Study Guide: American Revolutionary War Timeline

Study Guide: American Revolutionary War Timeline
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1775

April 18 – Paul Revere and William Dawes make their famous ride declaring the British have arrived.

April 19- American Revolution begins at Lexington and Concord Massachusetts with “the shot heard ‘round the world”.

May 10 – The Green Mountain Boys, led by Ethan Allen, capture Fort Ticonderoga.

June 15 – George Washington is declared Commander in Chief

June 17 – Battle of Bunker Hill

November 28 – The authorization for the establishment of the American Navy by the Continental Congress. Although the Navy played only a small part in this war it would go on to be a powerful force in future wars. American privateers were the most influential in the American Revolution with their ability to interrupt British trade vessles.

December – Benedict Arnold leads American forces to Quebec, which they fail to capture.

1776

January 15 – Thomas Paine’s Common Sense is published.

March 17 – British troops evacuate Boston and their navy moves north to Halifax, Canada.

July 4 – Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Continental Congress.

July 8 – The Declaration of Independence is read publicly.

August 2 – Continental Congress delegates begin signing the Declaration of Independence

August 27 – British are victorious at the Battle of Long Island although troops led by Washington manage to escape.

December – Washington’s Army crosses the Delaware River

1777

June 14 – The Flag Resolution is passed outlining the United States Flag.

July 5 – British capture Fort Ticonderoga

July 27 – Philadelphia welcomes Lafayette’s arrival

Winter – American troops suffer a horrid winter at Valley Forge

1778

February 6 – France and the United States sign the French Alliance

June 17 – The French enter the war on the side of the colonists.

December 29 – The British take Savannah

1779

June 21 – Spain declared war on Great Britain

1780

May 12 – British troops capture Charleston, South Carolina, after a long siege.

August 16 – American troops are defeated at Camden, South Carolina.

September 25 – The plans to cede West Point by Benedict Arnold to British troops is discovered.

October 14 – Nathanael Greene is named commander of the Southern Army

1781

January 1 – Pennsylvania soldiers mutiny because of lack of payment.

January 17 – Americans are victorious at the battle of Hannah’s Cowpens, South Carolina.

March 2 – The Articles of Confederation are adopted.

October 19 – Washington forces capture British troops led by General Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia.

1782

March 20 – British prime minister, Lord North, resigns.

November 30 – Articles of Peace, a preliminary peace treaty, is signed by Americans and British

1783

April 19 – Articles of Peace ratified by Congress

September 3 – The Treaty of Paris ends the American Revolution

November 25 – New York City is abandoned by British troops.

December 23 – George Washington resigns