216 Fun Facts About American Revolution

Who was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence?

Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, a foundational document of the United States. He was chosen by the Committee of Five to draft the document, which was then edited by the committee and the Continental Congress.

Which two Massachusetts towns were the site of the 'shot heard round the world'?

The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, are famously known as the location of the 'shot heard round the world' and marked the outbreak of armed conflict between Great Britain and its thirteen colonies.

What document formally ended the American Revolutionary War in 1783?

The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, officially ended the War of American Independence and recognized the United States as a free, sovereign, and independent nation.

Which British act imposed a direct tax on printed materials in the American colonies?

The Stamp Act of 1765 required that newspapers, legal documents and even playing cards be produced on stamped paper from London, fuelling 'no taxation without representation'.

Who served as the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution?

George Washington was appointed by the Second Continental Congress in 1775 and led the American forces throughout the war.

Where did the Continental Army endure a harsh winter encampment from December 1777 to June 1778?

Valley Forge, Pennsylvania lay 18 miles northwest of British-held Philadelphia; the winter was not unusually cold, but supply failures let starvation and disease kill nearly 2,000 of Washington's 12,000 men.

What final appeal for peace was sent to King George III by the Second Continental Congress in July 1775?

The Olive Branch Petition, adopted on July 5, 1775, affirmed loyalty to the crown and asked the king to intervene; George III refused to read it.

Which European country formally allied with the American colonies in 1778?

France became the United States' first and most important formal ally in 1778, providing vital military aid, including a navy, soldiers, supplies, and financial assistance that significantly contributed to the American victory.

What were the German mercenaries hired by the British in the American Revolution commonly called?

Hessians took their name from Hesse-Kassel, the state most of the roughly 30,000 German soldiers came from.

Which Mohawk leader allied with the British and raided the New York frontier in the Revolution?

Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) was a Mohawk leader and warrior who allied with the British during the American Revolution, playing a significant role in the conflict on the New York frontier.

At which battle did John Burgoyne surrender in October 1777, convincing France that American independence was viable?

Saratoga ended Burgoyne's push south from Canada toward Albany, cut off and outnumbered by Horatio Gates; the win turned the war into a global conflict with European allies.

On which lower Charlestown hill, not the one the battle is named for, did Prescott's men build their redoubt in 1775?

Prescott's men fortified Breed's Hill, the lower rise closer to Boston, overnight on June 16, 1775; the British took it on June 17 only after two bloody repulses.

In which month was Thomas Paine's Common Sense published anonymously?

Common Sense appeared anonymously in Philadelphia in January 1776 (on the 10th) and sold in huge numbers; Paine argued in plain language that a continent should not be ruled by an island.

Benedict Arnold's plan to betray which fort to the British collapsed when John André was captured?

Arnold had been given command of the Hudson River stronghold in 1780. André was hanged as a spy while Arnold escaped to a British commission.

On July 31, 1777, Congress commissioned the teenage Marquis de Lafayette at which rank?

Congress made the 19-year-old Lafayette a major general on July 31, 1777, a commission arranged through Silas Deane in Paris; he later led the Franco-American force that pinned Cornwallis in Virginia.

Which American commander nearly wiped out Tarleton's British Legion at Cowpens on January 17, 1781?

Daniel Morgan used his militia as bait at Cowpens, ordering two volleys and a withdrawal before his regulars and cavalry closed the trap; the battle became a textbook double envelopment.

Which British frigate did John Paul Jones fight in 1779, supposedly saying 'I have not yet begun to fight'?

Jones lashed Bonhomme Richard to HMS Serapis off Flamborough Head on September 23, 1779, because he could not win a gunnery duel; his own ship sank two days later, so he sailed away in the captured Serapis.

Which Prussian veteran retrained the Continental Army in 1778 and wrote its drill manual?

Baron von Steuben arrived at Valley Forge in February 1778 and drilled a model company that then taught the other units; his 'Blue Book' regulations became the army's drill manual.

Which city's fall in May 1780, with over 5,000 captured, was the war's worst Patriot defeat?

Benjamin Lincoln surrendered Charleston and the entire southern Continental Army on May 12, 1780; the disaster opened the Carolinas to Cornwallis's campaign.

Horatio Gates was routed on August 16, 1780, at which South Carolina battle?

Gates fled the field on horseback and covered about 180 miles in three days. The defeat ended his field career and handed the southern command to Nathanael Greene.

At which Virginia town did Cornwallis surrender on October 19, 1781?

Cornwallis surrendered his army at Yorktown on October 19, 1781, but skipped the ceremony claiming illness and sent Charles O'Hara; Washington insisted the French share equally in every step of the surrender.

Which 1774 laws answered the Boston Tea Party by closing Boston's port?

Britain called them the Coercive Acts. Instead of isolating Boston they united the colonies, prompting the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

At which 1778 battle did 'Molly Pitcher' Mary Ludwig Hays take her fallen husband's place at a cannon?

She had followed the army as a water carrier, which is where the nickname comes from. Washington is said to have commended her afterward.

Henry Knox hauled heavy artillery to Boston in March 1776 that had been captured where?

Knox dragged roughly 60 tons of guns captured at Fort Ticonderoga some 300 miles over frozen rivers and mountains in midwinter; once mounted on Dorchester Heights they forced the British to evacuate Boston.

In August 1776 William Howe outflanked the Americans and pushed them back to Brooklyn Heights in the Battle of what?

It was the largest battle of the whole war by numbers engaged. Howe did not press the encirclement, and the Americans slipped across the East River at night in a fog.

Where was the October 1780 Patriot victory that crippled Loyalist militia in the South?

At Kings Mountain on October 7, 1780, frontier 'Overmountain Men' surrounded Patrick Ferguson's Loyalists on the wooded ridge and killed Ferguson himself; almost every man on the British side was American-born.

Which future president defended the British soldiers charged with murder after the Boston Massacre?

Most of the soldiers were acquitted, and Adams later called his unpopular defense one of the best services he ever rendered his country.

Roughly how many chests of tea did the Sons of Liberty dump into Boston Harbor on December 16, 1773?

They smashed 342 chests, about 340 in round numbers, over three hours of emptying the three ships; a smaller repeat raid in March 1774 dumped a further cargo of around 30 chests.

What was Paul Revere's trade before his famous midnight ride made him a legend?

Silversmith Revere also produced the engraving of the Boston Massacre that became one of the most effective pieces of Patriot propaganda.

Washington's 1776 Christmas-night crossing of the Delaware set up an attack on which New Jersey town?

The garrison commander had spent Christmas evening celebrating at a merchant's farm and reportedly ignored a warning note.

Which South Carolina militia leader's guerrilla raids earned him the nickname the Swamp Fox?

Francis Marion earned the name after Tarleton chased him 26 miles through the swamps in November 1780 and gave up, saying the Devil himself could not catch that old fox.

The phrase 'shot heard round the world' comes from the Concord Hymn, written by which poet?

Emerson's grandfather had watched the fight at the North Bridge from the Old Manse, less than a hundred paces away.

Which Polish 'Father of American Cavalry' was mortally wounded at Savannah in 1779?

Casimir Pulaski, the Polish cavalry commander, was mortally wounded leading a charge during the Siege of Savannah on October 9, 1779; his monument stands in Savannah's Monterey Square.

Which Boston poet sent Washington a poem in 1775 and was invited to Cambridge?

Phillis Wheatley's poem 'To His Excellency General Washington' reached him in late 1775 and he invited her to his Cambridge headquarters; John Paul Jones also sent her verses, calling her the African favorite of the Nine Muses and Apollo.

Which colony was the only one of the thirteen absent from the First Continental Congress?

Georgia, where Loyalist feeling and reliance on British protection against the Creeks ran strong, sent no delegates in 1774 and only joined the Second Continental Congress in 1775.

Which 1767 laws taxed glass, lead, paint, paper and tea imported into the colonies?

The Townshend Acts of 1767 put duties on glass, lead, paint, paper and tea; colonial boycotts forced repeal of every duty except the one on tea in 1770, setting the stage for the Boston Tea Party.

The Tea Act of 1773 was designed to rescue which struggling trading firm?

The Tea Act let the near-bankrupt British East India Company ship its surplus tea straight to America without paying English duty; the cheaper tea was meant to undercut the smuggled Dutch tea most colonists drank.

Deborah Sampson of Massachusetts served in the Continental Army by doing what?

Sampson served by disguising herself as a man, enlisting in the 4th Massachusetts Regiment in 1782; she served over a year before a fever led a Philadelphia doctor to discover her secret, and she later won a military pension.

Which French admiral beat the Royal Navy at the Chesapeake in 1781, trapping Cornwallis?

Admiral François Joseph Paul de Grasse drove off the British fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake on September 5, 1781, sealing Cornwallis in Yorktown; he had chosen Virginia over New York, which decided the war.

What was the Boston Tea Party originally called before its famous name caught on?

Contemporaries called it simply 'the destruction of the tea'; the name 'Boston Tea Party' did not catch on until the 1820s and 1830s, half a century after the event.

Which tea ship was the first to reach Boston in November 1773?

The Dartmouth reached Boston on November 28, 1773, the first of the three tea ships; the 20-day deadline to land its tea drove the December 16 meeting that ended with the Sons of Liberty boarding all three.

Which city forced the tea ship Polly to return to England in December 1773?

Philadelphia's so-called Tea Party was bloodless: a mass meeting at the State House on December 27, 1773, forced Captain Samuel Ayres to sail the Polly and its tea back to England without unloading.

How many grievances against the king does the Declaration of Independence list?

The Declaration lists 27 grievances against George III, from dissolving colonial legislatures to 'transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries'; it also asserts natural rights, including a right of revolution.

On what date did King George III proclaim the American colonies to be in rebellion?

The proclamation came four months after Lexington and Concord.

Which of these men was NOT on the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration?

Adams, Franklin, Jefferson, Livingston and Sherman made up the committee.

June 14, 1775, is celebrated as the birthday of which American institution?

On June 14, 1775, the Second Continental Congress voted to raise ten companies of riflemen and adopt the forces besieging Boston, the date the Army counts as its birthday.

After 1783, two Continental detachments were kept to guard a Hudson stronghold and which western post?

In June 1784 Congress discharged the army except about 80 men kept as caretakers at West Point and Fort Pitt to guard the stores there.

Which river did Burgoyne's army follow south toward Albany after leaving Lake Champlain?

Burgoyne's column reached the Hudson River at Fort Edward in late July 1777 and moved down its banks toward Albany until Gates's army stopped it at Saratoga.

The first of the two Saratoga battles, on September 19, 1777, is known by what name?

Burgoyne held the field at Freeman's Farm on September 19, 1777, but lost roughly twice as many men as the Americans; the second battle, Bemis Heights, followed on October 7.

Which British admiral's fleet was sent to relieve Cornwallis and lost at the Chesapeake?

Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Graves sailed from New York with 19 ships of the line, met de Grasse off the Virginia Capes on September 5, 1781, and withdrew after an indecisive action, sealing Yorktown from the sea.

Who was Britain's commander-in-chief in North America when fighting began at Lexington in 1775?

Thomas Gage, commander-in-chief in North America and military governor of Massachusetts, sent the Concord expedition on April 18, 1775; he was recalled after Bunker Hill and replaced by William Howe in October 1775.

Which Patriot leader and physician was killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill?

Dr. Joseph Warren, president of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress and a newly commissioned major general, fought as a volunteer and was shot dead in the redoubt as the British overran it on June 17, 1775.

What was the first name the Second Continental Congress gave to its new federation?

Congress used 'United Colonies of North America' in July 1775's Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms; on September 9, 1776, it resolved that 'United States' replace 'United Colonies'.

How many colonies were represented when the Second Continental Congress opened on May 10, 1775?

Only 12 colonies sent delegates when Congress opened on May 10, 1775; Georgia's delegation did not arrive until later that year, so all 13 were present by the Lee Resolution of June 1776.

Who was elected president when the Second Continental Congress first met, before Hancock?

Randolph was soon summoned back to Virginia's House of Burgesses.

In which building did the First Continental Congress meet in 1774?

The First Continental Congress met in Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, from September 5 to October 26, 1774, choosing the carpenters' guild building over the Pennsylvania State House.

What was the First Continental Congress's first major act, on September 17, 1774?

Its first major act was adopting the Suffolk Resolves on September 17, 1774: Paul Revere had carried them from Massachusetts, and they declared the Coercive Acts void and urged a boycott and militia training.

On what date did the Articles of Confederation finally come into force?

The Articles took effect on March 1, 1781, when Maryland, the last holdout, ratified; Congress had approved the text on November 15, 1777, and sent it to the states.

Which two men represented Britain at the Treaty of Paris negotiations of 1782-83?

David Hartley and Richard Oswald were Britain's negotiators: Oswald negotiated the preliminary articles signed November 30, 1782, and Hartley signed the definitive treaty on September 3, 1783; Franklin, Jay, Adams and Laurens acted for the United States.

Which 1783 Treaty of Paris article acknowledges the United States as free, sovereign and independent?

Article 1 has Britain acknowledge the thirteen former colonies as 'free sovereign and independent states' and relinquish all claims to their government and territory; it is the treaty's opening article.

What is the Boston Massacre known as in Great Britain?

Five colonists were killed on March 5, 1770.

Which British captain led the soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre?

Captain Thomas Preston commanded the eight soldiers of the 29th Regiment on King Street; his men were pelted with clubs, stones and snowballs before firing, and Preston was acquitted at his trial in October 1770.

What punishment did the two soldiers convicted of manslaughter after the Boston Massacre receive?

Privates Montgomery and Kilroy pleaded benefit of clergy and were punished by branding on the thumb with an 'M' for manslaughter; the other six soldiers were acquitted.

Which British officer commanded the roughly 700 regulars sent to Concord on April 18, 1775?

Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith of the 10th Foot led the column, with Marine Major John Pitcairn as second-in-command; their orders were to seize and destroy the militia supplies stored at Concord.

How many militiamen were killed at Lexington at sunrise on April 19, 1775?

Eight militiamen died on Lexington Green and ten were wounded; only one British soldier was wounded in the exchange.

Menotomy, one of the towns fought through on April 19, 1775, is now known as what?

Menotomy, where the heaviest fighting of the day took place, was renamed West Cambridge in 1807 and became Arlington in 1867.

Which Paine pamphlet series opens 'These are the times that try men's souls'?

The American Crisis No. 1, published December 23, 1776, opens with 'These are the times that try men's souls'; Washington had it read to his troops before the Delaware crossing.

Where did Washington resign his commission as commander-in-chief in December 1783?

Washington resigned his commission before Congress in the Maryland State House at Annapolis on December 23, 1783, and rode home to Mount Vernon for Christmas.

The Sons of Liberty name is presumed to come from a 1765 speech by which Irish-born MP?

Isaac Barré, a Dublin-born veteran of the French and Indian War, called the colonists 'sons of liberty' while opposing the Stamp Act in Parliament in February 1765, and the Patriot groups adopted the phrase.

Where was the Stamp Act Congress held in 1765?

It was the first significant joint colonial response to a British measure.

Which Maryland attorney's pamphlet attacked the British idea of 'virtual representation'?

Daniel Dulany's 1765 pamphlet 'Considerations on the Propriety of Imposing Taxes in the British Colonies' argued that Americans shared none of the interests of English electors, so Parliament could not claim to represent them virtually.

How many men did Washington actually get across the Delaware for the attack on Trenton?

Washington got about 2,400 men across with Knox's artillery; the columns under Ewing and Cadwalader failed to cross the ice-choked river, leaving him roughly 3,000 men short of the plan.

Across which waterway did the surviving Hessians escape from Trenton?

Roughly 500 Hessians slipped south over the Assunpink Creek bridge, which Ewing's militia had failed to seal; almost two-thirds of the garrison, about 900 men, were captured.

Which American general was bayoneted seven times and mortally wounded at Princeton?

Hugh Mercer was unhorsed at Princeton on January 3, 1777; British soldiers, reportedly mistaking him for Washington, bayoneted him seven times when he refused to surrender, and he died nine days later.

Who commanded the British troops Washington attacked at Princeton on January 3, 1777?

Lieutenant Colonel Charles Mawhood, left at Princeton with the 17th, 40th and 55th Regiments while Cornwallis marched on Trenton, was caught on the road by Washington's flanking column and routed.

Whose work did the title page of Common Sense credit instead of naming Paine?

The title page of Common Sense credited only 'an Englishman'; Paine, a recent immigrant from England, had carried a letter of introduction from Benjamin Franklin to Philadelphia.

Paine structured Common Sense in the style of what kind of text?

Paine wrote Common Sense like a sermon, leaning on Biblical examples such as Israel's demand for a king, and tied independence to dissenting Protestant beliefs.

In what month and year did Thomas Paine arrive in the American colonies?

Paine landed at Philadelphia in November 1774 (the 30th), so ill with ship fever he had to be carried ashore, five months before Lexington and Concord.

Which English port town did John Paul Jones raid during his 1778 campaign?

Jones landed at Whitehaven on April 23, 1778, spiked the fort's guns and tried to burn the shipping; he had begun his sailing career there at 13 as an apprentice.

What was the original name of the ship John Paul Jones renamed Bonhomme Richard?

The French East Indiaman Duc de Duras was given to Jones in 1779 and renamed Bonhomme Richard in honour of Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack; Jones had earlier commanded the Providence and the Ranger.

In which country was John Paul Jones born?

He was born John Paul in 1747 at Arbigland, near Kirkbean in southwest Scotland, and added 'Jones' after fleeing a killing in Tobago.

Which unit did Benedict Arnold command as a British brigadier general after defecting?

Arnold raised the American Legion from Loyalists and deserters in late 1780 and led it on raids into Virginia in January 1781, burning Richmond, and later against New London in September 1781.

In which colony was Benedict Arnold born?

He was a merchant operating ships when the war began.

Nathanael Greene was born into a prosperous family of what religious faith?

Greene was raised a Quaker in Rhode Island but was suspended from the meeting for his military interests; he helped establish the Kentish Guards militia in 1774.

What Continental Army post did Nathanael Greene take up in 1778?

Greene reluctantly became quartermaster general in March 1778 at Valley Forge and rebuilt the supply system before taking command of the southern theater in October 1780.

Near which modern North Carolina city was Guilford Court House fought in 1781?

Guilford Court House, fought March 15, 1781, lies within modern Greensboro; about 2,100 British defeated 4,500 Americans but lost a quarter of their force, a victory Charles James Fox called ruinous.

Where did Cornwallis burn his own baggage train while chasing Greene into North Carolina?

At Ramsour's Mill on January 25, 1781, Cornwallis burned his baggage and even the rum to move faster after Morgan and Greene, keeping only wagons for medicine, salt, ammunition and the sick.

Which Continental general was captured in a New Jersey tavern at Basking Ridge in December 1776?

Charles Lee, then Washington's second-in-command, was seized at White's Tavern in Basking Ridge on December 13, 1776, by a British patrol that included Banastre Tarleton; he was exchanged in 1778.

Which Continental officer organized the Culper spy ring with Washington in 1778?

He went by the alias 'John Bolton'.

Roughly what share of British land forces in the war were German auxiliaries?

About 25% of Britain's land forces in the war were German auxiliaries: some 30,000 served, more than half of them from Hesse-Kassel.

Sybil Ludington's disputed 1777 ride was said to rally militia after the British burned which town?

William Tryon's troops burned the military stores at Danbury, Connecticut, on April 26, 1777; the story of 16-year-old Ludington's 40-mile ride rests on family accounts, and a 2015 study found little contemporary evidence for it.

What was Betsy Ross's trade?

Betsy Ross was an upholsterer in Philadelphia, sewing flags and furnishings; the first-flag story rests on her grandson William Canby's 1870 paper to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Ethan Allen was captured in September 1775 during a failed attempt on which city?

Allen was taken near Montreal at Longue-Pointe on September 25, 1775, shipped to England in irons, and held as a prisoner until exchanged for a British officer in May 1778.

The Green Mountain Boys formed in 1770 in a disputed territory known as what?

The New Hampshire Grants were lands west of the Connecticut River granted by New Hampshire but claimed by New York; the Green Mountain Boys resisted New York's authority there, and the region declared itself Vermont in 1777.

Washington's defeat at which creek on September 11, 1777, opened Howe's road to Philadelphia?

Howe's main column crossed the Brandywine upstream at unguarded fords and rolled up Washington's right on September 11, 1777; the British entered Philadelphia fifteen days later.

At Germantown, some 120 men of the 40th Foot barricaded themselves inside which mansion?

Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Musgrave's men of the 40th Foot held Cliveden, the Chew family's stone house, against repeated American assaults and cannon fire, costing Washington's attack its momentum.

What weather condition confused the American columns at Germantown in October 1777?

Heavy fog and battle smoke on October 4, 1777, left Washington's four converging columns unable to see each other, and Stephen's and Wayne's troops even fired on one another.

Which American general was mortally wounded leading the relief column at Oriskany?

Brigadier General Nicholas Herkimer's Tryon County militia was ambushed at Oriskany on August 6, 1777, while marching to relieve Fort Stanwix; he kept directing the fight with a shattered leg and died ten days later.

Which Haudenosaunee nation's warriors fought alongside the Patriots at Oriskany?

Oneida warriors fought beside Herkimer's militia at Oriskany while Mohawks and Senecas fought with the British, beginning a civil war within the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.

The Battle of Bennington was actually fought in which state?

It took place on the John Green farm in Walloomsac.

Which German officer led Burgoyne's raiding detachment and was killed at Bennington?

Lieutenant Colonel Friedrich Baum's detachment of Brunswick dragoons was surrounded by John Stark's militia on August 16, 1777, and Baum was mortally wounded; Breymann's relief column was also driven off.

About how many Haudenosaunee villages did the 1779 Sullivan Expedition destroy?

Sullivan's army burned about 40 Haudenosaunee towns with their crops and orchards in August and September 1779, driving some 5,000 refugees to the British post at Fort Niagara.

From which town on the Delaware did the Sullivan Expedition march in June 1779?

Sullivan's main column left Easton, Pennsylvania, on June 18, 1779, for Wyoming and Tioga; its only major battle was at Newtown on the Chemung River on August 29.

The Newburgh Conspiracy of 1783 was defused when Washington addressed his officers about what?

Washington's Newburgh Address on March 15, 1783, with his famous line about growing blind in his country's service, calmed officers angry over unpaid wages and pensions; Congress then commuted the promised half-pay for life to five years' full pay.

Whose idea was the Society of the Cincinnati, founded in 1783?

Henry Knox drafted the society's founding proposal in spring 1783 as a fraternity of Continental officers; it was named for Cincinnatus, the Roman who returned to his farm after leading the army.

Where was the Society of the Cincinnati's first meeting held in May 1783?

Officers met on May 13, 1783, at the Verplanck House, Fishkill, Steuben's headquarters on the Hudson, to adopt the society's constitution; the house is also called Mount Gulian.

Which 11-year-old was shot by a customs officer weeks before the Boston Massacre?

Ebenezer Richardson fired the shot on February 22, 1770.

In which Massachusetts town was Crispus Attucks born?

Attucks was born around 1723 in Framingham, Massachusetts, of Wampanoag and African descent; a 1750 advertisement for a runaway from Framingham is thought to describe him.

Which French admiral brought the first French fleet to America in July 1778?

Charles Hector, comte d'Estaing, reached the Delaware in July 1778 with twelve ships of the line; after a storm scattered his fleet off Newport in August he withdrew to Boston, ending the Rhode Island campaign.

Who commanded the predominantly Black 1st Rhode Island Regiment near Newport in 1778?

Colonel Christopher Greene led the 1st Rhode Island Regiment, nicknamed the Black Regiment, which repulsed three Hessian assaults at the Battle of Rhode Island on August 29, 1778; he was killed by Loyalists in 1781.

Stony Point, stormed at night by 'Mad Anthony' Wayne in 1779, lies how far north of Manhattan?

Stony Point sits on the Hudson in Rockland County about 30 miles north of Manhattan; Wayne's bayonet-only night assault took the fort on July 16, 1779.

Anthony Wayne's reputation suffered after his defeat in which 1777 battle?

At Paoli on the night of September 20, 1777, Charles Grey's British troops surprised Wayne's camp with bayonets; Wayne demanded a court-martial, was acquitted, and restored his name by storming Stony Point in 1779.

Before the war, Anthony Wayne worked as a surveyor and in what other trade?

Wayne ran the family tannery at Waynesborough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and worked as a surveyor, including a 1765 trip to Nova Scotia for a land company.

How many ships of the line did de Grasse bring against Graves's 19 at the Chesapeake?

The two-hour fight followed hours of maneuvering.

What was the code name of the French expeditionary force Rochambeau led to America?

France's 'Expédition Particulière' landed about 5,500 of Rochambeau's soldiers at Newport in July 1780; they marched with Washington's army to Yorktown the following year.

Which Swedish count served as Rochambeau's aide-de-camp and interpreter?

Count Axel von Fersen, later famous as Marie Antoinette's confidant, joined Rochambeau's staff as aide-de-camp and interpreter and served through the Yorktown campaign of 1781.

Which colonel commanded Fort Washington when it surrendered on November 16, 1776?

Colonel Robert Magaw rejected Howe's surrender demand with a promise to fight 'to the last extremity' but had to capitulate on November 16, 1776, losing the fort, its garrison and its guns.

How many Americans were taken prisoner when Fort Washington fell in 1776?

Some 2,837 American soldiers surrendered at Fort Washington on November 16, 1776, one of the worst Patriot defeats of the war, along with large stores of cannon and muskets.

Banastre Tarleton was born in which English city?

Tarleton was born in Liverpool in 1754, the son of a slave-trading merchant who became the city's mayor, and later sat as Liverpool's MP for over 20 years.

William Howe won fame in 1759 by seizing which cliffs so Wolfe could land at Quebec?

Howe led the light infantry up the cliff path at Anse-au-Foulon before dawn on September 13, 1759, opening the Plains of Abraham to Wolfe's army.

How many men did Burgoyne surrender at Saratoga on October 17, 1777?

About 6,200 men laid down their arms at Saratoga under a 'convention' promising passage home; Congress reneged and the Convention Army stayed captive for years, though Burgoyne himself went home on parole in 1778.

Besides soldiering, John Burgoyne was known for what other career?

Burgoyne was a successful playwright: The Maid of the Oaks (1774) was staged by David Garrick at Drury Lane, and The Heiress (1786) was a London hit.

Cornwallis was colonel of which unit from 1766 to 1805?

Cornwallis became colonel of the 33rd Regiment of Foot in 1766 and held the colonelcy until his death in 1805; the regiment served under him at Brandywine, Camden and Guilford Court House.

Thomas Gage served alongside George Washington in which 1755 engagement?

At the Battle of the Monongahela on July 9, 1755, Gage led Braddock's advance guard and Washington served as Braddock's aide; both survived the rout that killed Braddock.

Which Virginia militia colonel called Great Bridge 'a second Bunker's Hill affair'?

Colonel William Woodford commanded the Virginia troops whose volleys shattered the British assault at Great Bridge on December 9, 1775; the defeat drove Lord Dunmore from Virginia.

Dunmore's 1775 proclamation promised freedom to enslaved people who did what?

Joined the British Army: that was the deal, and between 800 and 2,000 enslaved people ran away to enlist with him.

Which 1779 British offer extended Dunmore's promise of freedom to all the colonies?

Henry Clinton's Philipsburg Proclamation of June 30, 1779, issued from his New York headquarters, promised security and freedom to any enslaved person who deserted a rebel master; some 20,000 escaped to British lines during the war.

The 1776 Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge is notable as the last recorded example of what?

Sword-wielding Loyalists were cut down by musket and artillery fire.

Which colonel commanded the palmetto-log fort on Sullivan's Island in June 1776?

Colonel William Moultrie's 2nd South Carolina Regiment held the unfinished palmetto-log fort on June 28, 1776; the spongy logs absorbed British cannonballs, and the fort was renamed Fort Moultrie.

Which American general was killed by cannon fire attacking Quebec on December 31, 1775?

Richard Montgomery was killed by grapeshot at the first barricade below Cape Diamond on December 31, 1775; Arnold was wounded in the leg and Morgan captured in the snowstorm assault.

Who was the British governor defending Quebec City in December 1775?

Guy Carleton, governor of Quebec, slipped out of Montreal disguised as a habitant in November 1775 as Montgomery approached, and held Quebec City through the winter until relief ships arrived in May 1776.

On what date did the Continental Congress found the Continental Navy?

On October 13, 1775, Congress voted to fit out two armed vessels to intercept British supply ships, the date the U.S. Navy counts as its birthday; Esek Hopkins was named commander-in-chief that December.

The U.S. Marine Corps dates its birth to the founding of the Continental Marines on what date?

Congress resolved on November 10, 1775, to raise two battalions of Continental Marines, the date the Marine Corps celebrates as its birthday; the Continental Marines were disbanded in 1783 and the Corps re-established in 1798.

George Rogers Clark captured Kaskaskia in 1778 and which post in 1779?

Clark retook Vincennes and Fort Sackville on February 25, 1779, after an 18-day winter march through flooded country, capturing Lieutenant Governor Henry Hamilton; the feat earned him the nickname 'Conqueror of the Old Northwest'.

Which Kentucky city is George Rogers Clark credited with founding in 1778?

Clark landed settlers on Corn Island at the Falls of the Ohio in May 1778 on his way west, the settlement that became Louisville; his younger brother William later co-led the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Off which Rhode Island town did HMS Gaspee run aground before colonists burned it in 1772?

The Gaspee grounded on Namquid Point off Warwick on June 9, 1772, while chasing the packet Hannah; Providence men led by John Brown rowed down that night and burned her.

Which Boston Patriot is credited as the brainchild behind the committees of correspondence?

About 7,000 to 8,000 Patriots served on the committees.

By how much did the Sugar Act of 1764 cut the existing molasses duty?

The Sugar Act cut the Molasses Act's duty by half, from six pence to three pence a gallon, but Parliament meant to enforce the lower rate; colonists had openly evaded the old one.

Which prime minister replaced George Grenville and oversaw the Stamp Act's repeal?

The Marquess of Rockingham, prime minister from July 1765, pushed the Stamp Act's repeal through Parliament in March 1766, paired with the Declaratory Act asserting Parliament's power to legislate for the colonies 'in all cases whatsoever'.

The Royal Proclamation of 1763 barred settlement west of which mountain range?

The Proclamation of October 7, 1763, reserved the land west of the Appalachians for Native nations, barring colonial settlement beyond the watershed line that runs along the mountain crest.

Who hung the lantern signal in the Old North Church steeple on April 18, 1775?

Newman was the church's sexton.

In which town was Paul Revere stopped by a British patrol during his ride?

The patrol stopped the three riders in Lincoln, between Lexington and Concord; Prescott jumped his horse over a wall and reached Concord, Dawes turned back, and Revere was released after questioning, minus his horse.

Which poet's 1861 work shaped the popular memory of Paul Revere's ride?

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 'Paul Revere's Ride' appeared in The Atlantic Monthly in January 1861; it made Revere the lone rider, leaving out Dawes and Prescott and having him reach Concord, which he never did.

In what year was Boston's Old North Church, of lantern fame, built?

Christ Church in Boston's North End, known as Old North, was built in 1723, making it the city's oldest surviving church building.

The day after Ticonderoga fell in May 1775, Americans also captured which nearby post?

Seth Warner's detachment took Fort Crown Point, ten miles north of Ticonderoga, on May 11, 1775, with its tiny garrison and over a hundred cannon; Arnold then raided Fort Saint-Jean in Quebec.

When the British evacuated Boston in March 1776, where did they sail?

Howe's army and about 1,100 Loyalists sailed from Boston to Halifax, Nova Scotia, on March 17, 1776, ending an eleven-month siege; Howe returned south to attack New York that summer.

What stopped Howe's planned attack on the American guns at Dorchester Heights?

Howe ordered an assault for March 5, 1776, but a snowstorm with gale winds that night broke up his boats; he called it off and chose evacuation. Washington had occupied the heights on the night of March 4.

A skirmish by which ranger unit sparked the Battle of Harlem Heights in September 1776?

Thomas Knowlton's Rangers, a scouting unit of about 120 men, clashed with British light infantry on the morning of September 16, 1776, in what is now Morningside Heights; Knowlton was killed in the fight that followed.

In which Pennsylvania town did Congress sit from September 1777 to June 1778?

Congress sat in York's courthouse from September 30, 1777, to June 27, 1778, after a single day at Lancaster, and adopted the Articles of Confederation there in November 1777.

The Conway Cabal aimed to replace Washington with which general?

Gates later apologized for his role.

Which September 1781 battle was the last major engagement in the Carolinas?

Eutaw Springs, fought September 8, 1781, was the last major battle in the Carolinas; Greene's men overran the British camp and stopped to plunder it, letting Stewart rally, but the British then fell back to Charleston.

Which Patriot officer's men were cut down at Waxhaws by Tarleton's cavalry in May 1780?

Colonel Abraham Buford's Virginia Continentals were overrun at the Waxhaws on May 29, 1780; Patriots claimed Tarleton's men cut down soldiers trying to surrender, and 'Tarleton's quarter' became a byword for no mercy.

Which British officer captured Savannah in December 1778?

Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell landed about 3,000 men and took Savannah on December 29, 1778, after a local guided him around the American line; a Franco-American siege failed to retake it in October 1779.

Light Horse Harry Lee's 1779 Paulus Hook raid struck a fort in what is now downtown where?

Paulus Hook stood on the Hudson shore of what is now downtown Jersey City; Lee's surprise attack on August 19, 1779, took over 150 prisoners and won him a gold medal, the only one Congress gave a non-general.

On which body of water was the Battle of Valcour Island fought in October 1776?

Valcour Island lies in Lake Champlain near Plattsburgh; Arnold's makeshift fleet was destroyed on October 11-13, 1776, but the delay it forced pushed Carleton's advance back to 1777.

Peggy Shippen, Benedict Arnold's wife, has been described as what?

She married Arnold on April 8, 1779.

What role did John André hold in the British Army when he met Benedict Arnold?

Major John André was Clinton's adjutant general and head of intelligence operations, running the secret correspondence with Arnold; he was hanged as a spy at Tappan on October 2, 1780.

Which American painter was jailed in Britain amid outrage over André's execution?

John Trumbull, studying under Benjamin West in London, was arrested in November 1780 as a rebel officer in reprisal for André's hanging and spent seven months in prison before being released and deported.

Which Continental general did the enslaved James Armistead serve as courier and spy?

Armistead spied for the Marquis de Lafayette in 1781, posing as a runaway inside Arnold's and then Cornwallis's camps and feeding the British false reports; he later took the name James Armistead Lafayette.

Which Polish-born financier's $20,000 loan in 1781 helped fund the Yorktown campaign?

Haym Salomon, born in Leszno, Poland, brokered bills of exchange for Robert Morris and reportedly raised $20,000 in 1781 when Morris needed it for the Yorktown campaign; he died in debt in Philadelphia in 1785.

Robert Morris held what post from 1781 to 1784, earning the title 'Financier of the Revolution'?

Congress made Morris Superintendent of Finance in 1781 and he served until 1784, founding the Bank of North America and backing the Yorktown campaign partly on his own credit; he was born in Liverpool.

Under what pseudonym did Mercy Otis Warren publish her 1788 pamphlet against the Constitution?

Warren signed 'Observations on the New Constitution' (1788) as 'A Columbian Patriot'; the pamphlet was long attributed to Elbridge Gerry until her authorship was established in the 1930s.

Mary Katherine Goddard's 1777 broadside of the Declaration was the first to include what?

Goddard's Baltimore broadside of January 1777 was the first printing of the Declaration to carry the names of the signers; earlier broadsides had carried only the president's and secretary's names. She was Baltimore's postmaster from 1775 to 1789.

Bernardo de Gálvez's siege of Pensacola in 1781 completed Spain's conquest of what?

Pensacola was the capital of British West Florida; its surrender on May 10, 1781, to Gálvez's force of roughly 7,000 Spanish, French and colonial troops gave Spain the whole province, confirmed in the 1783 peace.

Which 1782 naval action saw Rodney defeat and capture de Grasse, saving Jamaica?

At the Battle of the Saintes on April 12, 1782, Rodney's fleet broke through the French line, took de Grasse's flagship Ville de Paris and four other ships, and ended the threat to Jamaica.

Which engagement of the war was the largest by number of combatants?

The Great Siege of Gibraltar, from June 1779 to February 1783, pitted some 7,500 British defenders against Franco-Spanish forces of tens of thousands, peaking in the Grand Assault of September 1782, more combatants than any battle in America.

Who commanded the British garrison at Gibraltar during its 1779-83 siege?

General George Eliott, later Lord Heathfield, held Gibraltar for three and a half years; his red-hot shot destroyed the Spanish floating batteries in the Grand Assault of September 13, 1782.

Which was the second European country to diplomatically recognize the United States, in April 1782?

The Dutch Republic recognized American independence on April 19, 1782, when the States General received John Adams as minister; he then negotiated a loan of five million guilders from Amsterdam bankers.

The Battle of Flamborough Head in 1779 was fought off the coast of which English county?

Flamborough Head is a chalk headland on the Yorkshire coast; the moonlit battle of September 23, 1779, was watched by crowds on the cliffs as Bonhomme Richard and Serapis fought yardarm to yardarm.

Where was the frigate Alliance, in John Paul Jones's squadron, built?

The Alliance was launched in 1778 at Amesbury, Massachusetts, on the Merrimack River, and was the only vessel in Jones's squadron not supplied by France; her captain Pierre Landais fired into Bonhomme Richard at Flamborough Head.

On what date was the Franco-American Treaty of Alliance signed in Paris?

The Treaty of Alliance was signed in Paris on February 6, 1778, alongside the Treaty of Amity and Commerce; both nations pledged not to make a separate peace until American independence was secured.

Who was the first American diplomat sent to France?

Silas Deane reached Paris in July 1776 as Congress's secret agent, arranging supplies through Beaumarchais and commissions for officers like Lafayette; Arthur Lee later accused him of financial impropriety.

Which French author of the Figaro plays ran covert arms shipments to the Americans?

Beaumarchais set up the front company Roderigue Hortalez & Cie in 1776 to ship French arms and powder to the Americans; Congress disputed his bills and his heirs were not paid until 1835.

What did the 1778 Carlisle Peace Commission offer the Continental Congress?

The Carlisle Commission offered self-rule within the Empire, including repeal of the Tea and Coercive Acts and no parliamentary taxation, but not independence; Congress refused to negotiate without independence and a British withdrawal.

On what date did Congress pass the Lee Resolution declaring the colonies free and independent?

Congress adopted Richard Henry Lee's resolution of independence on July 2, 1776, by a vote of twelve colonies with New York abstaining; the Declaration text was approved two days later.

Which delegate is the only person to have signed all four founding state papers?

Roger Sherman of Connecticut signed the Continental Association (1774), the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution; he also proposed the Connecticut Compromise in 1787.

British customs officials seized which vessel belonging to John Hancock in 1768?

Customs officers seized the sloop Liberty, Hancock's vessel, on June 10, 1768, for allegedly landing Madeira wine without paying duty; the seizure set off a riot, and the smuggling charges against Hancock were dropped in March 1769.

Which Irish-born secretary served the Continental Congress for its entire existence?

Charles Thomson, born in County Derry and brought to Pennsylvania as an orphan, was secretary of the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1789; his and Hancock's were the only names on the first printed Declaration.

Which group first called the State House Bell the 'Liberty Bell'?

Abolitionists adopted the bell as a symbol, and an 1835 anti-slavery publication first called it the 'Liberty Bell'; its link to July 1776 was invented in George Lippard's 1847 story.

Which two local workmen recast the Liberty Bell, leaving their names on it?

Philadelphia founders John Pass and John Stow recast the cracked bell twice in 1753 and stamped 'PASS AND STOW' on it; the original had been cast in London by Lester and Pack at the Whitechapel Foundry.

On which ship was the Gadsden 'Dont Tread on Me' flag first unfurled in December 1775?

The flag flew as Commodore Esek Hopkins's personal standard aboard his flagship USS Alfred, Gadsden having given it to him in December 1775 before the fleet's first cruise.

The Continental Colours of 1775 paired thirteen stripes with what in the canton?

The Continental Colours, or Grand Union Flag, put the British Union Flag in the canton over thirteen red and white stripes, a variant of the British Red Ensign, signalling continued allegiance to the Crown while asserting colonial unity.

On what date did the Continental Congress pass its first Flag Resolution?

Congress resolved on June 14, 1777, that the flag be thirteen stripes and thirteen stars 'representing a new constellation'; June 14 became Flag Day by presidential proclamation in 1916 and by act of Congress in 1949.

'Yankee Doodle' is the official state song of which state?

It served as a de facto national anthem before 1931.

Washington's Badge of Military Merit of 1782 was later reborn as which decoration?

The Purple Heart was established on February 22, 1932, the bicentennial of Washington's birth, as the successor to his 1782 Badge of Military Merit, a purple cloth heart awarded to only three known soldiers.

On what date in 1783 did the British finally evacuate Manhattan?

The last British troops left Manhattan on November 25, 1783, celebrated for over a century as Evacuation Day; Washington and Governor Clinton then rode down to the Battery as the flag went up.

At which New York establishment did Washington bid farewell to his officers in 1783?

Washington took leave of his officers in the Long Room of Fraunces Tavern at Pearl and Broad Streets on December 4, 1783, embracing each in turn before leaving for Annapolis to resign his commission.

From 1779 to 1782 John Jay served as U.S. ambassador to which country?

Jay spent 1779 to 1782 in Madrid as minister to Spain but was never formally received; Spain refused recognition and an alliance, giving only a small loan, before Jay moved on to the Paris peace talks.

Which act of late 1775 cut off all trade with the colonies and imposed a blockade?

The Prohibitory Act of December 1775 declared the colonies outside the king's protection, banned all trade with them and made their ships lawful prize; John Adams called it an 'Act of Independency'.

Colonial anger over the Quartering Acts led directly to which part of the Bill of Rights?

The Third Amendment bars quartering soldiers in private homes in peacetime without the owner's consent, a direct answer to the Quartering Acts of 1765 and 1774 that required colonists to house and supply British troops.

The Boston Port Act moved Massachusetts's seat of government to which town?

The Port Act of 1774 closed Boston harbour from June 1 and shifted the colony's government and customs house to Salem, with Marblehead made the port of entry.

When did the label 'Intolerable Acts' for the 1774 laws first come into use?

Contemporaries in Britain and America called them the Coercive Acts.

Which British general was shot by Morgan's riflemen at Bemis Heights on October 7, 1777?

Brigadier General Simon Fraser was mortally wounded at Bemis Heights on October 7, 1777, by a rifleman from Daniel Morgan's corps, traditionally Timothy Murphy; he died the next day and was buried in the Great Redoubt.

General Gates, the victor of Saratoga, was born in which English county?

Horatio Gates was born in Maldon, Essex, in 1727, the son of a duke's housekeeper; he sold his British commission and in 1772 bought the Traveller's Rest plantation in Virginia.

John Stark, the 'Hero of Bennington', was captured in 1752 by warriors of which people?

Abenaki warriors captured the 23-year-old Stark on a hunting trip in April 1752 and took him to St. Francis, where he was made to run the gauntlet; a Massachusetts agent ransomed him that year.

Von Steuben once served as aide-de-camp to which monarch?

Steuben served on Frederick II of Prussia's general staff and as one of his aides-de-camp during the Seven Years' War before being discharged as a captain in 1763.

Which fortifications did Thaddeus Kosciuszko design and oversee in New York?

He was a colonel of engineers in the Continental Army.

Which Hessian colonel was mortally wounded attacking Fort Mercer at Red Bank in 1777?

Colonel Carl von Donop led about 2,000 Hessians against Fort Mercer at Red Bank, New Jersey, on October 22, 1777; the assault was shattered with some 400 casualties and Donop died of his wounds three days later.

Which South Carolina partisan was nicknamed the 'Fighting Gamecock'?

Thomas Sumter earned the 'Gamecock' name for his fierce partisan fighting in 1780, including at Hanging Rock and Blackstock's; he later sat in the U.S. Senate until 1810.

Under what name did Deborah Sampson serve in the Continental Army?

Sampson enlisted in May 1782 as 'Robert Shirtliff' (also spelled Shurtliff) in the 4th Massachusetts Regiment and served about 17 months before a fever in Philadelphia exposed her in 1783.

Patrick Henry first rose to prominence by winning which court case?

Henry's fiery speech in the Parson's Cause at Hanover Courthouse in December 1763 persuaded the jury to award the plaintiff clergyman one penny in damages, making his name; he had become a lawyer through self-study.

The Book of Negroes recorded about 3,000 Black Loyalists evacuated to where?

The Book of Negroes, compiled in New York in 1783 under Sir Guy Carleton, listed some 3,000 Black Loyalists shipped to Nova Scotia; about 1,200 of them later sailed on to Sierra Leone in 1792.

Jane McCrea, whose 1777 killing fueled anti-British propaganda, was engaged to what kind of man?

McCrea was engaged to David Jones, a Loyalist officer serving with Burgoyne's army, when she was killed and scalped near Fort Edward in July 1777 by Native warriors attached to the British, an outrage Patriot propaganda exploited.

What was Nathan Hale's occupation before he joined the Continental Army?

Hale worked as a schoolteacher in East Haddam and New London after graduating from Yale in 1773, then joined the Connecticut militia in 1775; Connecticut named him its state hero in 1985.

Minutemen made up roughly what fraction of the New England militia?

They were younger, more mobile and armed by local governments.

What kind of tree was Boston's famous Liberty Tree?

The Liberty Tree was a great elm near Boston Common where the Sons of Liberty hung the first Stamp Act effigies in August 1765; Loyalists and British soldiers cut it down in August 1775.

An effigy labelled 'A. O.' hung from the Liberty Tree in 1765 represented whom?

Oliver was Boston's appointed stamp distributor.

Who held nominal command of the Loyalist-Haudenosaunee force at the 1778 Cherry Valley massacre?

Captain Walter Butler of Butler's Rangers held nominal command at Cherry Valley on November 11, 1778, though Joseph Brant led most of the warriors; about 30 non-combatants were killed, and Butler was blamed for failing to restrain the attack.

The 1778 Battle of Wyoming took place in a valley of which state?

Some 300 Patriots were killed in what became known as the Wyoming Massacre.

By what nickname was general Israel Putnam popularly known?

Israel Putnam was 'Old Put' to his men: a 57-year-old veteran of Rogers' Rangers in the French and Indian War who, legend says, left his plough in the field when news of Lexington came.

Which settlement in Britain's Maritime colonies became a main home for Black Loyalists after 1783?

Birchtown, near Shelburne, Nova Scotia, was settled in 1783 by Black Loyalists and became the largest free Black settlement in North America at the time; its name honoured Samuel Birch, the British general who signed their freedom certificates.

In a famous March 1776 letter, Abigail Adams urged her husband John and Congress to 'remember' whom?

Abigail's March 31, 1776 letter asked John to 'remember the ladies' in the new code of laws, warning that 'all Men would be tyrants if they could' and that husbands should not hold unlimited power.

Which 1774 act guaranteed Catholic worship in a former French colony and pushed its borders into the Ohio country?

The Quebec Act of 1774 guaranteed Catholic worship and French civil law in Quebec and extended the province to the Ohio River; colonists lumped it with the Coercive Acts, fearing a model for rule without elected assemblies.

Runaway inflation in the Revolution's paper money gave rise to which dismissive phrase?

'Not worth a continental' mocked the Continental currency, which Congress printed without backing; by spring 1781 it traded at well over 100 to 1 against specie, and the 1790 Funding Act redeemed it at 100 to 1.

At the 1780 Battle of Springfield, chaplain James Caldwell gave the gunners what to use as wadding?

Caldwell handed out Isaac Watts's hymn books from the Presbyterian church as wadding, shouting 'Give 'em Watts, boys!'; his wife Hannah had been shot dead at Connecticut Farms two weeks earlier.

Which British officer was Peter Salem, a freed Black militiaman, recorded as fatally wounding at Bunker Hill?

Salem is traditionally credited with the shot that mortally wounded Major John Pitcairn as the Marines stormed the redoubt on June 17, 1775; his owner Lawson Buckminster had freed him to enlist, and he served about five years.