CHRONOLOGY

1775

  • Second Continental Congress convenes.

  • Battle of Bunker Hill fought.

  • Olive Branch Petition sent to British king.

  • Battle of Quebec fought.

    • 1776

  • Common Sense published.

  • British evacuate Boston.

  • Declaration of Independence written.

  • British take Manhattan.

    • 1777

  • British Parliament suspends habeas corpus.

  • Ambush takes place at Oriskany; Americans hold Fort Stanwix.

  • British occupy Philadelphia.

  • British surrender at Saratoga.

    • 1777–1778

  • Continental army winters at Valley Forge.

    • 1778

  • France signs treaty with America.

  • British take Savannah, Georgia.

    • 1779

  • Militias attack Cherokee west of North Carolina.

  • Americans destroy Iroquois villages in New York.

  • Americans take Forts Kaskaskia and Vincennes.

    • 1780

  • Philadelphia Ladies Association raises money for soldiers.

  • British lay siege to Charleston, South Carolina.

  • French army arrives in Newport, Rhode Island.

  • British win battle of Camden.

  • Benedict Arnold exposed as traitor.

  • Americans win battle of King’s Mountain.

    • 1781

  • British forces invade Virginia.

  • French blockade Chesapeake Bay.

  • Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown.

    • 1783

  • Treaty of Paris ends war.