The War for Independence

The three year period of calm was just a preparation for the future calls for independence. A group of radicals feared that the principle of parliamentary rule might be applied with devastating effect on all colonial liberties.

The radicals’ most effective leader was Samuel Adams of Massachusetts, a consistent failure in business but shrewd and able in politics. Adam’s goals were to free people from their awe of social and political superiors, make them aware of their own power and importance and thus arouse them to action. Toward these objectives, he published articles in newspapers and made speeches in town meetings, but did not have enough fuel to set a fire.

In 1773, however, Britain furnished Adams and his supporters with an incendiary issue. The powerful East India Company, finding itself in difficult financial situation, appealed to the British government, which granted it a monopoly on all tea exported to the colonies. It was also permitted to supply retailers directly, bypassing colonial wholesalers who had previously sold it. After 1770, such a flourishing illegal trade existed that most of the tea consumed in America was of foreign origin and imported, illegally, duty-free. By selling its tea through its own agents at a price well under the customary one, the East India Company made smuggling unprofitable and threatened to eliminate the independent colonial merchants at the same time. This threat immediately made colonial traders join the radicals agitating for independence.

In ports up and down the Atlantic coast, agents of the East India Company were forced to resign, and new shipments of tea were either returned to England or warehoused. In Boston, however, the agents defied the colonists and made preparations to land incoming cargoes regardless of opposition.

Boston Tea Party.

On Thursday, December 16, 1773, the evening before the tea was due to be landed, the Sons of Liberty thinly disguised as Mohawk Indians and armed with small hatchets and clubs, left the massive protest meeting and headed toward Griffin's Wharf, where lay Dartmouth and the newly arrived Beaver and Eleanour. Swiftly and efficiently, casks of tea were brought up from the hold to the deck, reasonable proof that some of the "Indians" were, in fact, longshoremen. The casks were opened and the tea dumped overboard; the work, lasting well into the night, was quick, thorough, and efficient. By dawn, over 352 casks or 90,000 lbs (45 tons) of tea worth an estimated £10,000 had been consigned to waters of Boston harbor. Nothing else had been damaged or stolen, except a single padlock accidentally broken and anonymously replaced not long thereafter. Tea washed up on the shores around Boston for weeks.

Parliament responded with new laws that the colonists called the “Coercive or Intolerable Acts”. The first, the Boston Port Bill, closed the port of Boston until the tea was paid for – the action that threatened the very life of the city, ‘cause for Boston it meant economic disaster. Other enactments restricted local authority and banned most town meetings held without the governor’s consent. A Quartering Act required local authorities to find suitable quarters for British troops, in private homes if necessary.

A Quebec Act, passed at nearly the same time, extended the boundaries of the province of Quebec and guaranteed the right of the French inhabitants to enjoy religious freedom and their own legal customs. The colonists strongly opposed the act because, by disregarding old charter claims of western lands, it threatened to hem them in to the North and Northwest by a Roman Catholic-dominated province. The act was classified by the colonists with the Coercive Acts, and all became known as the “Five Intolerable Acts.”

At the suggestion of the Virginia House of Burgesses, colonial representatives met in Philadelphia on September 5, 1774, “to consult upon the present unhappy state of the Colonies.” The meeting got the name First Continental Congress and consisted of 55 delegates (each colony except Georgia sent at least one delegate) expressing different opinions. The most important action taken by the Congress was the formation of a “Continental Association”, which provided for the renewal of the trade boycott and for a system of committees to inspect customs entries, publish the names of merchants who violated the agreements, confiscate their imports, and encourage frugality, economy and industry. The Association was led by pro-independent leaders supported not only by less well-to-do, nut from many members of the professional class, especially lawyers, most of the planters of the Southern colonies and a number of merchants. They began the collection of military supplies and the mobilization of troops.

Still many Americans (such as Crown-appointed officers, many Quakers and members of other religious sects, and merchants from the middle colonies) favored discussion and compromise as the proper solution.

The king might well have effected an alliance with these large numbers of moderates and, by timely concessions, so strengthened their position that the revolutionists would have found it difficult to proceed with hostilities. But George III had no intention of making concessions, instead he wrote “The die is now cast, the Colonies must either submit or triumph.”

In September 1774 the First Continental Congress proclaimed the Coercive Acts unconstitutional and “hence not to be obliged” and called the Massachusetts citizens to fight for the repealing of the Acts.

In October John Hancock (the richest New Englander on the revolutionary side) was elected president of the Massachusetts provincial congress and chairman of the committee of safety to implement the organization of the colonial militia, in particular the Minutemen (called so because they were said to be ready to fight in a minute). The First Continental Congress adopted ten resolutions enumerating the rights of the colonists, including those of “life, liberty and property”, and the rights of the colonial assemblies to enact taxes and legislation, subjected only to royal veto. It also agreed to implement a non-importation policy, to discontinue the slave trade, and to embargo all exports to England, Ireland and the West Indies.

On December 14, a group of Massachusetts militia men successfully attacked the arsenal of Fort William and Mary in Portsmouth and captured arms and ammunition.

In February 1775, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a second provincial congress drew up a series of defensive measures to prepare the colony for a state of war.

On March 23, 1775, Patrick Henry (the greatest orator of the American Revolution) pronounced a speech against the British rule that closed, “Give me liberty or give me death.”

By April, the Continental Association, mandated by the First Continental Congress to enforce a no importation policy and trade embargo, was in effect in all 13 colonies.

The revolution begins.

General Thomas Gage, an English gentleman with an American-born wife, commanded the garrison at Boston, where political activity had almost wholly replaced trade. Gage’s main duty in the colonies had been to enforce the Coercive Acts. When news reached him that the Massachusetts colonists were collecting powder and military stores at the town of Concord, 32 kilometers away, Gage sent a detail from the garrison to confiscate these munitions.

General Gage ordered Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith to lead 700 British soldiers to Concord to destroy the colonial arms depot there. The Boston committee of safety warned the colonists of the coming attack.

After a night of marching, the British troops reached the village of Lexington on April 19, 1775, and saw a grim band of about 70 Minutemen through the early morning mist. They intended only a silent protest, but the leader of the troops, Major John Pitcairn, yelled, “Disperse, you damned rebels! You dogs, run!”

The leader of the Minutemen, Captain John Parker, told his troops not to fire unless fired at first. The Americans were withdrawing when someone fired a shot, which led the British troops to fire at the Minutemen. The British then charged with bayonets, leaving 8 dead and 10 wounded. It was, in the often quoted phrase of Ralph Waldo Emerson “the shot heard ‘round the world”.

Then the British pushed on to Concord and destroyed the munition that was there. The American forces in the countryside were mobilized, moved toward Concord and on the return to Boston the British were beset by colonial militia and soon a siege of Boston that lasted for nearly a year began.

On May 15 a resolution was passed placing the colonies in a state of defense and on May 29 a measure was passed asking the colonists of Canada to join on the side of the American rebels.

In June Massachusetts Governor General Thomas Gage imposed martial law, declaring the armed colonists and those helping them to be rebels and traitors, and offered pardons to all rebels who took an oath of allegiance to the crown (Samuel Adams and John Hancock were excluded from that pardon).

On June 15, 1775, by a unanimous vote of the Second Continental Congress, George Washington was appointed to head the Continental Army. Two days later four major generals for the Continental Army – Charles Lee, Israel Putnam, Philip Schuyler and Artemas Ward – were appointed.

Despite all these events, the idea of complete separation from England was still repugnant to some members of the Continental Congress, and in July, they adopted a resolution, known as the Olive Branch Petition, begging the king to prevent further hostile actions and asking for his help in working for a restoration of peace.

The petition was rejected and on August 23, 1775, King George III issued a proclamation declaring the American colonies to be in a state of open rebellion.

Britain had expected the Southern colonies to remain loyal, in part because of their reliance on slavery. Many planters were afraid that the revolution would trigger a slave uprising against them. Unfortunately, the support of the planters was lost when Virginia Governor Lord Dunmore promised freedom to all blacks who left their masters and joined a regiment.

In January 1776, a 50-page pamphlet, Common Sense, was published by Thomas Paine. He attacked the idea of hereditary monarchy and presented the alternatives – continued submission to a tyrannical king of liberty and happiness as an independent republic.

On May 10, 1776, a resolution was adopted calling for separation and all that was needed was a formal declaration. The Continental Congress appointed a committee consisting of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Roger R. Livingston and Roger Sherman to compose a declaration of independence. The committee designated Jefferson to prepare the draft of the document.

The Declaration of Independence, adopted on July 4, 1776, not only announced the birth of a new nation, but also set forth a philosophy of human freedom that would be a dynamic force throughout the entire world.

The War for Independence.

In July 1775, newly appointed General Washington arrived outside Boston to take charge of the colonial forces and to organize the Continental Army. Realizing his army's desperate shortage of gunpowder, Washington asked for new sources. Arsenals were raided and some manufacturing was attempted; 90% of the supply (2 million pounds) was imported by the end of 1776, mostly from France.

The standoff continued throughout the fall and winter. In early March 1776, the heavy cannons were placed on Dorchester Heights by Major Henry Knox which led to the British withdrawal on March 17, 1776, to their naval base at Halifax, Nova Scotia. Washington then moved most of the Continental Army to fortify New York City.

The Continental Congress had initially invited the French Canadians to join them as the fourteenth colony, but when that failed to happen, Congress authorized an invasion of Canada. The goal was to remove British rule from the primarily francophone province of Quebec (comprising present-day Quebec).

Two Canada-bound expeditions were undertaken under the command of Brigadier General Richard Montgomery and Colonel Benedict Arnold. By the time Arnold reached Quebec City in early November, he had but 600 of his original 1,100 men (because of the outbreak of smallpox). Montgomery's force joined Arnold's, and they attacked Quebec City on December 31, but were soundly defeated by Carleton. The remaining Americans held on outside Quebec City until the spring of 1776, and then withdrew. So Canada stood firmly on the front line of the war with many more forces than in America.

Another attempt was a failure, too. So, 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.

The invasion cost the Americans their base of support in British public opinion, "So that the violent measures towards America are freely adopted and countenanced by a majority of individuals of all ranks, professions, or occupations, in this country."

Having withdrawn his army from Boston, General Howe now focused on capturing New York City. To defend the city, General Washington divided his 20,000 soldiers between Long Island and Manhattan. While British troops were assembling on Staten Island for the campaign, Washington had the newly issued Declaration of American Independence read to his men. No longer was there any possibility of compromise. On August 27, 1776, after landing about 22,000 men on Long Island, the British drove the Americans back to Brooklyn Heights in the largest battle of the entire Revolution. Howe then laid siege to fortifications there, but Washington managed to evacuate his army to Manhattan.

On September 15, Howe took control of New York City. In November Howe captured Fort Washington taking about 2,000 prisoners (with an additional 1,000 having been captured during the battle for Long Island). Thus began the infamous "prison ships" system the British maintained in New York for the remainder of the war, in which more American soldiers and sailors died of neglect than died in every battle of the entire war, combined.

General Lord Cornwallis continued to chase Washington's army until the early December when the British entered winter quarters. Although Howe had missed several opportunities to crush the diminishing American army, he had killed or captured over 5,000 Americans.

The outlook of the Continental Army was bleak. "These are the times that try men's souls," wrote Thomas Paine, who was with the army on the retreat. Congress had abandoned Philadelphia in despair, although popular resistance to British occupation was growing in the countryside.

On June 14, 1776, Congress enacted legislation mandating a “United States” flag, displaying 13 stars and 13 alternating white and red stripes.

Washington decided to take the offensive, stealthily crossing the Delaware on Christmas night and capturing nearly 1,000 Hessians at the Battle of Trenton on December 26, 1776. Cornwallis marched to retake Trenton but was outmaneuvered by Washington, who successfully attacked the British rearguard at Princeton on January 3, 1777. Washington then entered winter quarters at Morristown, New Jersey, having given a morale boost to the American cause. New Jersey militia continued to harass British and Hessian forces throughout the winter, forcing the British to retreat to their base in and around New York City.

When the British began to plan operations for 1777, they had two main armies in North America: Carleton's army in Canada, and Howe's army in New York. In London, Lord George Germain approved campaigns for these armies which, because of miscommunication, poor planning, and rivalries between commanders, did not work in conjunction. Although Howe successfully captured Philadelphia, the northern army was lost in a disastrous surrender at Saratoga. Both Carleton and Howe resigned after the 1777 campaign.

The first of the 1777 campaigns was an expedition from Canada led by General John Burgoyne whose goal was to seize the Lake Champlain and Hudson River corridor, effectively isolating New England from the rest of the American colonies.

An American army of 8,000 men, commanded by the General Horatio Gates, had entrenched about 10 miles (16 km) south of Saratoga, New York. Burgoyne tried to outflank the Americans but was checked at the first battle of Saratoga in September. After being badly beaten at the second battle of Saratoga in the beginning of October, Burgoyne surrendered on October 17.

Saratoga was the turning point of the war. Revolutionary confidence and determination, suffering from Howe's successful occupation of Philadelphia, was renewed. More importantly, the victory encouraged France to enter the war against Britain. For the British, the war had now become much more complicated.

Having secured New York City in 1776, General Howe concentrated on capturing Philadelphia, the seat of the Revolutionary government, in 1777. Washington positioned his 11,000 men between Howe and Philadelphia but was driven back at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777. The Continental Congress once again abandoned Philadelphia, and on September 26, Howe finally outmaneuvered Washington and marched into the city unopposed.

Washington and his army encamped at Valley Forge in December 1777, about 20 miles (32 km) from Philadelphia, where they stayed for the next six months. Valley Forge was the lowest ebb for Washington’s Continental Army. Over the winter, 2,500 men (out of 10,000) died from disease and exposure. The next spring, however, the army emerged from Valley Forge in good order.

In December 1777 France officially recognized the independence of the American colonies and in February 1778 in Paris France and colonial agents negotiated and signed two treaties – one of alliance and one of amity and commerce. According to the terms of the treaties, the Americans were given leave to conquer Canada and Bermuda, while France was permitted to conquer the British possessions in the West Indies. The pact was ratified on May 4, 1778. French entry into the war had changed British strategy, and Clinton who had replaced Howe abandoned Philadelphia in order to reinforce New York City, now vulnerable to French naval power. Washington shadowed Clinton on his withdrawal and forced a draw at the battle at Monmouth on June 28, 1778, the last major battle in the north. Clinton's army went to New York City in July. Although both armies were back where they had been two years earlier, the nature of the war had now changed.

In 1778, the war over the rebellion in North America became international; spreading not only to Europe, but to the European colonies, chiefly in India. After France signed the Treaty of Alliance with the United States Spain also entered the war as an ally of France in June 1779. Unlike France, however, Spain initially refused to recognize the independence of the United States. The Netherlands also became a combatant in 1780. All three countries had quietly provided financial assistance to the Americans since the beginning of the war, hoping to dilute British power.

In London King George III gave up hope of subduing America by more armies while Britain had a European war to fight. But the King was determined "never to acknowledge the independence of the Americans, and to punish their contumacy by the indefinite prolongation of a war which promised to be eternal." To punish the Americans the King planned to destroy their coasting-trade, bombard their ports; sack and burn towns along the coast (like New London, Connecticut), and turn loose the Native Americans to attack civilians in frontier settlements.

During the first three years of the American Revolutionary War, the primary military encounters were in the north. After French entry into the war, the British turned their attention to the southern colonies.

On December 29, 1778, an expeditionary corps from Clinton's army in New York captured Savannah, Georgia. An attempt by French and American forces to retake Savannah failed on October 9, 1779. Clinton then besieged Charleston, capturing it on May 12, 1780. With relatively few casualties, Clinton had seized the South's biggest city and seaport, paving the way for what seemed like certain conquest of the South.

The remnants of the southern Continental Army began to withdraw to North Carolina but were defeated at the Waxhaws on May 29, 1780. With these events, organized American military activity in the region collapsed, though the war was carried on by partisans such as Francis Marion. Cornwallis took over British operations, while Horatio Gates arrived to command the American effort. On August 16, 1780, Gates was defeated at the Battle of Camden, setting the stage for Cornwallis to invade North Carolina.

In 1780 the Americans proceeded to wear down the British in a series of battles, each of them tactically a victory for the British but giving no strategic advantage to the victors. Cornwallis moved north to Virginia.

In March 1781, General Washington dispatched General Lafayette to defend Virginia. The young Frenchman skirmished with Cornwallis, avoiding a decisive battle while gathering reinforcements. Cornwallis was unable to trap Lafayette, and so he moved his forces to Yorktown, Virginia, in July so the Royal Navy could return his army to New York.

West of the Appalachian Mountains and along the Canadian border, the American Revolutionary War was an "Indian War." Most Native Americans supported the British. Like the Iroquois Confederacy, tribes such as the Cherokees and the Shawnees split into factions.

The British supplied their native allies with muskets and gunpowder and advised raids against civilian settlements, especially in New York, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania.

In the Ohio Country and the Illinois Country, the Virginia frontiersman George Rogers Clark attempted to neutralize British influence among the Ohio tribes by capturing the outposts of Kaskaskia and Vincennes in the summer of 1778. When General Henry Hamilton, the British commander at Detroit, retook Vincennes, Clark returned in a surprise march in February 1779 and captured Hamilton himself.

In 1782 came the Gnadenhütten massacre, when Pennsylvania militiamen killed about a hundred neutral Native Americans. In August 1782, in one of the last major encounters of the war, a force of 200 Kentucky militia was defeated at the Battle of Blue Licks.

The northern, southern, and naval theaters of the war converged in 1781 at Yorktown, Virginia. In early September, French naval forces defeated a British fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake, cutting off Cornwallis' escape. Washington hurriedly moved American and French troops from New York, and a combined Franco-American force of 17,000 men commenced the siege of Yorktown in early October. Cornwallis' position quickly became untenable, and he surrendered his army on October 19, 1781.

With the surrender at Yorktown, King George lost control of Parliament to the peace party, and there were no further major military activities on land. The British had 30,000 garrison troops occupying New York City, Charleston, and Savannah. The war continued at sea between the British and the French fleets in the West Indies. The British might have sent more troops to attack the colonists if not for the numerous American ships attacking British shipping lanes worldwide. Due to the impact on British pocketbooks, the merchants put pressure on Parliament to end the war.

In London as political support for the war plummeted after Yorktown, Prime Minister Lord North resigned in March 1782. In April 1782, the Commons voted to end the war in America. Preliminary peace articles were signed in Paris at the end of November, 1782; the formal end of the war did not occur until the Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783, and the United States Congress ratified the treaty on January 14, 1784. The last British troops left New York City on November 25, 1783.

Britain negotiated the Paris peace treaty without consulting her Native American allies and ceded all Native American territory between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River to the United States. Full of resentment, Native Americans reluctantly confirmed these land sessions with the United States in a series of treaties, but the fighting would be renewed in conflicts along the frontier in the coming years, the largest being the Northwest Indian War.

The peace negotiations in Paris saw Benjamin Franklin, the Netherlands dealt with John Adams and Madrid with John Jay.