The revolt of the British North American colonies was caused by the colonel resentment at the contemporary attitude that commercial or industrial interests of any colony should be subordinate to those of the mother country. and the unwillingness of the colonists to pay for a standing army.
The Boston Tea Party was an act of protest against the British for the Tea Act, one of several new attempts to tax colonists. It allowed the East India Company to sell tea paying little tax, undercutting colonial tea importers, who paid the full taxation.
About fifty members of the revolutionary organization Sons of Liberty, some disguised as Mohawk Native Americans, boarded a British vessel in Boston on December 16, 1773. They then emptied 342 tea chests into the harbor as a protest against the Tea Act. Word about their protest against the English tax soon spread and it proved to be a key event in the U.S. War of Independence.
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| 1846 lithograph by Nathaniel Currier "The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor" |
There were actually two Boston Tea Parties. In 1773, the Sons of Liberty tossed 342 tea chests into the city's harbor. In 1774, they dumped only 16.
American attorney, planter and politician Patrick Henry made his "Give me liberty, or give me death!" speech on March 23, 1775. During his address to the House of Burgesses of Virginia at St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia, Henry urged military action against the British Empire. He is credited with having swung the balance in convincing the undecided convention to pass a resolution delivering Virginian troops for the Revolutionary War. Among the delegates to the convention were future American Presidents Thomas Jefferson and George Washington.
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| Patrick Henry |
The silversmith Paul Revere made a midnight ride from Boston to Concord to warn the colonial militia of the approach of British troops on April 18, 1775. As Revere rode through Massachusetts, he shouted "The Regulars are coming out", not "The British are coming", since Massachusetts colonists still considered themselves British citizens at the time. The Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War were fought the next day.
During a tense standoff lasting about 10 minutes in the Battles of Lexington and Concord, a mentally ill local man named Elias Brown wandered through both sides selling hard cider.
The Siege of Boston, which started on April 19, 1775 after the Battles of Lexington and Concord, was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War.
American farmer Samuel Whittemore was the oldest known colonial combatant in the American Revolutionary War. On April 19, 1775, British forces were returning to Boston from the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the 78-year-old Whittemore was alone in his fields when he spotted an approaching British relief brigade under Earl Percy, sent to assist the retreat. Whittemore fired upon British soldiers killing three. Then out of ammo, he drew his sword to continue the fight. Whiteemore was shot in the face, bayoneted multiple times, and left for dead. When found, he was trying to reload his musket. He died 18 years later.
The American War of Independence properly ignited in June of 1775, with the Battle of Bunker Hill outside of Boston. The Americans lost the Battle of Bunker Hill when they ran out of gunpowder and had to retreat.
At the start of the Revolutionary War, the governor of New Jersey was a Tory giving aid and comfort to the British. He was arrested by the Revolutionary Congress of New Jersey and imprisoned. His life was spared because of the reverence the colonists had for his father. He was exchanged for Americans held prisoner by the British and sailed for England. The Tory was William Franklin, a son of Benjamin Franklin.
King George III of Great Britain delivered his Proclamation of Rebellion to the Court of St James's on August 23, 1775 in response to the news of the Battle of Bunker Hill. The proclamation stated that the American colonies have proceeded to a state of open and avowed rebellion and ordered officials of the British Empire "to use their utmost endeavors to withstand and suppress such rebellion." It also encouraged subjects throughout the Empire, including those in Great Britain, to report anyone carrying on "traitorous correspondence" with the rebels so that they could be punished.
As winter approached during the Siege of Boston, the Americans were so short on gunpowder that soldiers were given spears to fight with in the event of a British attack.
King George III of Great Britain delivered his Proclamation of Rebellion to the Court of St James's on August 23, 1775 in response to the news of the Battle of Bunker Hill. The proclamation stated that the American colonies have proceeded to a state of open and avowed rebellion and ordered officials of the British Empire "to use their utmost endeavors to withstand and suppress such rebellion." It also encouraged subjects throughout the Empire, including those in Great Britain, to report anyone carrying on "traitorous correspondence" with the rebels so that they could be punished.
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| A 1775 printing of the proclamation |
As winter approached during the Siege of Boston, the Americans were so short on gunpowder that soldiers were given spears to fight with in the event of a British attack.
The fourth North Carolina Provincial Congress passed the Halifax Resolves on April 12, 1776. It was the first official action in the American colonies calling for independence from Great Britain during the American Revolution.
In 1776 the second Continental Congress organized what was to become the continental army and chose George Washington to command it. Overcoming lack of equipment and other obstacles Washington molded his ill-disciplined army into an efficient unit.
A number of high-ranking British military officers refused to take up arms against America in the Revolutionary War, and there was a great deal of sympathy for the America throughout England.
A number of high-ranking British military officers refused to take up arms against America in the Revolutionary War, and there was a great deal of sympathy for the America throughout England.
British troops brought bands with clarinets to the American Revolution. Washington's forces, however, usually had only drums and fifes.
The Hessian soldiers hired by the British to fight the colonists during the Revolutionary War were paid about 25 cents a day.
During the American revolution, more inhabitants of the American colonies fought for the British than for the Continental Army.
At the Bayyles of Saratoga in 1777, General Horatio Gate’s American army under Benedict Arnold forced the surrender of Brigadier-General John Burgoyne’s forces, giving Americans hope of gaining independence from England and persuading France to support them.
Benedict Arnold was continually passed over for promotion despite defeating the British at Ticonderoga, and nearly making Canada America's 14th colony with the victory in the Battle of Saratoga. The breaking point came when Arnold was nearly court marshalled. Soon afterwards, British spy John Andre was captured with documents Arnold gave him, and the American major general was forced to go over to the British side.
About one quarter (5,400) men of George Washington's entire army was lost in the Revolutionary War's worst defeat, at Charleston, South Carolina, in May 1780.
After a sea battle won against the British by French Count de Grasse in Chesapeake Bay, George Washington deceived the British into believing he was attacking their New York stronghold. At the last minute he turned south and directed his troops towards Cornwallis fort in Yorktown, Virginia.
After a sea battle won against the British by French Count de Grasse in Chesapeake Bay, George Washington deceived the British into believing he was attacking their New York stronghold. At the last minute he turned south and directed his troops towards Cornwallis fort in Yorktown, Virginia.
The War ended on October 19, 1781, with the British surrender after their decisive defeat at the Siege of Yorktown. Representatives of British commander Lord Cornwallis handed over Cornwallis' sword at Yorktown and formally surrendered to George Washington and the comte de Rochambeau.
The key to American victory in the Revolutionary War was the 75-ton “Great Chain” that stretched across the Hudson River to prevent the British from moving inland. It was such an obstacle, they paid Benedict Arnold £20,000 for the plans to the Chain’s main defenses, at Fort West Point.
The Treaty of Paris was signed in Paris by representatives of King George III of Great Britain and representatives of the United States of America on September 3, 1783, officially ending hostilities in the American Revolutionary War. The ratification took place on January 14, 1784 in Annapolis, Maryland, when the Continental Congress formally approved the treaty.
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| Surrender of Lord Cornwallis by John Trumbull |
The key to American victory in the Revolutionary War was the 75-ton “Great Chain” that stretched across the Hudson River to prevent the British from moving inland. It was such an obstacle, they paid Benedict Arnold £20,000 for the plans to the Chain’s main defenses, at Fort West Point.
The Treaty of Paris was signed in Paris by representatives of King George III of Great Britain and representatives of the United States of America on September 3, 1783, officially ending hostilities in the American Revolutionary War. The ratification took place on January 14, 1784 in Annapolis, Maryland, when the Continental Congress formally approved the treaty.
Below is a painting of the American delegations at the Treaty of Paris. The British delegation refused to pose, and the painting was never completed
Approximately 90% of all gunpowder used by the Patriots during the American Revolution was supplied by France.
Source Isaac Asimov’s Book Of Facts
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