Search results
At the Battle of Bunker Hill in June, the patriots lost, but learned that they could stand against British regulars. Soon after, George Washington assumed command of the newly created Continental Army. April 19 Battles of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, occur. A rallying militia drives British back in retreat to Boston.
- 56KB
- 12
Oct 19, 2010 · The Revolutionary War (1775-1783) arose from growing tensions between residents of Great Britain’s 13 North American colonies and the colonial government. The American colonists, led by General...
- Declaration of Independence
- Continental Congress: First, Second & Definition - HISTORY
- Battle of Yorktown - Definition, Who Won & Importance
- Stamp Act - Fact, Reaction & Legacy
- Founding Fathers: Quotes, Facts & Documents - HISTORY
- Valley Forge: Facts, Location & Baron von Steuben - HISTORY
- Battles of Lexington and Concord
- Betsy Ross - Flag, Biography & Children
- Tea Act - Definition, Timeline & Facts
People also ask
What happened during the American Revolution?
How did the United States gain independence?
How did the Revolutionary War start?
How did the American colonists gain political independence?
- Overview
- Land campaigns to 1778
The American Revolution—also called the U.S. War of Independence—was the insurrection fought between 1775 and 1783 through which 13 of Great Britain’s North American colonies threw off British rule to establish the sovereign United States of America, founded with the Declaration of Independence in 1776. British attempts to assert greater control over colonial affairs after a long period of salutary neglect, including the imposition of unpopular taxes, had contributed to growing estrangement between the crown and a large and influential segment of colonists who ultimately saw armed rebellion as their only recourse.
salutary neglect
Learn more about salutary neglect, the British government policy that provided for loose imperial supervision of the North American colonies.
How did the American Revolution begin?
On the ground, fighting in the American Revolution began with the skirmishes between British regulars and American provincials on April 19, 1775, first at Lexington, where a British force of 700 faced 77 local minutemen, and then at Concord, where an American counterforce of 320 to 400 sent the British scurrying. The British had come to Concord to seize the military stores of the colonists, who had been forewarned of the raid through efficient lines of communication—including the ride of Paul Revere, which is celebrated with poetic license in Longfellow’s “Paul Revere’s Ride” (1861).
Battles of Lexington and Concord
Americans fought the war on land with essentially two types of organization: the Continental (national) Army and the state militias. The total number of the former provided by quotas from the states throughout the conflict was 231,771 men, and the militias totaled 164,087. At any given time, however, the American forces seldom numbered over 20,000; in 1781 there were only about 29,000 insurgents under arms throughout the country. The war was therefore one fought by small field armies. Militias, poorly disciplined and with elected officers, were summoned for periods usually not exceeding three months. The terms of Continental Army service were only gradually increased from one to three years, and not even bounties and the offer of land kept the army up to strength. Reasons for the difficulty in maintaining an adequate Continental force included the colonists’ traditional antipathy toward regular armies, the objections of farmers to being away from their fields, the competition of the states with the Continental Congress to keep men in the militia, and the wretched and uncertain pay in a period of inflation.
By contrast, the British army was a reliable steady force of professionals. Since it numbered only about 42,000, heavy recruiting programs were introduced. Many of the enlisted men were farm boys, as were most of the Americans. Others were unemployed persons from the urban slums. Still others joined the army to escape fines or imprisonment. The great majority became efficient soldiers as a result of sound training and ferocious discipline. The officers were drawn largely from the gentry and the aristocracy and obtained their commissions and promotions by purchase. Though they received no formal training, they were not so dependent on a book knowledge of military tactics as were many of the Americans. British generals, however, tended toward a lack of imagination and initiative, while those who demonstrated such qualities often were rash.
Because troops were few and conscription unknown, the British government, following a traditional policy, purchased about 30,000 troops from various German princes. The Lensgreve (landgrave) of Hesse furnished approximately three-fifths of that total. Few acts by the crown roused so much antagonism in America as that use of foreign mercenaries.
Britannica Quiz
CHAPTER EIGHT: THE AMERICAN REVOLUTI ON 8.2.1 Movement toward Independence, 1775-1776 While John Dickinson was drafting the Olive Branch Petition, he was also on a committee with Thomas Jefferson that was drafting The Causes and Necessities of Taking Up Arms. Adopted by Congress just two days before the
- 966KB
- 51
The Colonies Move Toward Open Rebellion, 1773-1774 After the Boston Massacre and the repeal of most of the Townshend Duties (the duty on tea remained in force), a period of relative quiet descended on the British North American colonies. Even so, the crises of the past decade had created incompatible mindsets on opposite sides of the Atlantic.
July 1, 1776: Vote on the resolution for independence. Nine colonies vote for it, 2 against it (PA and SC), 1 abstained (NY), and one was deadlocked (DE). Vote to be retaken the next day. July 2, 1776: 12 of the 13 colonies vote for the resolution, with NY abstaining. Congress declares the resolution to be in effect.
