REVOLUTIONARY
WAR TIMELINE

1754	Albany Conference takes place. Colonies reject a proposal by Benjamin Franklin suggesting that all colonies cooperate in self-defense against the French and Indians.
1754–1761	French and Indian War, also called the Seven Years’ War, causes havoc for the colonists. French and Indians attack the colonial frontier. Most of the defense of the colonies is provided by the colonial militia.
1762–1763	Chief Pontiac leads what will become known as Pontiac’s Rebellion, causing the British government to forbid white settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains
1764	Parliament passes the Sugar Act, placing a tax on molasses, a commodity vital to New England. The New England colonies distill the molasses into the rum that is taken to Africa to be traded for slaves, who are in turn taken to the Caribbean to be traded for more molasses.
1765	Stamp Act requires a revenue stamp on all sorts of documents, thus creating yet more taxes.
1766	In the face of colonial opposition, the British Parliament repeals the Sugar and Stamp Acts.
1767	Parliament imposes the Townshend Duties, a tax on paint, paper, lead, glass, and tea. This tax is paid in Britain by the exporter, but the colonists know they will have the tax passed on to them in the form of higher prices.
1768	Violent antitax protests break out in Boston and other towns. Troops are sent to Boston to maintain order.
1770	The Boston Massacre occurs when British troops fire on an unruly crowd. Four citizens of Boston are killed.
1771	Troops are withdrawn from Boston, and the Town-shend Duties are repealed, except for the tax on tea.
1773	A bumper crop of tea makes that item a bargain even with the tax. The Sons of Liberty in Boston dump tea overboard in what becomes known as the Boston Tea Party.
	Parliament passes the Intolerable Acts to punish Boston.
1774	British troops return to Boston to maintain order.
1775	War officially begins on April 19 at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts; Minutemen besiege Boston.
	Battle of Bunker Hill takes place.
	George Washington is made commander of the Continental Army.
	Siege of Boston continues.
1776	Henry Knox brings cannons to Boston from Fort Ticonderoga. British army evacuates Boston. Washington moves the Continental Army to New York City. British attack Charleston, South Carolina, and are defeated. Colonies declare independence. Washington is defeated at New York City, and the Patriot army loses heavily in men and material. Battle of Trenton takes place.
1777	Battle of Princeton takes place. Battle of Brandywine Creek takes place. The British capture Philadelphia, the Patriot capital. Washington retreats to Valley Forge. A Patriot force at Saratoga, New York, forces a British army led by Gen. John Burgoyne to surrender.
1778	Gen. Wilhelm von Steuben trains the Continental Army at Valley Forge. Battle of Monmouth Courthouse takes place. The Continental Army stands its ground in the open field for the first time. The war in the north comes to a stalemate—Washington’s men are in New Jersey, and the British are in New York City.
1779	British attempt to overrun the southern colonies. Savannah, Georgia, is captured by the British. Augusta, Georgia, is captured by the British.
1780	Charleston, South Carolina, is captured by the British. Battle of Camden takes place. The Patriots are defeated. Battle of Kings Mountain takes place. The Patriot forces win.
1781	Patriots win the Battle of Cowpens. Siege of Yorktown takes place. Lord Cornwallis is forced to surrender to Washington when the British fleet is turned back by the French at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. Peace negotiations begin.
1782	Patriot forces fighting in the South continue to take back British-controlled territory; peace negotiations are ongoing.
1783	Congress ratifies the Treaty of Paris on April 19, ending the war exactly eight years after it began.