Portal:American Revolutionary War

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Clockwise from top left: Battle of Bunker Hill, Death of Montgomery at Quebec, Battle of Cowpens, "Moonlight Battle"
The American Revolutionary War began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen united former British colonies on the North American continent, and ended in a global war between several European great powers. The war was the culmination of the political American Revolution and intellectual American Enlightenment, whereby the colonists rejected the right of the Parliament of Great Britain to govern them without representation. In 1775, revolutionaries gained control of each of the thirteen colonial governments, set up an alliance called the Second Continental Congress, and formed a Continental Army. Petitions to the king to intervene with the parliament on their behalf resulted in Congress being declared traitors and the states in rebellion the following year. The Americans responded by formally declaring their independence as a new nation, the United States of America, claiming sovereignty and rejecting any allegiance to the British monarchy. In 1777 the Continentals captured a British army, leading to France entering the war on the side of the Americans in early 1778, and evening the military strength with Britain. Spain and the Dutch Republic – French allies – also went to war with Britain over the next two years.

Throughout the war, the British were able to use their naval superiority to capture and occupy coastal cities, but control of the countryside (where 90% of the population lived) largely eluded them due to their relatively small land army. French involvement proved decisive, with a French naval victory in the Chesapeake leading to the surrender of a second British army at Yorktown in 1781. In 1783, the Treaty of Paris ended the war and recognized the sovereignty of the United States over the territory bounded by what is now Canada to the north, Florida to the south, and the Mississippi River to the west.

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Percy Moran's depiction of the Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775 on Breed's Hill, during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War.

On June 13, the leaders of the besieging colonial forces learned that the British generals in Boston were planning to occupy the unoccupied hills around Boston. In response to this intelligence, 1,200 colonial troops under the command of William Prescott stealthily occupied Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill on the night of June 16–17, constructed an earthen redoubt on Breed's Hill, and built lightly fortified lines across most of the Charlestown Peninsula. The British mounted an attack against them the next day. After two of their assaults on the Colonial lines were repulsed with significant casualties, the British finally captured the positions on the third assault after the defenders in the redoubt ran out of ammunition. The Colonial forces retreated to Cambridge over Bunker Hill, suffering their most significant losses on Bunker Hill.

While the result was a victory for the British, they suffered their greatest losses of the entire war: over 800 wounded and 226 killed, including a notably large number of officers. Their immediate objective (the capture of Bunker Hill) was achieved, but did not significantly alter the state of siege. It also demonstrated that relatively inexperienced Colonial forces were willing and able to stand up to well-trained troops in a pitched battle.


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Battle of bunker hill by percy moran.jpg
Battle of Bunker Hill, by Percy Moran
Credit: Sebastian Wallroth
In this depiction of the Battle of Bunker Hill, British Army ranks are advancing on the Breed's Hill redoubt

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Statue of Allen by Larkin Goldsmith Mead
Ethan Allen (January 21, 1738 [O.S. January 10, 1737] – February 12, 1789) was a farmer, businessman, land speculator, philosopher, writer, and American Revolutionary War patriot, hero, and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of the U. S. state of Vermont, and for the Capture of Fort Ticonderoga early in the American Revolutionary War.

Born in rural Connecticut, Allen had a frontier upbringing but also received an education that included some philosophical teachings. In the late 1760s he became interested in the New Hampshire Grants, buying land there and becoming embroiled in the legal disputes surrounding the territory. Legal setbacks led to the formation of the Green Mountain Boys, who Allen led in a campaign of intimidation and property destruction to drive New York settlers from the Grants. When the American Revolutionary War broke out, Allen and the Boys seized the initiative and captured Fort Ticonderoga in May 1775. In September 1775 Allen led a failed attempt on Montreal that resulted in his capture by British authorities. First imprisoned aboard Royal Navy ships, he was paroled in New York City, and finally released in a prisoner exchange in 1778. He returned to the now-independent Vermont Republic, where he continued to be politically active. In addition to continuing resistance to New York's attempts to assert control over the territory, Allen was active in efforts by Vermont's leadership for recognition by Congress, and he participated in controversial negotiations with the British over the possibility of Vermont becoming a separate British province.

Allen wrote accounts of his exploits in the war that were widely read in the 19th century, as well as philosophical treatises and documents relating to the politics of Vermont's formation. His business dealings included successful farming operations, one of Connecticut's early iron works, and land speculation in the Vermont territory. Land purchased by Allen and his brothers included tracts of land that eventually became Burlington, Vermont.


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The Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment, most commonly known as Rawlings' Regiment was a specialized light infantry unit of riflemen in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. It was one of a few rifle units that complemented the predominant, musket-equipped, line infantry forces of the army. Units of the regiment, with their long-range marksmanship capability, were typically deployed with the line infantry as forward skirmishers and flanking elements, and were loosely structured to provide flexibility in tactical situations. Scouting, escort, and outpost duties were also routine.

Organized in 1776, the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment consisted of nine companies—four from Maryland and five from Virginia, and was managed as one of the Continental Army's Extra Continental regiments. Most of the newly formed regiment surrendered to British and German forces at the Battle of Fort Washington on November 16, 1776. Elements of the regiment served with George Washington's Main Army and participated in the army's major engagements of late 1776 through 1778. Select members of the regiment were also attached to Col. Daniel Morgan's elite Provisional Rifle Corps at its inception in mid-1777. The Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment was reorganized in January 1779 and was stationed at Fort Pitt in present-day western Pennsylvania primarily to help in the defense of frontier settlements from British-supported Indian raids. The unit was disbanded in January 1781; it was the longest serving Continental rifle unit of the war.


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From the American Revolutionary War task force of the Military history WikiProject:

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Battle of Monmouth • Battles in {{Campaignbox American Revolutionary War: Gulf Coast}}
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