American Revolutionary War

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Template:War The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the American War for Independence or the Revolutionary War, began as a conflict between the British Empire and the Colonies in North America, soon developing into a clash on a global scale that involved several of the great European powers. Following its conclusion, many of the European powers officially recognized the independence of the newly formed United States of America.

The war was a result of the political revolution stemming from the Stamp Act of 1765, which the colonists held as unconstitutional because of their lack of representation in the Parliament of Great Britain. The colonists claimed that there could be not taxation without representation and that they had the right to a degree of self-governance, while the Parliament claimed that they represented all citizens of the British Empire, granting them "virtual representation."

Thus, Parliament continued to tax the colonists, until the tax on tea led to the Boston Tea Party in 1773, which was followed promptly by the Intolerable Acts as a punishment for the movement. Parliament also disbanded the civilian colonial government in Massachusetts and put the colony under the direct military control of British Army General Thomas Gage, headquartered in Boston.

Initial Conflict and Declaration of Independence

The armed conflict began when, in April 1775, General Gage learned of arms and ammunition being gathered in Concord for the local militia known as the "minutemen."

General Gage sent British troops from Boston to seize and destroy the weapons, which resulted in the armed confrontations in Lexington and Concord. The British regulars were forced back into the city of Boston.

After the battles at Lexington and Concord, militia from the New England colonies surrounded British-occupied Boston and laid it under siege. After two months, British forces attempted to break out of the city. The ensuing clash with Patriot militia on June 17, 1775 became known as the Battle of Bunker Hill. Again, the British were forced back into the city after suffering heavy losses.

In the same month, the Continental Army launched a poorly-planned, confused invasion of British Canada. By May of 1776, the British had blunted their invasion and inflicted heavy losses, beginning a counter-offensive. By October of 1776, the British had fully expelled the Continental Army from Canada, escalating the war further and hampering Continental efforts in the Colonies.

In Philadelphia, the assembly of colonial representatives known as the Continental Congress debated the means to resolve the quickly-escalating conflict. Though the Congress sent numerous pleas to King George III for intervention, a royal decree named the delegates as traitors to the British crown. On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of and signed the Declaration of Independence, and declared the American colonies to be a free and independent nation.

Escalation

Despite the Declaration, the British upped the war effort. Arguing between King George III and Parliament complicated British war plans, but the British sent in reinforcements to the Colonies and began winning victory after victory under Cornwallis throughout the late 1770s. By 1780, the British reached their height, having dealt disastrous losses to Continental forces at Camden. With most of the southern East Coast under their control, they began to attack from both north and south on the middle of the Colonies.

French aid and war escalation in the Pacific and Atlantic and reversals by Franco-American forces in the Colonies foiled their efforts however, and in 1781, Cornwallis' plan to trap Washington in Yorktown failed as French forces defeated the British fleet sent to reinforce him. Cornwallis surrendered to a massive Franco-American force at Yorktown, and though the bulk of the British Army was no longer active in the Colonies, sporadic fighting continued.

The Treaty of Paris

The war would last until 1783 when the Peace (or Treaty) of Paris of 1783 was signed, in which the United States of America was recognized by all parties as an independent sovereign nation.

The new nation was then granted all lands east of the Mississippi River, with the exception of Florida and the territories of East and West Florida, which were ceded by Great Britain to Spain.

Aftermath

The United States became fully independent as recognized by Europe's major powers. It adopted a protectorate relationship with France that carried on until the Napoleonic Wars. Due to the defeat in the Colonies, the British turned their colonial focus to India.

Casualties are estimated 50,000 dead or wounded Americans and 6,000 Franco-Spanish. British casualties are estimated 20,000 land dead or wounded, 19,740 sailors dead, 42,000 sailors deserted, and 7,554 Germans dead.