George Washington to Thomas Jefferson, December 28, 1780. Cornwallis, who is reportedly ill, designates Brigadier General Charles O'Hara to perform the formal surrender in his place. George Washington, General Orders, November 1, 1777, At 7pm in the evening, Washington's forces begin the march to Germantown, where Washington hopes to encircle Howe's army. May 4, Congress ratifies the Treaty of Alliance with France, and further military and financial assistance follows. George III, King of Great Britain and Ireland. Clinton receives a note from General John Burgoyne who warns him about Horatio Gates's army, which is growing with additions of militia. Washington orders the New Jersey Continentals to march to position themselves between the mutinying troops and the British on Staten Island. May 8, Clinton will replace General Sir William Howe as commander of British forces in North America. He congratulates the Army, noting that those who have performed the "meanest office" have participated in a great drama "on the stage of human affairs." Commanding 8,000 Continentals and 3,000 militia are Generals Adam Stephen, Nathanael Greene, Alexander McDougall, John Sullivan, Anthony Wayne, and Thomas Conway. Lord Germain (George Sackville), Colonial Secretary in London, sends British General Henry Clinton orders for a change of direction in the conduct of the war. George Washington to the New York Safety Committee, April 17, 1776. December 13, Conway visits Washington and his troops at winter quarters at Valley Forge. In February, the Rhode Island legislature approves the action. The assault fails, and d'Estaing and the fleet sail for France before the hurricane season begins. Congress learns of the capture of Fort Ticonderoga and that military reinforcements from Britain are on their way to North America.
General Francis Marion and militia attack a British detachment, rescuing the Maryland regiment captured at Camden. Clinton's proclamation to the citizens of South Carolina calls for a declaration of allegiance to the Crown. General Benjamin Lincoln, whose army is camped at Purysburg, South Carolina, sends a detachment toward Augusta and on February 13, the British evacuate the town. Congress establishes the northern army under the command of Major General Philip Schuyler, and to prevent attacks from the north, begins planning a campaign against the British in Canada. 1745-1747, Lesson Plan - George Washington: First in War, First in Peace, and First in the Hearts of His Countrymen, Resource Guide - American President: George Washington, Miller Center (UVa), Index George Washington Papers (Washington, D.C., 1964), Papers of George Washington Digital Edition, American Founding Era Collection. Throughout the early winter Washington orders raids on British forces left in New York. Laurens has failed in his attempt to get permission from the Georgia legislature to raise a regiment of slaves and Washington attributes this to the "selfish Passion" of the legislature. George Washington to Congress, April 2, 1780, George Washington's general orders contain an account of the Major General Benedict Arnold's conviction by the Executive Council of Pennsylvania on two of four charges of malfeasance while Arnold was military governor of Philadelphia. Howe forms a court martial that sentences three leaders to be shot by twelve of their fellow mutineers. British General Henry Clinton takes Newport, Rhode Island. The Articles had been sent to the states for ratification in 1777. Having arrived too late, the fleet hovers about the area for a few days and returns home October 28-30. George Washington to Congress, January 1, 1777, Washington writes Congress with a general report of the state of the troops. The forts are commanded by newly elected governor of New York, George Clinton, and his brother, James, both of whom are distant cousins of British General Henry Clinton. Simcoe reaches Woodbridge but is forced to turn back by the militia. On July 9, he orders most of Fairfield burned because its militia shot at the British from within their houses, and on July 11 he burns Norwalk. 1774 | 1775 | 1776 | 1777 | 1778 | 1779 | 1780 | 1781 | 1782 | 1783. Washington addresses mutinous Continental officers at Newburgh, New York. Nathanael Greene replaces Horatio Gates as commander of the American southern army. Washington writes his former aide Colonel John Laurens. Washington writes Congress about the evacuation and about a forthcoming request from British General William Howe to meet with members of Congress. Washington sharply disagrees and defends the actions of Boston's patriots. Washington closes his letter to Jefferson with a full history of Benedict Arnold's defection to the British. Gates's army marches to Camden in hope of surprising the British there but instead runs into them by mistake. Congress resolves to begin preparations for military defense but also sends a petition of reconciliation, the "Olive Branch Petition," to King George III. The Revolution, however, causes a civil war among the Iroquois, and the Oneidas are one of the few tribes to side with the Americans. October 28, Gates's aide, James Wilkinson, had incautiously related the matter over drink in a tavern in Reading, where Stirling was also staying. The capture of this city "would give them the Command of the Country and the Communication with Canada." Washington attends as a delegate from Virginia. Congress gives Washington special powers for six months. The hand-to-hand fighting is so severe that St. Leger's Indian allies abandon him in disgust. Clinton and his forces attack and take Fort Montgomery and make a bayonet attack on Fort Clinton. The Commission is instructed to offer home rule to the Colonies and hopes to begin negotiations before Congress receives news of the Franco-American Treaty (which it does on May 8). He describes the proclamation as having been received by him from the "Sovereign Power of the United States." During the night, General Washington, General Henry Knox, and troops cross the Delaware in freezing winter weather to launch a surprise attack on British and Hessian mercenaries encamped at Trenton. The Iroquois soon return, resettle, and rejoin the British in an retaliatory invasion in the northwest. Clinton does eventually head south, receiving his reinforcements at Cape Fear on March 12.
On September 16, the same unit redeems itself in the battle of Harlem Heights. "If it is really so, it is the most whimsical piece of civility I ever heard."
British General Henry Clinton sends approximately 3,000 troops south under Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell, and a fleet under command of Admiral Hyde Parker is assembled to coordinate an invasion of South Carolina and Georgia with General Augustine Prevost and his regular and loyalist troops in Florida. Congress orders the Board of War to recruit Indians into the Continental Army. George Washington to Anthony Wayne, November 27, 1780 | George Washington, General Orders, November 6, 1780. Washington moves his headquarters to Middlebrook, south of Morristown. In 1759, during the Seven Years War, the French had been driven out of Canada by the British and American colonial forces. George Washington's Revolutionary War Expense Account. April 13, the British begin bombarding the town, and on April 14, Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton and his Legion and loyalist militia defeat Isaac Huger's troops at the battle of Monck's Corner outside the town.
I have grown gray in your service and now find myself growing blind." But the mutineers turn the messengers over to Congress and they are hung as British spies. March 13, Washington writes the Commissioners of Indian Affairs on how he thinks he may employ the Indians recruited. Sullivan's forces include William Maxwell and a New Jersey brigade, Enoch Poor and a New Hampshire brigade, and Edward Hand and Pennsylvania and Maryland troops. British General Henry Clinton begins to move the main part of the British army from Pennsylvania to New York via New Jersey.
George Washington, General Orders, April 6, 1780. Washington's army finishes crossing the Delaware, with the British close behind. George Washington to Congress, October 5, 1775, A British squadron under command of Lieutenant Henry Mowat bombards and burns the Falmouth (Portland, Maine) waterfront after providing inhabitants time to evacuate the area.
Successive commanders of the southern army, Benjamin Lincoln and Nathanael Greene, support the formation of slave regiments in the south but to no avail. The Battle of Blue Licks, in the Appalachian west, the British and their Indian allies, the Wyandot, Ottawa, Ojibwa, Shawnee, Mingo, and Delaware inflict heavy casualties and force the retreat of Daniel Boone and the Kentucky militia.
Prior to the march to King's Mountain, Ferguson sends a threatening message ahead that he will lay waste to the land if its inhabitants do not cease resistance.
Nonetheless, Washington intends to send Maryland and Delaware Continental regiments to the aid of the south.
George Washington to Lafayette, December 31, 1777 | George Washington to Patrick Henry, February 19, 1778 | George Washington to Patrick Henry, March 28, 1778, Washington forwards to governor Nicholas Cooke a letter from General James Varnum advising him that Rhode Island's troop quota should be completed with blacks. The Battle of Oriskany, British Colonel Barry St. Leger and Seneca Indians and loyalists ambush patriot German militia and Oneida Indian allies under command of General Nicholas Herkimer. The officers, most of whom are at the army's headquarters at Newburgh, learn that Congress has rejected the petition. The reprimand recognizes Arnold's "distinguished services to his Country" but describes his conduct in one of the two charges for which he was found guilty "peculiarly reprehensible, both in a civil and military view." While attending the First Continental Congress, Washington responds to a letter from Captain Robert Mackenzie, then in Boston. Debate begins in Congress on the appointment of a commander in chief of Continental forces. Henry Laurens's son, John Laurens is appointed to raise the regiments. On July 1, 1783, Washington submits to the Continental Board of Treasury his expense account. Nonetheless, British General Henry Clinton learns of the mutiny and on January 3 gets messengers through to the Pennsylvania Continentals. Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys, and Benedict Arnold and the Massachusetts and Connecticut militia, take Fort Ticonderoga on the western shore of Lake Champlain, capturing its garrison and munitions. Some slaves represent themselves as free, while others offer themselves as servants to French and American officers. Washington has become personally attached to the young Lafayette. A formal request from Howe is sent to Congress via captured American general, John Sullivan. The Marquis de Lafayette arrives in Philadelphia from France to offer his services to the American cause. There, Major General John Vaughn learns of Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga the previous day. Wayne requests a court martial to clear his name of any dishonor, a not unusual request. Address to the Inhabitants of Canada, September 6, 1775 | George Washington's Revolutionary War Expense Account: September 28, 1775, expenses for printing copies of the "Address" by Ebenezer Gray, Washington writes the Massachusetts General Court, introducing an Oneida Chief who has arrived at the Continental army encampment in Cambridge. British General Thomas Gage declares Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion. British Major General John Vaughn, Commodore Sir James Wallace, and former royal governor of New York, William Tryon, and their forces continue up the Hudson River. He closes by acknowledging the traditional fears of a "standing army" in a republic but urges Congress to consider that the war may be lost without one. January - February, Greene and Cornwallis race to the Dan River on the Virginia border, with Cornwallis failing to catch up in time to cut off Greene and Colonel Otho Williams and their forces. British General John Burgoyne surrenders at Saratoga, to General Horatio Gates, the new commander of the northern army. June 1, the British take Stony Point and Verplank's Point on either side of the river. Washington and Howe correspond regularly in the course of the War, most often about prisoner exchanges. Tthe Americans and Comte d'Estaing's fleet make a combined assault on British-held Savannah, Georgia. George Washington to Congress, September 24, 1776. But "this is a subject that has never employed much of my thoughts," and he describes his opinions as "no more than the first crude Ideas that have struck me upon the occasion." British General Henry Clinton launches another campaign up the Hudson River. Howe has approximately 20,000 troops. George Washington to Congress, October 4, 1779 | George Washington to Comte d'Estaing, October 4, 1779. Early morning, December 26, the attack begins, with Generals Nathanael Greene and John Sullivan leading the infantry assault against the Hessians, commanded by Colonel Johann Rall. Of the approximately 4,000 American troops, only about 700 are left to rejoin Gates at Hillsboro.
Washington declares that these robberies "are as repugnant to the principles of the cause in which we are engaged as oppressive to the inhabitants and subversive of that order and discipline which must Characterize every well regulated army." The Battle of Camden, South Carolina. George Washington to Thomas Jefferson, September 21, 1780. Both forts are on the west side of the Hudson River. Washington, Rochambeau, and de Grasse, meet on the Ville de Paris at Hampton Roads. But the confusion of war allows some slaves an opportunity to gain their freedom in a variety of ways. The Americans and French begin bombarding Yorktown. British Major James Mark Prevost defeats Brigadier General John Ashe and his force at Briar Creek, Georgia. General Benjamin Lincoln surrenders Charleston, South Carolina, to British General Henry Clinton. Virginia rejects James Madison's arguments for enlisting slaves in addition to free blacks, but many enlist anyway, presenting themselves for freedom after the war. April 22, Congress resolves not to engage in negotiations on terms that fall short of complete independence. He is nineteen years old. He is commissioned a major general by Congress and meets Washington on August 1. Washington acknowledges these extraordinary powers, assuring Congress that he will use them to its honor. The British government sends the Carlisle Commission to North America. Washington formally parts from officers at Fraunces Tavern, New York City. George Washington, General Orders, November 12, 1775 | George Washington to Congress, December 31, 1775. Once on the western side of the river, Washington awaits reinforcements. Washington sends out an expedition under command of General John Sullivan. Clinton claims that he intends heading south where he will receive British reinforcements. Congress passes more severe penalties for treason as a result of this case. He is one of the last officer casualties of the war. Washington's gesture defuses the crisis. Referring to the glasses he must wear to read the extract, he says, "Gentleman, you must pardon me. In December 1782, representative officers from each state's Continental line had sent a petition to Congress insisting on immediate payment and suggesting the substitution of lump sums for pensions. General Lord Stirling (William Alexander) of New Jersey writes Washington, enclosing a note that recounts General Thomas Conway's criticisms of Washington and of Conway's preference for Horatio Gates as commander in chief of the Continental Army. The British establish winter camps in various New Jersey locations, with the Hessians primarily at Bordentown and Trenton, and the British regulars at Princeton. Washington writes state governors Jonathan Trumbull (Connecticut), George Clinton (New York), and William Livingston (New Jersey) about reports of the arrival of a French Fleet and of the necessity of preparing the militia and raising food supplies, especially flour. The Franco-American Treaty of Amity and Commerce is signed in Paris. These are often considered the last formal engagements of the Revolutionary War. The British inflict 1000 casualties in a night attack on General Anthony Wayne's Brigade near Paoli's Tavern. Lord Stirling holds out the longest before surrendering the same day. But Washington hopes he will take a favorable report back to his people, with "important Consequences" to the American cause. General William Howe, and his brother, Admiral Richard Howe, arrive in New York harbor from Boston. Washington co-authors with George Mason the Fairfax County Resolves, which protest the British "Intolerable Acts"--punitive legislation passed by the British in the wake of the December 16th, 1773, Boston Tea Party. Forty Iroquois villages and their extensive farms lands and crops have been destroyed. A timeline of George Washington's military and political career during the American Revolution, 1774-1783. After a short battle, Washington's army takes Trenton. Washington, Henry Knox, Lafayette, and aide Colonel Alexander Hamilton arrive not knowing the cause of Arnold's absence and proceed with a review of the fort. Lincoln again refuses and the next evening, after further summons by Clinton, the army, according to German mercenary for the British, Captain Johann von Ewald, "shouted 'Hurrah' three times," opened fire, and all the city's church bells rang out in a seeming frenzy of futile resistance. George Washington to Philip Schuyler, James Duane, and Volkert Douw, March 13, 1778. He offers amnesty for all who lay down their arms--except for Samuel Adams and John Hancock. Washington moves his army to the Hudson above the Highlands of New York. George Washington, General Orders, November 5, 1775 | George Washington to Philip Schuyler, November 5, 1775, Benedict Arnold and Richard Montgomery and their forces join on the St. Lawrence River to attack Quebec. Washington's general orders indicate that there were difficulties in returning slaves to their pre-war status. In response, Benjamin Lincoln and the southern army cross into Georgia. Lincoln's and Prevost's forces move back and forth between Georgia and South Carolina in an attempt to engage each other, but eventually summer heat and illness bring both armies to a standstill. The army is often ill-supplied and sometimes starving. George Washington to Massachusetts General Court, September 28, 1775, Washington writes Congress about the treasonous activities of Dr. Benjamin Church. Howe allows that Washington probably did not order these depredations but requests that he put a stop to them. The Articles of Confederation are ratified by Maryland, the last state to ratify, and can now go into effect. General Orders, July 4, 1775. He estimates the Continental Army to be at a strength of 10,000, of which 2,800 have completed their term of service and more at the end of April.
Congress rejects a proposal for reconciliation from the North Ministry. To prevent them from serving the British instead, he has decided to re-enlist them. Major General Charles Lee and British General Henry Clinton both arrive in New York City on the same day. On January 27, Washington will write Arnold to commiserate with him on the failure of the campaign. The Fairfax Resolves call for non-importation of British goods, support for Boston, and the meeting of a Continental Congress. De Kalb is mortally wounded, and after heavy fighting Gates is forced to retreat by Lord Rawdon and Cornwallis and their forces. Throughout the war, the British attempt to lure Washington into committing his whole army to battles he cannot win, or, into weakening it by sending out detachments to meet British incursions. Lincoln responds with a declaration to fight to the last. George Washington, Circular Letter, September 27, 1779, Washington writes Congress and Comte d'Estaing, who is with his fleet off Georgia or in the West Indies. Cornwallis's army surrenders. In this letter to Henry Knox, Washington writes about the heavy burden of correspondence this attention has generated. In the course of battle, Wayne and Stephen's men fire upon each other in confusion.
After bitter warfare, McIntosh is forced to abandon the forts in June of 1779. July 12, Howe's brother Admiral Richard Howe will arrive in North America with a large fleet of warships. Springfield is burned but the British abandon their position there the same day. The regiment also fights at the battle of Yorktown. Washington writes them that the "States have contended, not unsuccessfully, with one of the most Powerful Kingdoms upon Earth." The proposal is sent to prominent private individuals instead of to Congress and falls short of independence. He and Washington form a close friendship. Washington writes Lafayette December 31, 1777, and Patrick Henry, February 19 and March 28, 1778.