The American Revolutionary War was the outgrowth of the colonists' desire not to be taxed without the right to representation in the Parliament of England. Following the French and Indian War, England needed to recoup some of the cost of the war from the colonists. To the British it only seemed fair that the Colonies pay a share for their own defense.

Britain resorted to the Stamp Act of 1765 as a means to raise money from the Colonies. This act resulted in outrage from the Colonies and led to rioting, rhetoric, and the formation of the Stamp Act Congress. These actions quickly led to the repeal of the Stamp Act; however, there were many new taxes levied to take its place. The Americans continued to object strongly to these new measures and formed organized political groups such as the Committee of Correspondence and the Sons of Liberty. "Taxation without representation is tyranny," quickly became the battle cry of the Colonies.

In Boston the Americans became quite outspoken and even resorted to violent acts against the British customs officials as they attempted to collect the unpopular taxes. Britain was forced to send troops to protect the customs officials. In the year of 1770 the first blood was drawn by the British as the troops opened fire into a group protesting the "unfair" taxes. Five members of the group were killed in what later became known as the Boston Massacre.

In 1773 a group of citizens from the Boston area dressed as Mohawk Indians, boarded a ship, and dumped over 300 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor to protest the monopoly of the East India Company. Britain responded with the "Intolerable Acts." This document required that Colonists accused of this act would be tried in England and that the homes of Americans would be used to quarter the British troops. As a direct result of this act, the First Continental Congress was formed in 1774, and held its first meeting in Philadelphia's Carpenter's Hall. All twelve of the colonies sent representatives to seek a means to restore harmonious relations with England. Revolution was not the purpose of this meeting; however, radical thinking proved the victor as the acts of Parliament were declared unconstitutional. Taxes were not to be paid and the Colonies were warned to arm themselves.

• COLONIAL USA--This siste has many interesting link to the founding of the nation, and early settlements.
• The American Crisis by Thomas Paine--THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summersoldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.
• Prelude to Revolution --Timeline of events leading to the Revolution.
• Revolutionary America--Rare Map Collection

• To Form a More Perfect Union--The Work of the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention--Between 1774 and 1789, thirteen colonies became a nation--the United States of America. In 1774, Great Britain's North American colonies first came together to defend themselves against wrongs committed by their "mother country." By 1789, these colonies had become independent states, joined by a new federal constitution into a single nation.
• Documents from The Continental Congress and Constitutional Covention 1774--1789--The Continental Congress Broadside Collection (253 titles) and the Constitutional Convention Broadside Collection (21 titles) contain 274 documents relating to the work of Congress and the drafting and ratification of the Constitution. Items include extracts of the journals of Congress, resolutions, proclamations, committee reports, treaties, and early printed versions of the United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Most Broadsides are one page in length, others range from 1 to 28 pages.

• Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms--In their Declaration they hold out the hope of reconciliation with England, but at the same time approve the use of armed resistance to obtain recognition of their rights. While it disavows all claims of independence, it insists Americans will die rather than yield to enslavement.
• The Boston Massacre--In the few years preceding the American Revolution, the city of Boston was a powder keg just waiting to explode.
• Anonymous Account of the Boston Massacre --THE HORRID MASSACRE IN BOSTON, PERPETRATED IN THE EVENING OF THE FIFTH DAY OF MARCH, 1770, BY SOLDIERS OF THE TWENTY-NINTH REGIMENT WHICH WITH THE FOURTEENTH REGIMENT WERE THEN QUARTERED THERE; WITH SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE STATE OF THINGS PRIOR TO THAT CATASTROPHE ...
• Battle of Lexington and Concord--On the 15th of April 1775, when General Thomas Gage, British Military Governor of Massachusetts, was ordered to destroy the rebel's military stores at Concord. To accomplish this he assembled the "Flanking units," including Light Infantry and Grenadiers, from his Boston Garrison. In charge he put Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith and Marine Major John Pitcairn. He also composed a relief column under the command of Lord Hugh Percy to leave 6 hours after the main column. In an attempt at secrecy he did not tell his officers his plan until the last minute. The problem with his security measures were that Boston had become a glass fishbowl. All rebel eyes were watching to see the British's next action, and when the garrison committed to an action, the Americans knew their every move.
• Lexington and Concord - The Shot Heard 'round the World--By the end of that day, the fortunes of war had changed. The crown had lost 273 men, three times as many as the colonies' loss of 95. Now that a significant number of men had died in battle, reconciliation was impossible. It was only a matter of time before most other colonies would also become independent representative democracies -- in Canada, India, South America, and Africa -- and that all the kings of the world would be deposed in favor of government by the people -- in France, England, Germany, Spain, Russia, and China.
• The Battle of Lexington & Concord--The first engagement between the British and the Americans happened on April 19, 1775, on the grassy fields of Massachusetts. General Thomas Gage ordered his men to take or destroy the American's supply of arms and ammunition stored in Concord. He also wanted John Hancock and Sam Adams, who were staying in Lexington, arrested.
• George Washington: The Commander In Chief--As the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, the services and achievements of George Washington are unique in the world's history. He was much more than the Commander in Chief. He was the one necessary person, whose calm, unswerving, determined sense of patriotic duty to country, and ability put real backbone into the Revolution and kept it from collapsing or merging into a civil conflict, under the hardships and unexpected privations encountered during the eight years of war.
• A Guardian - George Washington--Washington's first great feat was leading the rag-tag Continental army to victory over the powerful British expeditionary forces in the American colonies. To achieve such a stunning success, he had to hold his tiny army of volunteers together for eight desperate years, always under unbelievably harsh conditions.
• The Battle of Bunker Hill--Many people call this the battle of Bunker Hill, but the fighting really took place on Breeds Hill, which is an adjoining hill. People may call it the Battle of Bunker Hill because it is the bigger of the two hills. Bunker Hill did play a roll in the battle though, the Americans retreated and regrouped at Bunker Hill.
• The Battle of Bunker Hill--The Battle of Bunker Hill was an important and decisive battle in the Revolutionary War. Several important events contributed to this battle. Quite a few famous people were involved with this battle. The most important part is what affect it had on the outcome of the war and our history.
• Bunker Hill-- June 17,1775--On the morning of June 17, 1775, Major General Mark Howe ferried 1,500 British soldiers across Boston Harbor on barges.
• The Battle of Bunker Hill--The sun rose slowly over the city of Charlestown on June 17, 1775, waking the British soldiers from their sleep. The British were totally unaware of the fact that American troops were positioned on Breed's Hill and that there were cannons stationed on both Breed's and Bunker Hill. The Americans had spent all night marching from Cambridge to Charlestown, under the command of Colonel William Prescott. Their order was to capture Bunker and Breed's Hill and force British redcoats out of Charlestown.
• King George III, Proclaims the Colonies to be in Open Rebellion--Whereas many of our subjects in divers parts of our Colonies and Plantations in North America, misled by dangerous and ill designing men, and forgetting the allegiance which they owe to the power that has protected and supported them; after various disorderly acts committed in disturbance of the publick peace, to the obstruction of lawful commerce, and to the oppression of our loyal subjects carrying on the same; have at length proceeded to open and avowed rebellion, by arraying themselves in a hostile manner, to withstand the execution of the law, and traitorously preparing, ordering and levying war against us.
• Arnold Invades Quebec--It was early fall of 1775. General George Washington had taken command of the rag-tag, bobtail state's militia camped around Boston, and was endeavoring to turn the "rabble" into an army. He and the Continental Congress made the decision to wrest Quebec and the St. Lawrence River from the British.
• The Birth of the Navy of the United States--Friday, 13 October 1775. The British North American colonies, from Maine to Georgia, were in open rebellion. In colonial capitals, Royal governments had been thrust out and revolutionary governments put in their places. A British army occupied Boston, besieged by an American army under George Washington. Another American army, under Richard Montgomery, was besieging Fort St. John's on its way to attempt to capture Quebec and Montreal, while Benedict Arnold led a force through the wilderness farther east against the same target.

Washington crossing the Delaware

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1776

"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country" (Sept 22, 1776, before beiing executed as a spy by the British)

Nathan Hale (1755-1776)

• DECLARING INDEPENDENCE: DRAFTING THE DOCUMENTS--Chronology Of Events: June 7, 1776 to January 18, 1777.
• Resolution for Independence--The momentous decision of the Continental Congress to sever its ties to Great Britain came on July 2, 1776, which is the date that John Adams thought should be celebrated by future generations. The Declaration of Independence, drafted mostly by Thomas Jefferson, and edited by his colleagues in the Continental Congress, was adopted 2 days later.
• The Declaration of Independence--Church bells rang out over Philadelphia on July 1776 ...signalling that the Declaration of Independence was approved and officially adopted by the Continental Congress.
• Moores Creek--February 27,1776--The 86.5 acre park commemorates the decisive February 27,1776 victory by 1,000 Patriots over 1,600 Loyalists at the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge. The battle ended Royal Governor Josiah Martin's hopes of regaining control of the colony for the British crown. In addition, this first decisive Patriot victory of the Revolutionary War raised morale for Patriots throughout the colonies.
• Moore's Creek Bridge--Though the battle was a small one, the implications were large. The victory demonstrated the surprising patriot strength in the countryside, discouraged the growth of loyalist sentiment in the Carolinas, and spurred revolutionary feeling throughout the colonies.
• The Declaration of Independence--July 4,1776--The American Declaration of Independence has been celebrated and esteemed all over the world, but few people know the history of the document's authorship.
• Washington's Campaigns of 1776--Washington first faced the army of Howe in the Battle of Long Island, 27 August 1776. At this battle, Howe was able to turn the American left flank and inflict severe casualties, nearly capturing Washington's entire army. Troubled by these developments, Washington nonetheless continued his efforts in New York. He occupied Harlem Heights; and upriver he ordered the construction of Fort Washington and Fort Lee, positioned on opposite sides of the Hudson River.
• The Battle of Brooklyn, August 1776--When you think of American history, the cities of Philadelphia and Boston come to mind. Washington, D.C., and Williamsburg, Virginia, are always known for their popular history. We've all known how the Borough of Manhattan is saturated in American History as well. But Brooklyn has more than her own place in the story of America. The first major campaign between The Continental Army and His Majesty's Royal Army happened in Brooklyn, U.S.A. It is here where important historical landmarks resulted from The Battle of Brooklyn in Flatbush and Brooklyn Heights.
• The Battle of Long Island--August 27,1776--The Battle of Long Island took place on August 27,1776. The American outpost of Colonel Edward Hand sent word that the British were preparing to cross Long Island from Staten Island on August 22, at dawn. There were three frigates, the Phoenix, Rose, and Greyhound, and two bomb ketches named Carcass and Thunder, in Gravesend Bay. The frigates were anchored in the Namews.
• The Battle of Trenton--Christmas Day, 1776--George Washington learned from the Battle of New York that the British Army could not be fought by conventional methods. The Battle of New York had caused great losses to Washington of both men and equipment. The British Army led by General William Howe was enormous and was backed up by the British Navy which controlled the Atlantic Ocean. Washington fled into the countryside away from the British Army and Navy. By now the army under Washington was only about 500 men. The rest of the his troops were in White Plains, and in Peekskill, New York. The troops under Washington were cold, hungry, and demoralized. Their enlistments were almost up. Washington needed a victory.
• The Battle of Trenton--On Christmas night of 1776, Washington and his army were huddled together in their camp by the Delaware River. Defeated and tired, they had retreated to Pennsylvania. The army of 6000 men dressed in rags were discouraged and weakened. Across the river in Trenton slept a small group of Hessians who were stationed to guard New Jersey. General Howe had sent a large percent of soldiers to Newport and New York, sensing the Americans were not strong enough to attack.
• Drums Along The Mohawk--The American Revolution in the Mohawk Valley, NY.

• The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union--Before the Constitution....there was The Articles of Confederation--in effect, the first constitution of the United States. Drafted in 1777 by the same Continental Congress that passed the Declaration of Independence, the articles established a "firm league of friendship" between and among the 13 states.
• LIBERTY: DARK HOUR FOR THE REBELS--George Washington and his beleaguered Continental Army are spending a grim holiday season on the road. Four long months of harassment and battle with the British Army have left the 6,000 rebels tired, footsore and hungry. To make matters worse for Washington, he can expect more than half of his volunteers to drift home by the New Year, their enlistments up.
• A Brief History of Princeton--The Battle of Princeton, fought in a nearby field in January of 1777, proved to be a decisive victory for General George Washington and his troops. Two of Princeton's leading citizens signed the Declaration of Independence, and during the summer of 1783, the Continental Congress met in Nassau Hall making Princeton the country's capital for four months.
• The Battle of Princeton--One week after the Battle of Trenton, Britain's General Cornwallis marched south along the Delaware with his troops. Their orders were to counterattack Washington's army and retake Trenton.
• NEW JERSEY DURING THE REVOLUTION--New Jersey is called the crossroads of the American Revolution because the armies involved crossed the state several times during the war; and it held a key geographical position at the center of the new nation. It was heavily involved in the fighting, due to the troop movements through the state and its key geographic position between New York City and Philadelphia. New Jersey had more engagements than any other state during the war, closely followed by South Carolina.
• The Battles of Saratoga--July 6, 1777--The Battles of Saratoga were fought in upstate New York. They permanently ended the British hopes of dividing the colonies along the Hudson River. British General John Burgoyne, commanding 6,000 regulars and various auxiliaries, pushed down from Canada in June 1777 while the US general had enjoyed victories at Germantown and Brandywine Creek.
• The 13 Days of August--On August 10, 1777, General George Washington and the Continental Army camped in rural Warwick Township in the County of Bucks, Pennsylvania. The Moland family's farmhouse became his headquarters. For the next thirteen days Washington stayed at Headquarters Farm as it was now known and the Continental Army kept watch for British Army scouts and prepared for battle. These next battles would be the Battles of Brandywine and Germantown.
• On the March to Brandywine--The British landed at the Head of Elk and were ready to march north. Their likely goal was the capture of Philadelphia. Meanwhile, George Washington rapidly moved his troops between Howe's army and Philadelphia.
• The Battle of Brandywine--Several empty supply wagons rolled into Lord Cornwallis' camp at Kennett Square on the 10th of September. Veteran British soldiers certainly knew what these wagons would be used for-- to carry wounded and dying soldiers from the battlefield.
• Continental Army Setback at Brandywine--An end run had put General Sir William Howe in position to take Philadelphia--but first he had to fight his way through General George Washington's Continental Army.
• The Battle of Brandywine & Germantown--September 11, 1777--Two major battles of the American Revolutionary War that were fought in Pennsylvania. The Battle of Brandywine was fought on September 11, 1777, near Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, southwest of Philadelphia.
• Battle of the Clouds--After being defeated at the Battle of Brandywine, Washington and the Americans needed to regroup. First, he moved his army away from the British. Then he placed his troops in such a way that they could protect both Philadelphia and Reading, an important supply city.
• The Battle of Germantown--On October 2nd, Washington conceived a bold plan of attack on Howe's 9,000 troop garrsion stationed in Germantown. It called for the simultaneous advance of four different units of troops--moving by night.
• LIBERTY: BURGOYNE SURRENDERS AT SARATOGA--October 17, 1777--News of the momentous British defeat spread quickly through the colonies and fueled speculation that the French government would now seriously consider entering the conflict on the American side. For months, rumors have suggested that Louis XVI needed solid proof of the strength of the revolution before he would officially commit French military aid to the cause. The British defeat at Saratoga could very well buy that help.
• November 15, 1777 -Articles of Confederation--To all to whom these Presents shall come, we the undersigned Delegates of the States affixed to our Names send greeting. Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts-bay Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, pending ratification by the individual states. Under the Articles, Congress is the sole authority of the new national government.
• British Execution of the Campaign of 1777--Burgoyne lead the British flotilla from the FlagshipThunderer, departing Quebec 13 June 1777. The fleet landed at Crown Point on June 27th and remained there until re-embarking for Ticonderoga July 1st. From the 2nd to the 4th of July, Burgoyne emplaced artillery upon the high ground commanding Fort Ticonderoga. Observing this, Major General Arthur St. Clair, the American commander at Ticonderoga, ordered withdrawal in two echelons.
• Unsolved Mysteries at Valley Forge--Graves and Ghosts at Valley Forge--Because the traditional Valley Forge story includes images of men starving, freezing, and dying of sickness, visitors to the site in Victorian times imagined that perhaps thousands of Revolutionary soldiers lay buried there.

Washington at Valley Forge

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 1778

"We hold these truths to be self-evident,--that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

• Physicians, Surgeons and Mates with Washington at Valley Forge--Hospitalization was a serious problem during the American Revolutionary War. Plans were made quite early to care for the wounded and sick, but at the best they were meager and inadequate. However on April 11, 1777, Dr. William Shippen, Jr., of Philadelphia was chosen Director General of all the military hospitals for the army. Consequently the reorganization of hospital conditions took place.
• Baron von Steuben--His experiences as a General Staff member in the Prussian Army gave him a wealth of knowledge that heretofore was unheard of, even in the British and French armies of the period. His training would eventually bring to the American soldiers the technical knowledge necessary to create an ARMY.
• Savannah falls to the British--December 27, 1778--The American commander Brigadier General Robert Howe of North Carolina, with only 700 men, made a feeble attempt to defend the city. But with troops in their rear, the American defense was broken. With the loss of well over 550 men, and all the artillery, Howe was forced to retire into South Carolina.
• Treaty of Alliance--Copy of the Treaty of Alliance, Eventual and Defensive, between his Most Christian Majesty LOUIS the Sixteenth, King of France and Navarre, and the Thirteen United States of America, concluded at Paris, Feb. 6, 1778.
• THE BATTLE OF Monmouth--On the 27 th Lee is next to the British. Washington orders Lee to attack the next day, and Washington will support him with the main army. Lee does nothing to prepare for it. He tells his generals he will have to make plans as he encounters the enemy and learns their situation. He issues no orders to General Dickinson, with the NJ militia, or Col. Morgan, with the rifle regiment, which units are on the flanks of the British column. He does not gather information or look at maps.
• Battle of Monmouth--Hardly had Wayne's two batteries begun to play and his troops to fire, he by this time having occupied the ground between Briar Hill and the marshy sources of McGalliard's Brook, than the vacillating Lee sent orders that the attack should be only a feint. This aroused the suspicions of Lafayette, who, scenting trachery, twice sent messages to Washington by John Laurens, praying the Command in chief to come at once in person to the field of action.
• Wyoming Valley Massacre--The Revolutionary War in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
• 1st Battle of Savannah, GA. Dec. 1778--To trace events intelligibly in their connection, the war of Great Britain on the Netherlands has been carried forward to the ruin of their commerce in the West Indies. The plan for the Southern Campaign of 1778 was prepared by Btitish Lord George GERMAIN with great minuteness of detail. Georgia and South Carolina were to be reduced by detachments from the army of New York and be held by the employment of their own militia; the "Upland settlements" were to be separated from the planters of the low country; the one to be reduced by the terror of savage warfare, the other by the fear of their slaves; the city of Charleston (Charleston Co., SC) was in due time to be taken, and, on the appearance of a small corps at Cape Fear, "large numbers of the inhabitants," it was thought, "would doubtless flock to the standard of the king," whose government would be restored in North Carolina.

• Stony Point Battlefield--Battle of Stony Point was fought on July 15-16, 1779, by Continental troops armed only with unloaded muskets and fixed bayonets to avoid detection and preserve the key element of surprise.
• American Revolution in Georgia--Major General Provost took Savannah with little resistance and converted the small community back to the British. For a brief time the Georgia assembly met under the authority of the British crown. Provost expanded his control of Georgia to Augusta and Sunbury, and with the Cherokees' support in northwest Georgia he effectively controlled all of the state. (December 29,1778)
• Morristown--Created in 1933, Morristown National Historical Park preserves sites in the Morristown, New Jersey area occupied by General George Washington and the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War from 1779-1780. General Washington chose this area for its logistical, geographical and topographical military advantages, in addition to its proximity to New York City, which was occupied by the British in 1779.

• LAFAYETTE: TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY--Lafayette wanted revenge against Great Britain for the death of his father and the loss of French possessions in America. In 1775 Lafayette spoke of his bitterness to the Comte de Broglie, who introduced him to the Baron de Kalb, a German mercenary in the French army who fought so well during the Seven Years' War that he rose in rank from Lieutenant to Brigadier General. De Kalb was not a real Baron but just took the title to gain prestige for himself while in Paris.
• John Paul Jones--This site provides many links and a great deal of information on John Paul Jones.
• Kings Mountain--Kings Mountain National Military Park commemorates a pivotal and significant victory by American Patriots over American Loyalists during the Southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War. The battle fought on October 7, 1780, destroyed the left wing of Cornwallis' army and effectively ended Loyalist ascendance in the Carolinas.
• Turning Point at King's Mountain--The clash at King's Mountain between Patriots and Tories began Britain's long descent to Yorktown.
• The Battle of Shallow Ford--October 14,1780--The following account is "historical fiction"--the author assumes the persona of Mistress Magdalena Hauser (pronounced Hoozer), who indeed lived at the time, as she might have told of the historical events which unfolded around her.
• The Battle of Shallow Ford--In the days of early fall, 1780, the Patriot forces in North Carolina were demoralized by heavy losses in South Carolina and British General Lord Cornwallis' advancement to Charlotte. Many fled to Virginia ahead of the British. Patrick Ferguson, one of Cornwallis' Colonels, had moved into western North Carolina, raising Tory support for his army. Return to Table of Contents

1781

"There never was a good war or a bad peace"

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

• The Battle of Cowpens--January 17,1781--By July, the Continental Congress had placed the ostensible victor of Saratoga, General Horatio Gates, in command of the Southern Theater, despite Washington's objections, and ordered him to regain the lost territory. The result, in the following month, was another huge disaster at Camden where only 700 out of 4,000 American troops escaped. The destruction of Ferguson's Scots at King's Mountain in October saved North Carolina, but American fortunes did not truly improve until Nathanael Greene took command from Gates on December 3d.
• Cowpens--Cowpens National Battlefield commemorates a decisive battle that helped turn the tide of war in the South. On this field on January 17, 1781, Daniel Morgan led his army of tough Continentals, militia and cavalry to a brilliant victory over Banastre Tarleton's larger force of British regulars.
• Cowpens - Guilford C.H. narrative--At end-of-summer in 1780, the British conquest of the American South had the look of a flourishing enterprise. Savannah and Charleston had fallen.
• Guilford Courthouse--March 15, 1781--The battle fought here on March 15, 1781, was the largest, most hotly-contested action of the Revolutionary War's climatic Southern Campaign.
• Nathanael Greene--Washington sent him south to command the army encamped there. After he reorganized and drilled the soldiers, Greene sent Daniel Morgan, with a detachment, to attack British forces. Following months of engagements, he conquered the south.
• Battle of Yorktown--October 19,1781--The Battle of Yorktown was one of the last battles of the American Revolutionary War. The engagement lasted 20 days and ended with British Gen. Charles Cornwallis's surrender on October 19, 1781.
• The Battle of Yorktown--The Battle of Yorktown began after the Battle of Guilford Court House on March 15, 1781. At that time, British General Cornwallis moved his battered army to the North Carolina coast, then disobeying orders from General Clinton to protect the British position in the Carolinas, he marched north to Virginia and took command from Loyalist (Tory) General Benedict Arnold. During this same time, Washington was planning to attack New York, with the help of the French.
• YORKTOWN MAP--This original map, from Marshall's Life of Washington, shows the British outposts and Allied positions deployed in the attack on Yorktown in October, 1781. The map measures 23 x 21 cm. (9" x 8 1/2") and was published by C.P. Wayne in Philadelphia in 1807. It is in excellent condition.
• Battles of the Revolution--This site presents a list of all known battles of the Revolutionary War by year. I feel it is worth looking at to get a better idea of the true scope of the war.

• The Rise and Fall of the Newburgh Conspiracy--By early 1783, active hostilities of the American Revolutionary War had been over for nearly two years and Commissioners Franklin, Jay, and Adams were still negotiating in Paris to establish a final treaty with Great Britain. With a formal peace almost secured and with no fighting to do, the Continental Army had grown bored and restless, but Congress had decided to retain it as long as the British remained in New York to ensure that the gains of seven years of fighting would not be lost.
• The Newburgh Address--The year was 1783. Though the War had virtually ended in October of 1781 with Cornwallis' defeat at Yorktown, negotiations for a formal peace treaty had begun in Paris. On March 10 of 1783 a litany of mounting grievances by Continental Army officers reached a crescendo. Complaints were many: arrears in pay, failure to settle food and clothing accounts, and Congress' lack of action in making provisions for the life pension of half pay.
• The Paris Peace Treaty of 1783--Although Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown in the Fall of 1781 marked the end of the Revolutionary War, minor battles between the British and the colonists continued for another two years. Finally, in February of 1783 George III issued his Proclamation of Cessation of Hostilities, culminating in the Peace Treaty of 1783. Signed in Paris on September 3, 1783, the agreement--also known as the Paris Peace Treaty--formally ended the United States War for Independence.
• The American Revolutionary War--Clickable Maps--Click on Battle Sites for Battle Information.

• John Adams--Adams became an important leader in the fight for liberty. From 1774 to 1778 he was a member of the Continental Congress. He was also appointed to the committee to write the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson did most of the writing, but it was Adams who debated and challenged Congress to approve this Declaration.
• George Washington--George Washington seems today a figure larger than life--almost as he was when he was a familiar sight in the halls, homes, shops, and taverns of 18th-century Williamsburg.
• The Life of George Washington--Published eight years after George Washington's death, David Ramsay's Life of George Washington achieved great popularity. A contemporary of Washington, historian Ramsay writes with the knowledge and insights one acquires only by being on the scene.
• John Paul Jones--Sir, I have not yet begun to fight."
• Nathanael Greene--Washington sent him south to command the army encamped there. After he reorganized and drilled the soldiers, Greene sent Daniel Morgan, with a detachment, to attack British forces. Following months of engagements, he conquered the south.
• The Story of Betsy Ross's Life--In June of 1776, Betsy tells us about her fateful meeting with the Committee of Three: George Washington, George Ross, and Robert Morris which led to the sewing of the first flag.
• Benjamin Franklin: Glimpses of the Man--This quick glimpse at the long life (1706 - 1790) of a complex man is meant to help you learn about Ben Franklin and also to let you see how Ben's ideas are still alive in our world today.
• The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin--Known today as "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin," this classic piece of Americana was originally written for Franklin's son William, then the Governor of New Jersey.
• SAMUEL HERRICK--Revolutionary War leader who came to Bennington in 1768 and relocated to Springfield, New York, after the Revolution. Little else is known of his life before or after the war.
• Henry, Patrick--(1736-1799), American orator and statesman, whose patriotism was influential in leading the colonies toward revolution.
• Patrick Henry--Within a few years, Henry's reputation had spread throughout Virginia. In 1765 he was elected to the House of Burgesses. Patrick Henry proposed seven resolutions in reaction to the Stamp Act. He pushed for his resolutions in a famous speech that ended, "Caesar had his Brutus--Charles the first, his Cromwell--and George the third--may profit by their example...If this be treason, make the most of it."
• Ethan Allen--Ethan Allen was a soldier in the American Revolution. He was also the leader of the Green Mountain Boys. Allen was born on January 10, 1738, in Litchfield, Connecticut. He fought in the French and Indian War and was one of the leaders in the Vermonters' fight with New York.
• Alexander Hamilton--There is an elegant memorial in Washington to Jefferson, but none to Hamilton. However, if you seek Hamilton's monument, look around. You are living in it. We honor Jefferson, but we live in Hamilton's country, a mighty industrial nation with a strong central government.
• Alexander Hamilton--The Federalist papers were first published on October 27, 1787, in the New York newspapers to defend and promote the ratification of the new Constitution.
• Alexander Hamilton--Hamilton became an artillery captain in 1776, and became a part of George Washington's staff. When Washington became President, Hamilton became the first-ever Secretary of the Treasury. He had a huge influence on Washington, which was why we didn't get involved in the French Revolution. Thomas Jefferson opposed his aristocratic ideas. John Jay, James Madison, and he wrote essays for the newspaper "The Federalist."
• Thomas Jefferson--In the year 1809, Jefferson retired from the "hated occupations of politics" and returned to "the bosom of my family, my farm, and my books."
• Thomas Jefferson--This powerful advocate of liberty was born in 1743 in Albermarle County, Virginia, inheriting from his father, a planter and surveyor, some 5,000 acres of land, and from his mother, a Randolph, high social standing. He studied at the College of William and Mary, then read law. In 1772 he married Martha Wayles Skelton, a widow, and took her to live in his partly constructed mountaintop home, Monticello.
• George Mason --In 1725 George Mason was born to George and Ann Thomson Mason. When the boy was 10 years old his father died, and young George's upbringing was left in the care of his uncle, John Mercer.
• George Mason--George Mason and the Bills of Rights
• Paul Revere--On April 18, 1775, Revere and William Dawes were sent to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock of British plans to march from Boston to seize patriot military stores at Concord. A signal was established to warn if the British were coming by land or by sea. From the steeple of the Old North Church in Boston, two lanterns would mean the British were coming by sea; and one would mean by land. One lantern was lit. The British were coming by land.
• Molly Pitcher--Across that bullet-swept ground, a striped skirt fluttered. Mary Hays McCauly was earning her nickname "Molly Pitcher" by bringing pitcher after pitcher of cool spring water to the exhausted and thirsty men.
• Pitcher, Molly--(1754-1832), heroine of the American Revolution (1775-1783), born Mary Ludwig near Trenton, New Jersey. She came to be called Molly Pitcher after carrying pitchers of water to her husband, John Hays, and other soldiers during the Battle of Monmouth. According to some accounts, when her husband was overcome by heat, she fought in his place for the duration of the battle.
• John Hancock--It was his popularity that ensured him the position as the first governor of Massachusetts. Hancock's political career was uneventful until June 4, 1776, when Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence was approved; Hancock had the honor of being the first man to put his signature on this famous document. John Hancock died in 1793 at the age of 56.
• Richard Henry Lee (1732-1794)--Virginian Richard Henry Lee was a born aristocrat. An active participant in many key events in the Revolutionary War, Lee protested the Stamp Act in Virginia (1765), sat on the committee that named George Washington Commander-in-Chief of the Continental army (1775), and introduced the motion that led to the Declaration of Independence (1776). While in the Continental Congress (1774-1780, 1784-1787) he also worked to stop importation of slaves into the American states.
• Nathan Hale--Nathan Hale, a martyr soldier of the American Revolution, was born in Coventry, Conn., June 6, 1755. When but little more than twenty-one years old he was hanged, by order of General William Howe, as a spy, in the City of New York, on September 22, 1776.
• Commodore John Barry (1745-1803)--"Father of the American Navy"
• George Rogers Clark--It was during the year of 1778 that General George Rogers Clark set out from Pennsylvania on a secret mission down the Ohio River. The Revolutionary War was in progress and concerns were mounting because of British and Indian attacks to the west. Clark gathered his troops on the premise that they were going to be defending the Kentucky settlements against further Indian attacks. Promising each man the payment of 300 acres of land for his service, the General led his men down the mighty Ohio River.