The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) or the American War of Independence was a conflict between Great Britain and revolutionaries in thirteen British colonies. These revolutionaries declared their independence as the United States of America in 1776. The war originated from the American Revolution, a rebellion by the colonies against the political and economic policies of the British Empire. Native Americans also took part in both sides of this war, which went beyond British North America.
Due to their naval dominance, British forces were successful in capturing and occupying coastal cities during the war. However, they faced difficulties controlling the countryside where the majority of people lived. The year 1777 witnessed a significant American victory at Saratoga which prompted France, Spain, and the Netherlands to join the war against Great Britain. The involvement of France was particularly crucial as their naval triumph in Chesapeake Bay led to the surrender of a British army at Yorktown in 1781. Consequently, the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783 to officially recognize United States’ independence. Before 1778, various parties participated in the conflict.
During the war, there was a split among the colonists regarding their allegiance, which resulted in a civil war in certain regions. The Revolutionaries, also called Americans or Patriots, received active backing from about 40 to 45 percent of the colonial population. Conversely, around 15 to 20 percent of the population supported the British Crown and were known as Loyalists or Tories. These Loyalists contributed approximately 50,000 men to fight for the British Empire during the war. Afterward, about 70,000 Loyalists left the United States and many resettled in Canada, Great Britain, or British colonies in the Caribbean.
At the beginning of the war, the Americans did not possess a regular army, commonly referred to as a “standing army”. Instead, each colony depended on local militia for defense. These militia members served for brief durations and were restricted by their unwillingness to venture far from their homes. Consequently, they were frequently unavailable for extended missions. Despite their limited training and organization in comparison to professional soldiers, militia troops occasionally demonstrated effectiveness against the enemy. They particularly excelled in guerrilla warfare and effectively suppressed Loyalist activity in regions lacking British regular troops.
In June 1775, the Continental Congress established the Continental Army with George Washington as its commander-in-chief. Washington was responsible for overseeing military operations during the Revolutionary War. Throughout the eight-year war, he relied on both militia forces and regular troops. Approximately 250,000 men served in either regular or militia capacities in support of the Revolutionary cause. However, at no time during this period did the American forces exceed 90,000 armed combatants.
In comparison to European armies, the military forces in North America were relatively small. At its height, Washington had less than 17,000 men under his command in battle. In contrast, the British Army had around 36,000 soldiers worldwide by early 1775. Nevertheless, this figure gradually increased through wartime recruitment.
Furthermore, during the war, approximately 30,000 German mercenaries known as “Hessians,” originating from Hesse-Kassel region, were employed by the British. Consequently, Germans made up about one-third of the British troops stationed in North America.
In North America, by 1779, there were over 60,000 British and German forces. However, they were spread out across the region from Canada to Florida. African-Americans, including both slaves and free blacks, participated in the war efforts on both sides. While black soldiers were welcomed by northern militias, slave owners in the South discouraged it because they feared arming slaves. In November 1775, Lord Dunmore, who served as Virginia’s Royal Governor at that time, issued a proclamation offering freedom to runaway slaves who fought for the British. Similarly, Sir Henry Clinton made a similar declaration in New York in 1779.
Despite Dunmore’s promises, the majority of escaped slaves who sought refuge with the British lines did not receive their freedom. Only around 1,000 served as soldiers, while the others took on different roles like orderlies, mechanics, laborers, servants, scouts, and guides. Tragically, over half of these individuals died from smallpox epidemics that affected the British forces and some had to leave due to food shortages. In January 1776, Washington allowed black enlistment in the Continental Army to address manpower shortages.
Black units were formed in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, granting slaves freedom in return for their service. Moreover, a group consisting of black soldiers from Haiti joined the French forces, leading to a minimum of 5,000 black soldiers influencing the Revolutionary cause.
The war also had a notable effect on Native American communities located east of the Mississippi River. It resulted in divisions within these communities as they deliberated on how to react to the conflict. The majority of Native Americans who chose to participate in the battle did so against the United States due to encroachment by American settlers on their territories.
During the American Revolutionary War, around 13,000 soldiers fought for Britain, with the Iroquois Confederacy contributing approximately 1,500 men. This conflict took place in the northern region from 1775 to 1777.
Prior to the war, Boston, Massachusetts witnessed significant revolutionary activities that led to the dissolution of its provincial government by the British parliament in 1774. However, newly appointed royal officials faced strong public opposition and either resigned or relocated to Boston.
Lieutenant General Thomas Gage, the Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in North America, had authority over four regiments of British regulars (approximately 4,000 soldiers) stationed in Boston. However, control of the rural areas rested with the Revolutionaries. On April 18, 1775, General Gage ordered 900 troops to seize the munitions stored by the colonial militia in Concord, Massachusetts. Riders promptly alerted the countryside and on April 19th, when the British soldiers reached Lexington, they were met by a group of 75 minutemen assembled on the village common.
Gunfire was exchanged, resulting in the British advancing to Concord and engaging in further combat. A considerable number of militiamen had congregated at that location and inflicted substantial damage on the detachment as the British commenced their return march to Boston. The Battles of Lexington and Concord marked the official start of the war. Subsequently, the militia encircled Boston, confining the British within city limits. By sea, an additional 4,500 British soldiers arrived; then, on June 17, 1775, General William Howe’s forces successfully took control of the Charlestown peninsula during the Battle of Bunker Hill.
The American forces withdrew, yet the British suffered heavy casualties, halting their pursuit. Nevertheless, the siege remained unbroken and led to Gage’s replacement by Howe as the British commander-in-chief. In July 1775, General Washington arrived near Boston to assume control of the colonial forces and arrange the Continental Army. The stalemate endured throughout fall and winter until early March 1776 when cannons seized from Fort Ticonderoga were strategically positioned on Dorchester Heights, providing a tactical edge over the British positions.
Howe’s situation was now untenable, and he British evacuated the city on March 17, 1776, sailing for temporary refuge in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Washington then took most of the Continental Army to fortify New York City. During the long standoff at Boston, the Continental Congress sought a way to seize the initiative elsewhere. Congress had initially invited the French Canadians to join them as the fourteenth colony, but when that failed to happen, an invasion of Canada was authorized. The goal was to remove British rule from the primarily francophone province of Quebec (comprising present-day Quebec and Ontario).
Two expeditions were conducted during the American Revolutionary War. One was led by Brigadier General Richard Montgomery, who marched north from Fort Ticonderoga with approximately 1,700 militiamen. Montgomery’s force successfully captured Montreal on November 13, 1775. Meanwhile, General Guy Carleton, the governor of Canada, managed to escape and fled to Quebec City.
The second expedition was under the leadership of Colonel Benedict Arnold. However, this operation faced numerous logistical challenges and a significant number of men fell ill with smallpox. When Arnold finally arrived in Quebec City in early November, his force had diminished to only 600 out of the original 1,100 men. Subsequently, Montgomery’s force joined Arnold’s, and together they launched an attack on Quebec City on December 31. Unfortunately, Carleton’s forces emerged victorious, defeating Montgomery and Arnold’s combined force.
The remaining Americans held on outside Quebec City until the spring of 1776 and then withdrew. Another attempt was made by the Americans to push back towards Quebec but failed at Trois-Rivieres on June 8, 1776. Carleton then launched his own invasion and defeated Arnold at the Battle of Valcour Island in October. Arnold fell back to Fort Ticonderoga, where the invasion of Canada had begun. The invasion of Canada ended as a disaster for the Americans, but Arnold’s efforts in 1776 delayed a full-scale British counteroffensive until the Saratoga campaign of 1777.
General Howe, who had previously withdrawn his army from Boston, shifted his attention towards capturing New York City. In order to defend the city, General Washington distributed his 20,000 soldiers between Long Island and Manhattan. While the British troops gathered on Staten Island for their campaign, Washington made sure that his men were aware of the recently issued Declaration of American Independence by having it read aloud to them. On August 27, 1776, the British successfully landed around 22,000 men on Long Island and forced the Americans to retreat to Brooklyn Heights. Subsequently, Howe initiated a siege on the fortifications there, but Washington skillfully managed to evacuate his army to Manhattan.
On September 15, General Howe deployed approximately 12,000 soldiers to the southern part of Manhattan, swiftly gaining authority over New York City. The American troops retreated to Harlem Heights and engaged in minor conflict the following day, but managed to maintain their position. When Howe attempted to surround Washington’s army in October, the Americans once again withdrew and a clash occurred at White Plains on October 28, 1776. Washington’s forces retreated once more, allowing Howe to reclaim Manhattan and seize Fort Washington in mid-November, resulting in the capture of nearly 3,000 prisoners.
Despite General Lord Cornwallis’s pursuit of Washington’s army in New Jersey, the Americans ultimately retreated to Pennsylvania by crossing the Delaware River in early December. This marked the apparent conclusion of the campaign for the season, leading the British to settle in their winter quarters. Despite missing several chances to defeat the diminishing rebel army, Howe managed to eliminate or capture more than 5,000 Americans. With a significant hold over New York and New Jersey, he was well-positioned to resume operations in the spring and potentially strike Philadelphia, the rebel capital.
The outlook of the Continental Army was grim as stated by Thomas Paine, who was with the army during the retreat. The army’s numbers had significantly decreased to less than 5,000 soldiers capable of fighting, and would further decline to 1,400 when enlistments expired at the year’s end. While Congress had lost hope and abandoned Philadelphia, opposition to British control was gaining momentum among the people living in rural areas. In a strategic move, Washington decided to launch an attack, crossing the Delaware in secret on Christmas night and successfully capturing around 1,000 Hessians at the Battle of Trenton on December 26, 1776.
Cornwallis was outmaneuvered by Washington and his troops at Princeton on January 3, 1777, while trying to recapture Trenton. As a result, Washington’s successful attack on the British rearguard gave a morale boost to the American cause and he subsequently settled in winter quarters at Morristown, New Jersey. Throughout the winter, the New Jersey militia continued to harass British and Hessian forces. In preparation for their operations in 1777, the British had two main armies in North America: Carleton’s army in Canada and Howe’s army in New York.
In London, Lord George Germain gave approval for campaigns for these armies, but due to miscommunication, poor planning, and rivalries between commanders, they were not coordinated. Despite Howe successfully capturing Philadelphia, the northern army surrendered disastrously at Saratoga. Carleton and Howe both resigned after the 1777 campaign. The Saratoga campaign was the first of the 1777 campaigns, led by General John Burgoyne. Its objective was to conquer the Lake Champlain and Hudson River corridor, which would effectively cut off New England from the other American colonies.
Burgoyne planned a two-pronged invasion during which he would personally lead 10,000 soldiers along Lake Champlain towards Albany, New York. At the same time, Barry St. Leger would command a second column of roughly 2,000 men, moving down the Mohawk River valley. The ultimate goal was for St. Leger’s forces to join up with Burgoyne in Albany.
Beginning his campaign in June, Burgoyne quickly recaptured Fort Ticonderoga in early July. However, his progress was impeded by American forces who demolished bridges and obstructed his path by felling trees. In August, an American militia dealt a decisive blow to Burgoyne’s detachment that had been sent out to seize supplies, resulting in the loss of approximately 1,000 men.
During the same time, there was a siege on Fort Stanwix led by St. Leger, with Joseph Brant leading half of his American Indian force. A group of American militiamen and their Indian allies set out to help but were unexpectedly attacked and scattered during the Battle of Oriskany on August 6. After that, Benedict Arnold took charge of a second relief expedition which made St. Leger abandon the siege and go back to Canada. Consequently, Burgoyne’s army now had only about 6,000 men left. Despite these setbacks, he made the crucial decision to continue marching towards Albany, although this choice would later become controversial.
Approximately 10 miles (16 km) south of Saratoga, New York, General Horatio Gates commanded a force of 8,000 American soldiers who had established defensive positions. In September, Burgoyne initiated the first battle of Saratoga in an effort to outmaneuver the Americans but was unsuccessful. Despite his desperate situation, Burgoyne clung to the hope that Howe’s army in New York City would come to his aid. However, instead of assistance, Howe diverted his troops towards Philadelphia. Consequently, American militiamen rallied to join Gates’s army, bolstering their numbers to 11,000 by early October. After suffering a decisive defeat in the second battle of Saratoga, Burgoyne ultimately surrendered on October 17.
The Battle of Saratoga is frequently seen as the pivotal moment of the war as it renewed revolutionary confidence and determination while they were suffering from General Howe’s successful occupation of Philadelphia. Moreover, this victory played a significant role in encouraging France to join the war against Great Britain. Therefore, the British now faced a more complicated situation. In the meantime, General Howe focused on capturing Philadelphia during the Philadelphia campaign. After securing New York City in 1776, he landed 15,000 troops at the northern end of Chesapeake Bay in late August 1777.
Washington initially positioned his 11,000 men between Howe and Philadelphia. However, during the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, they were pushed back and the Continental Congress abandoned Philadelphia once again. On September 26, Howe successfully outmaneuvered Washington and entered the city without opposition. In early October, Washington unsuccessfully attempted to attack the British encampment in Germantown. As a result, he retreated and adopted a vigilant stance. In December 1777, Washington and his army settled at Valley Forge, approximately 20 miles (32 km) away from Philadelphia. They would remain there for the next six months.
During the winter, approximately 2,500 men out of a total of 10,000 lost their lives due to disease and exposure. However, in the following spring, the army successfully emerged from Valley Forge in good condition thanks in part to a training program overseen by Baron von Steuben. At the same time, General Clinton replaced Howe as commander-in-chief within the British forces. The entrance of French into the war brought about changes in British tactics which led to Clinton abandoning Philadelphia and focusing on fortifying New York City – now susceptible to French naval power.
Washington followed Clinton during his retreat and engaged in a conflict at Monmouth on June 28, 1778. This battle marked the final major encounter in the northern region. Later in July, Clinton’s army managed to escape to New York City just before the arrival of Admiral d’Estaing’s French fleet along the American coast. Consequently, Washington’s army returned to White Plains. Although both armies ended up in their previous positions from two years before, the nature of the war had undergone a significant change. It had evolved into an international conflict from 1778 to 1783.
After hearing about the American victory at Saratoga, France and the United States signed the Treaty of Alliance on February 6, 1778. Following this, Spain joined the war alongside France in June 1779, as part of the Bourbon Family Compact. Unlike France, Spain did not acknowledge the independence of the United States. Spain was concerned about supporting similar rebellions within the Spanish Empire. The Netherlands also joined the conflict in 1780. These three countries had secretly provided financial aid to the American rebels since the beginning of the war, aiming to weaken Britain’s growing influence as a superpower.
Despite the fact that the British had superior naval power at the start of the war, it quickly became evident that the conflict would expand on the seas. The Royal Navy boasted over 100 ships of the line, although this fleet was aged and in subpar condition, which Lord Sandwich, the First Lord of the Admiralty, would later be held responsible for. In the initial three years of the war, the Royal Navy predominantly focused on transporting troops for land operations and safeguarding commercial shipping. Meanwhile, the American colonists lacked ships of the line and heavily relied on privateering to disrupt British shipping.
The Continental Congress authorized the establishment of a small Continental Navy on October 13, 1775, primarily for commerce raiding. John Paul Jones achieved fame as the first notable American naval hero by capturing the HMS Drake on April 24, 1778, marking the initial victory for any American military vessel in British waters. The entrance of France into the war challenged British naval dominance. Despite this, the Franco-American alliance faced initial setbacks, including unsuccessful operations in Rhode Island in 1778 and Savannah, Georgia in 1779.
France and America had different military goals. France wanted to take over British territories in the West Indies before helping America gain independence. Although France provided important financial aid for the American war, it wasn’t until July 1780 that their military support, led by Comte de Rochambeau, started to show positive outcomes. Spain also joined the conflict aiming to invade England and regain Gibraltar and Minorca, which Britain took control of in 1704 during the War of Spanish Succession.
France and Spain did not invade England, but Gibraltar was under siege for over three years. However, the British garrison received supplies thanks to Admiral Sir George Rodney’s triumph in the “Moonlight Battle” on January 16, 1780. Despite subsequent unsuccessful efforts by France and Spain to seize Gibraltar, they did manage to capture Minorca on February 5, 1782. Spain maintained control of Minorca following the war. In addition, the West Indies and Gulf Coast witnessed significant conflict resulting in numerous islands changing hands, particularly in the Lesser Antilles.
Ultimately, the hopes of France and Spain to capture Jamaica and other British colonies were dashed when Rodney’s fleet achieved victory over the French Admiral de Grasse at the Battle of the Saintes in April 1782. However, Count Bernardo de Galvez, the Spanish governor of Louisiana, managed to capture the British naval base in the Bahamas, specifically New Providence, on May 8, 1782. Despite this success, with the exception of retaining the small island of Tobago, the West Indies returned to their pre-war status in terms of sovereignty according to the peace treaty signed in 1783.
Galvez seized three British Mississippi River outposts on the Gulf Coast in 1779: Manchac, Baton Rouge, and Natchez. He also captured Mobile in 1780 and forced the surrender of the British outpost at Pensacola in 1781. These actions resulted in Spain acquiring East and West Florida in the peace settlement and gaining control of the mouth of the Mississippi River after the war. This control would later cause tension between Spain and the United States. (Spanish Florida was eventually acquired by the United States in 1819.)
The Franco-British war spilled over into India in 1780 during the Second Anglo-Mysore War. The main participants were Tipu Sultan, ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore and a key French ally, and the British government of Madras. The conflict was violent but inconclusive, resulting in a draw in 1784. In the same year, the British attacked the United Provinces of the Netherlands to prevent Dutch engagement in the League of Armed Neutrality. This league was formed by multiple European powers to ensure neutral trade during the war.
Great Britain opposed the Netherlands’ public support for the American rebels. The British were provoked to attack due to Dutch radicals’ agitation and the friendly stance of the Dutch government towards the United States, both influenced by the American Revolution. This resulted in the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War lasting until 1784, causing severe damage to the Dutch economy. During the initial three years of the American Revolutionary War, most military clashes occurred in northern territories.
After France joined the war, the British shifted their attention to the southern colonies in an effort to recruit Loyalists and regain control. This plan also had the added benefit of keeping their navy closer to the Caribbean, where they needed protection from French and Spanish threats. On December 29, 1778, a contingent from Clinton’s army in New York successfully seized Savannah, Georgia. However, a joint French and American attempt to retake Savannah on October 9, 1779 was unsuccessful.
Clinton captured Charleston on May 12, 1780, marking a significant victory for the British forces in the South. This conquest seemed to ensure their domination of the region. Nonetheless, Cornwallis faced a sudden reversal of fortune. On October 7, 1780, one section of his army suffered a devastating defeat at the Battle of Kings Mountain. Notably, this battle did not involve British redcoats fighting against colonial troops; instead, it pitted Loyalist militia against Patriot militia.
Tarleton’s troops were later defeated at the Battle of Cowpens on January 17, 1781, by American General Daniel Morgan. General Nathanael Greene, who replaced Gates, then proceeded to progressively weaken the British in a succession of battles, where each battle was tactically won by the British but did not provide any strategic advantage to them. Greene summarized his approach with a well-known motto: “We fight, get beat, rise, and fight again.” Unable to capture or annihilate Greene’s army, Cornwallis decided to move towards northern Virginia.
In March 1781, General Washington sent General Lafayette to protect Virginia. Lafayette fought small battles with Cornwallis, but never engaged in a major battle, instead gathering more soldiers. Cornwallis believed he could capture Lafayette, but was unsuccessful. Consequently, Cornwallis relocated his troops to Yorktown, Virginia in July to connect with the British navy. Meanwhile, in the northern and western theaters, the war against the Native Americans occurred west of the Appalachian Mountains and along the Canadian border.
Both the British and the Continental Congress sought the support of American Indians in their cause, or advised them to remain neutral, causing division within Native American communities. Similarly to the Iroquois Confederacy, tribes like the Cherokees and Shawnees became divided. While some Delawares signed the initial treaty with the United States, others chose to align with the British. Due to a lack of regular troops following Burgoyne’s surrender at Saratoga in 1777, the British made a stronger effort to enlist American Indians.
The British supplied their native allies in the forts along the Great Lakes, and tribesmen conducted raids in various places such as New York, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and others. Similar to previous conflicts, the warfare between Europeans and American Indians led to both sides attacking each other’s homes and villages, which were their most vulnerable points. The joint Iroquois-Loyalist attacks in the Wyoming Valley and Cherry Valley in 1778 triggered the Sullivan Expedition into western New York in the summer of 1779, resulting in scorched earth tactics.
During the border conflict, everyone – regardless of gender or age – was at risk. George Rogers Clark, a frontiersman from Virginia, tried to diminish British power over the Ohio tribes by capturing Kaskaskia and Vincennes in 1778. Although Vincennes was later recaptured by General Henry Hamilton, Clark astounded him by successfully capturing Hamilton in February 1779. Despite the United States’ success in the East, they could not achieve a decisive victory in the West.
The lowest point during the frontier era occurred in 1782, when Pennsylvania militiamen conducted the Gnadenhutten massacre. They were unable to find enemy warriors, so they brutally executed approximately 100 noncombatant Christian Delaware individuals, mostly consisting of women and children. In the same year, a group of Kentuckians faced a heavy defeat by a stronger combined force of British regulars and Native Americans in the final significant battle of the war.
References
- Black, Jeremy. War for America: The Fight for Independence, 1775–1783. St. Martin’s Press (New York) and Sutton Publishing (UK), 1991.
- The Military Experience in the Age of Reason, 1715–1789. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1987.
- Greene, Jack P. and J. R. Pole, eds. The Blackwell Encyclopedia of the American Revolution. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell, 1991; reprint 1999.
- Kaplan, Sidney and Emma Nogrady Kaplan. The Black Presence in the Era of the American Revolution. Amherst, Massachusetts: The University of Massachusetts Press, 1989.
