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Live Free Or Die

Live free or die

"Live free or die" is the official motto of New Hampshire, adopted by the state Legislature in 1945. It is probably the best-known of all state mottos, partly because it speaks to an aggressive independence inherent in the American dream, and partly because of its contrast to the mild sentiments usually found in such slogans. The phrase comes from a toast written by Gen. John Stark in July 31, 1809. Poor health had forced Stark, New Hampshire's most famous soldier of the American Revolutionary War, to decline an invitation to an anniversary reunion of the Battle of Bennington. Instead he sent the toast, which said in full: "Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils." A similar motto from the American Revolutionary War was "Unite or Die". A possible source of both mottoes is Patrick Henry's famed March 23, 1775 speech to the House of Burgesses (the legislative body of the Virginia colony), which contained the following line: :Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death! Similar mottos exist around the world. "Ελευθερια η Θανατος" (Eleutheria i thanatos — "Liberty or Death") is the national motto of Greece and comes from the motto of the Greek War of Independence (1821–1830).

Legal battle

In 1971, the New Hampshire Legislature mandated that the phrase appear on all non-commercial license plates, replacing "Scenic." In 1977, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of Wooley v. Maynard, 430 U.S. 705, that New Hampshire could not prosecute motorists who chose to hide part or all of the slogan on license plates. George Maynard, a Jehovah's Witness, cut off "or die" from his plate for religious reasons, and was convicted of breaking the state law that required the motto. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6–3 in his favor, saying the law required people to "use their private property as a 'mobile billboard' for the State's ideological message," and that the state's interest did not outweigh free speech principles. The case drew widespread attention, partly because of the irony involved with a government denying somebody the freedom to change a slogan that celebrates freedom.

Use in Unix

Live Free or Die is popular among the geek set, a group which also cherishes its independence. This popularity dates to the 1980s, when Armando Stettner of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) had a set of Unix license plates printed up and given away at a Usenix conference. They were modeled on the license plates in New Hampshire, where DEC's Unix Engineering Group (UEG) was headquarted. Stettner lived in New Hampshire at the time and owned a Toyota Celica Supra with the vanity license plate UNIX. Unfortunately the Celica was stolen, but Armando always the comedian, sent out an email to the entire UEG organization titled "Unix has been stolen". Later, when DEC came out with their own Unix version, Ultrix, they followed Stettner's lead and printed up a legion of Ultrix plates that were distributed at trade shows. Category:Political slogans Category:Mottos Category:State mottos of the United States

List of U.S. state mottos

Here is a list of state mottos for the states of the United States. To promote tourism, states also establish state slogans, which are unofficial and change more often than state mottos. A separate list of U.S. state slogans is also available, as well as a list of U.S. state nicknames. Mottos for countries are listed separately.

See also


- Lists of U.S. state insignia United States state mottos Category:Mottos Mottos
-

Links

http://www.cco.net/~paz/motto&songs.htm

Independence

:For other uses, see Independence (disambiguation) Independence is fully autonomous self-government of a nation or state by its residents and population, generally exercising sovereignty. The term independence is used in contrast to subjugation, which refers to a region as a "territory" —subject to the political and military control of an external government. The word is sometimes used in a weaker sense to contrast with hegemony, the indirect control of one nation by another, more powerful nation. Independence can be the initial status of an emerging nation (often filling a political void), but is often an emancipation from some dominating power. It can be argued that independence is a negative definition: the state of not being controlled by another power through colonialism or imperialism. Independence may be obtained by decolonization, or by separation or dismemberment. Although the last three can often coincide with it, they are not to be confused with revolution, which typically refers to the violent overthrow of a ruling authority. This sometimes only aims to redistribute power—with or without an element of emancipation, such as in democratization—within a state, which as such may remain unaltered. The Russian October Revolution, for example, was not intended to seek national independence; the United States Revolutionary War, however, was. Autonomy (in slight contrast) refers to a kind of independence which has been granted by an overseeing authority that itself still retains ultimate authority over that territory. A protectorate refers to an autonomous region that depends upon a larger government, for its protection as an autonomous region. The dates of established independence (or, to a lesser degree, the commencement of revolution), are typically celebrated as a national holiday known as an independence day. Sometimes, a state wishing to achieve independence from a dominating power will issue a declaration of independence, the most famous of which is the U.S. Declaration of Independence issued in 1776.

See also


- List of countries by date of nationhood
- Wars of independence
- Independence constitution

Article note

The dates of independence, as they have been ported into many articles from the CIA World Factbook are defined as follows: :For most countries, [the given date is that] when sovereignty was achieved...For the other countries, the date given may not represent "independence" in the strict sense, but rather some significant nationhood event such as the traditional founding date or the date of unification, federation, confederation, establishment, or fundamental change in the form of government, such as state succession. Category:Freedom ja:独立 th:เอกราช

American Dream

The American Dream is the idea (often associated with the Protestant work ethic) held by many in the United States of America that through hard work, courage and determination one can achieve prosperity. These were values held by many early European settlers, and have been passed on to subsequent generations. What the American Dream has become is a question under constant discussion, and some believe that it has led to an overemphasis on comparative material wealth as the only measure of success and happiness. The origin of the American Dream stems from the departure in government and economics from the models of the Old World. This allowed unprecedented freedom, especially the possibility of dramatic upward social mobility. Additionally, from the Revolutionary War well into the later half of the nineteenth century, many of America's physical resources were unclaimed and held out the promise of land ownership and lucky investment in land or industry. The development of the Industrial Revolution combined with the great natural resources of the enormous and as yet unsettled continent created the possibility of achieving wealth. Many early American prospectors headed west of the Rocky Mountains to buy acres of cheap land in hopes of finding deposits of gold. The American Dream was a driving factor not only in the gold rushes of the mid to late 1800s, but also in the waves of immigration throughout that century and the following. Impoverished western Europeans escaping the Irish potato famines in Ireland, the Highland clearances in Scotland and the aftermath of Napoleon in the rest of Europe came to America to escape a poor quality of life at home. They wanted to embrace the promise of financial security and constitutional freedom they had heard existed so widely in the United States. During the mid-to-late ninteenth century prolific dime novel writer Horatio Alger, Jr. became famous for his novels that idealized the American Dream. His novels about down-and-out bootblacks who were able to achieve wealth and success helped entrench the dream within popular culture. Nearing the twentieth century, major industrialist personalities became the new model of the American Dream, many beginning life in the humblest of conditions but later controlling enormous corporations and fortunes. Perhaps most notable here were the great American capitalists Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller. This acquisition of great wealth appeared to demonstrate that if you had talent, intelligence, and a willingness to work extremely hard, you were likely to be a success in life as a result. Throughout the 19th century, immigrants fled the monarchies of Western Europe and their post-feudal economies, which actively oppressed the peasant class. These economic systems required high levels of taxation, which stymied development. The American economy, however, was built up by people who were consciously free of these constraints. Settlement in the new world provided hope for egalitarianism. Martin Luther King invoked the American Dream in what is perhaps his most famous speech: :"Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends. And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American Dream." etc. etc.

Immigration

The American Dream, along with escape from persecution or war in one's home country, has always been the primary reason for immigrants wanting to come to America. Throughout its history, America has been seen as a place where the streets are paved with gold, and life is handed to you on a silver platter. By the turn of the 20th century, the promise of the American Dream had begun to lure substantial numbers of immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe. Huge numbers of Italians, Poles, Greeks, Jews, Russians and others came to find work in industrial cities such as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Detroit. This wave of immigration continued until the outbreak of World War I. Following the war, nativist sentiment led to new restrictions on immigration, which would continue until 1965 The American Dream appears to have enduring appeal to many in other countries. The United States remains a magnet for immigrants today, receiving 1 million legal entrants annually--the highest such rate in the world. Whereas past generations of immigrants tended to come from Europe, a majority of contemporary immigrants hail from Latin America and Asia. Unknown numbers of undocumented immigrants also enter the country annually, chiefly from across the southern border with Mexico.

The American Dream today

In the 20th century, the American Dream had its challenges. The Depression caused widespread hardship during the Thirties, and was almost a reverse of the dream for those directly affected. Racial instability did not disappear, and in some parts of the country racial violence was almost commonplace. There was concern about the undemocratic campaign known as McCarthyism carried on against suspected Communists. Since the end of World War II, young American families have sought to live in relative comfort and stability in the suburbs that were built up around major cities. This led to the rise of the relatively conservative 1950s, when many pursued the "perfect family" as a part or consequence of the American Dream. This period was shattered by a new generation of young people who embraced the hippie values of the 1960s, denying traditional values such as the American Dream. In modern times, the American Dream is seen as a possible accomplishment, as all children can go to school and get an education. Though the drive to it waned during those years, the dream itself has never died out.

Criticism

The concept of the American Dream has been the subject of much criticism by, for example, Joseph Stiglitz. The main criticism is that the American Dream is misleading. These critics say that, for various reasons, it simply is not possible for everyone to become prosperous through determination and hard work alone. The consequences of this belief can include the poor feeling that it is their fault that they are not successful. It can also result in less effort towards helping the poor since their poverty is seen as "proof" of their laziness. The concept of the American Dream also ignores other factors of success such as the family and wealth one is born into and inheritable traits such as intelligence (although proponents of the dream would claim that starting wealth is irrelevant because of the belief that there is no level of poverty one cannot rise from with hard work). The American Dream is seen by critics as being somewhat superficial or meaningless. Many literary works level exactly that criticism at the American Dream, such as Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman. The play, a classic American work of literature, finds the main character Willy Loman struggling to come to grips with the fact that his American Dream is unattainable. Such arguments are essentially rehashes of the old adage "Money doesn't buy happiness", and that perhaps not everyone's dream should be to achieve great monetary gain. In particular some of the reasons the whole concept seems a myth to some are:
- In the U.S. it is sometimes difficult for children of poor families to attend college despite widely available financial aid; not attending college sets upper limits on their career success, and it is difficult to earn a bachelors' degree — necessary for many fields — in one's free time once one begins working full-time.
- Limited economic mobility - The affluent have sometimes managed to convince the government to work to their advantage. For example, the recent repeal of inheritance tax and capital gains tax may work to further solidify the class system.
- Economies of scale - It can be difficult to successfully start a business. One reason is because of the economies of scale necessary to survive in a commoditized market -- though many markets today are not commoditized.
- Genetic lottery - Some may point at a few people like Steve Jobs who have made it big, yet research has suggested that features like height and race may give certain people some advantages over others.
- Ethics difference - As in other countries, actions considered ethical vary between Americans. For example, a CEO who sees certain stock options as excessive monetary gain would find it harder to reach his or her American Dream than a more pragmatic CEO.

See also


- American studies
- Immigration to the United States of America

External links


- BBC News article, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4159974.stm Stark reality of the American dream].
- [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/06/AR2005090601923_pf.html How the American Dream Turned Into a Middle-Class Nightmare]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/4265454.stm American dream eludes the poorest] Category:American culture

July 31

July 31 is the 212th day (213th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 153 days remaining, as the final day of July.

Events


- 781 - The oldest recorded eruption of Mt. Fuji (Traditional Japanese date: July 6, 781)
- 1009 - Pietro Boccapecora becomes Pope Sergius IV
- 1423 - Hundred Years War: Battle of Cravant - The French army is defeated at Cravant on the banks of the river Yonne.
- 1498 - On his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to discover the island of Trinidad.
- 1588 - The Spanish Armada is spotted off the coast of England.
- 1667 - The Treaty of Breda ends the Second Anglo-Dutch War.
- 1703 - Daniel Defoe is placed in a pillory for the crime of seditious libel after publishing a politically satirical pamphlet, but is pelted with flowers.
- 1777 - The US Congress passed a resolution that services of Marquis de Lafayette "be accepted, and that, in consideration of his zeal, illustrious family and connexions, he have the rank and commission of major-general of the United States."
- 1790 - First US patent issued; granted to inventor Samuel Hopkins for a potash process.
- 1856 - Christchurch, New Zealand chartered as a city.
- 1917 - The Third Battle of Ypres starts in Flanders.
- 1919 - German national assembly adopts the Weimar constitution (to enter into force August 14)
- 1930 - The radio mystery program The Shadow airs for the first time.
- 1936 - The International Olympic Committee announces that the 1940 Summer Olympics were to be held in Tokyo. However, the games were given back to the IOC after the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out, and were eventually cancelled altogether because of World War II.
- 1941 - Holocaust: Under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Nazi official Hermann Göring, orders SS general Reinhard Heydrich to "submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired final solution of the Jewish question."
- 1945 - Pierre Laval, fugitive former leader of Vichy France, surrenders to Allied soldiers in Austria.
- 1948 - At Idlewild Field in New York, New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) is dedicated.
- 1951 - Japan Airlines is established.
- 1954 - First ascent of K2, by an Italian expedition led by Ardito Desio.
- 1956 - Jim Laker sets extraordinary record at Old Trafford in the fourth Test of taking nineteen wickets in a first-class match (the previous best was seventeen.
- 1961 - At Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, the first All-Star Game tie in major league baseball history occurs when the game is stopped in the 9th inning due to rain.
- 1964 - Ranger program: Ranger 7 sends back the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes).
- 1971 - Apollo program: Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover.
- 1973 - A Delta Air Lines jetliner crashes while landing in fog at Logan Airport, Boston, Massachusetts killing 89
- 1975 - In Detroit, Michigan, Teamsters Union president Jimmy Hoffa is reported missing.
- 1976 - NASA releases the famous Face on Mars photo, taken by Viking 1
- 1987 - A rare, class F-4 tornado rips through Edmonton, Alberta, killing 27 people and causing $330 million in damage.
- 1992 - A Thai Airways Airbus A300-310 crashes into mountain south of Kathmandu, Nepal killing 113.
- 1996 - MIL-STD-1750A is declared inactive for use in new designs.
- 1999 - NASA intentionally crashes the Lunar Prospector spacecraft into the Moon, thus ending its mission to detect frozen water on the moon's surface.

Births


- 1143 - Emperor Nijo of Japan (d. 1165)
- 1396 - Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1467)
- 1527 - Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, (d. 1576)
- 1598 - Alessandro Algardi, Italian sculptor and architect (d. 1654)
- 1702 - Jean Denis Attiret, French Jesuit missionary and painter (d. 1768)
- 1704 - Gabriel Cramer, Swiss mathematician (d. 1752)
- 1718 - John Canton, English physicist (d. 1772)
- 1724 - Noël François de Wailly, French lexicographer (d. 1801)
- 1803 - John Ericsson, Swedish inventor and engineer (d. 1889)
- 1816 - George Henry Thomas, American general (d. 1870)
- 1835 - Henri Brisson, French statesman (d. 1912)
- 1843 - Peter Rosegger, Austrian poet (d. 1918)
- 1860 - Mary Vaux Walcott, American artist and naturalist (d. 1940)
- 1887 - Hans Freyer, German sociologist (d. 1969)
- 1901 - Jean Dubuffet, French painter and sculptor (d. 1985)
- 1904 - Brett Halliday, American writer (d. 1977)
- 1911 - George Liberace, American musician (d. 1983)
- 1912 - Milton Friedman, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1912 - Irv Kupcinet, American newspaper columnist (d. 2003)
- 1914 - Louis de Funès, French actor and comedian (d. 1983)
- 1916 - Bill Todman, American game show producer (d. 1979)
- 1918 - Paul D. Boyer, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1918 - Hank Jones, American pianist
- 1919 - Curt Gowdy, American sports announcer
- 1919 - Primo Levi, Italian author and chemist (d. 1987)
- 1921 - Whitney Young, American civil rights activist (d. 1971)
- 1923 - Ahmet Ertegun, Turkish-born record company executive
- 1929 - Don Murray, American actor
- 1929 - José Santamaria, Uruguayan footballer
- 1930 - Oleg Popov, Russian clown
- 1931 - Kenny Burrell, American guitarist
- 1933 - Cees Nooteboom, Dutch writer
- 1939 - France Nuyen, French actress
- 1941 - Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician
- 1943 - William Bennett, U.S. Secretary of Education
- 1943 - Susan Flannery, American actress
- 1944 - Geraldine Chaplin, American actress
- 1944 - Robert Carhart Merton, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1946 - Bob Welch, American musician
- 1950 - Steve Miller, American writer
- 1951 - Evonne Goolagong, Australian tennis player
- 1951 - Barry Van Dyke, American actor
- 1952 - Alan Autry, American football player, actor, and Mayor of Fresno, California
- 1952 - Helmuts Balderis, Latvian hockey player
- 1952 - João Barreiros, Portuguese writer
- 1958 - Bill Berry, American musician (R.E.M.)
- 1958 - Mark Cuban, American businessman, producer, and basketball team owner
- 1959 - Stanley Jordan, American jazz guitarist
- 1962 - Wesley Snipes, American actor
- 1962 - Kevin Greene, professional American football player
- 1964 - Jim Corr, Irish singer and musician (The Corrs)
- 1965 - John Laurinaitis, American professional wrestler
- 1965 - J. K. Rowling, English novelist
- 1966 - Dean Cain, American actor
- 1967 - Minako Honda, Japanese singer and musical actress (d. 2005)
- 1969 - David Cash (Kid Kash), American professional wrestler
- 1971 - Gus Frerotte, American football player
- 1974 - Emilia Fox, English actress
- 1974 - Jonathan Ogden, American football player
- 1976 - Annie Parisse, American actress
- 1977 - Tim Couch, American football player
- 1978 - Justin Wilson, English race car driver
- 1979 - Jade Kwan, Hong Kong actress
- 1979 - Per Kroldrup, Danish footballer
- 1981 - Ira Losco, Maltese singer
- 1981 - M. Shadows, American Singer (Avenged Sevenfold)

Deaths


- 1099 - El Cid, Spanish warrior (b. 1044)
- 1108 - King Philip I of France (b. 1052)
- 1396 - William Courtenay, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1342)
- 1508 - Na'od, Emperor of Ethiopia (killed in battle) (b. 1494)
- 1547 - King Francis I of France (b. 1494)
- 1556 - Ignatius Loyola, Spanish priest and founder of the Jesuits
- 1653 - Thomas Dudley, Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony (b. 1576)
- 1726 - Nicolaus II Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (b. 1695)
- 1750 - King John V of Portugal (b. 1689)
- 1784 - Denis Diderot, French philosopher and encylopedist (b. 1713)
- 1875 - Andrew Johnson, 17th President of the United States (b. 1808)
- 1886 - Franz Liszt, Hungarian composer (b. 1811)

1900 to Present


- 1914 - Jean Jaurès, French politician (d. 1859)
- 1917 - Francis Ledwidge, Irish poet (b. 1881)
- 1944 - Antoine de Saint-Exupery, French pilot and writer (b. 1900)
- 1953 - Robert Taft, U.S. Senator from Ohio and Presidential candidate (b. 1889)
- 1972 - Paul-Henri Spaak, Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1899)
- 1980 - Mohd. Rafi, Indian playback singer (b. 1924)
- 1993 - King Baudouin I of Belgium (b. 1930)
- 2001 - Poul Anderson, American author (b. 1926)
- 2003 - Guido Crepax, Italian comics artist (b. 1933)
- 2005 - Wim Duisenberg, Dutch banker and 1st president of the European Central Bank (b. 1935)

Holidays and observances


- La Hae Hawai‘i - Hawaiian Flag Day
- Republic of the Congo - Upswing of the Revolution
- Feast day of Saint Ignatius of Loyola

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/31 BBC: On This Day] ---- July 30 - August 1 - June 30 - August 31 -- listing of all days ko:7월 31일 ms:31 Julai ja:7月31日 simple:July 31 th:31 กรกฎาคม

1809

1809 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar).

Events


- January 5 - Treaty of Dardanelles between Britain and France concluded
- January 16 - Peninsular War: The British defeat the French at the Battle of Corunna.
- February 3 - Illinois Territory was created.
- February 8 - Franz I of Austria declares war on France
- February 11 - Robert Fulton patents the steamboat.
- February 20 - A decision by the Supreme Court of the United States states that the power of the federal government is greater than any individual state.
- March 4 - James Madison succeeds Thomas Jefferson as the President of the United States.
- March 13 - Military coup ousts Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden - he is confined in the Gripsholm castle.
- March 29 - At the Diet of Porvoo, Finland's four Estates pledge allegiance to Alexander I of Russia, commencing the secession of the Grand Duchy of Finland from Sweden. King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden abdicates after a coup d'état and is later exiled.
- April 9 - Tyroleans rise against French and Bavarian occupation - they include militia lead by Andreas Hofer.
- April 14 - Napoleon defeats Austrians in the Battle of Abensberg, Bavaria
- April 19 - Battle of Raszyn between armies of Austria (attackers) and Duchy of Warsaw (defenders) as a part of struggles of the Fifth Coalition (1809). Austrian army was defeated.
- April 22 - Battle at Eckmuhl - French troops beat Austrians under archduke Karl
- May - Napoleon captures Vienna, is excommunicated, imprisons pope Pius VII.
- May 5 - Mary Kies is the first woman to be awarded a patent.
- May 5 - The Swiss canton of Aargau denies Jews citizenship.
- May 17 - Napoleon I of France orders the annexation of the Papal States to the French empire. When he announces Pope's secular power has ended, pope excommunicates him.
- May 21 - Battle at Aspern-Essling: Austrian troops under archduke Karl beat French under Napoleon
- May 24 - Dartmoor Prison opens, first to house French prisoners of war
- June 1 - Allardyce Barclay begins a bet of walking 1 mile every hour for 1,000 hours. Each hour he walked a mile round trip from his home
- June 6 - Sweden promulgates a new Instrument of Government, which restores political power to the Riksdag of the Estates after authoritarian rule since 1772.
- June 7 - Shoja Shah of Afghanistan signs a treaty with the British. Only weeks later, he is succeeded by Mahmud Shah.
- July 5-6 - Battle of Wagram - Napoleon defeats the Austrians
- July 6 - French troops arrest Pope Pius VII and take him to Liguria
- July 30 - British invasion army lands in Walcheren
- August 8 - 70 disciples of Gaon of Vilnus arrive in Palestine
- August 10 - Ecuador declares independence from Spain
- August 11 - Severe earthquakes strike the Azores and sinks the village of São Miguel
- September 17 - Peace of Hamina - Peace between Russia and Sweden in the Finnish War. The territory to become the Grand Duchy of Finland is ceded to Russia by the Treaty of Fredrikshamn.
- September 18 - Royal Opera House opens in London
- October 11 - Along the Natchez Trace in Tennessee, explorer Meriwether Lewis dies under mysterious circumstances at an inn called Grinder's Stand.
- October 14 - Treaty of Schoenbrunn cedes Illyrian provinces to France
- December 26 - British invasion troop leaves Vlissingen
- December 30 - Wearing masks at balls forbidden in Boston, Massachusetts
- USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) is recommissioned as flagship of the North Atlantic Squadron.
- Louis Poinsot describes the two remaining Kepler-Poinsot solids.
- Jean-Baptiste Lamarck publishes Philosophie Zoologique, outlining the concept of evolution.
- First running of the Two Thousand Guineas Stakes horse race in England.
- Miami University (Ohio) established by congressional order by George Washington.

Ongoing events


- Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815)-Peninsular War/Finnish War/Fifth Coalition

Births


- :Category:1809 births
- January 4 - Louis Braille, French teacher of the blind (d. 1852).
- January 15 - Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French anarchist (d. 1864)
- January 19 - Edgar Allan Poe, American writer and poet (d. 1849)
- February 3 - Felix Mendelssohn, German composer (d. 1847)
- February 12 - Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States (d. 1865)
- February 12 - Charles Darwin, British naturalist (d. 1882)
- February 15 - Cyrus McCormick, American inventor (d. 1884)
- March 31 - Nikolai Gogol, Russian writer (d. 1852)
- April 15 - Hermann Gunter Grassmann, Prussian mathematician (d. 1877)
- June 4 - Columbus Delano, American statesman (d. 1896)
- June 4 - John Henry Pratt, English clergyman and mathematician (d. 1871)
- June 8 - Richard Wigginton Thompson, American politician (d. 1900)
- August 6 - Alfred Lord Tennyson, British poet (d. 1892)
- August 8 - Heinrich Abeken, German theologian (d. 1872)
- August 27 - Hannibal Hamlin, American politician (d. 1891)
- August 29 - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., American physician and writer (d. 1894)
- October 22 - Volney E. Howard, American politician (d. 1889)
- December 24 - Kit Carson, American frontiersman (d. 1868)
- December 29 - William Ewart Gladstone, British politician (d. 1898)

Deaths


- January 16 - John Moore, British general (killed in battle) (b. 1761)
- March 7 - Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, Austrian composer (b. 1736)
- March 25 - Anna Seward, English writer (b. 1747)
- March 27 - Joseph-Marie Vien, French painter (b. 1716)
- May 13 - Beilby Porteus, English bishop and abolitionist (b. 1731)
- May 17 - Leopold Auenbrugger, Austrian physician (b. 1722)
- May 31 - Joseph Haydn, Austrian composer (b. 1732)
- May 31 - Jean Lannes, French marshal (mortally wounded in battle (b. 1769)
- June 4 - Nikolaj Abraham Abildgaard, Danish painter (b. 1743)
- June 8 - Thomas Paine, American revolutionary writer (b. 1737)
- August 18 - Matthew Boulton, English manufacturer and engineer (b. 1728)
- October 8 - James Elphinston, Scottish philologist (b. 1721)
- October 11 - Meriwether Lewis, American explorer (suicide) (b. 1774)
- November 9 - Paul Sandby, English cartographer and painter (b. 1725) Category:1809 ko:1809년 ms:1809 simple:1809

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known, especially internationally, as the American War of Independence, was a war fought primarily between Great Britain and revolutionaries within thirteen British colonies in North America. The war began largely as a colonial revolt against the economic policies of the British Empire, and eventually widened far beyond British North America, with France, Spain, and the Netherlands entering the war against Great Britain. Additionally, many American Indians fought on both sides of the conflict. Throughout the war, the British were able to use their naval superiority to capture colonial coastal cities, but control of the countryside largely eluded them. French involvement proved decisive, with a naval victory in the Chesapeake leading to the surrender of a British army at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781. The Treaty of Paris in 1783 recognized the independence of the United States of America. Because a great number of colonists fled the thirteen colonies and settled in the north, the war also paved the way for the eventual creation of what would become Canada. The terms American Revolutionary War and American Revolution are often used interchangeably, though the American Revolution included political and social developments before and after the war itself. This article refers solely to the military campaign; for a broader perspective, including the origins and aftermath of the war, see the American Revolution.

Combatants

Colonists

Colonists were divided over which side to support in the war. About 40 to 45 percent of the colonial population supported the struggle for independence, and were known as "Patriots" (or "Whigs"). About 15 to 20 percent supported the British Crown during the war, and were known as "Loyalists" (or "Tories"). Loyalists fielded perhaps 50,000 men during the war years in support of the British Empire. In some areas, the American Revolutionary War was a civil war. When the war began, the American revolutionaries did not have a professional army (also known as a "regular" or "standing" army). Each colony had traditionally provided for its own defenses through the use of local militia. Militiamen served for only a few weeks or months at a time, were generally reluctant to go very far from home, and would often come and go as they saw fit. Militia typically lacked the training and discipline of regular troops, but could be effective when led by talented officers. Seeking to coordinate military efforts, the Continental Congress established (on paper) a regular army—the Continental Army—in June of 1775, and appointed George Washington as commander-in-chief. The development of the Continental Army was always a work in progress, and Washington reluctantly augmented the regular troops with militia throughout the war. Although as many as 250,000 Patriots may have served as regulars or militiamen in the eight years of the war, there were never more than 90,000 total men under arms for the revolutionaries in any given year. Armies in North America were small by European standards of the era; the greatest number of men that Washington personally commanded in the field at any one time was fewer than 17,000.

European nations

commander-in-chief Early in 1775, the British army consisted of about 36,000 men worldwide, but wartime recruitment steadily increased this number. Additionally, over the course of the war the British hired about 30,000 German mercenaries, popularly known in the colonies as "Hessians" because many of them came from Hesse. Germans would make up about one-third of the British troop strength in North America. By 1779, the number of British and German troops stationed in North America was over 60,000, though these were spread from Canada to Florida. France, the Netherlands and Spain entered the war against Great Britain in an attempt to dilute Britain's emerging superpower status. Early on, all three countries quietly provided financial assistance to the American rebels. France officially entered the war in 1778 and soon sent troops, ships, and military equipment to fight against the British for the remainder of the war. Spain entered the war in 1779, officially as an ally of France, not the United States—Spain was not keen on encouraging similar rebellions in her own empire. The Netherlands entered the war late in 1780, but was soon overwhelmed by the British.

Blacks and Native Americans

African-Americans, slaves and free blacks, served on both sides during the war. Black soldiers served in northern militias from the outset, but this was forbidden in the South, where slaveowners feared arming slaves. Lord Dunmore, the Royal Governor of Virginia, issued an emancipation proclamation in November 1775, promising freedom to runaway slaves who fought for the British, and Sir Henry Clinton issued a similar edict in New York in 1779. Tens of thousands of slaves escaped to the British lines, although possibly as few as 1,000 served under arms. Many of the rest served as orderlies, mechanics, laborers, servants, scouts and guides, although more than half died in smallpox epidemics that swept the British forces, and a number were driven out of the British lines when food ran low. Despite Dunmore's promises, the majority were not given their freedom. In response, and because of manpower shortages, Washington lifted the ban on black enlistment in the Continental Army in January 1776. All-black units were formed in Rhode Island and Massachusetts; many were slaves promised freedom for serving in lieu of their masters; another all-black unit came from Haiti with French forces. At least 5,000 black soldiers fought as Patriots. Most American Indian communities east of the Mississippi River were affected by the war, many divided over the question of which side to support. Most Native Americans who joined the fight fought against the United States, since native lands were threatened by ever expanding Anglo-American settlement. An estimated 13,000 warriors fought on the British side; the largest group, the Iroquois Confederacy, fielded about 1,500 warriors against the Patriots.

War in the North

Massachusetts, 1774 to 1776

Iroquois Confederacy In 1774, the British parliament effectively abolished the provincial government of Massachusetts. Lieutenant General Thomas Gage, already the commander-in-chief of British troops in North America, was also appointed governor of Massachusetts and was instructed by King George's government to enforce royal authority in the troublesome colony. However, popular resistance compelled the newly appointed royal officials in Massachusetts to resign or to seek refuge in Boston. Gage commanded four regiments of British regulars (about 4,000 men) from his headquarters in Boston, but the countryside was in the hands of the Patriots. On the night of 18 April 1775, General Gage sent 900 men to seize munitions stored by the colonial militia at Concord, Massachusetts. Several Patriot riders — including Paul Revere — alerted the countryside, and when the British troops entered Lexington on the morning of 19 April, they found 75 minutemen formed up on the village common. Shots were exchanged, and the British moved on to Concord, where there was more fighting. By the time the "redcoats" (as the British soldiers were called) began the return march, several thousand militiamen had gathered along the road. A running fight ensued, and the British detachment suffered heavily. With the Battle of Lexington and Concord — the "Shot heard 'round the world" — the war had begun. Afterwards, thousands of Patriot militiamen converged on Boston, bottling up the British in the city. Late in May, Gage received by sea about 4,500 reinforcements and a trio of generals who would play a vital role in the war: William Howe, John Burgoyne, and Henry Clinton. They formulated a plan to break out of the city. On June 17, 1775, British forces under General Howe seized the Charlestown peninsula at the Battle of Bunker Hill. The battle was technically a British victory, but losses were so heavy that the attack was not followed up. Thus the siege was not broken, and General Gage was soon replaced by Howe as commander-in-chief for the British. In July of 1775, newly appointed General Washington arrived outside Boston to take charge of the colonial forces. The standoff continued throughout the fall and winter. In early March of 1776, heavy cannons that had been captured by Patriots at Fort Ticonderoga were moved to Boston, a difficult feat engineered by Henry Knox. When the guns were placed upon Dorchester Heights, overlooking the British positions, Howe's situation became untenable. The British evacuated the city on March 17, 1776 and sailed for temporary refuge in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The colonial militia dispersed, and in April Washington took most of the Continental Army to fortify New York City.

Canada, 1775 to 1776

During the long standoff at Boston, the Continental Congress sought a way to seize the initiative elsewhere. Congress had initially invited French-Canadians to join them as the fourteenth colony, but when that failed to happen, an invasion of Canada was authorized in an attempt to drive the British from the Canadian provinces. Two expeditions were undertaken. On September 16, 1775, Brigadier General Richard Montgomery marched north from Fort Ticonderoga with about 1,700 militiamen, capturing Montreal on November 13. General Guy Carleton, the governor of Canada, escaped to Quebec. The second expedition, led by Colonel Benedict Arnold, set out from Fort Western (present day Maine) on September 25. The expedition was a logistical nightmare, and many men succumbed to smallpox. By the time Arnold reached Quebec in early November, he had but 600 of his original 1,100 men. Nevertheless, Arnold demanded the surrender of the city, to no avail. Montgomery joined Arnold, and they attacked Quebec on December 31, but were soundly defeated by Carleton. Montgomery was killed, Arnold was wounded, and many men were taken prisoner. The Patriots held on outside Quebec until the spring of 1776, and then withdrew. Another attempt was made by the Patriots to push back towards Quebec, but failed at Trois-Rivières on June 8, 1776. Carleton then launched his own invasion, and defeated Arnold in a naval battle on Lake Champlain (the Battle of Valcour Island) in October. Arnold fell back to Fort Ticonderoga, where the invasion of Canada had begun. The invasion of Canada ended as an embarrassing disaster for the Patriots, but Arnold's improvised navy on Lake Champlain managed to delay the fateful British counter thrust (the Saratoga Campaign) until 1777.

New York and New Jersey, 1776 to 1777

Having withdrawn from Boston, the British now focused on capturing New York City. General Howe, with the services of his brother, Admiral Lord Howe, began amassing troops on Staten Island in July of 1776. General Washington, with a smaller army of about 20,000 men, unwittingly violated a cardinal rule of warfare, and divided his troops about equally between Long Island and Manhattan, thus allowing the Howes to engage only one half of the Continental Army at a time. In late August, the Howes transported about 22,000 men (including 9,000 "Hessians") to Long Island. In the Battle of Long Island on August 27, 1776, the British expertly executed a surprise flanking maneuver, driving the Patriots back to the Brooklyn Heights fortifications. General Howe then laid siege to the works, but Washington skillfully managed a nighttime evacuation to Manhattan. Having taken Long Island, the Howes moved to seize Manhattan. On September 15, General Howe landed about 12,000 men on lower Manhattan, quickly taking control of New York City. The Patriots withdrew to Harlem Heights, where they skirmished the next day, but held their ground. When Howe moved to encircle Washington's army in October, the Patriots again fell back, and a battle at White Plains was fought on October 28, 1776. Once more Washington retreated, but Howe, instead of aggressively pursuing the withdrawal, returned to Manhattan and captured Fort Washington in mid November, taking almost 3,000 prisoners. Four days later, Fort Lee, across the Hudson River from Fort Washington, was also taken. Hudson River is an iconic image of American history.]] General Lord Cornwallis continued to chase Washington's army through New Jersey, until the Patriots withdrew across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania in early December. With the campaign at an apparent conclusion for the season, the British entered winter quarters. Although Howe had missed several opportunities to crush the diminishing Patriot army, he had killed or captured over 5,000 of the rebels. He controlled much of New York and New Jersey, and was in a good position to resume operations in the spring, with the rebel capital of Philadelphia in striking distance. The outlook of the Continental Army — and thus the revolution itself — was bleak. "These are the times that try men's souls," wrote Thomas Paine, who was with the army on the retreat. The army had dwindled to fewer than 5,000 men fit for duty, and would be reduced to 1,400 after enlistments expired at the end of the year. Spirits were low, popular support was wavering, and Congress had abandoned Philadelphia in despair. Washington reacted by taking the offensive, stealthily crossing the Delaware on Christmas night and capturing nearly 1,000 Hessians at the Battle of Trenton on December 26, 1776. Cornwallis marched to retake Trenton, but was outmaneuvered by Washington, who successfully attacked the British rearguard at Princeton on January 3, 1777. Washington then entered winter quarters at Morristown, New Jersey, having retaken much of New Jersey, and having secured two bold, morale-boosting victories in quick succession to reinvigorate the flagging revolution.

Saratoga Campaign, 1777

In the summer of 1777, the British launched a new expedition from Canada. Led by General Burgoyne, the intention was to seize the Lake Champlain and Hudson River corridor, effectively isolating New England from the rest of the American colonies. Burgoyne's invasion had two components: he would lead about 10,000 men along Lake Champlain towards Albany, New York, while a second column of about 2,000 men, led by Barry St. Leger, would move down the Mohawk River valley and link up with Burgoyne in Albany. Burgoyne set off in early July, recapturing Fort Ticonderoga from the retreating Patriots without firing a shot. He then proceeded overland towards Albany, but Patriots slowed his progress through the wilderness by destroying bridges and felling trees in his path. Running short on supplies, in August Burgoyne sent a detachment to raid nearby Bennington, Vermont. The raiders were decisively defeated by local Patriot militia, depriving Burgoyne of nearly 1,000 men and the much-needed supplies. decisively defeated commanded both American Indians and white Loyalists during the American Revolutionary War.]] Meanwhile, St. Leger—half of his force American Indians led by Joseph Brant—had laid siege to Fort Stanwix on the Mohawk River. About 800 Patriot militiamen and their Indian allies marched to relieve the siege, but were ambushed and scattered by British and Indians on August 6 at the Battle of Oriskany. Iroquois warriors fought on both sides of the battle, marking the beginning of a civil war within the Six Nations. When a second relief expedition approached, this time led by Benedict Arnold, the siege was lifted, and St. Leger's expedition returned to Canada. Burgoyne was on his own. Burgoyne pushed on towards Albany, his forces now reduced to about 6,000 men. A Patriot army of about 8,000 men, commanded by the newly arrived General Horatio Gates, had entrenched about 10 miles (16 km) south of Saratoga, New York. Burgoyne sent 2,000 men to outflank the Patriot position, but was checked by Generals Benedict Arnold and Daniel Morgan in the first battle of Saratoga on September 19, 1777. After the battle, the two armies dug in. Burgoyne was in trouble now, but he hoped that help from the south might be on the way. All along, Burgoyne had suggested that his invasion from Canada might be supported by a British offensive up the Hudson River from Howe's location in New York City. However, British war planners did not coordinate their efforts. General Howe had instead sailed away from New York on an expedition to capture Philadelphia (see next section). British General Henry Clinton, left in command at New York, did indeed sail up the Hudson in October, capturing several forts and burning Kingston (at the time the Patriot capital of New York), but his efforts were not enough to affect the events at Saratoga. Patriot militiamen, many of them outraged by the reported murder of an American woman at the hands of Burgoyne's Indian allies, flocked to Gates's army, swelling his force to 11,000 by the beginning of October. Burgoyne, his position becoming desperate, launched a new offensive, the second battle of Saratoga on October 7. The attack was repelled, and General Arnold, though relieved of command by Gates, rushed to the battle and led a decisive counterattack. Badly beaten, Burgoyne surrendered on October 17. Saratoga was the turning point of the war. Patriot confidence and determination, suffering from Howe's successful occupation of Philadelphia, was renewed. Even more importantly, the victory encouraged France to enter the war against Great Britain. Spain and the Netherlands soon did the same. For the British, the war had now become much more complicated.

Philadelphia Campaign, 1777 to 1778

Having secured New York City in his 1776 campaign, in 1777 General Howe concentrated on capturing the capital of Philadelphia. He moved slowly, landing 15,000 troops in late August at the northern end of Chesapeake Bay, about 55 miles (90 km) southwest of Philadelphia. Washington positioned his 11,000 men between Howe and Philadelphia, but was outflanked and driven back at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777. The Continental Congress once again abandoned the city. British and Patriot forces maneuvered around each other for the next several days, clashing in minor encounters such as the so-called "Paoli Massacre." On September 26, Howe finally outmaneuvered Washington, and marched into Philadelphia unopposed. After taking the city, the British garrisoned about 9,000 troops in Germantown, five miles (8 km) above Philadelphia. Washington unsuccessfully attacked Germantown in early October, and then retreated to watch and wait. Meanwhile, the British secured the Delaware River by taking (with difficulty) forts Mifflin and Mercer in November. General Washington's problems at this time were not just with the British. In the so-called Conway Cabal, some politicians and officers unhappy with Washington's recent performance as commander-in-chief secretively discussed his removal. Washington, offended by the behind-the-scenes maneuvering, laid the whole matter openly before Congress. His supporters rallied behind him, and the episode abated. Washington and his army encamped at Valley Forge in December of 1777, about 20 miles (32 km) from Philadelphia, where they would stay for the next six months. Over the winter, 2,500 men (out of 10,000) died from disease and exposure. However, the army eventually emerged from Valley Forge in good order, thanks in part to a training program supervised by Baron von Steuben. Meanwhile, there was a shakeup in the British command, with General Clinton replacing Howe as commander-in-chief. French entry into the war had changed British war strategy, and Clinton was ordered by the government to go on the defensive in the North. He abandoned Philadelphia and marched back towards New York City. Washington's army shadowed Clinton on his withdrawal, and forced a battle at Monmouth on June 28, 1778, the last major battle in the North. Washington's second-in-command, General Charles Lee, ordered a controversial retreat during the battle, angering Washington and allowing Clinton's army to escape. By July, Clinton was in New York City, and Washington was again at White Plains. Both armies were back where they had been two years earlier. With the exception of scattered minor actions in the North, like the Battle of Stony Point, the focus of the war now shifted elsewhere.

War in the West

Main article: Frontier warfare during the American Revolution Frontier warfare during the American Revolution in the dead of winter led to the capture of General Henry Hamilton, Lieutenant-Governor of Canada.]] West of the Appalachian Mountains, the American Revolutionary War was an "Indian War." The British and the Continental Congress both courted American Indians as allies (or urged them to remain neutral), and many Native American communities became divided over what path to take. Like the Iroquois Confederacy, tribes such as the Cherokees and the Shawnees split into factions. Delawares under White Eyes signed the first Indian treaty with the United States, but other Delawares joined the British. The British supplied their Indian allies from forts along the Great Lakes, and tribesmen staged raids on Patriot settlements in New York, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and elsewhere. Joint Iroquois-Loyalist attacks in the Wyoming Valley and at Cherry Valley in 1778 helped provoke the scorched earth Sullivan Expedition into western New York during the summer of 1779. On the brutal western front, every man, woman, and child — regardless of race — was a potential casualty. In the Ohio Country, the Virginia frontiersman George Rogers Clark attempted to neutralize British influence among the Ohio tribes by capturing the outposts of Kaskaskia and Vincennes in the summer of 1778. When General Henry Hamilton, the British commander at Detroit, retook Vincennes, Clark returned in a surprise march in February of 1779 and captured Hamilton himself. However, a decisive victory in the West eluded the United States even as their fortunes had risen in the East. The low point on the frontier came in 1782 with the Gnadenhütten massacre, when Pennsylvania militiamen, unable to track down enemy warriors, executed nearly 100 Christian Delaware noncombatants, mostly women and children. Later that year, in the last major encounter of the war, a party of Kentuckians was soundly defeated by a superior force of British regulars and Native Americans. For generations in the United States, the exploits of George Rogers Clark were practically the only stories told about the Revolution in the West; other parts of the tale were apparently best left unremembered.

War in the South

During the first three years of the American Revolutionary War, the primary military encounters were in the North. One notable exception was in June of 1776, when General Henry Clinton sailed south to attack Charleston, South Carolina. This ended in humiliating defeat for the British, and the revolutionaries remained in control of the southern colonies for the next three years. Starting in 1778, the British once again turned their attention to the colonies of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, where they hoped to regain control with the assistance of southern Loyalists. On December 29, 1778, an expeditionary corps of 3,500 men from Clinton's army in New York captured Savannah, Georgia. A joint Franco-Patriot attempt to retake Savannah failed on October 9, 1779. In this assault Count Casimir Pulaski, the Polish commander of Patriot cavalry, was mortally wounded. With Savannah secured, Clinton could now launch a new assault on Charleston, South Carolina, where he had failed so miserably in 1776.

Carolinas, 1780 to 1781

cavalry in 1782.]] Clinton finally moved against Charleston in 1780, blockading the harbor in March, and building up about 10,000 troops in the area. Inside the city, General Benjamin Lincoln commanded about 2,650 Continentals and 2,500 militiamen. When British Colonel Banastre Tarleton cut off the city's supply lines in victories at Monck’s Corner in April and Lenud’s Ferry in early May, Charleston was surrounded. The besiegers dug trenches closer and closer to the city until, on May 12, 1780, General Lincoln surrendered his 5,000 men—the largest surrender of U.S. troops until the American Civil War. With relatively few casualties, Clinton had seized the South’s biggest city and seaport, winning perhaps the greatest British victory of the war, and paving the way for what seemed like certain conquest of the South. The regiment of the southern Continental Army on their way to aid Charleston turned back after to North Carolina after their destination city fell. Colonel Tarleton pursued them and caught up to them on May 29, 1780. The affair that followed is the subject of much debate. Tarleton claims to have soundly defeated the Americans, but the common American verision says that Tarleton's forces either ignored the American attempt to surrender or fired upon them as they were in the process of doing so. The event became known as the Waxhaw massacre. The American verision of the story quickly spread through the colonies. “Bloody Tarleton” became a hated name among the rebels, and “Tarleton’s quarter”—referring to his reputed lack of mercy (or “quarter”)—soon became a Patriot rallying cry. With these events, organized Patriot resistance in the South had collapsed, though the war was carried on by partisans such as Francis Marion. General Clinton turned over British operations in the South to Lord Cornwallis. The Continental Congress dispatched the "hero of Saratoga," General Horatio Gates, to the rescue with a new army. But Gates promptly suffered one of the worst defeats in U.S. military history at the Battle of Camden on August 16, 1780, setting the stage for Cornwallis to invade North Carolina. The tables were quickly turned on Cornwallis, however. One wing of his army was utterly defeated at the Battle of Kings Mountain on October 7, 1780, delaying his move into North Carolina. Kings Mountain was noteworthy because it was not a battle between British redcoats and Patriot troops: It was a battle between American Loyalists and American Patriots. The Revolutionary War was in many ways a civil war; this was especially true in the South. Gates was replaced by George Washington's most dependable subordinate, General Nathanael Greene. Greene assigned about 1,000 men to General Daniel Morgan, a superb tactician who crushed Tarleton’s troops at the Battle of Cowpens on January 17, 1781. Greene proceeded to wear down his opponents in a series of battles (Guilford Court House, Hobkirk's Hill, Ninety Six and Eutaw Springs), each of them tactically a victory for the British, but giving no strategic advantage to the victors. Greene summed up his approach in a motto that would become famous: "We fight, get beat, rise, and fight again." Unable to capture or destroy Greene's army, Cornwallis turned his attention to Virginia.

Virginia, 1775 to 1781

Virginia had been under revolutionary control since Loyalist forces (including runaway slaves) under Governor Dunmore had been defeated at the Battle of Great Bridge on December 9, 1775. After the defeat Dunmore and his troops took refuge on British ships off of Norfolk, which Dunmore bombarded and burned on January 1, 1776. He was driven from an island in Chesapeake Bay that summer, never to return. British forces raided Virginia sporadically during the war. In January 1781, the rebel capital of Richmond was put to the torch by none other than Benedict Arnold, who had sold his services to the other side and was now a British general. In March 1781, General Washington dispatched Lafayette to defend Virginia. The young Frenchman had 3,200 men at his command, but British troops in the colony, now reinforced and commanded by Cornwallis, totaled 7,200. Lafayette skirmished with Cornwallis, avoiding a decisive battle while gathering reinforcements. "The boy cannot escape me," Cornwallis is supposed to have said. However, Cornwallis was unable to trap Lafayette, and so he moved his forces to Yorktown, Virginia in July in order to link up with the British navy. As fate would have it, the navy that eventually met Cornwallis at Yorktown was not British.

War at sea

Main article: Naval operations in the American Revolutionary War Meanwhile the co-operation of the French became active. In July Count Rochambeau arrived at Newport, Rhode Island. That place had been occupied by the British from 1776 to the close of 1779. An unsuccessful attempt was made to drive them out in 1778 by the Patriots assisted by the French admiral d'Estaing and a French corps.
- First Battle of Ushant - July 27, 1778
- John Paul Jones
- Continental Navy
- Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1780)
- Second Battle of Ushant - December 12, 1781

Gulf Coast

After Spain declared war against Great Britain in June of 1779, Count Bernardo de Gálvez, the governor of Louisiana, seized three British Mississippi River outposts: Manchac, Baton Rouge, and Natchez. Gálvez then captured Mobile on March 14, 1780, and in May of 1781 forced the surrender of the British outpost at Pensacola, Florida. On May 8, 1782, Gálvez captured the British naval base at New Providence in the Bahamas.

Caribbean


- Battle of the Saintes

India

The Franco-British war spilled over into India in 1780, in the form of the Second Anglo-Mysore War. The two chief combatants were Tipu Sultan, ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore and a key French ally, and the British government of Madras. The Anglo-Mysore conflict was bloody but inconclusive, and ended in a draw at the Treaty of Mangalore in 1784.

Netherlands

Also in 1780, the British struck against the United Provinces of the Netherlands in the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War to preempt Dutch involvement in the League of Armed Neutrality, directed primarily against the British Navy during the war. Agitation by Dutch radicals, and a friendly attitude towards the United States by the Dutch government, influenced by the American Revolution also encouraged the British to attack. The war lasted into 1784 and was disastrous to the Dutch mercantile economy.

Mediterranean

On 5 February 1782 Spanish and French forces captured Minorca, which had been under British control since the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. A further Franco-Spanish effort to recover Gibraltar was unsuccessful. Minorca was ceded to Spain in the peace treaty.

Whitehaven

An interesting footnote to this war was the actual landing on Britain itself by a ship from the Continental Navy. This occurred in 1778 when the port of Whitehaven in Cumberland was raided by John Paul Jones. The landing was a surprise attack, taken as an action of revenge by Jones, and was never intended as an invasion. Nevertheless, it caused hysteria in England, with the attack showing a weakness that could be exploited by other states such as France or Spain. Its result was an intense period of fortification in British ports.

War's end

The northern, southern, and naval theaters of the war converged at Yorktown in 1781. On September 5, 1781, French naval forces defeated the British Royal Navy at the Battle of the Chesapeake, cutting off Cornwallis's supplies and transport. Washington hurriedly moved his troops from New York, and a combined Franco-American force of 17,000 troops commenced the Battle of Yorktown on October 6, 1781. Cornwallis's position quickly became untenable, and on October 19 his army surrendered. The war was all but over. October 19 is on horseback in the right background; because the British commander was absent, military protocol dictated that Washington have a subordinate—in this case Benjamin Lincoln—accept the surrender.]] British Prime Minister Lord North resigned soon after hearing the news from Yorktown. In April 1782, the British House of Commons voted to end the war with the Patriots. On November 30, 1782 preliminary peace articles were signed in Paris; the formal end of the war did not occur until the Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783 and the United States Congress ratified the treaty on January 14, 1784. The last British troops left New York City on November 25, 1783. The reasons for Great Britain's misfortunes and defeat may be summarized as follows: Misconception by the home government of the temper and reserve strength of her colonists; disbelief at the outset in the probability of a protracted struggle covering the immense territory in America; consequent failure of the British to use their more efficient military strength effectively; the safe and Fabian generalship of Washington; and perhaps most significantly, the French alliance and European combinations