Editing 1778 (section)

=== January&ndash;March ===
* [[January 18]] &ndash; [[Third voyage of James Cook]]: [[Sea captain|Captain]] [[James Cook]], with ships [[HMS Resolution (1771)|HMS ''Resolution'']] and [[HMS Discovery (1774)|HMS ''Discovery'']], first views [[Oahu|Oʻahu]] then [[Kauai|Kauaʻi]] in the [[Hawaiian Islands]] of the Pacific Ocean, which he names the ''Sandwich Islands''.
* [[February 5]] &ndash; In the United States:
**[[South Carolina]] becomes the first state to ratify the [[Articles of Confederation]]. 
**General [[John Cadwalader (general)|John Cadwalader]] shoots and seriously wounds Major General [[Thomas Conway]] in a duel after a dispute between the two officers over Conway's continued criticism of General [[George Washington]]'s leadership of the [[Continental Army]].<ref name="Harper1778">''Harper's Encyclopaedia of United States History from 458 A. D. to 1909'', ed. by Benson John Lossing and, Woodrow Wilson (Harper & Brothers, 1910) p166</ref>
* [[February 6]] &ndash; [[American Revolutionary War]]: In Paris, the [[Treaty of Alliance (1778)|Treaty of Alliance]] and the [[Treaty of Amity and Commerce (United States–France)|Treaty of Amity and Commerce]] are signed by the United States and France, signaling official French recognition of the new republic.
* [[February 23]] &ndash; [[American Revolutionary War]]: [[Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben]] arrives at [[Valley Forge]], [[Pennsylvania]] and begins to train the American troops.
* [[March 6]]&ndash;[[October 24]] &ndash; [[James Cook|Captain Cook]] explores and maps the [[Pacific Northwest]] coast of North America, from [[Cape Foulweather]] ([[Oregon]]) to the [[Bering Strait]].
* [[March 10]] &ndash; [[American Revolutionary War]]: [[George Washington]] approves the dishonorable discharge of Lieutenant [[Frederick Gotthold Enslin]], for "attempting to commit sodomy, with John Monhort a soldier".