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.
Image 5Thayendanegea, a Mohawk military and political leader, was the most prominent indigenous leader opposing the Patriot forces. (from American Revolution)
Image 6Mercy Otis Warren published poems and plays that attacked royal authority and urged colonists to resist British rule. (from American Revolution)
Image 15The official Navy officer uniform of 1776 had red lapels and a red
waistcoat. The unofficial uniform of 1777, worn by many officers, had white lapels and a white waistcoat, and in addition non-regulation
epaulets. From left to right: Lieutenant, Captain (with irregular red buttonhole on the collar), Midshipman, "Commodore" John Paul Jones (with two epaulets). (from Continental Navy)
Image 16John Paul Jones, the Continental Navy's first seaman to be appointed the rank of 1st Lieutenant. Oil painting by George Bagby Matthews, c. 1890. (from Continental Navy)
Image 341781 drawing of Continental Army soldiers from the
Yorktown campaign showing a black infantryman on the far left from the
1st Rhode Island Regiment, one of the regiments in the Continental Army with the largest number of
black patriot soldiers. An estimated 4% of the Continental Army were black. (from Continental Army)
Image 39John Adams took an active role in the formation of the navy and the drafting of suitable operational regulations. Painting by
John Trumbull, c. 1792–93. (from Continental Navy)
Image 65This postage stamp, which was created at the time of the bicentennial, honors
Salem Poor, who was an enslaved African-American man who purchased his freedom, became a soldier, and rose to fame as a war hero during the
Battle of Bunker Hill. (from American Revolution)
Image 68A five-dollar banknote issued by the Second Continental Congress in 1775 (from American Revolution)
Selected ships and units
HMS Romney was a 50-gun
fourth rate of the
Royal Navy. Launched in 1762, the Romney spent most of her early career in North American waters, serving on the
Newfoundland station, often as the
flagship of the commander-in-chief. The ship was involved in the tensions of the
American Revolution when she was sent to support the
Boston commissioners enforcing the
Townshend Acts in 1768. Her actions involved impressing local sailors, confiscating the merchant ship Liberty (a vessel belonging to
John Hancock), and providing a refuge for the unpopular commissioners when rioting broke out after the seizure. She was active in the
American War of Independence, serving in European waters from 1779. She assisted in the defense of the British Isles against a
planned Franco-Spanish invasion, assisted in
the capture of a Spanish frigate, and participated in the inconclusive 1781
Battle of Porto Praya. She later served in the
French Revolutionary and
Napoleonic Wars in a career that spanned forty years, finally breaking up after running aground off the Dutch coast in 1804.
Montgomery was born and raised in Ireland. In 1754, he enrolled at
Trinity College, Dublin, and two years later joined the British army to fight in the
French and Indian War. He steadily rose through the ranks, serving in North America and then the Caribbean. After the war he was stationed at
Fort Detroit during
Pontiac's Rebellion, following which he returned to Britain for health reasons. In 1773, Montgomery returned to the
Thirteen Colonies, married Janet Livingston, and began farming.
When the
American Revolutionary War broke out, Montgomery took up the
Patriot cause, and was elected to the
New York Provincial Congress in May 1775. In June 1775, he was commissioned as a Brigadier General in the
Continental Army. After
Philip Schuyler became too ill to lead the invasion of Canada, Montgomery took over. He captured Fort St. Johns and then
Montreal in November 1775, and then advanced to
Quebec City where he joined another force under the command of
Benedict Arnold. On December 31, he led an
attack on the city, but was killed during the battle. His body was found by the British, who gave it an honorable burial. His remains were moved to
New York City in 1818.
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