The Revolutionary War

According to: www.myrevolutionarywar.com/ The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the American War of Independence, was a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies on the North American continent (as well as some naval conflict). The war was the culmination of the political American Revolution, whereby the colonists overthrew British rule. In 1775, Revolutionaries seized control of each of the thirteen colonial governments, set up the Second Continental Congress, and formed a Continental Army. The following year, they formally declared their independence as a new nation, the United States of America. From 1778 onward, other European powers would fight on the American side in the war. Meanwhile, Native Americans and African Americans served on both sides.

The Boston Massacre

Fact2
www.bostonmassacre.net/
The Boston Massacre was the killing of five colonists by British soldiers on March 5, 1770. It was the culmination of civilian-military tensions that had been growing since royal troops first appeared in Massachusetts in October 1768 to enforce the heavy tax burden imposed by the Townshend Acts.

Just a simple time line of the war

Fact3
www.historycentral.com/revolt/index.html
The following events represent the major events along the way to war. While it would be hard to point to any one event that singularly led to the Revolution, there is no doubt that the American view that they were entitled to the full democratic rights of Englishmen, while the British view that the American colonies were just colonies to be used and exploited in whatever way best suited the Great Britain, insured that war was inevitable.
1754- French and Indian War
1768- British Troops Land in Boston
1764- British Impose New Taxes
1770- Boston Massacre
1765 Quartering Act
1770 Townshend Act Repealed
1765- Stamp Tax Passed
1772- Cutter Gaspee Burned
1765- Sons of Liberty Formed
1773- Boston Tea Party
1765 Stamp Act Congress
1774 Coercive Acts Imposed
1766- Stamp Tax Repealed
1774- First Continental Congress Meets
1767- Townshend Acts Imposed
1767- Colonist Respond With Boycott Major Events of the Revolutionary War

British Occupation

Fact4
www.myrevolutionarywar.com
Throughout the war, the British were able to use their naval superiority to capture and occupy coastal cities, but control of the countryside (where 90% of the population lived) largely eluded them due to their relatively small land army. In early 1778, shortly after an American victory at Saratoga, France entered the war against Britain; Spain and the Netherlands joined as allies of France over the next two years. French involvement proved decisive, with a French naval victory in the Chesapeake leading to the surrender of a British army at Yorktown in 1781. The Treaty of Paris in 1783 ended the war and recognized the sovereignty of the United States over the territory bounded by what is now Canada to the north, Florida to the south, and the Mississippi River to the west

Civil War Fought on Foreign Soil

Fact5
http://www.myrevolutionarywar.com/
The war of American independence could be summed up as a civil war fought on foreign soil, as opposing forces comprised both nations' residents. That said, it is a war that America could not have survived without French assistance. In addition, Britain had significant military disadvantages. Distance was a major problem: most troops and supplies had to be shipped across the Atlantic Ocean. The British usually had logistical problems whenever they operated away from port cities, while the Americans had local sources of manpower and food and were more familiar with (and acclimated to) the territory. Additionally, ocean travel meant that British communications were always about two months out of date: by the time British generals in America received their orders from London, the military situation had usually changed.

Problems of Suppressing a Rebellion in America

Fact 6
http://www.myrevolutionarywar.com
Suppressing a rebellion in America also posed other problems. Since the colonies covered a large area and had not been united before the war, there was no central area of strategic importance. In Europe, the capture of a capital often meant the end of a war; in America, when the British seized cities such as New York and Philadelphia, the war continued unabated. Furthermore, the large size of the colonies meant that the British lacked the manpower to control them by force. Once any area had been occupied, troops had to be kept there or the Revolutionaries would regain control, and these troops were thus unavailable for further offensive operations. The British had sufficient troops to defeat the Americans on the battlefield but not enough to simultaneously occupy the colonies. This manpower shortage became critical after French and Spanish entry into the war, because British troops had to be dispersed in several theaters, where previously they had been concentrated in America.

Allegiance of Loyalists

Fact 7
The British also had the difficult task of fighting the war while simultaneously retaining the allegiance of Loyalists. Loyalist support was important, since the goal of the war was to keep the colonies in the British Empire, but this imposed numerous military limitations. Early in the war, the Howe brothers served as peace commissioners while simultaneously conducting the war effort, a dual role which may have limited their effectiveness. Additionally, the British could have recruited more slaves and Native Americans to fight the war, but this would have alienated many Loyalists, even more so than the controversial hiring of German mercenaries. The need to retain Loyalist allegiance also meant that the British were unable to use the harsh methods of suppressing rebellion they employed in Ireland and Scotland. Even with these limitations, many potentially neutral colonists were nonetheless driven into the ranks of the Revolutionaries because of the war. This combination of factors led ultimately to the downfall of British rule in America and the rise of the revolutionaries' own independent nation, the United States of America.

Trial of the British Soldiers

Fact8
John Adams defended the British Soldiers after the Boston Massacre! Captain Thomas Preston led some British Soldiers to aid another British Soldier who was having things thrown at him and was also hit several times with a board. After their arrival, the people continued to pelt the soldiers and finally shots were fired and the infamous "Boston Massacre" was over. Captain Thomas Preston and eight soldiers were charged with murder. Future President John Adams took up the defense of the soldiers. He, along with Joshua Quincy, was able to get all but two acquitted by a local jury. Those two were found guilty of manslaughter, but claimed benefit of clergy. This means that they were allowed to make penance instead of being executed. To insure that they never could use benefit of clergy again they were both branded on the thumbs.

Benedict Arnold Switched Sides!

Fact9
Benedict Arnold was the best general in the Continental Army! "Without Benedict Arnold in the first three years of the war," says the historian George Neumann, "we would probably have lost the Revolution." In 1775, the future traitor came within a whisker of conquering Canada. In 1776, he built a fleet and fought a bigger British fleet to a standstill on Lake Champlain. At Saratoga in 1777, his brilliant battlefield leadership forced the British army to surrender. The victory persuaded the French to join the war on the American side. Ironically, Arnold switched sides in 1780 partly because he disapproved of the French alliance.

Two Boston Tea Parties

Fact10
www.state.de.us/facts/ushist/revfacts.htm
There were two Boston tea parties!Everyone knows how 50 or 60 "Sons of Liberty," disguised as Mohawks, protested the 3 cents per pound British tax on tea by dumping chests of the popular drink into Boston Harbor on December 16, 1773. Fewer know that the improper Bostonians repeated the performance on March 7, 1774. The two tea parties cost the British around $3 million in modern money.

Battle of Newport

Fact11
By 1779, as many as one in seven Americans in Washington's army was black! At first Washington was hesitant about enlisting blacks. But when he heard they had fought well at Bunker Hill, he changed his mind. The all-black First Rhode Island Regiment -- composed of 33 freedmen and 92 slaves who were promised freedom if they served until the end of the war -- distinguished itself in the Battle of Newport. Later, they were all but wiped out in a British attack.

Declaration of Independence

Fact12
www.state.de.us/facts/ushist/revfacts.htm
Benjamin Franklin wrote the first Declaration of Independence! In 1775, Franklin, disgusted with the arrogance of the British and appalled by the bloodshed at Lexington and Concord, wrote a Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson was enthusiastic. But, he noted, many other delegates to the Continental Congress were "revolted at it." It would take another year of bitter conflict to persuade the Congress to vote for the Declaration of Independence written by Jefferson -- with some astute editorial suggestions by Franklin.

King George almost adbicated the throne

Fact13
www.state.de.us/facts/ushist/revfacts.htm
King George almost abdicated the throne when the British lost! After Yorktown, George III vowed to keep fighting. When parliament demurred, the King wrote a letter of abdication -- then withdrew it. He tried to console himself with the thought that Washington would become a dictator and make the Americans long for royal rule. When he was told that Washington planned to resign his commission, the monarch gasped: "If he does that, sir, he will be the greatest man in the world."

Women were in the war also?

Fact14
There were women in the Continental Army, even a few who saw combat!
Probably the best known is Mary Ludwig Hays, nicknamed "Molly Pitcher." She replaced her wounded husband at his cannon during the Battle of Monmouth in 1778. Another wife of an artilleryman, Margaret Corbin, was badly wounded serving in her husband's gun crew at the Battle of Harlem Heights in 1776. Thousands of other women served in Washington's army as cooks and nurses.

American Revolution - One of the Most Noted Struggles

Fact15
www.thememorialdaytribute.com/american-revolutionfacts.html
American Revolution was one of the most noted struggles that ultimately led to the freedom of America. Apart from the history that many have read in their schoolbooks, not many people know the real truth of the times. We have brought you some interesting tidbits of American revolutionary war. According to Mr. Thomas Fleming, a noted historian, in 1776, Americans enjoyed highest standard of living and lowest taxes in the entire West. Since the farmers, lawyers and other business owners along with the general public were quite rich in the Colonies, British tried to levy taxes on them and reroute some of the cash flow to their nation. Colonists took it as a threat to their prosperity and liberty and resisted violently.

The Revolutionary War

According to: http://www.myrevolutionarywar.com/ The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the American War of Independence, was a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies on the North American continent (as well as some naval conflict). The war was the culmination of the political American Revolution, whereby the colonists overthrew British rule. In 1775, Revolutionaries seized control of each of the thirteen colonial governments, set up the Second Continental Congress, and formed a Continental Army. The following year, they formally declared their independence as a new nation, the United States of America. From 1778 onward, other European powers would fight on the American side in the war. Meanwhile, Native Americans and African Americans served on both sides.