northwestward through the Maine wilderness toward Quebec. The hardships of the march so reduced his force that only 550 men reached the Quebec defenses. Montgomery came down the St. Lawrence with 450 men to aid the attack on Quebec. An attempt to storm the city on December 31 failed. Montgomery was killed at the start of the battle, and the Americans lost almost one third of their men. The Americans withdrew for the winter. By spring of 1776, reinforcements increased the American force to about 1,000 men. These troops besieged Quebec in April and May. They withdrew upon learning that Gen. John Burgoyne, with 10,000 troops, was sailing up the St. Lawrence. The British retook Montreal and sent a force south to Lake Champlain. Arnold built a small fleet of boats to stop the British advance. Although defeated on October 11, the Americans inflicted considerable damage at the battle of Valcour Island. Arnold then retreated to Crown Point and Fort Ticonderoga, where he blocked the British effort to drive to a meeting with Howe in New York. The British had failed in their first attempt to isolate the New England area from the other states (see Arnold, Benedict).

New York and the Hudson

In July and August 1776 Howe's army was built up to a force of 32,000 men on Staten Island, in the New York harbor. In New York City and on Long Island, Washington had about 20,000 poorly armed men to oppose the British. Howe sent 20,000 men across the narrow channel from Staten Island to Long Island. On August 27 this force routed the Americans on Brooklyn Heights. The victorious British followed the Americans across the East River to Manhattan. Washington held Harlem Heights for a time but then retreated to White Plains. There, on October 28, Howe's superior forces drove back his army. Two American forts, Washington on the east bank and Lee on the Jersey shore, guarded against a British advance up the Hudson. But these forts fell quickly under British attack, and the British now held the entire New York City area. Howe was thus in a position to use the New York harbor as the chief British invasion port. In the final weeks of 1776 Washington retreated across New Jersey, his army a ragged remnant numbering only 3,000 men. But in defeat the army had learned the business of soldiering. On the Delaware Washington collected all available boats and crossed to Pennsylvania.

American Victories at Trenton and Princeton

While the hired Hessian troops celebrated Christmas night in Trenton, Washington ferried his weary men across the Delaware. The next morning he attacked. Colonel Johann Rall was killed, and almost 1,000 Hessians were captured. Washington then returned to the Pennsylvania bank. A few days later Washington again crossed to Trenton. Here his scanty force was reinforced by 3,600 men. General Cornwallis advanced to give battle. But the British general had divided his troops, and Washington quickly marched on to Princeton. On Jan. 3, 1777, he pounced upon the British left there. Washington then went into winter quarters at Morristown, and Cornwallis retired to New Brunswick.

American Victory in the North

The British strategy for the 1777 campaign was to have Burgoyne march south and Howe north to a juncture on the Hudson. This move would isolate the New England states. During the winter of 1776-77, Burgoyne gathered his forces. In June Col. Barry St. Leger's diversionary force of Indians and British soldiers, numbering 1,600 men, sailed up the St. Lawrence to Lake Ontario. From Oswego, on the New York shore, St. Leger struck eastward toward Fort Schuyler. The British plan was to have St. Leger fight his way down the Mohawk Valley to a meeting with Burgoyne at Albany. At about the same time that St. Leger made his move, Burgoyne, with the main force of more than 7,500 men, headed south and surrounded Fort Ticonderoga. The Americans in the fort broke through the British lines and took refuge at the juncture of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers. St. Leger was defeated at Oriskany. The Americans reinforced Fort Schuyler. St. Leger gave up his part of the British plan and retired to Montreal. On August 16 a Burgoyne foraging party was routed by American irregulars at Bennington, Vt. Burgoyne, lacking supplies and reinforcements, crossed the Hudson to a more secure position. Here he lost two battles at Freeman's Farm to an American force of 17,000 under General Gates. On Oct. 17, 1777, Burgoyne surrendered his remaining force of about 5,800 men at Saratoga. The second British attempt to split the states had failed.

The Americans Lose Philadelphia

In the summer of 1777, instead of marching north to meet Burgoyne's southward thrust, as required by the British plan, Howe chose to take the American capital, Philadelphia. From New York City he sailed south to Chesapeake Bay and landed in Maryland. Washington's army, on Brandywine Creek, stood between him and Philadelphia. On September 11 Howe made a sharp feint at Washington's front on the Brandywine. But the main British force circled north and flanked the Americans. Only darkness saved Washington from a complete defeat. He retreated to Chester, Pa. Several days later the Americans suffered another defeat at Paoli, Pa., when a detachment under Gen. "Mad Anthony" Wayne was surprised (see Wayne). Several hundred Americans were killed under a British bayonet attack. The American Congress fled from Philadelphia to York, Pa., and Howe entered Philadelphia without opposition in late September. At Germantown, on October 4, the Americans seemed to have won a victory until the British made a determined stand in the Chew house. British reinforcements came up from Philadelphia while the besieged house still held out, and Washington's little army retreated. The Americans took up winter quarters at Valley Forge.

The Bitter Winter at Valley Forge

The winter that the Continental Army of 11,000 spent at Valley Forge was the darkest of the Revolution. Washington's men were without adequate food or shelter, and Congress was unable to relieve their plight. Hundreds of horses and oxen died of starvation. Men yoked themselves to draw the heavy wagons of provisions to their comrades. But there was never enough food. Some 3,000 men did not have shoes, and they protected their feet by wrappings of rags. The shelters were huts or wigwams of twisted boughs. During the winter many died and 2,000 deserted. But to this dwindling, ragged army came baron von Steuben, a German who had served in the Prussian army as a military expert under Frederick the Great. He trained the American soldiers and officers in military science (see Valley Forge).

The French Become Allies

In Philadelphia, Sir Henry Clinton replaced Howe as the British commander. In the spring of 1778 he learned that France was allied with the Americans. Clinton feared that a French fleet would enter the Delaware and cut him off from New York. In mid-June he began to march his army to New York. On June 28, Gen. Charles Lee, Washington's deputy commander, withdrew after a brief contact with the marching British at Monmouth Courthouse (now Freehold, N. J.). Washington had ordered him to strike hard. The main army under Washington appeared as Lee retreated. Washington harshly censured Lee and rallied the Americans to attack. The battle continued throughout the day but did not prove decisive. Under cover of night the British withdrew. The British settled in New York and Washington camped at White Plains. France sent a fleet, some soldiers, and supplies to America. During the next two years there was little important fighting in the north and central colonies. A combined French and American attack on Newport failed. In 1779 Wayne defeated the British at Stony Point. But the theater of decisive fighting shifted to the South.

Battles in the South

The British had tried to take Charleston, S.C., in June 1776 but were driven off by Gen. William Moultrie. In December 1778 a British force sailed from New York and captured Savannah, Ga. And for most of the rest of the war Georgia remained in British hands. In September and October of 1779, Gen. Benjamin Lincoln besieged the British forces in Savannah. A French fleet aided in the siege. But Savannah did not fall. The Polish volunteer, Gen. Casimir Pulaski, suffered a mortal wound at Savannah (see Pulaski). Clinton and Cornwallis sailed south from New York and concentrated forces at Savannah. In May 1780 they attacked Charleston, which Lincoln defended with 5,000 men. Charleston fell to this second British attack. General Gates hurriedly marched his force of more than 3,000 Americans down from North Carolina to give battle to Cornwallis' 2,300 men at Camden. The battle was fought on August 16 and Gates was beaten. He retreated to North Carolina, leaving the wounded Gen. Johann de Kalb to fall into British hands. De Kalb died a few days later (see Kalb). A band of frontiersmen under Isaac Shelby and John Sevier routed a British raiding party of 1,000 regulars from a ridge of Kings Mountain, S.C. The British survivors fled in disorder. Swift American raids led by such leaders as Andrew Pickens, Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox," and Thomas Sumter constantly harried the British forces (see Sevier; Marion). In December 1780 Gen. Nathanael Greene took command of American forces in the South (see Greene, Nathanael). He divided his force and continued the "hit-and-run" war on Cornwallis. He sent Gen. Daniel Morgan with about 950 men to Cowpens, S.C. The British Col. Banastre Tarleton attacked Morgan there on Jan. 17, 1781. Morgan's force won an overwhelming victory. Cornwallis, leading the main British body, moved northward. Morgan's and Greene's forces retired before the British advance until they reached Guilford Courthouse, N.C. The American forces totaled about 4,500 men; the British, 2,200. The battle was fought on March 15. The Americans won a strategic victory, and Cornwallis, with more than 500 men killed or wounded, retreated to Wilmington, N.C. Greene marched into South Carolina and engaged the British at Hobkirk's Hill and at Eutaw Springs. Cornwallis was reinforced, and in April he moved his army north. Lafayette was at Richmond, Va., in command of about 3,000 American troops. Cornwallis' reinforcements brought his strength up to about twice that number. He planned to trap Lafayette and defeat him (see Lafayette). Lafayette retreated swiftly to the northwest, with Cornwallis on his heels. But the young Frenchman was too wily for the British general. Wayne, with about 1,000 men, came to strengthen Lafayette, and Cornwallis became fearful of being trapped himself. He turned eastward toward the sea to be near the British fleet. Lafayette followed. At Williamsburg, Cornwallis turned and lashed at him, and Lafayette drew back. Cornwallis then marched on to Yorktown and threw up defenses. Lafayette moved back into Williamsburg and kept Cornwallis confined in Yorktown. Lafayette called on Washington for help. Washington was still before New York. Washington, Gen. Jean Rochambeau, commander of French land forces in America, and Admiral Francois de Grasse, commander of the French fleet, eagerly seized the opportunity. On August 30 De Grasse's fleet of 24 ships arrived off Yorktown. Cornwallis lay trapped between sea and ground enemies. An English fleet of 19 ships failed to rescue him. In September Rochambeau and Washington joined Lafayette. Their forces now totaled 16,000. Washington took command and began to close the trap. No real battle was fought, however. On October 19 Cornwallis' surrender of 7,247 men to Washington ended the war.

The Negotiations for Peace

Twice during the war England had tried to win back the Americans by offers of peace. Lord North and Parliament went so far in 1778 as to promise to yield on all points in the dispute. But it was then too late. After Congress had declared for freedom, its spokesmen took the stand that the United States was and must remain a separate nation. After the victory at Yorktown, Lord North resigned and a new ministry that was favorable to American independence came into power in England. Congress named a total of five commissioners John Adams, John Jay, Franklin, Jefferson, and Henry Laurens to make a treaty of peace. The conference took place in France. Jefferson did not attend, and Laurens reached Europe only two days before the preliminary treaties were signed. The commissioners were instructed not to make peace without the knowledge and consent of France, for joint action in closing the war was required by the French-American Treaty of Alliance (1778).

Disposition of the Western Lands

The great area of America lying between the Appalachian Mountain system and the Mississippi provided one of the problems that had to be negotiated. England wanted the area and had erected posts on the Mississippi at Cahokia and Kaskaskia and on the Wabash at Vincennes. In the north it had Detroit. Spain already held the west bank of the Mississippi and wanted to extend its authority over the whole Mississippi Valley. France, reluctant to see a strong American power, inclined toward the Spanish view. The United States possessed a strong claim to the region. Before and during the Revolution, American settlements had been established in Kentucky and Tennessee. Virginia considered the Kentucky settlements one of its counties, and North Carolina held the same view of the Tennessee settlements. These lands were won for the United States by George Rogers Clark in 1778-79 (see Clark, George Rogers). Clark, a 25-year-old Virginian, had persuaded Patrick Henry, governor of Virginia, to authorize an expedition. During the summer of 1778 Clark took the British posts of Vincennes, Cahokia, and Kaskaskia, where he negotiated treaties with the Indians. In midwinter, Clark learned that the British governor at Detroit had marched southward and retaken Vincennes. Although the 180 miles that lay between Kaskaskia and Vincennes were covered with snow and ice, Clark gathered a small force and struck eastward. On Feb. 23, 1779, Clark's 130 men surrounded the British fort and opened fire. The British surrendered the next day.

The Peace Treaty

Fearing not without reason that Spain and France were ready to betray the United States, Adams and Jay outvoted Franklin, decided to ignore the French alliance, and negotiated a preliminary peace treaty with England. Under the treaty, which was signed at Paris on Nov. 30, 1782, the Americans secured their independence and the land west to the Mississippi. Congress was to recommend that the states compensate the Loyalists for property taken from them during the war. No laws were to be passed to prevent the payment of debts owed by Americans to British merchants. The northern boundary was to include the line of the Great Lakes, and citizens of both the United States and Britain were to have the right to use the Mississippi. France accepted this treaty, made final on Sept. 3, 1783, by the Treaty of Paris. On the same day a peace was concluded between England and her European foes. The American Revolution was a great social movement toward democracy and equality. Many Loyalists fled from the 13 states to Canada. There they strengthened the determination of the Canadians to hold aloof from the United States. Vast estates of land had passed from the king, from colonial proprietors (in Pennsylvania and Maryland), and from Loyalists into the hands of the new state governments. Broken up into small tracts, these were sold at low cost or given to patriot soldiers. For a century thereafter, the United States was to be a nation of small farm owners, each enjoying the fruits of labor and recognizing no overlord save the government. The barriers to westward movement had been removed, and a flood of settlers poured into the lands beyond the mountains. State governments had been erected, and the first experiment in national union was in progress. (See also Articles of Confederation; United States Constitution.)

Excerpted from Compton's New Century Encyclopedia and Reference
Collection II Copyright (c) 1995 Compton's NewMedia, Inc.