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March 1776
British retreated from Boston -
Summer of 1776
General Wiliam and Admiral Richard Howe sailed into New York harbor with the largest British expeditionary force ever assembled -
August 27, 1776
Michael Graham described the chaotic withdrawl between Washington and the British -
Late Fall
British pushed Washington's army across thelaware river into Pennsylvania -
Christmas night
Washington resolved to risk everythimg on one stroke -
Spring
General Howe began his campaign to seize the American capital of Philidelphia -
Late August
Battle for New York ended -
October 17
At Saratoga, Burgoyne surrendered his battered army to General Gates -
1777
Valley Forge served as the site of the Continental Army's camp during the winter -
December 31
The few men that remained under Washington's command enlistments were due to end -
Early 1778
The French had secretly sent weapons to the Patriots -
February
French recognized American Independence and signed an alliance, or treaty of cooperation, with the Americans -
February
In the midst of the frozen winter at Valley Forge, American troops began an amazing transformation -
Summer
British began to shift their operations to the South -
Spring
A royal governor once again commanded Georgia -
1779
Marquis de Lafayette joined Washington's staff and bore the misery of Valley Forge, lobbied for the French reinforcements in France -
End of 1779
British expedition easily took Savannah, Georgia -
May
British captured Charles Tow, South Carolina and marched 5500 American soldiers off as prisoners of war -
1780
General Henry Clinton and Charles Cornwallis sailed south with 8500 men -
1780
A French army of 6000 had landed in Newport, Rhode Island after the British left the city to focus on the South -
August
Cornwallis's army smashed American forces at Camden, South Carolina -
November
Within 3 months the British had established forts across the state -
January 1781
When the forces met in Cowpens, South Carolina, the British expected the outnumbered Americans to flee, but the Continental Army fought back and forced the redcoats to surrender -
April 3
Greene wrote a letter to Lafayette asking for help -
1781
The Congress appointed a rich Philadelphia merchant named Robert Morris as superintendent of finance -
September 8
Troops were finally paid in specie, or gold coins -
October 17
With his troops outnumbered by more than two to one and exhausted from constant shelling, Cornwallis finally raised the white flag of surrender -
October 19
Colonel William Fontaine of the Virginia militia stood with the American and French armies lining a road near Yorktown, Virginia -
1782
Peace talks began in Paris -
September !783
Delegates signed the Treaty of Paris, which confirmed U.S. Independence and set new boundaries of the new nation.
