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Time Line of the American Revolutionary War 1775-1783

Year Chronology of RW Events
1775 April 18 - Paul Revere's ride.
1775 April 19 - Battle of Concord and Lexington.
1775 April 23 - King George III declares the colonies to be in rebellion.
1775 April - Siege of Boston begins.
1775 May 10 - Second Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia.
1775 June 15 - George Washington named Commander in Chief.
1775 June 16-17 - Battle of Bunker Hill.
1775 July 3 - Washington assumes duties as Commander in Chief.
1775 July 5 - Americans capture Fort Ticonderoga.
1775 July 6 - Congress issues a "Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms".
1775 September - General Benedict Arnold sets off with an American force to capture Quebec.
1775 November 28 - Continental Congress authorizes creation of US Navy.
1775 December 31 - Americans attack Quebec.
1776 February 27 - Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge.
1776 March 26 - British evacuate Boston.
1776 July 4 - Declaration of Independence.
1776 October 11-12 - Battle of Valcour Bay.
1776 October 27-28- Battle of White Plains.
1776 November 16 - British capture Fort Washington; General Washington retreats through New Jersey.
1776 December 26 - Battle of Trenton.
1777 January 3 - Battle of Princeton.
1777 March 12 - The Continental Congress returns to Philadelphia from Baltimore .
1777 April 27 - Battle of Ridgefield, CT. British beaten by Americans commanded by Benedict Arnold.
1777 June 14 - America has a flag. Congress gives Ranger to John Paul Jones with the mission to raid the English coast.
1777 June 17 - British troops under General John Burgoyne sail down Lake Champlain from Canada, planning to cut New England off from the other colonies by linking with General Howe who was to come north from New York City.
1777 July 6 - British recapture Fort Ticonderoga.
1777 July 23 - General Howe sails for Chesapeake Bay to capture Philadelphia, instead of attempting to link with General Burgoyne.
1777 July 27 - Congress names 19 year old French aristocrat Marquis de Lafayette a Major General in the Continental Army after he volunteers to serve without pay.
1777 August 1 - General Burgoyne reaches the Hudson River.
1777 August 16 - Battle of Bennington.
1777 August 25 - Gen. Howe disembarks his troops at Chesapeake Bay.
1777 August 27 - Battle of Long Island.
1777 September 9-11 - Battle of Brandywine. Continental Congress leaves Philadelphia for Lancaster, PA.
1777 September 19 - first Battle of Saratoga.
1777 September 26 - General Howe occupies Philadelphia. Continental Congress moves to York, PA.
1777 October 4 - Battle of Germantown.
1777 October 7 - Second Battle of Saratoga.
1777 October 13 - British surrender at Saratoga.
1777 November - Articles of Confederation ratified.
1777 At some time before the winter of 1777, Jeremiah Walker joined the Bute County, North Carolina Militia by hiring himself out as a substitute for another person for nine months.
1777 Winter 1777-1778 - Valley Forge.
1778 January 7 - Treaty of Amity and Commerce with France.
1778 February 6 - Treaty of Alliance with France.
1778 February 23 - Prussian Baron von Steuben joins Americans at Valley Forge and begins drilling and training the troops.
1778 March 16 - British Parliament creates a Peace Commission to negotiate with the Colonies. The Commission sails to Philadelphia and offers to meet all of the American demands other than independence. Continental Congress declines the offer.
1778 May 8 - General Howe is replaced by General Henry Clinton as commander of all British forces in the Colonies.
1778 May 30 - 300 Iroquois Indians burn Cobleskill, New York at the prompting of the British.
1778 June 18 - General Clinton, fearing a French blockade, withdraws from Philadelphia and marches for New York City. Americans re-occupy Philadelphia.
1778 June 19 - Washington moves from Valley Forge to intercept Clinton.
1778 June 27-28 - Battle of Monmouth. After a standoff, General Clinton continues towards New York.
1778 July 2 - Continental Congress returns to Philadelphia.
1778 July 3 - Massacre at Wyoming Valley, PA; Washington establishes West Point, NY as his headquarters.
1778 July 10 - France declares war on Britain.
1778 August 8 - French naval and American land forces attempt an unsuccessful siege of Newport, RI. The French fleet returns to Boston for repairs.
1778 September 14 - Benjamin Franklin named American representative to France.
1778 November 11 - American settlers massacred by Loyalists and Indians at Cherry Valley, NY.
1778 December 29 - British capture Savannah, GA.
1779 January 29 - British capture Augusta, GA.
1779 April - American troops attack Chickamauga Indian villages in Tennessee in retaliation for raids on settlers.
1779 May 10 - British burn Portsmouth and Norfolk, VA.
1779 June 1 - Clinton moves up Hudson towards West Point.
1779 June 16 - Spain declares war on Britain, but does not ally with Americans.
1779 June 20 - The Battle of Stono Ferry was fought on June 20, 1779, near Charleston, South Carolina. The rear guard from a British expedition retreating from an aborted attempt to take Charleston held off an assault by poorly trained militia forces under American General Benjamin Lincoln.  Jeremiah Walker obviously stayed in the war as a militiaman for longer than nine months. He stated in his deposition that he was a member of the American Forces in this battle and called it "Stono Point" in his pension request.
1779 July 5-11 - Connecticut coastal towns raided by Loyalists. Fairfield and Norwald burned, along with ships in the harbor at New Haven.
1779 July 10 - Naval ships from Massachusetts attacking the Loyalist bulwark of Castine, Maine are destroyed by British Navy.
1779 July 15 - Americans capture Stony Point.
1779 August 14 - Continental Congress approves a peace plan specifying independence, complete withdrawal of British forces from Colonies and freedom of navigation on the Mississippi River as conditions.
1779 August 29 - American forces defeat the combined Indian and Loyalist forces at Elmira, New York. Following the victory, American troops head northwest and destroy nearly 40 Cayuga and Seneca Indian villages in retaliation for the campaign of terror against American settlers.
1779 September 3 - October 28 -American forces suffer a major defeat while attacking the British at Savannah, Georgia.
1779 September 23 - Bonne Homme Richard vs Serapis. John Paul Jones replies "I have not yet begun to fight" when asked to surrender by the British captain. Jones then captures the British ship before his own sinks.
1779 September 27 - Congress appoints John Adams to negotiate with England for peace.
1779 October 17 - Washington goes into winter quarters at Morristown, New Jersey.
1779 December 26 - General Clinton sails for Charleston from New York with 8000 men.
1780 April 8 - British warships enter Charleston Harbor. Washington sends reinforcements.
1780 May 6 - Fort Moultrie captured by the British.
1780 May 12 - British capture Charleston. With losses of 5400 men , 4 ships and a military arsenal, this is the worst American defeat of the Revolutionary War.
1780 May 25 - In Morristown, New Jersey two Continental regiments conduct an armed march through the camp, demanding immediate payment of overdue salary and full rations. Rebellion is ended by troops from Pennsylvania. Two leaders of the protest are hanged.
1780 June 11 - Massachusetts endorses a new constitution asserting "all men are born free and equal," including blacks.
1780 June 14 - Congress appoints General Horatio Gates to command of the Southern Army.
1780 June 23 - British defeated by American forces at the Battle of Springfield, New Jersey.
1780 June 28 - Battle of Monmouth.
1780 July 11 - Count de Rochambeau arrives in Newport, Rhode Island with 6000 French soldiers. A British blockade will keep them there for almost a year.
1780 August 3 - Benedict Arnold named commander of West Point.
1780 August 16 - The Battle of Camden was an important battle in the Southern Theatre of the American Revolutionary War. British Forces under Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis routed the American forces of Major General Horatio Gates about six miles north of Camden, South Carolina, strengthening the British hold on the Carolinas.  Jeremiah Walker continued to serve in the militia and was a member of the American Forces in this battle and then went home to Bute County, NC.
1780 August 18 - Battle of Fishing Creek, SC. An American defeat opens the door to North Carolina for the British.
1780 September 23 - A British major in civilian clothing, carrying plans indicating Benedict Arnold intends to turn traitor and surrender West Point, is captured near Tarrytown, New York.
1780 September 25 - Benedict Arnold flees West Point to the British ship Vulture on the Hudson. He is later named a brigadier general in the British.
1780 October 7 - Battle of King's Mountain. Cornwallis abandons his invasion of North Carolina.
1780 October 14 - Battle of Shallow Ford. General Gates is replaced by Nathanael Greene as commander of the Southern Army.
1781 January 3 - Troops from Pennsylvania set up camp near Princeton, NJ and choose their own representatives to negotiate with state officials back in Pennsylvania. The crisis is eventually resolved through negotiations, but over half of the mutineers abandon the army.
1781 January 17 - Battle of Cowpens. General Daniel Morgan defeats General Tarleton in an American victory.
1781 January 20 - Mutiny among American troops at Pompton, New Jersey. The rebellion is put down seven days later by a 600-man force sent by Washington. Two of the leaders are hanged
1781 March 15 - Battle of Guilford Courthouse. General Cornwallis suffers heavy losses, abandons plans to conquer the Carolinas and retreats to Wilmington, then begins a campaign to conquer Virginia.  Jeremiah Walker stated in his deposition that he joined (the militia) again "soon after he went home to Bute County" and was a member of the American Forces in this battle.
1781 April 7 - [Gen] Greene followed [Cornwallis] to Ramsey's Mill, then ignored Cornwallis and proceeded southward to recover South Carolina and Georgia. Arriving in Wilmington on April 7, Cornwallis was humiliated at the cold disregard of Greene and distressed at the dilemma in which he found himself. He could not remain idle in Wilmington. To go to Charleston where he had started in 1779 would be a confession of defeat. To Virginia he would go, join General Phillips for the conquest of the State, and return for the subjugation of North Carolina. He proceeded northward from Wilmington on April 25. To Yorktown he went, where, hemmed in by the French fleet and by Washington's army, he surrendered on October 19. It was the virtual end of the War of American Independence.”  Jeremiah Walker became disgruntled with the militia and voluntarily joined the North Carolina Line regular army for one year. He stated in his deposition that he knew "Maj. Pink Eaton, an officer of the continental army with whom he had served before as an orderly sergeant", so he enlisted on April 7, 1781 for twelve months.
1781 April 15-23 - Battle of Fort Watson, but the names “Scot’s Lake,” “Scot’s Fort,” “Scot’s Fort on the Santee River,” and “Fort Scott” also apply to the area.   Shortly before the siege of Fort Watson, on April 14, 1781, Lt. Col. Henry Lee and his legion of three hundred Continental cavalry and infantry reinforced Marion. At the time Marion was located near the bridge over the Black River. Lee writes that the goal of capturing Fort Watson was to ìnterrupt British communications between the lower posts and Camden, to prevent British lieutenant colonel John Watson from joining Lord Rawdon, and to “dispossess” the enemy of the location.  Jeremiah Walker stated that they "marched to Scotch Lake and took a fort on the Santee".
1781 April 25 - Battle of Hobkirk's Hill.
1781 May 6-12 - Shortly after the successful siege of Fort Watson in ApriL 1781, General Marion conducted the siege and capture of Fort Motte. In this military action, Marion was acting under the guidance of General Greene, who had asked him to “take all the posts upon the Congaree, and those posts that líe between Camden and the River.”16 Lee’s Legion of three hundred again reinforced Marion for this task.  The fort had originally been located at the plantation of CoL William Thomson, a Patriot offcer who would later serve in the South Carolina Senate. The British later moved Fort Motte a mile from this original site to take advantage of better terrain Located on the Mount Joseph Plantation, owned by Mrs. Rebecca Brewton Motte [Widow].  Jeremiah Walker stated that they "thence marched to widow Motts on the Congaree then took a fort".
1781 After May 12 - Fort Hampton near Gilbert Town, North Carolina, was named for Colonel Andrew Hampton, and located midway between Fort McFadden and Montford's Fort.  Jeremiah Walker stated that they "thence marched up the Congaree to Col. Hamptons when another fortified Camp of the British surrendered".
1781 May 21 - Washington and French General Rochambeau meet in Connecticut for a war council. Rochambeau reluctantly agrees to Washington's plan for a joint French naval and American ground attack on New York.
1781 May 24 - Battle of Fort Grierson, also Augusta (Richmond County, GA.) On the 23rd of May (Johnson says the 24th), Fort Grierson, was surrounded by Pickens and Lee and Maj. Eaton, and a battery was opened up against it until it surrendered.  Jeremiah Walker stated, "Thence to Augusta, Georgia where the fortification commanding Augusta, called Browns & Graysons [Grierson] forts from the names of the British officers commanding them, were taken. At this place Maj. Pink Eaton was killed.".
1781 June 4 - Thomas Jefferson narrowly escapes capture by the British at Charlottesville, Virginia.
1781 June 10 - Americans troops under Marquis de Lafayette, General Anthony Wayne and Baron von Steuben begin to form a combined force in Virginia to oppose British forces under Benedict Arnold and General Cornwallis.
1781 June 11 - Congress appoints Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and John Jay to a peace commission to supplement John Adams as the sole negotiator with the British.
1781 June to September - Jeremiah Walker stated, "Thence marched to a place called Cambridge in South Carolina when he joined Gen. Green again from thence he was ordered off under his old Captain Lydel and Dixon his Lieut. take prisoners to Salisbury, N. C. after delivering up the prisoners to a guard of Militia he thence marched to the High Hills of Santee where he again joined his old regiment under Gen. Green. Here the army was cantoned for some time in order to [recruit] and guard against the effects of disease which was to no ordinary extent breaking in upon the army. After having recruited the line of march was taken up making the Wateree and Congaree rivers at their junction. On the march near Col Thompson (? possibly Col. Hampton's Fort) the army was halted for some days and [reviewed] by Gen. Green in person. The General remarked to the men that his condition was bad that they were nearly [naked] and worn down by long exposure and service. That he had [on] ___ tried to better the situation to make them more comfortable but without success. That the time was arriving close when they would be engaged with the enemy and in all probability some decisive affair to behave like men fighting for their liberties.".
1781 July 20 - Slaves rebel in Williamsburg, Virginia.
1781 August 1 - Cornwallis and his 10,000 soldiers arrive at Yorktown, Virginia after several months of chasing General Greene's army with little success. He then establishes a base to communicate by sea with General Clinton's forces in New York.
1781 August 14 - Washington abandons the planned attack on New York in favor of Yorktown after receiving word from French Admiral Count de Grasse indicating his entire 29-ship French fleet with 3000 soldiers is now heading for the Chesapeake Bay near General Cornwallis. Washington also coordinates with General Rochambeau to rush their best troops south to Virginia to destroy the British position in Yorktown.
1781 August 30 - Count de Grasse's fleet arrives off Yorktown, Virginia. De Grasse then lands troops near Yorktown, linking with Lafayette's American troops to cut Cornwallis off from any retreat by land.
1781 September 1 - The troops of Washington and Rochambeau arrive at Philadelphia.
1781 September 5-8 - Off Yorktown, a major naval battle between the French fleet of de Grasse and the outnumbered British fleet of Admiral Thomas Graves results in a victory for de Grasse. The British fleet retreats to New York for reinforcements, leaving the French fleet in control of the Chesapeake. The French fleet establishes a blockade, cutting Cornwallis off from any retreat by sea. French naval reinforcements then arrive from Newport.
1781 September 6 - Troops under Benedict Arnold loot and burn the port of New London, Connecticut.
1781 September 8 - Battle of Eutaw Springs.  The last important engagement in the Carolina campaign of the American Revolution was fought in Eutaw Springs 30 miles northwest of Charleston, South Carolina. The American forces under General Nathaniel Greene attacked at 4 AM, driving British troops under Colonel Alexander Stewart from the field.  Jeremiah Walker stated, "Shortly after marched on to [Euta] Springs where we engaged the enemy.".
1781 September 14-24 - De Grasse sends his ships up the Chesapeake Bay to transport the armies of Washington and Rochambeau to Yorktown.
1781 September 28 - Washington, with a combined Allied army of 17,000 men, begins the siege of Yorktown. French cannons bombard Cornwallis and his 9000 men day and night while the Allied lines slowly advance and encircle them. British supplies run dangerously low.
1781 October 17 - As Yorktown is about to be taken, the British send out a flag of truce. Washington and Cornwallis then work out terms of surrender
1781 October 19 - The British surrender at Yorktown. Hopes for a British victory in the war against America are dashed.
1781 October 24 - General Clinton arrives at Chesapeake Bay with 7000 British reinforcements, but turns back upon hearing of the surrender at Yorktown
1782 January 5 - The British withdraw from North Carolina.
1782 February 27 - The British House of Commons votes against further war in America.
1782 March 5 - Parliament empowers the King to negotiate peace with the United States.
1782 March 7 - American militiamen massacre 96 Delaware Indians in Ohio in retaliation for Indian raids conducted by other tribes.
1782 March 20 - Lord North resigns as British Prime Minister, succeeded two days later by Lord Rockingham who seeks immediate negotiations with the American peace commissioners.
1782 April 4 - General Clinton replaced by Sir Guy Carleton as British commander in America. Carleton will implement the new British policy of ending hostilities and withdraw British troops from America.
1782 Spring - General Greene moved his camp from Skirving's plantation to Bacons Bridge, at the head of Ashley River. This was the bridge two miles above the fort at Dorchester; Bacons Bridge corresponded to the modern highway bridge on S.C. 165 across the Ashley River in southern Dorchester County. Greene's encampment was located at the crossroads just west o£ the bridge, and the army remained at this position throughout the spring of 1782.  Michael Bacon, Revolutionary Soldier, received a lot of land for his service in the first range in South Carolina, and purchased lots 6 and 7 in the same range from John Stevens. On one of these last two was situated the bridge over the Ashley River, originally called Stevens's Bridge, but ever since and now known as Bacon's Bridge.  Jeremiah Walker stated, "Shortly after (Eutaw Springs), the deponent was discharged at Bacons Bridge, S. C. on April 7, 1782.".
1782 Aprl 12 - Battle of Les Saintes. Ben Franklin and Richard Oswald begin peace talks in Paris.
1782 April 16 - Washington establishes American army headquarters at Newburgh, New York.
1782 April 19 - Negotiations by John Adams results in the recognition of the United States of America by the Netherlands.
1782 June 11 - The British withdraw from Savannah.
1782 June 20 - The Great Seal of the United States of America adopted by Congress.
1782 August 19 - Battle of Blue Licks. Loyalist and Indian forces attack and defeat American settlers near Lexington, Kentucky.
1782 August 25 - Mohawk Indian Chief Joseph Brant conducts raids on settlements in Pennsylvania and Kentucky.
1782 August 27 - A skirmish along the Combahee River in South Carolina is the last fighting between American and British forces in the Revolutionary War.
1782 November 10 - Americans retaliate against Loyalist and Indian forces by attacking a Shawnee Indian village in the Ohio territory in the last battle of the war.
1782 November 30 - A preliminary peace treaty is signed in Paris. Terms include recognition of American independence and the boundaries of the United States, along with British withdrawal from America.
1782 December 14 - The British withdraw from Charleston.
1782 December 15 - Strong objections are expressed by the French over the signing of the peace treaty in Paris without America first consulting them. A diplomatic response by Ben Franklin prevents a falling out between France and America.
1783 January 20 - England signs a preliminary peace treaty with France and Spain.
1783 February 3 - Spain recognizes the United States of America. Sweden, Denmark and Russia follow suite later.
1783 February 4 - England officially declares an end to hostilities in America.
1783 March 10 - An anonymous letter circulates among Washington's senior officers camped at Newburgh, New York calling for an unauthorized meeting and urging the officers to defy the authority of the new U.S. national government (Congress) for its failure to honor past promises to the Continental Army. The next day, Washington forbids the meeting and suggests a regular meeting to be held on March 15. A second anonymous letter appears, falsely claiming Washington himself sympathizes with the rebellious officers.
1783 March 15 - March 15, 1783 - Washington gathers his officers and talks them out of a rebellion against the authority of Congress, preserving the American democracy.
1783 April 11 - Congress officially declares an end to the Revolutionary War.
1783 April 26 - The total of Loyalists who have fled for Canada reaches 100,000 as 7,000 leave New York.
1783 June 13 - The main part of the Continental Army disbands.
1783 June 24 - Congress moves from Philadelphia to Princeton, NJ to avoid protests from angry, unpaid war veterans.
1783 July 8 - Slavery abolished in Massachusetts by the State Supreme Court.
1783 September 3 -Treaty of Paris signed. Congress will ratify the treaty on January 14, 1784.
1783 October 7 - The Virginia House of Burgesses grants freedom to slaves who served in the Continental Army.
1783 November 2 - Washington delivers his farewell address to his army. The remaining troops are discharged the following day.
1783 November 25 - The last British troops depart as Washington enters Manhattan.
1783 November 26 - Congress meets in Annapolis, Maryland.
1783 December 23 - Washington appears before Congress and voluntarily resigns his commission.