The Revolutionary War’s first battle—reported firsthand
On April 24, 1775, John Robins gave this account of the battle of Lexington, Massachusetts. Robins supports his commander’s account reporting that the militia began dispersing when they were fired upon by a thousand of the King’s troops being led by three mounted officers. Robins was wounded in the action.
Along with several other depositions from the battle, this was delivered to the Massachusetts Assembly and later forwarded to the Continental Congress, providing the American perception of the battle. While they all reveal differences in their accounts, they uniformly maintain the consensus as stated by Captain John Parker, that the British “fired upon and killed eight of our party, without receiving any Provocation therefor from us.”
The first battles of the American Revolution occurred at the towns of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775. Shown here is the deposition of Captain John Parker of the Lexington Militia, describing the initial events of the day.
One of the events preceding the American Revolution, the Boston Massacre occurred on March 5, 1770. It is depicted here in an engraving by Paul Revere.
The bloody massacre perpetrated in King Street, Boston, on Mar. 5, 1770, 03/05/1770
The American Colonies and France signed this military treaty on February 6, 1778. Believing that they would benefit militarily by allying themselves with a powerful nation, the revolutionary colonies formed an alliance with France against Great Britain. According to this first military treaty of the new nation, the United States would provide for a defensive alliance to aid France should England attack, and neither France nor the United States would make peace with England until the independence of the United States was recognized.
Treaty of Alliance, 02/06/1778
On January 27, 1776, former bookseller Henry Knox arrived at George Washington’s headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with 60 tons of captured artillery to use in the liberation of Boston from British forces. Knox had masterminded the removal and transportation of the guns from Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York, through 300 miles of sparsely populated terrain in the dead of winter.
Hauling guns by ox teams from Fort Ticonderoga for the siege of Boston, 1775
Jefferson’s Motion
Signed by the American peace commissioners on September 3, 1783, the Treaty of Paris formally ended the Revolutionary War. Thomas Jefferson wrote this motion for ratification by Congress and a unanimous vote ratified the treaty on January 14, 1784. The treaty was sent to London and the British Parliament, in turn, ratified the treaty on April 9, 1784.
Alexander Hamilton was born on January 11, 1757, the illegitimate son of a poor itinerant merchant. He would go on to become a lieutenant colonel in the American Revolution, a close confidant to George Washington, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, and first Secretary of the Treasury.
Return of Prisoners taken at Trenton the 26th, December 1776 by the Army under the command of his Excellency General Washington
On the morning of December 26, 1776, Continental troops commanded by General George Washington launched a surprise attack on Hessisan mercenaries barracked at Trenton, New Jersey, scoring an important inspirational victory and capturing 918 prisoners, as detailed on this “Return of Prisoners.”
Return of Prisoners taken at Trenton the 26th, December 1776 by the Army under the command of his Excellency General Washington.; Papers of the Continental Congress 1774-1789, Item 152: Letters from Gen. George Washington, Commander in Chief of the Army, 1775-84; Records of the Continental and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention; Record Group 360
Explore more records of the Revolutionary War
A Tea Party, Boston-Style
In protest of new restrictions on the tea trade imposed by the British government, colonial revolutionaries known as the “Sons of Liberty” disguised themselves as Mohawks and boarded several cargo ships anchored in Boston harbor on the evening of December 16, 1773, emptying hundreds of chests of tea into the water. The British government would respond with the “Intolerable Acts” and by closing the Port of Boston, escalating the situation closer to war.
The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor. 1773. Copy of lithograph by Sarony & Major, 1846
By recent information from Boston, Genl Howe is goeing to Send out a number of the Inhabitants in order it is thought to make more room for his expected reinforcements, there is one part of the information that I Can hardly give Credit to. A Sailor Says that a number of these Comeing out have been innoculated, with design of Spreading the Smallpox thro’ this Country & Camp. I have Communicated this to the General Court & recommended their attention thereto.
Bioterrorism, 1775-style
During the seige of Boston in the early part of the American Revolution, George Washington sent this letter to Congress, dated December 4, 1775, in which he passed along information he had heard from a sailor: that British General William Howe was sending people out from Boston who had been deliberately infected with smallpox so that they might pass on the disease to the Americans surrounding the city. Although skeptical at first, after seeing an increased number of cases in those leaving the city, Washington came to believe that smallpox was indeed “a weapon of Defence they Are useing against us.”
Preliminary Treaty of Peace
Peace was desired by all parties as the Revolutionary War waged on. However the decisive battle at Yorktown on October 19, 1781 was a turning point and peace negotiations became formalized. Once Great Britain agreed to acknowledge the United States as free, sovereign, and an independent state, sensitive issues on boundaries, fishing rights, and compensation still needed resolution. Neither side got all that it wanted, and the language was at times purposely vague. However, on November 30, 1782, a preliminary treaty of peace was reached.
Annotated Map of the British Colonies in North America with the Roads, Distances, Limits and Extent of the Settlements
On November 19, 1794, American negotiator John Jay signed a “Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation” with Great Britain. The Jay Treaty, as it is commonly known, was intended to settle lingering issues and boundary disputes following the Treaty of Paris which ended the American Revolution. Documents and maps such as this one were needed to settle the disputed northeastern boundary between the United States and Canada.
After considerable debate and alteration, the Articles of Confederation were adopted by the Continental Congress on November 15, 1777. This document served as the United States’ first constitution, and was in force from March 1, 1781, until 1789 when the present day Constitution went into effect.
Three months after the King declared every rebel a traitor, and with a reward posted for the capture of certain prominent rebel leaders, the delegates to Congress adopted these strict rules of secrecy to protect the cause of American liberty and their own lives.
This document bears the signatures of eighty-seven delegates; thirty-nine signed on November 9, and the other delegates signed as they reported to Congress.
The Agreement of Secrecy, November 9, 1775; Papers of the Continental Congress- 1774-1789, Item 6A: Rough Secret Journal, 1776-79, p. 1; Records of the Continental and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention; Record Group 360; National Archives
“…a Reduction of the British Army under the command of Lord Cornwallis, is most happily effected.”
Letter from General George Washington to Congress Announcing the Victory at Yorktown, Virginia, 10/19/1781
In understated fashion, George Washington informs Congress of the decisive victory of combined American and French forces over the British army at the Siege of Yorktown, bringing the American Revolutionary War largely to a close.
