Editing American Revolution (section)

==Defending the revolution==
{{Main|American Revolutionary War}}

===British return: 1776–1777===
{{Further|New York and New Jersey campaign|Staten Island Peace Conference|Saratoga campaign|Philadelphia campaign}}
[[File:The British fleet in the lower bay 1876.jpg|left|thumb|The British fleet amassed off [[Staten Island]] in [[New York Harbor]] in the summer of 1776, as depicted in ''[[Harper's Magazine]]'' in 1876]]

According to British historian [[Jeremy Black (historian)|Jeremy Black]], the British had significant advantages, including a highly trained army, the world's largest navy, and an efficient system of public finance that could easily fund the war. However, they seriously misunderstood the depth of support for the American Patriot position, misinterpreting the situation as merely a large-scale riot. The British government believed that they could overawe the Americans by sending a large military and naval force:

{{blockquote|Convinced that the Revolution was the work of a full few miscreants who had rallied an armed rabble to their cause, they expected that the revolutionaries would be intimidated&nbsp;.... Then the vast majority of Americans, who were loyal but cowed by the terroristic tactics&nbsp;... would rise up, kick out the rebels, and restore loyal government in each colony.<ref>Jeremy Black, ''Crisis of Empire: Britain and America in the Eighteenth Century'' (2008) p. 140</ref>}}

In the [[Siege of Boston]], Washington forced the British out of the city in the spring of 1776, and neither the British nor the Loyalists controlled any significant areas. The British, however, were amassing forces at their naval base at [[Halifax Regional Municipality|Halifax, Nova Scotia]]. They returned in force in July 1776, landing in New York and defeating Washington's Continental Army in August at the [[Battle of Long Island|Battle of Brooklyn]]. This gave the British control of New York City and its strategic [[New York Harbor|harbor]]. Following that victory, they requested a meeting with representatives from Congress to negotiate an end to hostilities.<ref name="Schecter, Barnet 2002">Schecter, Barnet. ''The Battle for New York: The City at the Heart of the American Revolution''. (2002)</ref><ref name="McCullough, 1776 2005">McCullough, ''1776'' (2005)</ref>

A delegation including [[John Adams]] and [[Benjamin Franklin]] met British admiral [[Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe|Richard Howe]] on [[Staten Island]] in [[New York Harbor]] on September 11 in what became known as the [[Staten Island Peace Conference]]. Howe demanded that the Americans retract the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], which they refused to do, and negotiations ended. The British then [[Battle of Kip's Bay|seized New York City]] and nearly captured Washington's army. They made the city their main political and military base of operations, holding it until [[Evacuation Day (New York)|November 1783]]. The city became the destination for Loyalist refugees and a focal point of Washington's [[Intelligence in the American Revolutionary War|intelligence network]].<ref name="Schecter, Barnet 2002" /><ref name="McCullough, 1776 2005" />

[[File:Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze, MMA-NYC, 1851.jpg|thumb|[[George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River|Washington crossing the Delaware]] on December 25–26, 1776, depicted in [[Emanuel Leutze]]'s [[Washington Crossing the Delaware (1851 paintings)|1851 painting]]]]
The British also took New Jersey, pushing the Continental Army into Pennsylvania. Washington [[George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River|crossed the Delaware River]] back into New Jersey in a surprise attack in late December 1776 and defeated the [[Hessian (soldier)|Hessian]] and British armies at [[Battle of Trenton|Trenton]] and [[Battle of Princeton|Princeton]], thereby regaining control of most of New Jersey. The victories gave an important boost to Patriots at a time when morale was flagging, and they have become iconic events of the war.

In September 1777, in anticipation of a [[Philadelphia campaign|coordinated attack]] by the British Army on the revolutionary capital of Philadelphia, the Continental Congress was forced to depart Philadelphia temporarily for [[Baltimore]], where they continued deliberations.

In 1777, the British sent Burgoyne's invasion force from Canada south to New York to seal off New England. Their aim was to isolate New England, which the British perceived as the primary source of agitation. Rather than move north to support Burgoyne, the British army in New York City went to Philadelphia in a major case of mis-coordination, capturing it from Washington. The invasion army under [[John Burgoyne|Burgoyne]] was much too slow and became trapped in northern New York state. It surrendered after the [[Battles of Saratoga]] in October 1777. From early October 1777 until November 15, a siege distracted British troops at [[Fort Mifflin]], Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and allowed Washington time to preserve the Continental Army by safely leading his troops to harsh winter quarters at [[Valley Forge]].

===Prisoners===
{{Main|Prisoners of war in the American Revolutionary War}}
{{further|HMS Jersey (1736)|Sugar house prisons in New York City}}

On August 23, 1775, George III declared Americans to be traitors to the Crown if they took up arms against royal authority. There were thousands of British and Hessian soldiers in American hands following their surrender at the Battles of Saratoga. Lord Germain took a hard line, but the British generals on American soil never held treason trials, and instead treated captured American soldiers as prisoners of war.<ref>Alan Valentine, ''Lord George Germain'' (1962) pp.&nbsp;309–310</ref> The dilemma was that tens of thousands of Loyalists were under American control and American retaliation would have been easy. The British built much of their strategy around using these Loyalists.<ref name="Larry G. Bowman 1976">Larry G. Bowman, ''Captive Americans: Prisoners During the American Revolution'' (1976)</ref> The British maltreated the prisoners whom they held, resulting in more deaths to American prisoners of war than from combat operations.<ref name="Larry G. Bowman 1976"/> At the end of the war, both sides released their surviving prisoners.<ref>John C. Miller, ''Triumph of Freedom, 1775–1783'' (1948) p. 166.</ref>

===American alliances after 1778===
{{main|Diplomacy in the American Revolutionary War}}
{{Further|France in the American Revolutionary War|Spain in the American Revolutionary War|Carlisle Peace Commission}}
{{see also|First League of Armed Neutrality}}
[[File:Us_unabhaengigkeitskrieg.jpg|thumb|[[Hessian (soldiers)|Hessian]] troops hired out to the British by their [[Germany|German]] sovereigns]]
[[Battles of Saratoga|The capture of a British army at Saratoga]] encouraged the French to formally enter the war in support of Congress, and Benjamin Franklin negotiated a permanent military alliance in early 1778; France thus became the first foreign nation to officially recognize the Declaration of Independence. On February 6, 1778, the United States and France signed the [[Treaty of Amity and Commerce (USA–France)|Treaty of Amity and Commerce]] and the [[Treaty of Alliance (1778)|Treaty of Alliance]].<ref name="Hamilton, 1974 p. 28">Hamilton, ''The Papers of Alexander Hamilton'' (1974) p. 28</ref> [[William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham|William Pitt]] spoke out in Parliament urging Britain to make peace in America and to unite with America against France, while British politicians who had sympathized with colonial grievances now turned against the Americans for allying with Britain's rival and enemy.<ref>Stanley Weintraub, ''Iron Tears: America's Battle for Freedom, Britain's Quagmire, 1775–1783'' (2005) p. 151</ref>

The Spanish and the Dutch became allies of the French in 1779 and 1780 respectively, forcing the British to fight a global war without major allies, and requiring it to slip through a combined blockade of the Atlantic. Britain began to view the American war for independence as merely one front in a wider war,<ref>Mackesy, ''The War for America'' (1993) p. 568</ref> and the British chose to withdraw troops from America to reinforce the British colonies in the Caribbean, which were under threat of Spanish or French invasion. British commander Sir [[Henry Clinton (American War of Independence)|Henry Clinton]] evacuated Philadelphia and returned to New York City.  Washington intercepted him in the [[Battle of Monmouth|Battle of Monmouth Court House]], the last major battle fought in the north. After an inconclusive engagement, the British retreated to New York City. The northern war subsequently became a stalemate, as the focus of attention shifted to the smaller southern theater.<ref name="Higginbotham, 1983 p. 83">Higginbotham, ''The War of American Independence'' (1983) p. 83</ref>

===1778–1783: the British move south===
{{Further|Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War|Naval operations in the American Revolutionary War}}
The [[British Royal Navy]] blockaded ports and held [[New York City]] for the duration of the war, and other cities for brief periods, but failed in their effort to destroy Washington's forces. The British strategy now concentrated on a campaign in the [[Southern colonies|southern states]]. With fewer regular troops at their disposal, the British commanders saw the "southern strategy" as a more viable plan, as they perceived the south as strongly Loyalist with a large population of recent immigrants and large numbers of slaves who might be tempted to run away from their masters to join the British and gain their freedom.<ref>Crow and Tise, ''The Southern Experience in the American Revolution'' (1978) pp. 157–159</ref>

Beginning in late December 1778, the British captured [[Savannah, Georgia|Savannah]] and controlled the [[Province of Georgia|Georgia]] coastline. In 1780, they launched a fresh invasion and [[Siege of Charleston|took Charleston]]. A significant victory at the [[Battle of Camden]] meant that royal forces soon controlled most of Georgia and South Carolina. The British set up a network of forts inland, hoping that the Loyalists would rally to the flag.<ref name="Henry Lumpkin 2000">Henry Lumpkin, ''From Savannah to Yorktown: The American Revolution in the South'' (2000)</ref> Not enough Loyalists turned out, however, and the British had to fight their way north into North Carolina and Virginia with a severely weakened army. Behind them, much of the territory that they had already captured dissolved into a chaotic [[guerrilla war]], fought predominantly between bands of Loyalists and American militia, which negated many of the gains that the British had previously made.<ref name="Henry Lumpkin 2000"/>

====Surrender at Yorktown (1781)====
{{Main|Siege of Yorktown}}
[[File:John_Trumbull_-_The_Surrender_of_Lord_Cornwallis_at_Yorktown,_October_19,_1781_-_1832.4_-_Yale_University_Art_Gallery.jpg|thumb|The 1781 [[siege of Yorktown]] ended with the surrender of a second British army, marking effective British defeat.]]
The British army under Cornwallis marched to [[Yorktown, Virginia]], where they expected to be rescued by a British fleet.<ref>Brendan Morrissey, ''Yorktown 1781: The World Turned Upside Down'' (1997)</ref> The fleet did arrive, but so did a larger French fleet. The French were victorious in the [[Battle of the Chesapeake]], and the British fleet returned to New York for reinforcements, leaving Cornwallis trapped. In October 1781, the British surrendered their second invading army of the war under a siege by the combined French and Continental armies commanded by Washington.<ref>Harvey pp. 493–515</ref>

===End of the war===
Washington did not know if or when the British might reopen hostilities after Yorktown. They still had 26,000 troops occupying New York City, Charleston, and Savannah, together with a powerful fleet. The French army and navy departed, so the Americans were on their own in 1782–83.<ref>Jonathan R. Dull, ''The French Navy and American Independence'' (1975) p. 248</ref> The American treasury was empty, and the unpaid soldiers were growing restive, almost to the point of mutiny or possible [[coup d'etat]]. Washington dispelled the unrest among officers of the [[Newburgh Conspiracy]] in 1783, and Congress subsequently created the promise of a five years bonus for all officers.<ref>Richard H. Kohn, ''Eagle and Sword: The Federalists and the Creation of the Military Establishment in America, 1783–1802'' (1975) pp. 17–39</ref>

Historians continue to debate whether the odds were long or short for American victory. [[John E. Ferling]] says that the odds were so long that the American victory was "almost a miracle".<ref>John Ferling, ''Almost A Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence'' (2009)</ref> On the other hand, [[Joseph Ellis]] says that the odds favored the Americans, and asks whether there ever was any realistic chance for the British to win. He argues that this opportunity came only once, in the summer of 1776, and Admiral Howe and his brother General Howe "missed several opportunities to destroy the Continental Army&nbsp;.... Chance, luck, and even the vagaries of the weather played crucial roles." Ellis's point is that the strategic and tactical decisions of the Howes were fatally flawed because they underestimated the challenges posed by the Patriots. Ellis concludes that, once the Howe brothers failed, the opportunity "would never come again" for a British victory.<ref>{{cite book|author=Joseph J. Ellis|title=Revolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z4RqZJzho1QC&pg=PR11|year=2013|publisher=Random House|page=11|isbn=978-0307701220}}</ref>

Support for the conflict had never been strong in Britain, where many sympathized with the Americans, but now it reached a new low.<ref>Harvey p. 528</ref> King George wanted to fight on, but his supporters lost control of Parliament and they launched no further offensives in America on the eastern seaboard.<ref name="Higginbotham, 1983 p. 83"/>{{efn|A final naval battle was fought on March 10, 1783, by Captain [[John Barry (naval officer)|John Barry]] and the crew of the [[USS Alliance (1778)|USS ''Alliance'']], who defeated three British warships led by HMS ''Sybille''.<ref>Martin I. J. Griffin, ''The Story of Commodore John Barry'' (2010) pp. 218–223</ref>}}