Study Guide: American Revolutionary War Timeline
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