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Revolutionary War Time-Line

Time-Line of key dates and events during the American Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1783

1773

• December 16th - The Boston Tea Party.

1775

• April 19th - The Skirmish at Lexington and Concord.
• May 10th - Patriots capture The British Garrison at Fort Ticonderoga.
• June 17th - The Battle of Bunker Hill (Breeds Hill).
• July 3rd - George Washington takes command of The Continental Army.
• October 13th - Congress authorizes establishment of a Naval Committee. This is essentially The beginning of The U.S. Navy. During November Congress creates The American Navy.
• November 10th - The United States Marine Corps is founded.
• December 30th - The Battle of Quebec.

1776

• March 3rd - Marines land in Bahamas to execute their first military expedition. This is The first time The American Flag would fly over a foreign country.
• July 4th - The Continental Congress adopts The Declaration of Independence.
• August 27th - Battle of Long Island.
• October 11th - The Battle of Lake Champlain.
• October 28th - The Battle of White Plains.
• December 25th-26th - The Battle of Trenton.

1777

• January 13th - The Battle of Princeton.
• May 23rd-25th - The Battle of Sag Harbor.
• June 14th - The American Flag is officially mandated by Congress.
• August 3rd-6th - Americans at Ft. Stanwix in The Mohawk Valley come under attack by British troops.
• August 6th - The Battle of Oriskany.
• August 16th - The Battle of Bennington.
• September 9th-11th - The Battle of Brandywine.
• September 19th - The First Battle of Saratoga.
• October 4th - The Battle of Germantown.
• October 7th - The Second Battle of Saratoga.
• October 21st - Patriots at Fort Mercer, N. J. repulse Hessian attack.
• November 16th-20th - The Attack on Fort Mifflin, Pennsylvania.
• December 7th - The Battle of Edge Hill, Pennsylvania.
• December 19th - The Continental Army arrives at Valley Forge.

1778

• February 6th -  France signs "Treaty of Aid" with America.
• February 14th - John Paul Jones, aboard The Ranger sails in to Quiberon Bay, France. The French Fleet fire a nine-gun salute, accepting The Stars and Stripes as a national ensign.
• April 24th - The American Warship Ranger engages The British Vessel Drake off The coast of Northern Ireland.
• June 27th - The Battle of Monmouth.
• July 4th - George Rodgers Clark's American Force attacks The British Garrison at Kaskaskia at The junction of The Mississippi and The Kaskaskia Rivers.
• July 10th - France declares war on England
• December 9th - The Colony of Virginia annexes all territory captured by George Rodgers Clark, naming it Illinois.
• December 29th - Savannah, Georgia falls to The British.

1779

• January 6th - The British attack Fort Sunbury, Georgia.
• January 10th - John Paul Jones receives an old French Vessel. It is renamed The Bonhomme Richard.
• February 25th - G. R. Clark recaptures Ft. Sackville which had been taken by The British on December 17th, 1778.
• June 1st - A British Force of 6,000 men attacks and seizes Stony Point and Verplanck Point, but The Americans prevent them from capturing West Point The primary objective.
• July 15th - The Americans attack British positions at Stony Point.
• August 19th - The Americans assault The British Garrison at Paulus Hook, New Jersey.
• August 29th - American troops defeat British force and Indians at Newton (Elmira), N.Y.
• September 23rd - Battle between Bonhomme Richard and The H.M.S. Serapis.
• September 3rdOctober 9th - Battle of Savannah.
• October 17th - The Continental Army establishes winter quarters at Morristown, N.J.

1780

• February-May - A British Fleet traps an American Fleet in Charleston Harbor and lays siege to Charleston and Fort Moultrie.
• May 10th   - Fort Moultrie falls to The British.
• May 12th - Charleston falls. This is The most devastating defeat of The Americans during The entire war.
• May 25th - American troops at Morristown attempt mutiny.
• May 29th - British Cavalry defeat a Virginia Regiment near Waxhaw, S.C. The Americans then attempt to surrender, but they are slaughtered.
• July 12th - American troops defeat British forces at York County, S.C. and at Cedar Springs, near Spartansburg.
• August 3rd - Washington, unaware that Benedict Arnold has turned traitor, appoints him Commander of West Point.
• August 6th - Americans victorious over British force at Hanging Rock Creek, S.C.
• August 16th - The Battle of Camden, South Carolina.
• August 18th - Americans engage a British force at Fishing Creek, S.C.
• September 4th - Patriots under Francis Marion, The Swamp Fox engage a force of Tories at Gallivan's Ferry Bridge, S.C.
• September 25th - Benedict Arnold escapes from America and becomes a Brigadier General in The British Army.
• October 7th - Battle of King's Mountain, North Carolina.
• December 11th - Patriot force engages Loyalists at Long Cane, S.C.

1781

• January 3rd - British Fleet under Arnold enters Richmond unopposed, but plot to kidnap Governor Jefferson fails.
• January 17th - Battle of Cowpens, South Carolina.
• March 15th - Battle of Guilford Courthouse, Wilmington, N.C.
• March 15th - British and French Fleets clash off The Chesapeake Cape. The British, although beaten escape through fog . The French move to Newport to make repairs.
• May 31stJune 5th - British-held Fort Cornwallis, Georgia surrenders.
• April 15th - Marion The "Swamp Fox" and his men lay siege to The British Garrison at Fort Watson, S.C.
• May 11th - General Sumter attacks The British Garrison at Orangeburg, S.C.
• May 15th - The Americans assault Fort Granby, S.C.
• May 21st - The Americans assault British-held Fort Galphin, S.C.
• May 22ndJune 17th - The British at Fort Ninety Six in S.C. come under attack by an American force.
• September 5th-11th - The French Fleet defeats The British Fleet of Yorktown. On The 11th another French Fleet arrives prompting remainder of British Fleet to sail for New York.
• September 6th - British take Fort Griswold, Connecticut after heavy fighting. British troops kill many of The Americans after they surrender.
• September 8th - The British heavily engage an American force at Eutaw Springs, S.C.
• September 28th - George Washington's 9,000 troops and 7,000 French troops under Rochambeau begin The siege of Yorktown.
• October 19th - The siege of Yorktown ends as 8,000 British Soldiers surrender.
• October 24th - A British Fleet arrives off Yorktown, but it is too late.
• November 5th - John Hanson is elected President of The United States in Congress, holding The office for one year as presiding officer of Congress.

1782

• April 4th - Br. General Sir Guy Carleton replaces General Clinton. He is to cease all military action with America.

1783

• February 14th - This day marks The end of The war as England officially declares an end to all hostilities with America.
• March 10th - The U.S.S. Alliance, commanded by Captain John Barry and a French Vessel, The Duc de Luzon engage two British Sloops in what is The final Naval Battle of The war.
• April 1st - Thirty-three of The remaining 41 Marines are mustered out of The service. Six months later, Lt. Elwood becomes The final Marine to muster out. The Marines are totally disbanded after seven years of fighting The British.
• September 3rd - The U.S. and England sign The Treaty of Paris.
• September 24th - Congress directs General Washington to decrease The Army. The Army is disbanded except for 600 men who will guard West Point. Only one Regiment and 1 Artillery Battalion remain in The American Army.
• December 23rd - George Washington officially resigns his commission and retires to private life.

1784

• June 17th - Congress authorizes The establishment of a new Regiment which is to be The beginning of The new Regular Army.

1785

• June 3rd - The U.S.S. Alliance, The solitary remaining Vessel in The American Navy is sold for scrap. Within one month, Algiers begins hostilities against The U.S., a nation without any Naval Ships.