ican rebels, France declared war on Britain. In December 1778 Louis XIV issued a loan of 80 million livres; France ran up a large deficit supporting the American rebels.
28/6/1778. The British were defeated by George Washington at the Battle of Monmouth, New Jersey.
6/2/1778, France recognised the independence of the United States.
23/12/1777. A plot to overthrow General Washington was discovered and its leader executed.
17/12/1777. Louis XIV recognised the independence of the American colonies. On 6/2/1778 France signed a trade agreement with the United States and entered the war against Britain. This was the result of negotiations by Benjamin Franklin, who was effectively the permanent American ambassador at Versailles.
17/10/1777. At the Battle of Saratoga, American troops under General Horatio Gates defeated British troops under John Burgoyne, during the War of American Independence. The British Army surrendered and signed a Convention that they were to be disarmed and sent back to Britain. This major defeat made Britain evacuate all bases but New York and Rhode Island, and concentrate on gaining support in the southern States. France was encouraged by Saratoga to back the Americans, and their alliance with them in February 1778 escalated a colonial dispute into a clash of European Empires.
7/10/1777, The Battle of Bemis Heights. A preliminary skirmish during the Saratoga Campaign in the US War of Independence.
4/10/1777. George Washington was defeated by the British at Germanstown. George Washington’s attack was foiled by fog, throwing the attacking columns into confusion.
26/9/1777. British troops launched a major offensive and captured Philadelphia.
11/9/1777, At the Battle of Brandywine Creek, British troops under General Howe defeated American forces under George Washington; however they failed to follow up this success.
16/8/1777, The Battle of Bennington, Vermont. Britain defeated by Captain Stark.
14/6/1777, The Stars and Stripes was adopted by Congress as the flag of the USA.
3/1/1777. George Washington defeated the British under Lord Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton, in the War of American Independence.
1776, Tucson, Arizona, was founded.
31/12/1776.Benjamin Franklin, arrived in Paris to negotiate French aid for the American rebels.
26/12/1776, The Battle of Trenton. Major victory for Washington, who took 1,000 prisoners.
16/11/1776, British forces captured Fort Washington.
28/10/1776, Battle of White Plains; General Howe defeated General Washington.
3/10/1776. The American Congress borrowed 5 million dollars to halt the rapid depreciation of paper currency, which was being printed to finance the revolution. Fighting against the British continued.
22/9/1776, The US patriot Nathan Hale was found hanged in New York City by the British, for being a spy during the American Revolutionary War.
21/9/1776, The British captured Nathan Hale, 21-year old US Army Captain, who had been spying on the British in Long Island. He also started numerous fires in New York to create confusion amongst the British.
15/9/1776, The British under General Howe occupied New York, and narrowly missed capturing General Washington.
9/9/1776. American Congress changed the name of the United Colonies to the United States.
6/9/1776, The US pioneered the use of the submarine for military purposes. David Bushnell’s Connecticut Turtle, a pear-shaped 2 metre long wooden vessel dived under British ships in New York Harbour in an attempt to bore holes with an augur and plant explosives, However the British ships had copper bottoms and the attempt was futile.
27/8/1776, The Battle of Long Island. General Howe’s army, 20,000 regular soldiers, defeated 8,000 colonials under General Israel Putnam.
2/8/1776. Formal signing of America’s Declaration of Independence.
4/7/1776. The American Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence was drafted by Thomas Jefferson between 11/6/1776 and 28/6/1776 and became America’s most cherished symbol of liberty. Its political philosophy voiced the ideas of individual liberty and justified to the