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Timeline of the Revolutionary War

The French and Indian War June 19–July 11: The Albany Congress
Oct. 7: Proclamation of 1763
April 5: The Sugar Act
September 1: The Currency Act
March 22: The Stamp Act
March 24: The Quartering Act of 1765
May 29: Patrick Henry's "If this be treason, make the most of it!" speech
May 30: The Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions
Oct. 7–25: The Stamp Act Congress
March 18: The Declaratory Act
June 29: The Townshend Revenue Act
August 1: Boston Non-Importation Agreement
March 5: The Boston Massacre June 9: The Gaspee Affair May 10: The Tea Act Dec. 16: The Boston Tea Party March 31: Boston Port Act, one of the "Intolerable Acts"
May 20: Administration of Justice Act, one of the "Intolerable Acts"
May 20: Massachusetts Government Act, one of the "Intolerable Acts"
June 2: Quartering Act of 1774, one of the "Intolerable Acts"
June 22: Quebec Act, one of the "Intolerable Acts"
Sept. 5–Oct. 26: The First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia and issues Declaration and Resolves
Oct. 10: Battle of Point Pleasant, Virginia (disputed as to whether it was a battle of the American Revolution or the culmination of Lord Dunmore's War)
Oct. 20: The Association (prohibition of trade with Great Britain)
Oct. 24: Galloway's Plan rejected
March 23: Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death" speech
Apr. 18: The Rides of Paul Revere and William Dawes
Apr. 19: Minutemen and redcoats clash at Lexington and Concord, "the shot heard 'round the world."
May 10: Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys seize Fort Ticonderoga
May 10: The Second Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia
June 15: George Washington named Commander-in-Chief
June 17: Battle of Bunker Hill: The British drive the Americans from Breed's Hill
July 3: Washington assumes command of the Continental Army
Nov. 13: Richard Montgomery's Continental Army forces occupy Montreal in Canada
Dec. 11: Virginia and NC patriots rout Loyalist troops and burn Norfolk
Dec. 22: Colonel Thomson with 1,500 rangers and militia capture Loyalists at Great Canebrake, SC
Dec. 23–30: Snow Campaign, in SC, so called because patriots are impeded by 15" of snow
Dec. 30–31: American forces under Benedict Arnold fail to seize Quebec
Jan. 1: Daniel Morgan is taken prisoner during his attempt to take Quebec City
Jan. 15: Paine's Common Sense published
Feb. 27: Revolutionaries drive the loyalists from Moore's Creek Bridge, North Carolina
March 3: The Continental fleet captures New Providence Island in the Bahamas
March 17: The British evacuate Boston; British Navy moves to Halifax, Canada
June 8: Revolutionaries fail to take Three Rivers, Quebec
June 12: The Virginia Declaration of Rights
June 28: Sullivan's Island, SC, failed British naval attack
June 29: The First Virginia Constitution
June 28: American forces decisively defeat the British Navy at Fort Moultrie, South Carolina
July 1: At the instigation of British agents, the Cherokee attack along the entire southern frontier
July 1–4: Congress debates and revises the Declaration of Independence. See Chronology of the Declaration
July 4: Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence; it's sent to the printer
July 8: The Declaration of Independence is read publicly
July 15: Lyndley's Fort, SC, Patriots fend off attack by Indians and Tories dressed as Indians
Aug. 1: Ambushed by Cherokees, Patriots are saved by a mounted charge at Seneca, SC
Aug. 2: Delegates begin to sign The Declaration of Independence
Aug. 10: Tugaloo River, SC, Andrew Pickens defeats Cherokees
Aug. 12: Andrew Pickens' detachment surrounded by 185 Cherokee Indians, forms a ring and fires outward. It is known as the "Ring Fight."
Aug. 12: Colonel David Williamson and Andrew Pickens burn Tamassy, an Indian town
Aug. 27: Redcoats defeat George Washington's army in the Battle of Long Island. Washington's army escapes at night.
Sept. 15: The British occupy New York City
Sept. 16: Generals George Washington, Nathanael Greene, and Israel Putnam triumphantly hold their ground at the Battle of Harlem Heights
Sept. 19: Colonel David Williamson's Pennsylvania militia forces attacked by Cherokees at Coweecho River, NC
Oct. 11: Benedict Arnold defeated at the Battle of Valcour Island (Lake Champlain), but delayed British advance
Oct. 28: The Americans retreat from White Plains, New York. British casualties (~300) higher than American (~200).
Nov. 16: The Hessians capture Fort Washington, NY
Nov. 20: Lord Cornwallis captures Fort Lee from Nathanael Greene
Dec. 26: Washington crosses the Delaware and captures Trenton from Hessians
Jan. 3: Washington victorious at Princeton
Jan. 6–May 28: Washington winters in Morristown, NJ
Apr. 27: Benedict Arnold's troops force a British retreat at Ridgefield, Connecticut.
May 20: Treaty of DeWitt's Corner, SC: Cherokees lose most of their land east of the mountains
June 14: Flag Resolution
July 5: St. Clair surrenders Fort Ticonderoga to the British
July 27: Lafayette arrives in Philadelphia
Aug. 6: The Redcoats, with Iroquois support, force the patriots back at Oriskany, NY, but then have to evacuate
Aug. 16: American Militia under General Stark victorious at the Battle of Bennington, VT (actually fought in Walloomsac, New York, several miles to the west)
Aug. 23: British withdraw from Fort Stanwix, NY, upon hearing of Benedict Arnold's approach
Aug. 25: British General Howe lands at Head of Elk, Maryland
Sept. 11: The British win the Battle of Brandywine, Pennsylvania
Sept. 16: Rainout at the Battle of the Clouds, Pennsylvania
Sept. 19: Burgoyne checked by Americans under Gates at Freeman's Farm, NY. This is part of the "Battles of Saratoga."
Sept. 21: Paoli Massacre, PA
Sept. 26: British under Howe occupy Philadelphia
Oct. 4: Americans driven off at the Battle of Germantown
Oct. 7: Burgoyne loses second battle of Freeman's Farm, NY (at Bemis Heights). This is part of the "Battles of Saratoga."
Oct. 17: Burgoyne surrenders to American General Gates at Saratoga, NY
Oct. 22: Hessian attack on Fort Mercer, NJ repulsed
Nov. 16: British capture Fort Mifflin, Pennsylvania
Dec. 5–7: Americans repulse British at Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania
Dec. 19: Washington's army retires to winter quarters at Valley Forge
Feb. 6: The United States and France sign the French Alliance
March 7: British General William Howe replaced by Henry Clinton
May 20: Battle of Barren Hill, Pennsylvania. Lafayette with 500 men and about 50 Oneida Indians successfully evade British onslaught
June 18: British abandon Philadelphia and return to New York
June 19: Washington's army leaves Valley Forge
June 28: The Battle of Monmouth Court House ends in a draw
July 4: George Rogers Clark captures Kaskaskia, a French village south of St. Louis
Aug. 8: French and American forces besiege Newport, RI
Sept. 28: The Tappan Massacre ("No Flint" Grey kills 30 Americans by bayonet)
Dec. 29: The redcoats occupy Savannah
Feb. 3: Major General Moultrie defeats British detachment at Port Royal Island, SC
Feb. 14: Patriots Andrew Pickens and Elijah Clarke beat Loyalists at Kettle Creek, GA
Feb. 23–24: American George Rogers Clark captures Vincennes (in what is now Indiana) on the Wabash in the Western campaign
March 3: British Lt. Colonel Jacques Marcus Prévost defeats Americans under General John Ashe at Brier Creek, GA
May 11–13: Major General Augustin Prévost (brother of Jacques, see above) breaks his siege when American forces under Major General Lincoln approach
June 20: Stono River, SC, Major General Lincoln inflicts extensive British casualties in indecisive battle
June 21: Spain declares war on Great Britain July 8: Fairfield, CT, burned by British July 11: Norwalk, CT, burned by British July 15–16: American "Mad" Anthony Wayne captures Stony Point, NY
Aug. 19: Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee attacks Paulus Hook, NJ
Aug. 29: Newtown, NY, after two massacres, American forces burn Indian villages
Sept. 23: John Paul Jones, aboard the Bonhomme Richard, captures British man-of-war Serapis near English coast
Oct. 9: American attempt to recapture Savannah, GA fails
Nov.–June 23, 1780: Washington's 2nd winter at Morristown, NJ (the harshest winter of the 18th century)
May 12: British capture Charleston, SC
May 29: British crush Americans at Waxhaw Creek, SC
June 20: Patriots rout Tories at Ramseur's Mill, NC
July 11: French troops arrive at Newport, RI, to aid the American cause
Aug. 6: Patriots defeat Tories at Hanging Rock, SC
Aug. 16: British rout Americans at Camden, SC
Sept. 23: John André arrested, leading to the exposure of Benedict Arnold's plans to cede West Point to the British
Oct. 7: King's Mountain, SC: battle lasts 65 minutes. American troops led by Isaac Shelby and John Sevier defeat Major Patrick Ferguson and one third of General Cornwallis's army
Oct. 14: Washington names Nathanael Greene commander of the Southern Army
Jan. 1: Mutiny of unpaid Pennsylvania soldiers
Jan. 17: American General Daniel Morgan overwhelmingly defeats British Colonel Tarleton at Cowpens, SC
Feb. 1: The Battle of Cowan's Ford, Huntersville, NC
March 2: Articles of Confederation adopted
March 15: British win costly victory at Guilford Courthouse, NC
April 25: Greene defeated at Hobkirk's Hill, SC
May 15: British Major Andrew Maxwell cedes Fort Granby, SC to Lieutenant Colonel Henry Lee
June 6: Americans recapture Augusta, GA
June 18: British hold off Americans at Ninety Six, SC
July 6: "Mad" Anthony Wayne repulsed at Green Springs Farm, VA
Sept. 8: Greene defeated at Eutaw Springs, SC
Sept. 15: French fleet drives British naval force from Chesapeake Bay
Oct. 19: Cornwallis surrounded on land and sea by Americans and French and surrenders at Yorktown, VA
March 8: Gnadenhutten massacre, a.k.a. the Moravian massacre.
March 20: Lord North resigns as British prime minister
July 11: British evacuate Savannah, GA
Nov. 30: British and Americans sign preliminary Articles of Peace
Dec. 14: British leave Charleston, SC
April 19: Congress ratifies preliminary peace treaty
Sept. 3: The United States and Great Britain sign the Treaty of Paris
Nov. 25: British troops leave New York City
Dec. 23: Washington resigns as Commander
Sept. 17: U.S. Constitution signed
June 21: U.S. Constitution adopted, when New Hampshire ratifies it

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