Revolutionary War, 1775 to 1783

News

The Revolutionary War pension files for all 80,000 pension and bounty-land warrant applications are now available online at Fold3.com ($). Fold3 is available free at some libraries.

Topics

African Americans American Indians Bounty Land Warrants Cemetery Records Census Records DAR and SAR Finding a Soldier Loyalist Records Pension Records Service Records Societies Unit Histories

Other Nations

British French Hessians Spanish

Did You Know?

In 1775, when the American Revolution began, there was no regular army. Instead each colony defended itself with a militia made up of local men. With few exceptions, any male 16 or older was expected to participate in the milita. By 1776 Washington had an army of 20,000 men. About one-third came from colonial militia groups, and two-thirds were regular army.

United States U.S. Military Revolutionary War

American War of Independence, 1775-1783

The American Revolutionary War was fought from 1775 to 1783.  It was also known as the American War of Independence. The Revolutionary War began with the confrontation between British troops and local militia at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, on 19 April 1775. Throughout the war, state troops and local militias supplemented the Continental (Federal) Army. The total number of men who served is not known. Men between the ages of 16 and 60 may have served during the war in either the Continental Army, State Line Troops, or local militia mustered to help the Continental Troops.

Chronology of Major Events

18 Mar 1774	British occupied Boston, Massachusetts until evacuated 7 March 1776.
5 Sep 1774	First Continental Congress convened.
19 Apr 1775	Battle at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts.
17 Jun 1775	Battle of Bunker Hill, Massachusetts.
4 Jul 1776	Declaration of Independence adopted.
15 Sep 1776	New York City occupied by the British until 26 November 1783.
26 Dec 1776	Attack at Trenton, New Jersey.
3 Jan 1777	Attack at Princeton, New Jersey.
11 Sep 1777	Battle of Barndywine, Pennsylvania.
19 Dec 1777	Washington's army established headquarters at Valley Forge.
6 Feb 1778	U.S. and France entered a military alliance.
28 Jun 1778	Battle of Monmouth, New Jersey.
29 Dec 1778	Capture of Savannah, Georgia by the British. It was occupied until 11 July 1782.
23 Feb 1779	George Rogers Clark and his men took Vincennes, Indiana from the British.
12 May 1780	Charleston, South Carolina was captured by the British and occupied until 14 December 1782.
16 Aug 1780	Battle near Camden, South Carolina.
7 Oct 1780	Patriots defeated a group of Loyalists at Kings Mountain, South Carolina.
17 Jan 1781	Battle at Cowpens near the Broad River in South Carolina.
15 Mar 1781	Battle at Guilford Co., North Carolina courthouse.
19 Oct 1781	Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia.
30 Nov 1782	A preliminary peace treaty was signed in Paris, France.
3 Sep 1783	The final peace treaty was signed in Paris.

Original British Colonies

New England Connecticut Massachusetts New Hampshire Rhode Island

Middle Colonies Delaware New Jersey New York Pennslynvania

Southern Colonies Georgia Maryland North Carolina South Carolina Virginia

Canada Remained Loyal to Britain Province of Quebec (modern-day Ontario and Quebec)

State Revolutionary War Records

The Revolutionary War was fought before these states existed. However, many of these states have information specific to their area on individuals that served in the war and later lived in these states.

Alabama Arkansas District of Columbia Florida Illinois Indiana

Iowa Louisiana Kentucky Maine Michigan Mississippi

Missouri Ohio Tennessee Vermont West Virginia Wisconsin

Getting Started

• FamilySearch Research Classes Online
• Military Records: Revolutionary War (34 minute online video)
• Revolutionary War Genealogy Research. (23 minute online video)

Research Tools

• Patriot Index (Daughters of the American Revolution)

Websites

• Ancestry ($)
• Fold3 ($)
  

Sources for Further Reading

• Alden, John Richard. The American Revolution: 1775-1783. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1954.
• Bolton, Charles Knowles. The Private Soldier Under Washington. Port Washington, New York: Kenniket Press, Inc. 1964. reprint edition.
• Berg, Fred Anderson. Encyclopedia of Continental Army Units: Battalions, Regiments and Independent Corps. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: The Stackpole Company, 1972.
• Ferguson, E. James. The American Revolution: A General History, 1763-1790.
• The Dorsey Series in American History. rev. ed. Homewood, Illinois: The Dorsey Press, 1979.
• Gibson, Lawrence Henry. The Coming of the Revolution: 1763-1775. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1954.
• Jensen, Merrill. The Founding of a Nation: A History of the American Revolution 1763-1776. New York: Oxford University Press, 1968.
• Middlekauff, Robert. The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution 1763-1789. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982.
• Miller, John C. Origins of The American Revolution. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1943.
• Miller, John C. Triumph of Freedom: 1775-1783. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1948.
• Morgan, Edmund S. The birth of the Republic: 1763-89. rev. ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1977.
• Neagles, James C. and Neagles Lila L. Locating Your Revolutionary War Ancestor: A Guide to the military Records. Logan, Utah: Everton Publishers, Inc., 1983.
• Peckham, Howard. The War for Independence: A Military History. Chicago: University of CHicago Press, 1958.
• Shy, John. A People Numerous and Armed: Reflections on the Military Struggle for American Independence. New York: Oxford University Press, 1976.
• Schluz, Constance B. "Revolutionary War Pension Applications: A Neglected Source for Social and Family History." Prologue 15. (Summer 1983): 103-114.
• Schweitzer, George K. Revolutionary War Genealogy. Knoxville, Tennessee: The author, 1982.

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