Revolutionary War Battles & Events
Explore the military engagements, campaigns, and major historical events of the American Revolution in chronological order.
1775
Battle of Chelsea Creek
Chelsea Creek and Boston Harbor, Massachusetts
On May 27–28, 1775, Massachusetts and New Hampshire provincial troops fought British naval and military forces around the islands of Boston Harbor. The Americans removed livestock and destroyed supplies that…
Explore Historical Article
Battle of Machias
Machias Bay, Massachusetts (present-day Maine)
In June 1775, residents of Machias challenged British authority over a shipment of lumber intended for the military forces occupying Boston. Their confrontation escalated into an armed pursuit of the…
Explore Historical Article
First Siege of Ninety-Six
Ninety-Six, South Carolina
From November 19 to 21, 1775, a Patriot militia force under Major Andrew Williamson defended an improvised fortified position near Ninety-Six, South Carolina, against a substantially larger Loyalist gathering. The…
Explore Historical Article
The Lexington Alarm of 1775
Massachusetts
On the night of April 18, 1775, news of British troop movements began traveling through Massachusetts. Riders, messengers, watchmen, and local residents passed warnings from one community to the next.…
Explore Historical Article
Battles of Lexington and Concord
Massachusetts Bay
A British expedition to destroy colonial military supplies develops into the opening armed engagements of the American Revolutionary War.
Explore Historical Article
Siege of Boston
Massachusetts
Eleven months of encirclement, artillery shortages and competing military strategies culminated in the American fortification of Dorchester Heights and the British evacuation of Boston.
Explore Historical Article
Capture of Fort Ticonderoga
Lake Champlain, New York
Before dawn on May 10, 1775, Ethan Allen, Benedict Arnold and a small force of colonial volunteers seized a strategically important British fort overlooking Lake Champlain without a pitched battle.
Explore Historical Article
Battle of Bunker Hill
Charlestown, Massachusetts
British regulars capture the Charlestown Heights after repeated assaults against entrenched New England troops.
Explore Historical Article
Battle of Longue-Pointe
Montreal Island, Province of Quebec
On September 25, 1775, Colonel Ethan Allen attempted to capture Montreal with a small force of American and Canadian volunteers. After crossing the St. Lawrence River, Allen found himself isolated…
Explore Historical Article
Burning of Falmouth
Falmouth, Massachusetts Bay (Present-Day Portland, Maine)
On October 18, 1775, a British naval squadron commanded by Lieutenant Henry Mowat bombarded the colonial seaport of Falmouth, Massachusetts Bay, in present-day Portland, Maine. After demanding submission and warning…
Explore Historical Article
Siege of Fort Saint-Jean
Richelieu River, Province of Quebec
In the autumn of 1775, American forces under Brigadier General Richard Montgomery besieged Fort Saint-Jean, a major British defensive position on the Richelieu River south of Montreal. The garrison, commanded…
Explore Historical Article
Capture of Montreal
Montreal, Province of Quebec
On November 13, 1775, American troops under Brigadier General Richard Montgomery entered Montreal after British Governor Guy Carleton withdrew from the city. The occupation followed the American victory at Fort…
Explore Historical Article
The Snow Campaign
South Carolina Backcountry
In December 1775, Colonel Richard Richardson led more than 4,000 Patriot troops into the South Carolina backcountry to suppress armed Loyalist resistance. The expedition followed the unresolved confrontation at Ninety-Six…
Explore Historical Article
Battle of Great Bridge
Great Bridge, Virginia
On December 9, 1775, British regulars under Captain Charles Fordyce advanced across a narrow causeway near Great Bridge, Virginia, to attack Patriot breastworks defended by troops under Colonel William Woodford.…
Explore Historical Article
Battle of Great Cane Brake
Reedy River, South Carolina
Before dawn on December 22, 1775, approximately 1,300 Patriot troops under Colonel William Thomson approached a Loyalist encampment hidden among dense cane along the Reedy River in the South Carolina…
Explore Historical Article
Battle of Quebec
Quebec City, Province of Quebec
In the early hours of December 31, 1775, American forces under Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold attacked Quebec City during a severe winter storm, hoping to capture Britain's principal stronghold…
Explore Historical Article1776
Battle of Gwynn's Island
Chesapeake Bay, Virginia
On July 9, 1776, Virginia Patriot forces under Brigadier General Andrew Lewis opened an artillery bombardment against the island stronghold of Lord Dunmore, Virginia's displaced royal governor. Dunmore had established…
Explore Historical Article
Battle of Iron Works Hill
Mount Holly, New Jersey
During December 21–23, 1776, approximately 500–600 American militia and volunteers under Colonel Samuel Griffin challenged British and Hessian outposts south of Bordentown, New Jersey. Their operations around Petticoat Bridge and…
Explore Historical Article
Battle of Nassau
New Providence Island, Bahamas
On March 3, 1776, approximately 230 Continental Marines and 50 sailors landed on New Providence Island in the Bahamas. Their commander, Captain Samuel Nicholas, had been ordered to seize British…
Explore Historical Article
Battle of the Cedars
Les Cèdres, Province of Quebec
In May 1776, Captain George Forster led a British-allied expedition against an American outpost at Les Cèdres on the St. Lawrence River, west of Montreal. His force combined a small…
Explore Historical Article
Battle of the Rice Boats
Savannah, Georgia
On March 2–3, 1776, British sailors and soldiers carried out a surprise operation against merchant vessels loaded with rice in the Savannah River. Using Hutchinson Island to approach the vessels,…
Explore Historical Article
Battle of Valcour Island
Lake Champlain, New York
On October 11, 1776, Brigadier General Benedict Arnold positioned an improvised American fleet in the channel between Valcour Island and the western shore of Lake Champlain. His purpose was to…
Explore Historical Article
Burning of Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
On January 1, 1776, British warships in the Elizabeth River opened fire on Norfolk, Virginia, after escalating confrontations between Lord Dunmore's floating royalist force and Patriot troops occupying the city.…
Explore Historical Article
Cherokee Campaign of 1776
Southern Appalachian Frontier
During the summer and autumn of 1776, Cherokee war parties attacked frontier settlements in the southern Appalachian region, while Patriot militia forces from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia…
Explore Historical Article
Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge
North Carolina
Before dawn on February 27, 1776, Scottish Highland Loyalists attempted to force a narrow crossing over Moore's Creek in southeastern North Carolina. Their objective was to break through Patriot defenses…
Explore Historical Article
Battle of Trois-Rivières
Province of Quebec, Canada
On June 8, 1776, approximately 1,500–2,000 Continental soldiers under Brigadier General William Thompson attempted to surprise a British force occupying Trois-Rivières, a strategic town on the north shore of the…
Explore Historical Article
Battle of Sullivan's Island
Charleston Harbor, South Carolina
On June 28, 1776, a British expedition attempted to force the entrance to Charleston Harbor through a coordinated naval bombardment and an infantry landing. Commodore Sir Peter Parker brought heavily…
Explore Historical Article
Battle of Long Island
Brooklyn, Long Island, New York
A concealed British march through Jamaica Pass turns the American left flank, destroys much of Washington's forward defense and threatens the Continental Army with encirclement.
Explore Historical Article
Landing at Kip's Bay
Manhattan, New York
On September 15, 1776, British forces launched a major amphibious assault against the eastern shoreline of Manhattan. Supported by five Royal Navy warships, approximately 4,000 British and German troops crossed…
Explore Historical Article
Battle of Harlem Heights
Manhattan, New York
On September 16, 1776, American reconnaissance troops under Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Knowlton encountered British light infantry south of the Continental Army's defensive positions at Harlem Heights. After an initial exchange…
Explore Historical Article
Battle of Throg's Neck
Westchester County, New York
On October 12, 1776, British General Sir William Howe landed approximately 4,000 British and German troops at Throg's Neck, a peninsula extending into Long Island Sound in present-day Bronx, New…
Explore Historical Article
Battle of Pell's Point
Pelham, New York
On October 18, 1776, British General Sir William Howe landed a substantial force at Pell's Point in Westchester County, seeking to move inland and threaten George Washington's retreating Continental Army.…
Explore Historical Article
Battle of White Plains
White Plains, New York
On October 28, 1776, General Sir William Howe attacked George Washington's army near White Plains, New York. The principal fighting occurred on Chatterton's Hill, an elevated position west of the…
Explore Historical Article
Battle of Fort Washington
Manhattan Island, New York
On November 16, 1776, General Sir William Howe launched a coordinated assault against Fort Washington, the last major American position on Manhattan Island. Approximately 3,000 defenders under Colonel Robert Magaw…
Explore Historical Article
Capture of Fort Lee
Fort Lee, New Jersey
On November 20, 1776, approximately 4,000–5,000 British and German troops under Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis crossed the Hudson River from Manhattan and landed near Closter, New Jersey, north of Fort…
Explore Historical Article
Battle of Trenton
Trenton, New Jersey
On Christmas night, December 25, 1776, General George Washington led approximately 2,400 Continental soldiers across the ice-filled Delaware River. After an exhausting march through snow, sleet, and freezing rain, the…
Explore Historical Article1777
Second Battle of Trenton
Assunpink Creek, Trenton, New Jersey
On January 2, 1777, Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis advanced from Princeton toward Trenton to destroy George Washington's Continental Army. American troops under Colonel Edward Hand delayed the British along the…
Explore Historical Article
Battle of Princeton
Princeton, New Jersey
During the night of January 2–3, 1777, George Washington withdrew his Continental Army from Assunpink Creek and maneuvered around Charles Cornwallis's British force toward Princeton. Near the town, American troops…
Explore Historical Article
Battle of Bennington
Walloomsac, New York
American militia defeat a British-led supply expedition in two engagements, preventing Burgoyne's northern army from obtaining urgently needed horses, wagons and provisions.
Explore Historical Article
Battles of Saratoga
Saratoga Campaign, New York
Two major engagements, eighteen days apart, halt the British northern offensive and lead to the surrender of Burgoyne's field army.
Explore Historical Article1778
No matching historical entries were found.