Thirteen Colonies Summary

As news of the Battle of Lexington and Concord spread through the colonies, irregular military units began assuming control over much of the countryside, and a state of rebellion materialized. On the night of May 10, 1775, a Vermont militia called the Green Mountain Boys under the command of Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen seized the strategic outpost of Fort Ticonderoga in New York. The fait accompli of hostility was recognized by the Second Continental Congress, which convened at Philadelphia on May 10, 1775. The Congress was to give political expression and direction to the uprising and attempted to consolidate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies through the appointment on June 15 of George Washington, a colonel in the Virginia

This left in New York only a remnant under the command of Sir Henry Clinton, who was in the end unable to contribute greatly to the Hudson River expedition. St. Leger’s trek was halted at Fort Stanwix, which endured a siege from August 3 to August 22. A pitched battle at Oriskany Creek on August 6 proved inconclusive, though the British withdrew. Energetic relief efforts by Benedict Arnold and stubborn resistance by the Fort Stanwix garrison compelled St. Leger to turn back on August 22. General John Burgoyne, marching down the Hudson Valley from Canada, sustained an initial defeat at the Battle of Bennington (August 16) and, becoming bogged down near Saratoga, New York, was attacked by American forces led by Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold: A series of pitched clashes from September 19 to October 17 resulted in Burgoyne’s surrender. While Arnold was recuperating from a dangerous leg wound, Gates took most of the credit for the victory at

side (February 6, 1778). At this stage, the conflict was no longer localized but became part of an international struggle known as the War of the American Revolution. On June 21, 1779, Spain joined the effort against Britain, and on December 20, 1780, after a dispute over the Caribbean island of St. Eustatius, which had long been supplying American rebels, the British government opened hostilities against the Dutch, who became America’s third