Portal:American Revolutionary War/Selected event/1
The
Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the
Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the
Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the
American Revolutionary War which took place near the mouth of
Chesapeake Bay on
September 5,
1781, between a
British fleet led by Rear-Admiral
Sir Thomas Graves and a
French fleet led by Rear-Admiral
Comte de Grasse. It was, in strategic terms, a major defeat for the
Royal Navy. The victory by the French fleet prevented the
Royal Navy from resupplying the forces of General
Lord Cornwallis at
Yorktown, Virginia. It also prevented interference with the supply of troops and provisions from
New York to the armies of
George Washington through
Chesapeake Bay. As a result, Cornwallis surrendered after the
siege of Yorktown, and Great Britain later recognized the independence of the
United States of America.
Portal:American Revolutionary War/Selected event/2
The
Battle of Guilford Court House was a
battle fought on
March 15,
1781 inside the present-day city of
Greensboro, North Carolina, during the
American Revolutionary War. 1,900
British troops, under General
Lord Cornwallis, fought an
American force, under
Rhode Island native General
Nathanael Greene, numbering 4,400.
Despite the relatively small numbers of troops involved, the battle is considered one of the most decisive of the Revolutionary War. Prior to the battle, the British appeared to have successfully reconquered Georgia and South Carolina with the aid of strong Loyalist factions, and that North Carolina might be within their grasp. In the wake of the battle, Greene moved into South Carolina, while Cornwallis chose to invade Virginia. These decisions allowed Greene to unravel British control of the South, while leading Cornwallis to Yorktown and surrender.
The battle is commemorated at
Guilford Courthouse National Military Park.
Portal:American Revolutionary War/Selected event/3
Lochry's Defeat, also known as the
Lochry massacre, was a battle fought on
August 24,
1781, near present-day
Aurora, Indiana, in the
United States. The battle was part of the
American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), which began as a conflict between
Great Britain and the
Thirteen Colonies before spreading to the
western frontier and bringing
American Indians into the war as British allies. The battle was short and decisive: about one hundred Indians under
Joseph Brant, a
Mohawk war leader who was temporarily in the west, ambushed about an equal number of
Pennsylvania militiamen led by
Archibald Lochry. Brant and his men killed or captured all of the Pennsylvanians without suffering any casualties.
Portal:American Revolutionary War/Selected event/4
The
Crawford expedition, also known as the
Sandusky expedition and
Crawford's Defeat, was a 1782 campaign on the
western front of the
American Revolutionary War, and one of the final operations of the conflict. Intending to surprise the Indians and destroy enemy
American Indian towns along the
Sandusky River in the
Ohio Country,
William Crawford led about 500 volunteer
militiamen deep into American Indian territory, but Indians and their
British allies from
Detroit had already learned of the expedition, and gathered a force to oppose the Americans. After a day of indecisive fighting near the Sandusky towns, the Americans found themselves surrounded and attempted to retreat. The retreat turned into a rout, but most of the Americans managed to find their way back to Pennsylvania. About 70 Americans were killed; Indian and British losses were minimal. During the retreat, Colonel Crawford and an unknown number of his men were captured. The Indians executed many of these captives in retaliation for the
Gnadenhutten massacre that occurred earlier in the year, in which about 100 Indian civilians were murdered by Pennsylvanian militiamen. Crawford's execution was particularly brutal: he was
tortured for at least two hours before being
burned at the stake. His execution was widely publicized in the United States, worsening the already-strained relationship between Native and European Americans.
Portal:American Revolutionary War/Selected event/5
The
Battle of Quebec was an attempt on
December 31,
1775, by American colonial revolutionaries to capture the Canadian
city of Quebec and enlist
French Canadian support for the
American Revolutionary War. The British commander, General
Guy Carleton, could not get extensive help because the
St. Lawrence River was frozen, and had to rely on the French-speaking militia of the city, who turned out in high numbers.
Benedict Arnold and
Richard Montgomery were the two primary colonial commanders in the assault, which failed. The battle was the climax of the revolutionaries'
invasion of Canada and put an end to any hopes of French Canada rising in rebellion with the colonists. The battle didn't actually repulse the invasion; this occurred six months later with the arrival of 4,000 troops, who forced the Continentals to leave Quebec.
Portal:American Revolutionary War/Selected event/6
The
Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the
American Revolutionary War. They were fought on
April 19,
1775, in
Middlesex County,
Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of
Lexington,
Concord,
Lincoln,
Menotomy (present-day Arlington), and
Cambridge, near
Boston. The battles marked the outbreak of open
armed conflict between the
Kingdom of Great Britain and its
thirteen colonies in the mainland of
British North America.
About 700 British Army regulars were ordered to capture and destroy military supplies that were reportedly stored by the Massachusetts militia at Concord. The first shots were fired just as the sun was rising at Lexington. The militia were outnumbered and fell back. Other colonists, hours later at the North Bridge in Concord, fought and defeated three companies of the king's troops. Outnumbered, soldiers of the British Army fell back from the Minutemen after a pitched battle in open territory. More Minutemen arrived soon thereafter and inflicted heavy damage on the British regulars as they marched back towards Boston.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his Concord Hymn described the first shot fired by the Patriots at the North Bridge as the "shot heard 'round the world".
