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American Revolutionary War | British northern strategy fails | British northern strategy fails
thumb|Saratoga campaign maneuvers and (inset) the Battles of Saratoga in September and October 1777
The 1776 campaign demonstrated that regaining New England would be a prolonged affair, which led to a change in British strategy to isolating the north by taking control of the Hudson River, allowing them to focus on the south where Loyalist support was believed to be substantial.Ketchum 1997, pp. 79–80 In December 1776, Howe wrote to the Colonial Secretary Lord Germain, proposing a limited offensive against Philadelphia, while a second force moved down the Hudson from Canada.Ketchum 1997, pp. 81–82 Burgoyne supplied several alternatives, all of which gave him responsibility for the offensive, with Howe remaining on the defensive. The option selected required him to lead the main force south from Montreal down the Hudson Valley, while a detachment under Barry St. Leger moved east from Lake Ontario. The two would meet at Albany, leaving Howe to decide whether to join them.Ketchum 1997, p. 84 Reasonable in principle, this did not account for the logistical difficulties involved and Burgoyne erroneously assumed Howe would remain on the defensive; Germain's failure to make this clear meant he opted to attack Philadelphia instead.Ketchum 1997, pp. 85–86
With a mixed force of British regulars, professional German soldiers and Canadian militia Burgoyne set out on June 14, 1777, and captured Fort Ticonderoga on July 5. As General Horatio Gates retreated, his troops blocked roads, destroyed bridges, dammed streams, and stripped the area of food.Ketchum 1997, pp. 244–249 This slowed Burgoyne's progress and forced him to send out large foraging expeditions; one of more than 700 British troops were captured at the Battle of Bennington on August 16.Gabriel 2012, p. x St Leger moved east and besieged Fort Stanwix; despite defeating an American relief force at the Battle of Oriskany on August 6, Burgoyne was abandoned by his Indian allies and withdrew to Quebec on August 22.Ketchum 1997, p. 332 Now isolated and outnumbered by Gates, Burgoyne continued onto Albany rather than retreating to Fort Ticonderoga, reaching Saratoga on September 13. He asked Clinton for support while constructing defenses around the town.Ketchum 1997, pp. 337–339
Morale among his troops rapidly declined, and an unsuccessful attempt to break past Gates at the Battle of Freeman Farms on September 19 resulted in 600 British casualties.Ketchum 1997, pp. 368–369 When Clinton advised he could not reach them, Burgoyne's subordinates advised retreat; a reconnaissance in force on October 7 was repulsed by Gates at the Battle of Bemis Heights, forcing them back into Saratoga with heavy losses. By October 11, all hope of British escape had vanished; persistent rain reduced the camp to a "squalid hell" and supplies were dangerously low.Ferling, 2007, pp. 238–239 Burgoyne capitulated on October 17; around 6,222 soldiers, including German forces commanded by General Friedrich Adolf Riedesel, surrendered their arms before being taken to Boston, where they were to be transported to England.Ketchum 1997, pp. 421–424
After securing additional supplies, Howe made another attempt on Philadelphia by landing his troops in Chesapeake Bay on August 24.Stedman 1794, Vol. 1, pp. 317–319 He now compounded failure to support Burgoyne by missing repeated opportunities to destroy his opponent: despite defeating Washington at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, he then allowed him to withdraw in good order.Adams 1911, p. 43 After dispersing an American detachment at Paoli on September 20, Cornwallis occupied Philadelphia on September 26, with the main force of 9,000 under Howe based just to the north at Germantown.Ward, C. 1952, pp. 361–362 Washington attacked them on October 4, but was repulsed.Taaffe 2003, pp. 95–100
To prevent Howe's forces in Philadelphia being resupplied by sea, the Patriots erected Fort Mifflin and nearby Fort Mercer on the east and west banks of the Delaware respectively, and placed obstacles in the river south of the city. This was supported by a small flotilla of Continental Navy ships on the Delaware, supplemented by the Pennsylvania State Navy, commanded by John Hazelwood. An attempt by the Royal Navy to take the forts in the October 20 to 22 Battle of Red Bank failed;Daughan, 2011, pp. 148–155McGeorge, 1905, pp. 4–8 a second attack captured Fort Mifflin on November 16, while Fort Mercer was abandoned two days later when Cornwallis breached the walls.Cadwalader 1901, p. 20 His supply lines secured, Howe tried to tempt Washington into giving battle, but after inconclusive skirmishing at the Battle of White Marsh from December 5 to 8, he withdrew to Philadelphia for the winter.Cadwalader 1901, p. 22
On December 19, the Americans followed suit and entered winter quarters at Valley Forge. As Washington's domestic opponents contrasted his lack of battlefield success with Gates' victory at Saratoga,Cadwalader 1901, pp. 22, 27 foreign observers such as Frederick the Great were equally impressed with Washington's command at Germantown, which demonstrated resilience and determination.Fiske 1891, p. 332 Over the winter, poor conditions, supply problems and low morale resulted in 2,000 deaths, with another 3,000 unfit for duty due to lack of shoes.Chernow 2010 (2011), pp. 327–328 However, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben took the opportunity to introduce Prussian Army drill and infantry tactics to "model companies" in each Continental Army regiment, who then instructed their home units.Lockhart 2008, p.? Despite Valley Forge being only twenty miles away, Howe made no effort to attack their camp, an action some critics argue could have ended the war.Risch, 1981, pp. 322, 417–418 |
American Revolutionary War | Foreign intervention | Foreign intervention
thumb|alt=From the left, in the background three sailing warships at sea, one clearly flying a British naval ensign; in the center-right foreground, three sailing warships, two of them firing broadsides with gun smoke starting to cover them up. There was no US flag on the American ship, so the British said John Paul Jones was a pirate.|The Battle of Flamborough Head with U.S. warships in European waters with access to Dutch, French, and Spanish ports
Like his predecessors, French foreign minister Vergennes considered the 1763 Peace a national humiliation and viewed the war as an opportunity to weaken Britain. He initially avoided open conflict, but allowed American ships to take on cargoes in French ports, a technical violation of neutrality.Ferling 2007, p. 117 Vergennes persuaded Louis XVI to secretly fund a government front company to purchase munitions for the Patriots, carried in neutral Dutch ships and imported through Sint Eustatius in the Caribbean.Jones 2002, pp. 5–6
Many Americans opposed a French alliance, fearing to "exchange one tyranny for another", but this changed after a series of military setbacks in early 1776. As France had nothing to gain from the colonies reconciling with Britain, Congress had three choices: making peace on British terms, continuing the struggle on their own, or proclaiming independence, guaranteed by France. Although the Declaration of Independence had wide public support, over 20% of Congressmen voted against an alliance with France.Ferling 2007, pp. 117–119 Congress agreed to the treaty with reluctance and as the war moved in their favor increasingly lost interest in it.Chambers 1999
Silas Deane was sent to Paris to begin negotiations with Vergennes, whose key objectives were replacing Britain as the United States' primary commercial and military partner while securing the French West Indies from American expansion.Chambers 2004 These islands were extremely valuable; in 1772, the value of sugar and coffee produced by Saint-Domingue on its own exceeded that of all American exports combined.Eclov 2013 pp. 23–24 Talks progressed slowly until October 1777, when British defeat at Saratoga and their apparent willingness to negotiate peace convinced Vergennes only a permanent alliance could prevent the "disaster" of Anglo-American rapprochement. Assurances of formal French support allowed Congress to reject the Carlisle Peace Commission and insist on nothing short of complete independence.Stockley 2001, pp. 11–14
On February 6, 1778, France and the United States signed the Treaty of Amity and Commerce regulating trade between the two countries, followed by a defensive military alliance against Britain, the Treaty of Alliance. In return for French guarantees of American independence, Congress undertook to defend their interests in the West Indies, while both sides agreed not to make a separate peace; conflict over these provisions would lead to the 1798 to 1800 Quasi-War. Charles III of Spain was invited to join on the same terms but refused, largely due to concerns over the impact of the Revolution on Spanish colonies in the Americas. Spain had complained on multiple occasions about encroachment by American settlers into Louisiana, a problem that could only get worse once the United States replaced Britain.
thumb|right|alt=From the left, a coastal town set in the background of a harbor; in the foreground center-right in the approach to the harbor and curving into the right background, a line of French warships, one firing a broadside at the town.|French Admiral d'Estaing's joint expedition with Sullivan at the Battle of Rhode Island in August 1778
Although Spain ultimately made important contributions to American success, in the Treaty of Aranjuez, Charles agreed only to support France's war with Britain outside America, in return for help in recovering Gibraltar, Menorca and Spanish Florida.Davenport 1917, pp. 145–146 The terms were confidential since several conflicted with American aims; for example, the French claimed exclusive control of the Newfoundland cod fisheries, a non-negotiable for colonies like Massachusetts.Davenport 1917, p. 146 One less well-known impact of this agreement was the abiding American distrust of 'foreign entanglements'; the U.S. would not sign another treaty with France until their NATO agreement of 1949. This was because the US had agreed not to make peace without France, while Aranjuez committed France to keep fighting until Spain recovered Gibraltar, effectively making it a condition of U.S. independence without the knowledge of Congress.Weeks 2013, p. 27
To encourage French participation in the struggle for independence, the U.S. representative in Paris, Silas Deane promised promotion and command positions to any French officer who joined the Continental Army. Such as Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, whom Congress via Dean appointed a major general,Chernow, 2010, p. 298Horn, 1989, pp. 24–25, 30 on July 31, 1777.Axelrod, 2009, pp. 234–235
When the war started, Britain tried to borrow the Dutch-based Scots Brigade for service in America, but pro-Patriot sentiment led the States General to refuse.Edler 2001 [1911], pp. 28–32 Although the Republic was no longer a major power, prior to 1774 they still dominated the European carrying trade, and Dutch merchants made large profits shipping French-supplied munitions to the Patriots. This ended when Britain declared war in December 1780, a conflict that proved disastrous to the Dutch economy.Scott 1988, pp. 572–573
The British government failed to take into account the strength of the American merchant marine and support from European countries, which allowed the colonies to import munitions and continue trading with relative impunity. While well aware of this, the North administration delayed placing the Royal Navy on a war footing for cost reasons; this prevented the institution of an effective blockade.Syrett 1998, p. 2 Traditional British policy was to employ European land-based allies to divert the opposition; in 1778, they were diplomatically isolated and faced war on multiple fronts.Syrett 1998, pp. 18–19
Meanwhile, George III had given up on subduing America while Britain had a European war to fight.Ferling 2007, p. 294 He did not welcome war with France, but he held the British victories over France in the Seven Years' War as a reason to believe in ultimate victory over France.Syrett 1998, p. 17 Britain subsequently changed its focus into the Caribbean theater,Syrett 1998, p. 18 and diverted major military resources away from America.Higginbotham 1983 [1971], pp. 175–188 |
American Revolutionary War | Stalemate in the North | Stalemate in the North
thumb|alt=A close up of Continental infantry fighting in a street; a company on line firing to the left off the painting; in the center the officer; right foreground a drummer boy and behind him a soldier reloading a musket.|Continentals repulsing the British at the Battle of Springfield in June 1780; "Give 'em Watts, boys!"
At the end of 1777, Howe resigned and was replaced by Sir Henry Clinton on May 24, 1778; with French entry into the war, he was ordered to consolidate his forces in New York. On June 18, the British departed Philadelphia with the reinvigorated Americans in pursuit; the Battle of Monmouth on June 28 was inconclusive but boosted Patriot morale. That midnight, the newly installed Clinton continued his retreat to New York.Chernow 2010 (2011), p. 343 A French naval force under Admiral Charles Henri Hector d'Estaing was sent to assist Washington; deciding New York was too formidable a target, in August they launched a combined attack on Newport, with General John Sullivan commanding land forces.Morrissey 2004, pp. 77–78 The resulting Battle of Rhode Island was indecisive; badly damaged by a storm, the French withdrew to avoid risking their ships.Daughan 2011 [2008], pp. 174–176
Further activity was limited to British raids on Chestnut Neck and Little Egg Harbor in October.Goos In July 1779, the Americans captured British positions at Stony Point and Paulus Hook.Hazard 1829, p. 54 Clinton unsuccessfully tried to tempt Washington into a decisive engagement by sending General William Tryon to raid Connecticut.Nelson 1999, p. 170 In July, a large American naval operation, the Penobscot Expedition, attempted to retake Maine but was defeated.Bicheno 2014, p. 149
Persistent Iroquois raids in New York and Pennsylvania led to the punitive Sullivan Expedition from July to September 1779. Involving more than 4,000 patriot soldiers, the scorched earth campaign destroyed more than 40 Iroquois villages and 160,000 bushels (4,000 mts) of maize, leaving the Iroquois destitute and destroying the Iroquois confederacy as an independent power on the American frontier. However, 5,000 Iroquois fled to Canada, where, supplied and supported by the British, they continued their raids.Fischer, J. 2008, p. 86
During the winter of 1779–1780, the Continental Army suffered greater hardships than at Valley Forge.Tolson 2008, "Washington's Savvy Won the Day" Morale was poor, public support fell away, the Continental dollar was virtually worthless, the army was plagued with supply problems, desertion was common, and mutinies occurred in the Pennsylvania Line and New Jersey Line regiments over the conditions.Chandler 2017, pp. 363–380
In June 1780, Clinton sent 6,000 men under Wilhelm von Knyphausen to retake New Jersey, but they were halted by local militia at the Battle of Connecticut Farms; although the Americans withdrew, Knyphausen felt he was not strong enough to engage Washington's main force and retreated.Fleming 2005 [1973], pp. 174–175 A second attempt two weeks later ended in a British defeat at the Battle of Springfield, effectively ending their ambitions in New Jersey.Fleming 2005 [1973], pp. 232, 302 In July, Washington appointed Benedict Arnold commander of West Point; his attempt to betray the fort to the British failed due to incompetent planning, and the plot was revealed when his British contact John André was captured and executed.Palmer 2010, pp. 340–342 Arnold escaped to New York and switched sides, an action justified in a pamphlet addressed "To the Inhabitants of America"; the Patriots condemned his betrayal, while he found himself almost as unpopular with the British.Palmer 2010, pp. 376–377 |
American Revolutionary War | War in the South | War in the South
thumb|alt=A birds-eye view over the British lines of artillery besieging the port of Charleston in the center-background, and landing some shots at the docks.|The British siege of Charleston in May 1780
thumb|alt=A close-up of a cavalry melee on large horses with sabers and pistols drawn; Three redcoats center-right are engaging two Patriots in blue along with an African-American in a brown linen shirt and white pants, with his pistol drawn and leveled at a redcoat.|The Continental Army routs the British Legion at the Battle of Cowpens in Cowpens, South Carolina, in January 1781
The Southern Strategy was developed by Lord Germain, based on input from London-based Loyalists, including Joseph Galloway. They argued that it made no sense to fight the Patriots in the north where they were strongest, while the New England economy was reliant on trade with Britain. On the other hand, duties on tobacco made the South far more profitable for Britain, while local support meant securing it required small numbers of regular troops. Victory would leave a truncated United States facing British possessions to the south, north, and west; with the Atlantic seaboard controlled by the Royal Navy, Congress would be forced to agree to terms. However, assumptions about the level of Loyalist support proved wildly optimistic.Pearson 1993, pp. 16–19
Germain ordered Augustine Prévost, the British commander in East Florida, to advance into Georgia in December 1778. Lieutenant-Colonel Archibald Campbell, an experienced officer, captured Savannah on December 29, 1778. He recruited a Loyalist militia of nearly 1,100, many of whom allegedly joined only after Campbell threatened to confiscate their property.Wilson 2005, p. 87 Poor motivation and training made them unreliable troops, as demonstrated in their defeat by Patriot militia at the Battle of Kettle Creek on February 14, 1779, although this was offset by British victory at Brier Creek on March 3.Morrill 1993, pp. 46–50
In June 1779, Prévost launched an abortive assault on Charleston, before retreating to Savannah, an operation notorious for widespread looting by British troops that enraged both Loyalists and Patriots. In October, a joint French and American operation under d'Estaing and General Benjamin Lincoln failed to recapture Savannah.Wilson 2005, p. 112 Prévost was replaced by Lord Cornwallis, who assumed responsibility for Germain's strategy; he soon realized estimates of Loyalist support were considerably over-stated, and he needed far more regular forces.Pearson 1993, pp. 22–23
Reinforced by Clinton, Cornwallis's troops captured Charleston in May 1780, inflicting the most serious Patriot defeat of the war; over 5,000 prisoners were taken and the Continental Army in the south effectively destroyed. On May 29, Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarleton's mainly Loyalist force routed a Continental Army force nearly three times its size under Colonel Abraham Buford at the Battle of Waxhaws. The battle is controversial for allegations of a massacre, which were later used as a recruiting tool by the Patriots.Piecuch 2004, pp. 4–8
Clinton returned to New York, leaving Cornwallis to oversee the south; despite their success, the two men left barely on speaking terms.Borick 2003, pp. 127–128 The Southern strategy depended on local support, but this was undermined by a series of coercive measures. Previously, captured Patriots were sent home after swearing not to take up arms against the king; they were now required to fight their former comrades, while the confiscation of Patriot-owned plantations led formerly neutral "grandees" to side with them.Gordon and Keegan 2007, pp. 101–102 Skirmishes at Williamson's Plantation, Cedar Springs, Rocky Mount, and Hanging Rock signaled widespread resistance to the new oaths throughout South Carolina.Gordon and Keegan 2007, pp. 88–92
In July 1780, Congress appointed Gates commander in the south; he was defeated at the Battle of Camden on August 16, leaving Cornwallis free to enter North Carolina.Rankin 2011 [1996], p. Despite battlefield success, the British could not control the countryside and Patriot attacks continued; before moving north, Cornwallis sent Loyalist militia under Major Patrick Ferguson to cover his left flank, leaving their forces too far apart to provide mutual support.Buchanan 1997, p. 202 In early October, Ferguson was defeated at the Battle of Kings Mountain, dispersing organized Loyalist resistance in the region.Ferling, 2007, pp. 459–461 Despite this, Cornwallis continued into North Carolina hoping for Loyalist support, while Washington replaced Gates with General Nathanael Greene in December 1780.Buchanan 1997, p. 275
Greene divided his army, leading his main force southeast pursued by Cornwallis; a detachment was sent southwest under Daniel Morgan, who defeated Tarleton's British Legion at Cowpens on January 17, 1781, nearly eliminating it as a fighting force.Golway 2005, pp. 238–242 The Patriots now held the initiative in the south, with the exception of a raid on Richmond led by Benedict Arnold in January 1781.Peterson 1975 [1970], pp. 234–238 Greene led Cornwallis on a series of countermarches around North Carolina; by early March, the British were exhausted and short of supplies and Greene felt strong enough to fight the Battle of Guilford Court House on March 15. Although victorious, Cornwallis suffered heavy casualties and retreated to Wilmington, North Carolina, seeking supplies and reinforcements.Buchanan 1997, p. 241
The Patriots now controlled most of the Carolinas and Georgia outside the coastal areas; after a minor reversal at the Battle of Hobkirk's Hill, they recaptured Fort Watson and Fort Motte on April 15.Greene, F. 1913, pp. 234–237 On June 6, Brigadier General Andrew Pickens captured Augusta, leaving the British in Georgia confined to Charleston and Savannah.Reynolds 2012, pp. 255–277 The assumption Loyalists would do most of the fighting left the British short of troops and battlefield victories came at the cost of losses they could not replace. Despite halting Greene's advance at the Battle of Eutaw Springs on September 8, Cornwallis withdrew to Charleston with little to show for his campaign.Pancake 1985, p. 221 |
American Revolutionary War | Western campaign | Western campaign
thumb|alt=At left center, Virginia militia Colonel George Rogers Clark with buckskinned uniformed militia lined up behind him; at right center, red-coated British Quebec Governor Hamilton surrendering with ranks of white-uniformed Tory militia behind receding into the background; a drummer boy in the foreground; a line of British Indian allies lined up on the right receding into the background.|Province of Quebec Governor Henry Hamilton surrenders to Colonel George Rogers Clark at Vincennes in July 1779
From the beginning of the war, Bernardo de Gálvez, the Governor of Spanish Louisiana, allowed the Americans to import supplies and munitions into New Orleans, then ship them to Pittsburgh.Narrett 2015, p. 81 This provided an alternative transportation route for the Continental Army, bypassing the British blockade of the Atlantic Coast.Chavez 2002, p. 108
In February 1778, an expedition of militia to destroy British military supplies in settlements along the Cuyahoga River was halted by adverse weather.Nester 2004, p. 194 Later in the year, a second campaign was undertaken to seize the Illinois Country from the British. Virginia militia, Canadien settlers, and Indian allies commanded by Colonel George Rogers Clark captured Kaskaskia on July 4 and then secured Vincennes, though Vincennes was recaptured by Quebec Governor Henry Hamilton. The Spanish-aligned fur trader Francis Vigo, an American sympathizer, alerted Clark to the threat posed to his control of the west by Hamilton's position and in early 1779, the Virginians counter-attacked in the siege of Fort Vincennes and took Hamilton prisoner. Clark secured western British Quebec as the American Northwest Territory in the Treaty of Paris as the Revolutionary War came to an end.Harrison 2001, pp. 58–60
When Spain joined France's war against Britain in the Anglo-French War in 1779, their treaty specifically excluded Spanish military action in North America. Later that year, however, Gálvez initiated offensive operations against British outposts.Chávez 2002, p. 170 First, he cleared British garrisons in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Fort Bute, and Natchez, Mississippi, and captured five forts.Don Jaun Carlos I 1979, speech In doing so, Gálvez opened navigation on the Mississippi River north to the American settlement in Pittsburgh.Deane 2018, "Spanish New Orleans helped America"
On May 25, 1780, British Colonel Henry Bird invaded Kentucky as part of a wider operation to clear American resistance from Quebec to the Gulf Coast. Their advance on New Orleans was repelled by Spanish Governor Gálvez's offensive on Mobile. Simultaneous British attacks were repulsed on St. Louis by the Spanish Lieutenant Governor de Leyba, and on the Virginia County courthouse in Cahokia, Illinois, by Lieutenant Colonel Clark. The British initiative under Bird from Detroit was ended at the rumored approach of Clark. The scale of violence in the Licking River Valley, was extreme "even for frontier standards." It led to English and German settlements, who joined Clark's militia when the British and their hired German soldiers withdrew to the Great Lakes.Grenier 2005, p. 159 The Americans responded with a major offensive along the Mad River in August which met with some success in the Battle of Piqua but did not end Indian raids.Nelson 1999, p. 118
French soldier Augustin de La Balme led a Canadian militia in an attempt to capture Detroit, but they dispersed when Miami natives led by Little Turtle attacked the encamped settlers on November 5.Gaff 2004, p. 85 The war in the west stalemated with the British garrison sitting in Detroit and the Virginians expanding westward settlements north of the Ohio River in the face of British-allied Indian resistance.Skaggs 1977, p. 132
In 1781, Galvez and Pollock campaigned east along the Gulf Coast to secure West Florida, including British-held Mobile and Pensacola.Raab 2007, p. 135 The Spanish operations impaired the British supply of armaments to British Indian allies, which effectively suspended a military alliance to attack settlers between the Mississippi River and the Appalachian Mountains.O'Brien 2008, p. 124
In 1782, large scale retaliations between settlers and Native Americans in the region included the Gnadenhutten massacre and the Crawford expedition. The 1782 Battle of Blue Licks was one of the last major engagements of the war. News of the treaty between Great Britain and the United States arrived late that year. By this time, about 7% of Kentucky settlers had been killed in battles against Native Americans, contrasted with 1% of the population killed in the Thirteen Colonies. Lingering resentments led to continued fighting in the west after the war officially ended. |
American Revolutionary War | British defeat | British defeat
thumb|right|alt=Two lines of warships at sea sailing with full sails downwind away from the viewer and firing broadsides at one another; in the center foreground receding into the left background, six of the French fleet; in the right foreground receding to the center four of the British fleet.|A French Navy fleet (left) engages the British in the Battle of the Chesapeake on September 5, 1781
thumb|alt=Center foreground a British officer on the left standing surrenders to a mounted Continental officer; far left foreground receding into the center background, a British line of infantry then mounted cavalry, with a large white flag of surrender; far right foreground receding into the center background, a Continental line of infantry, then mounted cavalry, with a large US flag of the Army.|British general Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown in October 1781
Clinton spent most of 1781 based in New York City; he failed to construct a coherent operational strategy, partly due to his difficult relationship with Admiral Marriot Arbuthnot.Ferling 2007, p. 444 In Charleston, Cornwallis independently developed an aggressive plan for a campaign in Virginia, which he hoped would isolate Greene's army in the Carolinas and cause the collapse of Patriot resistance in the South. This strategy was approved by Lord Germain in London, but neither informed Clinton.Ketchum 2014b, pp. 423, 520
Washington and Rochambeau discussed their options: Washington wanted to attack the British in New York, and Rochambeau wanted to attack them in Virginia, where Cornwallis's forces were less established.Ketchum 2014b, p. 139 Washington eventually gave way, and Lafayette took a combined Franco-American force into Virginia.Ferling 2007, pp. 526–529 Clinton misinterpreted his movements as preparations for an attack on New York and instructed Cornwallis to establish a fortified sea base, where the Royal Navy could evacuate British troops to help defend New York.Grainger 2005, pp. 43–44
When Lafayette entered Virginia, Cornwallis complied with Clinton's orders and withdrew to Yorktown, where he constructed strong defenses and awaited evacuation.Taylor 2016, pp. 293–295 An agreement by the Spanish Navy to defend the French West Indies allowed Admiral François Joseph Paul de Grasse to relocate to the Atlantic seaboard, a move Arbuthnot did not anticipate. This provided Lafayette naval support, while the failure of previous combined operations at Newport and Savannah meant their coordination was planned more carefully.Dull 2015 [1975], pp. 247–248 Despite repeated urging from his subordinates, Cornwallis made no attempt to engage Lafayette before he could establish siege lines.Ketchum 2014b, p. 205 Expecting to be withdrawn within a few days, he also abandoned the outer defenses, which were promptly occupied by the besiegers and hastened British defeat.Lengel 2005, p. 337
On August 31, a Royal Navy fleet under Thomas Graves left New York for Yorktown.Middleton 2014, pp. 29–43 After landing troops and munitions for the besiegers on August 30, de Grasse remained in Chesapeake Bay and intercepted him on September 5; although the Battle of the Chesapeake was indecisive in terms of losses, Graves was forced to retreat, leaving Cornwallis isolated.Black 1992, p. 110 An attempted breakout over York River at Gloucester Point failed due to bad weather.Dale 2005, pp. 36–37 Under heavy bombardment with dwindling supplies, on October 16 Cornwallis sent emissaries to General Washington to negotiate surrender; after twelve hours of negotiations, the terms of surrender were finalized the following day.Ferling 2007, pp. 534–535 Responsibility for defeat was the subject of fierce public debate between Cornwallis, Clinton, and Germain. Clinton ultimately took most of the blame and spent the rest of his life in relative obscurity.Middleton 2014, pp. 370–372
Subsequent to Yorktown, American forces were assigned to supervise the armistice between Washington and Clinton made to facilitate British departure following the January 1782 law of Parliament forbidding any further British offensive action in North America. British-American negotiations in Paris led to signed preliminary agreements in November 1782, which acknowledged U.S. independence. The enacted Congressional war objective, a British withdrawal from North America and cession of these regions to the U.S., was completed in stages in East Coast cities.Ferling 2003, pp. 378–379
In the U.S. South, Generals Greene and Wayne observed the British remove their troops from Charleston on December 14, 1782.Fiske 1902, p. 516 Loyalist provincial militias of whites and free Blacks and Loyalists with slaves were transported to Nova Scotia and the British West Indies. Native American allies of the British and some freed Blacks were left to escape unaided through the American lines.
On April 9, 1783, Washington issued orders that "all acts of hostility" were to cease immediately. That same day, by arrangement with Washington, Carleton issued a similar order to British troops.Ferling 2007, p. 553 As directed by a Congressional resolution of May 26, 1783, all non-commissioned officers and enlisted were furloughed "to their homes" until the "definitive treaty of peace", when they would be automatically discharged. The U.S. armies were directly disbanded in the field as of Washington's General Orders on June 2, 1783.Armour 1941, p. 350 Once the Treaty of Paris was signed with Britain on September 3, 1783, Washington resigned as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. The last British occupation of New York City ended on November 25, 1783, with the departure of Clinton's replacement, General Sir Guy Carleton.Fleming 2006, p. 312 |
American Revolutionary War | Strategy and commanders | Strategy and commanders
thumb|alt=West Point Military Academy MAP of America east of the Mississippi River. Campaigns noted in New England; in the middle colonies with three British (red sailing ship) naval victories; in the South with two British naval victories, and in Virginia with one French (blue sailing ship) naval victory. A Timeline bar graph below shows almost all British (red bar) victories on the left in the first half of the war, and almost all US (blue bar) victories on the right in the second half of the war.|A map of principal campaigns in the American Revolutionary WarUSMA History Dept., Map: "American Revolution Principal Campaigns" with British movements in red and American movements in blue; the timeline shows the British won most battles in the war's first half, but Americans won the most in the second.
To win their insurrection, Washington and the Continental Army needed to outlast the British will to fight. To restore British America, the British had to defeat the Continental Army quickly and compel the Second Continental Congress to retract its claim to self-governance.Mays 2019, pp. 1–2 Historian Terry M. Mays of The Citadel identifies three separate types of warfare during the Revolutionary War. The first was a colonial conflict in which objections to imperial trade regulation were as significant as taxation policy. The second was a civil war between American Patriots, American Loyalists, and those who preferred to remain neutral. Particularly in the south, many battles were fought between Patriots and Loyalists with no British involvement, leading to divisions that continued after independence was achieved.Mays 2019, pp. 2–3
The third element was a global war between France, Spain, the Dutch Republic, and Britain, with America serving as one of several different war theaters. After entering the Revolutionary War in 1778, France provided the Americans money, weapons, soldiers, and naval assistance, while French troops fought under U.S. command in North America. While Spain did not formally join the war in America, they provided access to the Mississippi River and captured British possessions on the Gulf of Mexico that denied bases to the Royal Navy, retook Menorca and besieged Gibraltar in Europe.Davenport 1917, p. 168 Although the Dutch Republic was no longer a major power prior to 1774, they still dominated the European carrying trade, and Dutch merchants made large profits by shipping French-supplied munitions to the Patriots. This ended when Britain declared war in December 1780, and the conflict proved disastrous to the Dutch economy.Scott 1988, pp. 572–573 |
American Revolutionary War | American strategy | American strategy
The Second Continental Congress stood to benefit if the Revolution evolved into a protracted war. Colonial state populations were largely prosperous and depended on local production for food and supplies rather than on imports from Britain. The thirteen colonies were spread across most of North American Atlantic seaboard, stretching 1,000 miles. Most colonial farms were remote from the seaports, and control of four or five major ports did not give Britain control over American inland areas. Each state had established internal distribution systems.Greene & Pole 2008, pp. 36–39 Motivation was also a major asset: each colonial capital had its own newspapers and printers, and the Patriots enjoyed more popular support than the Loyalists. Britain hoped that the Loyalists would do much of the fighting, but found that the Loyalists did not engage as significantly as they had hoped. |
American Revolutionary War | Continental Army | Continental Army
thumb|A 1776 portrait of Washington by Charles Willson Peale, now housed in the Brooklyn Museum|alt=Formal painting of General George Washington, standing in uniform, as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army
When the Revolutionary War began, the Second Continental Congress lacked a professional army or navy. However, each of the colonies had a long-established system of local militia, which were combat-tested in support of British regulars in the French and Indian War. The colonial state legislatures independently funded and controlled their local militias.
Militiamen were lightly armed, had little training, and usually did not have uniforms. Their units served for only a few weeks or months at a time and lacked the training and discipline of more experienced soldiers. Local county militias were reluctant to travel far from home and were unavailable for extended operations.Black 2001 [1991], p. 59 To compensate for this, the Continental Congress established a regular force known as the Continental Army on June 14, 1775, which proved to be the origin of the modern United States Army, and appointed Washington as its commander-in-chief. However, it suffered significantly from the lack of an effective training program and from largely inexperienced officers.Ferling 2007, pp. 286–287
Each state legislature appointed officers for both county and state militias and their regimental Continental line officers; although Washington was required to accept Congressional appointments, he was permitted to choose and command his own generals, such as Greene; his chief of artillery, Knox; and Alexander Hamilton, the chief of staff.Higginbotham 1987, Chap. 3 One of Washington's most successful general officer recruits was Steuben, a veteran of the Prussian general staff who wrote the Revolutionary War Drill Manual. The development of the Continental Army was always a work in progress and Washington used both his regulars and state militias throughout the war; when properly employed, the combination allowed them to overwhelm smaller British forces, as they did in battles at Concord, Boston, Bennington, and Saratoga. Both sides used partisan warfare, but the state militias effectively suppressed Loyalist activity when British regulars were not in the area.
Washington designed the overall military strategy in cooperation with Congress, established the principle of civilian supremacy in military affairs, personally recruited his senior officer corps, and kept the states focused on a common goal.Lengel 2005, pp. 365–371 Washington initially employed the inexperienced officers and untrained troops in Fabian strategies rather than risk frontal assaults against Britain's professional forces.Ellis 2004, pp. 92–109 Over the course of the war, Washington lost more battles than he won, but he never surrendered his troops and maintained a fighting force in the face of British field armies.Rose, A. 2014 [2006], pp. 258–261
By prevailing European standards, the armies in America were relatively small, limited by lack of supplies and logistics. The British were constrained by the logistical difficulty of transporting troops across the Atlantic and their dependence on local supplies. Washington never directly commanded more than 17,000 men,Boatner 1974, p. 264 and the combined Franco-American army in the decisive American victory at Yorktown was only about 19,000.Duffy 2005 [1987], p. 13 At the beginning of 1776, Patriot forces consisted of 20,000 men, with two-thirds in the Continental Army and the other third in the state militias. About 250,000 American men served as regulars or as militia for the revolutionary cause during the war, but there were never more than 90,000 men under arms at any time.Crocker 2006, p. 51
On the whole, American officers never equaled their British opponents in tactics and maneuvers, and they lost most of the pitched battles. The great successes at Boston (1776), Saratoga (1777), and Yorktown (1781) were won by trapping the British far from base with a greater number of troops. After 1778, Washington's army was transformed into a more disciplined and effective force, mostly as a product of Baron von Steuben's military training. Immediately after the Continental Army emerged from Valley Forge in June 1778, it proved its ability to match the military capabilities of the British at the Battle of Monmouth, including a Black Rhode Island regiment fending off a British bayonet attack and then counter charging the British for the first time as part of Washington's army.Ferling 2007, pp. 294–295 After the Battle of Monmouth, Washington came to realize that saving entire towns was not necessary, but preserving his army and keeping the revolutionary spirit alive was more important. Washington informed Henry Laurens, then president of the Second Continental Congress, "that the possession of our towns, while we have an army in the field, will avail them little."Chernow, 2010, p. 344
Although the Continental Congress was responsible for the war effort and provided supplies to the troops, Washington took it upon himself to pressure Congress and the state legislatures to provide the essentials of war; there was never nearly enough.Carp 1990, p. 220 Congress evolved in its committee oversight and established the Board of War, which included members of the military.Freeman and Harwell (ed.), p. 42 Because the Board of War was also a committee ensnared with its own internal procedures, Congress also created the post of Secretary of War, appointing Major General Benjamin Lincoln to the position in February 1781. Washington worked closely with Lincoln to coordinate civilian and military authorities and took charge of training and supplying the army.Bell 2005, pp. 3–4" |
American Revolutionary War | Continental Navy | Continental Navy
thumb|alt= Sail warships at sea with full sail; in the center middle ground, the US ship; in the background, four French warships in a haze giving it a cannon salute with gunpowder; small boats also in the water in the middle ground.|USS Ranger commanded by Captain John Paul Jones
During the first summer of the war, Washington began outfitting schooners and other small seagoing vessels to prey on ships supplying the British in Boston.Ferling 2007, p. 360 The Second Continental Congress established the Continental Navy on October 13, 1775, and appointed Esek Hopkins as its first commander;Miller 1997 [1977], pp. 11–12, 16 for most of the war, the Continental Navy included only a handful of small frigates and sloops, supported by privateers.Higginbotham 1987 [1971], pp. 331–346 On November 10, 1775, Congress authorized the creation of the Continental Marines, which ultimately evolved into the United States Marine Corps.
John Paul Jones became the first American naval hero when he captured HMS Drake on April 24, 1778, the first victory for any American military vessel in British waters.Higginbotham 1983 [1971], pp. 331–346 The last such victory was by the frigate USS Alliance, commanded by Captain John Barry. On March 10, 1783, the Alliance outgunned HMS Sybil in a 45-minute duel while escorting Spanish gold from Havana to the Congress in Philadelphia.Thomas 2017, "Last Naval Battle" After Yorktown, all US Navy ships were sold or given away; it was the first time in America's history that it had no fighting forces on the high seas.Daughan 2011 [2008], p. 240
Congress primarily commissioned privateers to reduce costs and to take advantage of the large proportion of colonial sailors found in the British Empire. In total, they included 1,700 ships that successfully captured 2,283 enemy ships to damage the British effort and to enrich themselves with the proceeds from the sale of cargo and the ship itself., "Privateers" About 55,000 sailors served aboard American privateers during the war. |
American Revolutionary War | France | France
At the beginning of the war, the Americans had no major international allies, since most nation-states waited to see how the conflict unfolded. Over time, the Continental Army established its military credibility. Battles such as the Battle of Bennington, the Battles of Saratoga, and even defeats such as the Battle of Germantown, proved decisive in gaining the support of powerful European nations, including France, Spain, and the Dutch Republic; the Dutch moved from covertly supplying the Americans with weapons and supplies to overtly supporting them.Trevelyan 1912a, p. 249
The decisive American victory at Saratoga convinced France, which was already a long-time rival of Britain, to offer the Americans the Treaty of Amity and Commerce. The two nations also agreed to a defensive Treaty of Alliance to protect their trade and also guaranteed American independence from Britain. To engage the United States as a French ally militarily, the treaty was conditioned on Britain initiating a war on France to stop it from trading with the U.S. Spain and the Dutch Republic were invited to join by both France and the United States in the treaty, but neither was responsive to the request.Morgan 2012 [1956], pp. 82–83
On June 13, 1778, France declared war on Great Britain, and it invoked the French military alliance with the U.S., which ensured additional U.S. private support for French possessions in the Caribbean. Washington worked closely with the soldiers and navy that France would send to America, primarily through Lafayette on his staff. French assistance made critical contributions required to defeat Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781.Davis 1975, pp. 203, 303, 391 |
American Revolutionary War | British strategy | British strategy
The British military had considerable experience fighting in North America.Cave 2004, pp. 21–22 However, in previous conflicts they benefited from local logistics and support from the colonial militia. In the American Revolutionary War, reinforcements had to come from Europe, and maintaining large armies over such distances was extremely complex; ships could take three months to cross the Atlantic, and orders from London were often outdated by the time they arrived.Greene & Pole 2008, pp. 298, 306
Prior to the conflict, the colonies were largely autonomous economic and political entities, with no centralized area of ultimate strategic importance.Rossman 2016, p. 2 This meant that, unlike Europe where the fall of a capital city often ended wars, that in America continued even after the loss of major settlements such as Philadelphia, the seat of Congress, New York, and Charleston.Curtis 1926, pp. 148–149 British power was reliant on the Royal Navy, whose dominance allowed them to resupply their own expeditionary forces while preventing access to enemy ports. However, the majority of the American population was agrarian, rather than urban; supported by the French navy and blockade runners based in the Dutch Caribbean, their economy was able to survive.Greene & Pole 2008, pp. 42, 48
Lord North, Prime Minister since 1770, delegated control of the war in North America to Lord George Germain and the Earl of Sandwich, who was head of the Royal Navy from 1771 to 1782. Defeat at Saratoga in 1777 made it clear the revolt would not be easily suppressed, especially after the Franco-American alliance of February 1778. With Spain also expected to join the conflict, the Royal Navy needed to prioritize either the war in America or in Europe; Germain advocated the former, Sandwich the latter.Syrett 1998, pp. 18–22
North initially backed the Southern strategy attempting to exploit divisions between the mercantile north and slave-owning south, but after the defeat of Yorktown, he was forced to accept that this policy had failed.Hibbert 2008, p. 333 It was clear the war was lost, although the Royal Navy forced the French to relocate their fleet to the Caribbean in November 1781 and resumed a close blockade of American trade.Davis, L. and Engerman 2006, p. 64 The resulting economic damage and rising inflation meant the US was now eager to end the war, while France was unable to provide further loans; Congress could no longer pay its soldiers.Rappleye 2010, pp. 300–313
The geographical size of the colonies and limited manpower meant the British could not simultaneously conduct military operations and occupy territory without local support. Debate persists over whether their defeat was inevitable; one British statesman described it as "like trying to conquer a map".Curtis 1926, p. 148 While Ferling argues Patriot victory was nothing short of a miracle,Ferling 2007, pp. 562–577 Ellis suggests the odds always favored the Americans, especially after Howe squandered the chance of a decisive British success in 1776, an "opportunity that would never come again".Ellis 2013, p. xi The US military history speculates the additional commitment of 10,000 fresh troops in 1780 would have placed British victory "within the realm of possibility".Stewart, R. 2005, vol. 4, p. 103 |
American Revolutionary War | British Army | British Army
thumb|upright|left|alt=Portrait of the British commander-in-chief, Sir Thomas Gage in dress uniform.|Sir Thomas Gage, British Army Commander from 1763 to 1775
The expulsion of France from North America in 1763 led to a drastic reduction in British troop levels in the colonies; in 1775, there were only 8,500 regular soldiers among a civilian population of 2.8 million.Clode 1869, Vol. 1, p. 268 The bulk of military resources in the Americas were focused on defending sugar islands in the Caribbean; Jamaica alone generated more revenue than all thirteen American colonies combined.Billias 1969, p. 83 With the end of the Seven Years' War, the permanent army in Britain was also cut back, which resulted in administrative difficulties when the war began a decade later.Clayton 2014, p. 65
Over the course of the war, there were four separate British commanders-in-chief. The first was Thomas Gage, appointed in 1763, whose initial focus was establishing British rule in former French areas of Canada. Many in London blamed the revolt on his failure to take firm action earlier, and he was relieved after the heavy losses incurred at the Battle of Bunker Hill.O'Shaunessy 2013, p. 86 His replacement was Sir William Howe, a member of the Whig faction in Parliament who opposed the policy of coercion advocated by Lord North; Cornwallis, who later surrendered at Yorktown, was one of many senior officers who initially refused to serve in North America.Ketchum 1997, p. 76
The 1775 campaign showed the British overestimated the capabilities of their own troops and underestimated the colonial militia, requiring a reassessment of tactics and strategy,Ketchum 2014a, p. 208 and allowing the Patriots to take the initiative.Miller 1959, pp. 410–412 Howe's responsibility is still debated; despite receiving large numbers of reinforcements, Bunker Hill seems to have permanently affected his self-confidence and lack of tactical flexibility meant he often failed to follow up opportunities.Fleming 2006, p. 44 Many of his decisions were attributed to supply problems, such as his failure to pursue Washington's beaten army.Davies, K. 1972, vol. 12 – 1776, 5:93, Howe to Germain, June 7 and July 7, 1776 Having lost the confidence of his subordinates, he was recalled after Burgoyne surrendered at Saratoga.O'Shaunessy 2013, p. 216
Following the failure of the Carlisle Commission, British policy changed from treating the Patriots as subjects who needed to be reconciled to enemies who had to be defeated.Hibbert 2000, pp. 160–161 In 1778, Howe was replaced by Sir Henry Clinton.O'Shaunessy 2013, p. Regarded as an expert on tactics and strategy, like his predecessors Clinton was handicapped by chronic supply issues.Davies, K. 1972, vol. 15 – 1778, 5:96, Clinton to Germain, September 15, 1778 In addition, Clinton's strategy was compromised by conflict with political superiors in London and his colleagues in North America, especially Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot, replaced in early 1781 by Rodney. He was neither notified nor consulted when Germain approved Cornwallis's invasion of the south in 1781 and delayed sending him reinforcements believing the bulk of Washington's army was still outside New York City.Ketchum 2014b, pp. 208–210 After the surrender at Yorktown, Clinton was relieved by Carleton, whose major task was to oversee the evacuation of Loyalists and British troops from Savannah, Charleston, and New York City.Cashin 2005, "Revolutionary War in Georgia" |
American Revolutionary War | German troops | German troops
thumb|alt=Hessian troops surrender after Battle of Trenton, December 1776 |Hessian troops surrender after Washington's victory at the Battle of Trenton in December 1776
During the 18th century, states commonly hired foreign soldiers, including Britain.Baer 2015, p. 115 When it became clear additional troops were needed to suppress the revolt in America, it was decided to employ professional German soldiers. There were several reasons for this, including public sympathy for the Patriot cause, a historical reluctance to expand the British army and the time needed to recruit and train new regiments.Baer 2015, p. 117 Many smaller states in the Holy Roman Empire had a long tradition of renting their armies to the highest bidder. The most important was Hesse-Kassel, known as "the Mercenary State".Showalter 2007, "Best armies money could buy"
The first supply agreements were signed by the North administration in late 1775; 30,000 Germans served in the American War.Baer 2015, pp. 111–112 Often generically referred to as "Hessians", they included men from many other states, including Hanover and Brunswick.Fetter 1980, p. 508 Sir Henry Clinton recommended recruiting Russian troops whom he rated very highly, having seen them in action against the Ottomans; however, negotiations with Catherine the Great made little progress.Baer 2015, pp. 118–119
Unlike previous wars their use led to intense political debate in Britain, France, and even Germany, where Frederick the Great refused to provide passage through his territories for troops hired for the American war.Schmidt 1958, pp. 208–209 In March 1776, the agreements were challenged in Parliament by Whigs who objected to "coercion" in general, and the use of foreign soldiers to subdue "British subjects".Baer 2015, pp. 121, 141–142 The debates were covered in detail by American newspapers; in May 1776 they received copies of the treaties themselves, provided by British sympathizers and smuggled into North America from London.Baer 2015, pp. 143–144
The prospect of foreign German soldiers being used in the colonies bolstered support for independence, more so than taxation and other acts combined; the King was accused of declaring war on his own subjects, leading to the idea there were now two separate governments.Baer 2015, pp. 136–143O'Saughnessy, 2004, p. 20 By apparently showing Britain was determined to go to war, it made hopes of reconciliation seem naive and hopeless, while the employment of what was regarded as "foreign mercenaries" became one of the charges levelled against George III in the Declaration of Independence. The Hessian reputation within Germany for brutality also increased support for the Patriot cause among German American immigrants.Baer 2015, p. 142
The presence of over 150,000 German Americans meant both sides felt the German soldiers might be persuaded to desert; one reason Clinton suggested employing Russians was that he felt they were less likely to defect. When the first German troops arrived on Staten Island in August 1776, Congress approved the printing of handbills, promising land and citizenship to any willing to join the Patriot cause. The British launched a counter-campaign claiming deserters could be executed.Mauch 2003, p. 415 Desertion among the Germans occurred throughout the war, with the highest rate of desertion occurring between the surrender at Yorktown and the Treaty of Paris.Atwood, 2002, p. 194 German regiments were central to the British war effort; of the estimated 30,000 sent to America, some 13,000 became casualties.Lowell 1884, pp. 20–21, 282–283 |
American Revolutionary War | Revolution as civil war | Revolution as civil war |
American Revolutionary War | Loyalists | Loyalists
thumb|alt=A wounded British officer falls from his horse after being struck by gunfire; another British officer to his rights puts his hands forwards to support the wounded rider; troops skirmish in the background; men lie dead at the riders feet.|American Patriots routed Loyalists at the Battle of Kings Mountain in 1780, raising Patriot morale.
Wealthy Loyalists convinced the British government that most of the colonists were sympathetic toward the Crown;Ritcheson 1973, p. 6 consequently, British military planners relied on recruiting Loyalists, but had trouble recruiting sufficient numbers as the Patriots had widespread support. Approximately 25,000 Loyalists fought for the British throughout the war. Although Loyalists constituted about twenty percent of the colonial population, they were concentrated in distinct communities. Many of them lived among large plantation owners in the Tidewater region and South Carolina.
When the British began probing the backcountry in 1777–1778, they were faced with a major problem: any significant level of organized Loyalist activity required a continued presence of British regulars.Black 2001 [1991], p. 12 The available manpower that the British had in America was insufficient to protect Loyalist territory and counter American offensives.Black 2001 [1991], pp. 13–14 The Loyalist militias in the South were constantly defeated by neighboring Patriot militia. The Patriot victory at the Battle of Kings Mountain irreversibly impaired Loyalist militia capability in the South.
When the early war policy was administered by Howe, the Crown's need to maintain Loyalist support prevented it from using the traditional revolt suppression methods.Black 2001 [1991], p. 14 The British cause suffered when their troops ransacked local homes during an aborted attack on Charleston in 1779 that enraged both Patriots and Loyalists. After Congress rejected the Carlisle Peace Commission in 1778 and Westminster turned to "hard war" during Clinton's command, neutral colonists in the Carolinas often allied with the Patriots.Black 2001 [1991], pp. 14–16 [16], 35, 38 Conversely, Loyalists gained support when Patriots intimidated suspected Tories by destroying property or tarring and feathering.Calhoon 1973, p.
A Loyalist militia unit—the British Legion—provided some of the best troops in British service.Buchanan 1997, p. 327 It was commanded by Tarleton and gained a fearsome reputation in the colonies for "brutality and needless slaughter".Bass 1957, pp. 548–550 |
American Revolutionary War | Women | Women
thumb|alt=Scene of Nancy Morgan Hart on the left with musket raised and child hiding behind her skirts, and behind; on the right two Loyalist soldiers are lying on the floor, and three are raising their hands defensively in alarm.|Nancy Hart single-handedly captured six Loyalist soldiers who barged into her home intending to ransack it.
Women played various roles during the Revolutionary War; they often accompanied their husbands when permitted. For example, throughout the war Martha Washington was known to visit and provide aid to her husband George at various American camps.Chernow, 2010, p. 215 Women often accompanied armies as camp followers to sell goods and perform necessary tasks in hospitals and camps, and numbered in the thousands during the war.Dunkerly 2014, "Camp Followers"
Women also assumed military roles: some dressed as men to directly support combat, fight, or act as spies on both sides.Howat 2017, "Women Spies" Anna Maria Lane joined her husband in the Army. The Virginia General Assembly later cited her bravery: she fought while dressed as a man and "performed extraordinary military services, and received a severe wound at the battle of Germantown ... with the courage of a soldier".Historical Essay 2009 On April 26, 1777, Sybil Ludington is said to have ridden to alert militia forces to the British's approach; she has been called the "female Paul Revere".Hunt 2015, pp. 188–222 Whether the ride occurred is questioned. A few others disguised themselves as men. Deborah Sampson fought until her gender was discovered and she was discharged as a result; Sally St. Clair was killed in action. |
American Revolutionary War | African Americans | African Americans
thumb|alt=A scene of four uniformed soldiers of the Continental 1st Rhode Island Regiment. On the left, a black and a white soldier formally at "Attention" with Brown Bess muskets; on the right, a downcast white soldier walking back into formation with an officer barking at him holding a cat-o-nine tails for flogging.|Continental Army soldiers, including one from the 1st Rhode Island Regiment on the left
When war began, the population of the Thirteen Colonies included an estimated 500,000 slaves, predominantly used as labor on Southern plantations.Nash 2012, p. 251 In November 1775, Lord Dunmore, the royal governor of Virginia, issued a proclamation that promised freedom to any Patriot-owned slaves willing to bear arms. Although the announcement helped to fill a temporary manpower shortage, white Loyalist prejudice meant recruits were eventually redirected to non-combatant roles. The Loyalists' motive was to deprive Patriot planters of labor rather than to end slavery; Loyalist-owned slaves were returned.Nash, 2005, pp. 167–168
The 1779 Philipsburg Proclamation issued by Clinton extended the offer of freedom to Patriot-owned slaves throughout the colonies. It persuaded entire families to escape to British lines, many of which were employed growing food for the army by removing the requirement for military service. While Clinton organized the Black Pioneers, he also ensured fugitive slaves were returned to Loyalist owners with orders that they were not to be punished.Canada' Digital Collections "Black Loyalists" As the war progressed, service as regular soldiers in British units became increasingly common; Black Loyalists formed two regiments of the Charleston garrison in 1783.Bibko, 2016, pp. 68–69
Estimates of the numbers who served the British during the war vary from 25,000 to 50,000, excluding those who escaped during wartime. Thomas Jefferson estimated that Virginia may have lost 30,000 slaves to escapes.Bibko, 2016, p. 59 In South Carolina, nearly 25,000 slaves (about 30 percent of the enslaved population) either fled, migrated, or died, which significantly disrupted the plantation economies both during and after the war.Kolchin 1994, p. 73
Black Patriots were barred from the Continental Army until Washington convinced Congress in January 1778 that there was no other way to replace losses from disease and desertion. The 1st Rhode Island Regiment formed in February included former slaves whose owners were compensated; however, only 140 of its 225 soldiers were Black and recruitment stopped in June 1788.Lanning 2012, p. 75 Ultimately, around 5,000 African Americans served in the Continental Army and Navy in a variety of roles, while another 4,000 were employed in Patriot militia units, aboard privateers, or as teamsters, servants, and spies. After the war, a small minority received land grants or Congressional pensions; many others were returned to their masters post-war despite earlier promises of freedom.Alexander 2010, p. 356
As a Patriot victory became increasingly likely, the treatment of Black Loyalists became a point of contention; after the surrender of Yorktown in 1781, Washington insisted all escapees be returned but Cornwallis refused. In 1782 and 1783, around 8,000 to 10,000 freed Blacks were evacuated by the British from Charleston, Savannah, and New York; some moved onto London, while 3,000 to 4,000 settled in Nova Scotia.Bibko, 2016, p. 61 White Loyalists transported 15,000 enslaved Blacks to Jamaica and the Bahamas. The free Black Loyalists who migrated to the British West Indies included regular soldiers from Dunmore's Ethiopian Regiment, and those from Charleston who helped garrison the Leeward Islands. |
American Revolutionary War | Native Americans | Native Americans
thumb|left|alt=Portrait of British regular army Colonel Joseph Brant, Iroquois Mohawk.|Colonel Joseph Brant of the British-led Iroquois Mohawks in the war
Most Native Americans east of the Mississippi River were affected by the war, and many tribes were divided over how to respond. A few tribes were friendly with the colonists, but most Natives opposed the union of the Colonies as a potential threat to their territory. Approximately 13,000 Natives fought on the British side, with the largest group coming from the Iroquois tribes who deployed around 1,500 men.Greene & Pole 2008, p. 393
Early in July 1776, Cherokee allies of Britain attacked the short-lived Washington District of North Carolina. Their defeat splintered both Cherokee settlements and people, and was directly responsible for the rise of the Chickamauga Cherokee, who perpetuated the Cherokee–American wars against American settlers for decades after hostilities with Britain ended.Finger 2001, pp. 43–64
Muscogee and Seminole allies of Britain fought against Americans in Georgia and South Carolina. In 1778, a force of 800 Muscogee destroyed American settlements along the Broad River in Georgia. Muscogee warriors also joined Thomas Brown's raids into South Carolina and assisted Britain during the siege of Savannah.Ward, H. 1999, p. 198 Many Native Americans were involved in the fight between Britain and Spain on the Gulf Coast and along the British side of the Mississippi River. Thousands of Muscogee, Chickasaw, and Choctaw fought in major battles such as the Battle of Fort Charlotte, the Battle of Mobile, and the siege of Pensacola.O'Brien 2008, pp. 123–126
The Iroquois Confederacy was shattered as a result of the American Revolutionary War. The Seneca, Onondaga, and Cayuga tribes sided with the British; members of the Mohawks fought on both sides; and many Tuscarora and Oneida sided with the Americans. To retaliate against raids on American settlement by Loyalists and their Indian allies, the Continental Army dispatched the Sullivan Expedition throughout New York to debilitate the Iroquois tribes that had sided with the British. Mohawk leaders Joseph Louis Cook and Joseph Brant sided with the Americans and the British respectively, which further exacerbated the split.Ferling 2007, pp. 200–203
In the western theater, conflicts between settlers and Native Americans led to lingering distrust.Reid, D. 2017, p. In the 1783 Treaty of Paris, Great Britain ceded control of the disputed lands between the Great Lakes and the Ohio River, but Native inhabitants were not a part of the peace negotiations.Carroll 2001, p. 24 Tribes in the Northwest Territory joined as the Western Confederacy and allied with the British to resist American settlement, and their conflict continued after the Revolutionary War as the Northwest Indian War.Ferling 2007, pp. 354–355 |
American Revolutionary War | Peace negotiations | Peace negotiations
thumb|alt=Portrait of the four principal US ministers in Paris; left to right, John Jay, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Laurens, and their secretary on the far right.|Treaty of Paris by Benjamin West portrays the American mission of (left–right): John Jay, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Laurens, and William Temple Franklin. The portrait was never completed because the British commissioners refused to pose. Laurens, pictured, was actually in London at the time it was painted.Morris, R.B. Morris 1983 [1965], pp. 435–436
thumb|alt=A New York City street scene with a mounted George Washington riding at the head of a parade.|Washington enters New York City at British evacuation, November 1783. St. Paul's Chapel is on left. The parade route in 1783 went from Bull's Head Tavern on Bowery, then continued down Chatham, Pearl, Wall, and ended at Cape's Tavern on Broadway.
The terms presented by the Carlisle Peace Commission in 1778 included acceptance of the principle of self-government. Parliament would recognize Congress as the governing body, suspend any objectionable legislation, surrender its right to local colonial taxation, and discuss including American representatives in the House of Commons. In return, all property confiscated from Loyalists would be returned, British debts honored, and locally enforced martial law accepted. However, Congress demanded either immediate recognition of independence or the withdrawal of all British troops; they knew the commission were not authorized to accept these, bringing negotiations to a rapid end.Whiteley 1996, p. 175
On February 27, 1782, a Whig motion to end the offensive war in America was carried by 19 votes.Namier and Brooke 1985, p. 246 North resigned, obliging the king to invite Lord Rockingham to form a government; a consistent supporter of the Patriot cause, he made a commitment to U.S. independence a condition of doing so. George III reluctantly accepted and the new government took office on March 27, 1782; however, Rockingham died unexpectedly on July 1, and was replaced by Lord Shelburne who acknowledged American independence.Ward and Prothero 1925, p. 458
When Lord Rockingham was elevated to Prime Minister, Congress consolidated its diplomatic consuls in Europe into a peace delegation at Paris. The dean of the delegation was Benjamin Franklin. He had become a celebrity in the French Court, but he was also influential in the courts of Prussia and Austria. Since the 1760s, Franklin had been an organizer of British American inter-colony cooperation, and then served as a colonial lobbyist to Parliament in London. John Adams had been consul to the Dutch Republic and was a prominent early New England Patriot. John Jay of New York had been consul to Spain and was a past president of the Continental Congress. As consul to the Dutch Republic, Henry Laurens had secured a preliminary agreement for a trade agreement. Although active in the preliminaries, he was not a signer of the conclusive treaty.
The Whig negotiators included long-time friend of Franklin David Hartley, and Richard Oswald, who had negotiated Laurens' release from the Tower of London. The Preliminary Peace signed on November 30 met four key Congressional demands: independence, territory up to the Mississippi, navigation rights into the Gulf of Mexico, and fishing rights in Newfoundland.
British strategy was to strengthen the U.S. sufficiently to prevent France from regaining a foothold in North America, and they had little interest in these proposals.Black 2011, pp. 117–118 However, divisions between their opponents allowed them to negotiate separately with each to improve their overall position, starting with the American delegation in September 1782.Harvey 2004, pp. 531–532 The French and Spanish sought to improve their position by creating the U.S. dependent on them for support against Britain, thus reversing the losses of 1763.Cogliano 2003, p. 85 Both parties tried to negotiate a settlement with Britain excluding the Americans; France proposed setting the western boundary of the U.S. along the Appalachians, matching the British 1763 Proclamation Line. The Spanish suggested additional concessions in the vital Mississippi River Basin, but required the cession of Georgia in violation of the Franco-American alliance.
Facing difficulties with Spain over claims involving the Mississippi River, and from France who was still reluctant to agree to American independence until all her demands were met, John Jay told the British that he was willing to negotiate directly with them, cutting off France and Spain, and Prime Minister Lord Shelburne, in charge of the British negotiations, agreed.Morris, 1983 [1965], pp. 221–323, 331–333 Key agreements for the United States in obtaining peace included recognition of US independence; all of the territory east of the Mississippi River, north of Florida and south of Canada; and fishing rights in the Grand Banks, off the coast of Newfoundland and in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The United States and Great Britain were each given perpetual access to the Mississippi River.Dull 1987 [1975], pp. 144–151Morris, 1983 [1965], pp. 218–221
An Anglo-American Preliminary Peace was formally entered into in November 1782, and Congress endorsed the settlement on April 15, 1783. It announced the achievement of peace with independence, and the conclusive treaty was signed on September 2, 1783, in Paris, effective the following day when Britain signed its treaty with France. John Adams, who helped draft the treaty, claimed it represented "one of the most important political events that ever happened on the globe". Ratified respectively by Congress and Parliament, the final versions were exchanged in Paris the following spring.Kaplan, L. 1983, "Treaty of Paris" On November 25, the last British troops remaining in the U.S. were evacuated from New York to Halifax.Ketchum 2014b, p. 287 |
American Revolutionary War | Aftermath | Aftermath |
American Revolutionary War | Territory | Territory
The expanse of territory that was now the U.S. included millions of sparsely settled acres south of the Great Lakes between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River, much of which was part of Canada. The tentative colonial migration west became a flood during the war.Herring 2011 [2008], p. 41
Britain's extended post-war policy for the U.S. continued to try to establish an Indian barrier state below the Great Lakes as late as 1814 during the War of 1812. The formally acquired western American lands continued to be populated by Indigenous tribes that had mostly been British allies. In practice the British refused to abandon the forts on territory they formally transferred. Instead, they provisioned military allies for continuing frontier raids and sponsored the Northwest Indian War (1785–1795). British sponsorship of local warfare on the U.S. continued until the Anglo-American Jay Treaty, authored by Hamilton, went into effect on February 29, 1796.Benn 1993, p. 17
Of the European powers with American colonies adjacent to the newly created U.S., Spain was most threatened by American independence, and it was correspondingly the most hostile to it. Its territory adjacent to the U.S. was relatively undefended, so Spanish policy developed a combination of initiatives. Spanish soft power diplomatically challenged the British territorial cession west to the Mississippi River and the previous northern boundaries of Spanish Florida.Herring 2011 [2008], p. 46 It imposed a high tariff on American goods, then blocked American settler access to the port of New Orleans. At the same time, the Spanish also sponsored war within the U.S. by Indian proxies in its Southwest Territory ceded by France to Britain, then Britain to the Americans. |
American Revolutionary War | Casualties and losses | Casualties and losses
thumb|upright|alt=A cemetery; grave stones in the foreground in staggered, irregular rows; behind them grass covered mounds of dead; an American flag in the background along a tree line.|Mass graves from the Battles of Saratoga in Salem, New York
The total loss of life throughout the conflict is largely unknown. As was typical in wars of the era, diseases such as smallpox claimed more lives than battle. Between 1775 and 1782, a smallpox epidemic throughout North America killed an estimated 130,000. Historian Joseph Ellis suggests that Washington having his troops inoculated against the disease was one of his most important decisions.Ellis 2004, p. 87
Up to 70,000 American Patriots died during active military service.Peckham 1974, p. Of these, approximately 6,800 were killed in battle, while at least 17,000 died from disease. The majority of the latter died while prisoners of war of the British, mostly in the prison ships in New York Harbor.Burrows 2008b, p. The number of Patriots seriously wounded or disabled by the war has been estimated from 8,500 to 25,000.Chambers 1999 p. 849
The French suffered 2,112 killed in combat in the United States.Dawson 2017, "Frenchmen who died" The Spanish lost 124 killed and 247 wounded in West Florida.White 2010, "Essay"
A British report in 1781 puts their total Army deaths at 6,046 in North America (1775–1779). Approximately 7,774 Germans died in British service in addition to 4,888 deserters; among those labeled German deserters, however, it is estimated that 1,800 were killed in combat. |
American Revolutionary War | Legacy | Legacy
thumb|The U.S. motto Novus ordo seclorum, meaning "A New Age Now Begins", is paraphrased from Thomas Paine's Common Sense, published January 10, 1776. "We have it in our power to begin the world over again", Paine wrote in it.McDonald, Forrest. Novus Ordo Seclorum: The Intellectual Origins of the Constitution, pp. 6–7, Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1985. .
The American Revolution set an example to overthrow both monarchy and colonial governments. The United States has the world's oldest written constitution, which was used as a model in other countries, sometimes word-for-word. The Revolution inspired revolutions in France, Haiti, Latin America, and elsewhere.Bailyn, 2007, pp. 35, 134–149
Although the Revolution eliminated many forms of inequality, it did little to change the status of women, despite the role they played in winning independence. Most significantly, it failed to end slavery. While many were uneasy over the contradiction of demanding liberty for some, yet denying it to others, the dependence of southern states on slave labor made abolition too great a challenge. Between 1774 and 1780, many of the states banned the importation of slaves, but the institution itself continued.Morgan, 2012 [1956], pp. 96–97 In 1782, Virginia passed a law permitting manumission and over the next eight years more than 10,000 slaves were given their freedom.Morgan, 2012 [1956], p. 97 The number of abolitionist movements greatly increased, and by 1804 all the northern states had outlawed it.Wood, 1992, pp. 3–8, 186–187 However, slavery continued to be a serious social and political issue and caused divisions that would ultimately end in civil war. |
American Revolutionary War | Historiography | Historiography
The body of historical writings on the American Revolution cite many motivations for the Patriot revolt.Paul David Nelson, "British Conduct of the American Revolutionary War: A Review of Interpretations." Journal of American History 65.3 (1978): 623–653. American Patriots stressed the denial of their constitutional rights as Englishmen, especially "no taxation without representation." Contemporaries credit the American Enlightenment with laying the intellectual, moral, and ethical foundations for the American Revolution among the Founding Fathers, who were influenced by the classical liberalism of John Locke and other Enlightenment writers and philosophers.
Two Treatises of Government has long been cited as a major influence on Revolutionary-era American thinking, but historians David Lundberg and Henry F. May contend that Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding was far more widely read.See David Lundberg and Henry F. May, "The Enlightened Reader in America", American Quarterly, vol. 28, no. 2 (1976): 267. Historians since the 1960s have emphasized that the Patriot constitutional argument was made possible by the emergence of an American nationalism that united the Thirteen Colonies. In turn, that nationalism was rooted in a Republican value system that demanded consent of the governed and deeply opposed aristocratic control. In Britain, on the other hand, republicanism was largely a fringe ideology since it challenged the aristocratic control of the British monarchy and political system. Political power was not controlled by an aristocracy or nobility in the 13 colonies; instead, the colonial political system was based on the winners of free elections, which were open at the time to the majority of white men. In analysis of the Revolution, historians in recent decades have often cited three motivations behind it:Robin Winks, ed. Historiography (1999) 5:95
The Atlantic history view places the American story in a broader context, including subsequent revolutions in France and Haiti. It tends to reintegrate the historiographies of the American Revolution and the British Empire.Eliga H. Gould, Peter S. Onuf, eds. Empire and Nation: The American Revolution in the Atlantic World (2005)
The "new social history" approach looks at community social structure to find cleavages that were magnified into colonial cleavages.
The ideological approach that centers on republicanism in the United States. Republicanism dictated there would be no royalty, aristocracy or national church but allowed for continuation of the British common law, which American lawyers and jurists understood and approved and used in their everyday practice. Historians have examined how the rising American legal profession adopted British common law to incorporate republicanism by selective revision of legal customs and by introducing more choices for courts.Ellen Holmes Pearson. "Revising Custom, Embracing Choice: Early American Legal Scholars and the Republicanization of the Common Law", in Gould and Onuf, eds. Empire and Nation: The American Revolution in the Atlantic World (2005) pp. 93–113Anton-Hermann Chroust, Rise of the Legal Profession in America (1965) vol. 2. |
American Revolutionary War | Revolutionary War commemoration stamps | Revolutionary War commemoration stamps
After the first U.S. postage stamp was issued in 1849, the U.S. Postal Service frequently issued commemorative stamps celebrating people and events of the Revolutionary War. The first such stamp was the Liberty Bell issue of 1926. |
American Revolutionary War | See also | See also
1776 in the United States: events, births, deaths, and other years
Timeline of the American Revolution |
American Revolutionary War | Topics of the Revolution | Topics of the Revolution
Committee of safety (American Revolution)
Diplomacy in the American Revolutionary War
Financial costs of the American Revolutionary War
Flags of the American Revolution
Naval operations in the American Revolutionary War |
American Revolutionary War | Social history of the Revolution | Social history of the Revolution
Black Patriot
Christianity in the United States#American Revolution
The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution
History of Poles in the United States#American Revolution
List of clergy in the American Revolution
List of Patriots (American Revolution)
Quakers in the American Revolution
Scotch-Irish Americans#American Revolution |
American Revolutionary War | Others in the American Revolution | Others in the American Revolution
Nova Scotia in the American Revolution
Watauga Association |
American Revolutionary War | Lists of Revolutionary military | Lists of Revolutionary military
List of American Revolutionary War battles
List of British Forces in the American Revolutionary War
List of Continental Forces in the American Revolutionary War
List of infantry weapons in the American Revolution
List of United States militia units in the American Revolutionary War |
American Revolutionary War | Legacy and related | Legacy and related
American Revolution Statuary
Commemoration of the American Revolution
Founders Online
Independence Day (United States)
The Last Men of the Revolution
List of plays and films about the American Revolution
Museum of the American Revolution
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the American Revolution
List of wars of independence
Bibliography of the American Revolutionary War |
American Revolutionary War | Notes | Notes |
American Revolutionary War | Citations | Citations
Year dates enclosed in [brackets] denote year of original printing |
American Revolutionary War | Bibliography | Bibliography
Britannica.com
Dictionary of American Biography
Encyclopædia Britannica
, p. 73
– Highly regarded examination of British strategy and leadership. An introduction by John W. Shy with his biographical sketch of Mackesy.
Robinson Library
(See also:British Warships in the Age of Sail)
Canada's Digital Collections Program
History.org
Maryland State House
The History Place
Totallyhistory.com
U.S. Merchant Marine
U.S. National Archives
Valley Forge National Historic Park
Yale Law School, Massachusetts Act |
American Revolutionary War | Further reading | Further reading
Allison, David, and Larrie D. Ferreiro, eds. The American Revolution: A World War (Smithsonian, 2018) excerpt
Bobrick, Benson. Angel in the Whirlwind: The Triumph of the American Revolution. Penguin, 1998 (paperback reprint)
Brands, H. W. Our First Civil War: Patriots and Loyalists in the American Revolution. New York: Anchor Books 2022.
Chartrand, Rene. The French Army in the American War of Independence (1994). Short (48 pp), very well illustrated descriptions.
Commager, Henry Steele and Richard B. Morris, eds. The Spirit of 'Seventy-Six': The Story of the American Revolution as told by Participants. (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1958). online
Foner, Eric, "Whose Revolution?: The history of the United States' founding from below" (review of Woody Holton, Liberty Is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution, Simon & Schuster, 2021, 800 pp.), The Nation, vol. 314, no. 8 (18–25 April 2022), pp. 32–37. Highlighted are the struggles and tragic fates of America's Indians and Black slaves. For example, "In 1779 [George] Washington dispatched a contingent of soldiers to upstate New York to burn Indian towns and crops and seize hostages 'of every age and sex.' The following year, while serving as governor of Virginia, [Thomas] Jefferson ordered troops under the command of George Rogers Clark to enter the Ohio Valley and bring about the expulsion or 'extermination' of local Indians." (pp. 34–35.)
Kwasny, Mark V. Washington's Partisan War, 1775–1783. Kent, Ohio: 1996. . Militia warfare.
Library of Congress
May, Robin. The British Army in North America 1775–1783 (1993). Short (48pp), very well illustrated descriptions.
Neimeyer, Charles Patrick. America Goes to War: A Social History of the Continental Army (1995)
Royal Navy Museum
Stoker, Donald, Kenneth J. Hagan, and Michael T. McMaster, eds. Strategy in the American War of Independence: a global approach (Routledge, 2009) excerpt.
Symonds, Craig L. A Battlefield Atlas of the American Revolution (1989), newly drawn maps emphasizing the movement of military units
U.S. Army, "The Winning of Independence, 1777–1783" American Military History Volume I, 2005.
U.S. National Park Service
}
Zlatich, Marko; Copeland, Peter. General Washington's Army (1): 1775–78 (1994). Short (48pp), very well illustrated descriptions.
——. General Washington's Army (2): 1779–83 (1994). Short (48pp), very well illustrated descriptions. |
American Revolutionary War | External links | External links
"The American Revolutionary War" at United States Military Academy. .
Library of Congress Guide to the American Revolution
Bibliographies of the War of American Independence compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History (archived)
Category:Conflicts in 1775
Category:Conflicts in 1776
Category:Conflicts in 1777
Category:Conflicts in 1778
Category:Conflicts in 1779
Category:Conflicts in 1780
Category:Conflicts in 1781
Category:Conflicts in 1782
Category:Conflicts in 1783
Category:Civil wars in the United States
Category:Rebellions against the British Empire
Category:Wars between the United Kingdom and the United States
Category:Wars of independence |
American Revolutionary War | Table of Content | Short description, Prelude to war, Taxation and legislation, Break with the British Crown, Political reactions, Declaration of Independence, War breaks out, Early engagements, British New York counter-offensive, Patriot resurgence, British northern strategy fails, Foreign intervention, Stalemate in the North, War in the South, Western campaign, British defeat, Strategy and commanders, American strategy, Continental Army, Continental Navy, France, British strategy, British Army, German troops, Revolution as civil war, Loyalists, Women, African Americans, Native Americans, Peace negotiations, Aftermath, Territory, Casualties and losses, Legacy, Historiography, Revolutionary War commemoration stamps, See also, Topics of the Revolution, Social history of the Revolution, Others in the American Revolution, Lists of Revolutionary military, Legacy and related, Notes, Citations, Bibliography, Further reading, External links |
Ampere | Short description | The ampere ( , ; symbol: A), often shortened to amp,SI supports only the use of symbols and deprecates the use of abbreviations for units. is the unit of electric current in the International System of Units (SI). One ampere is equal to 1 coulomb (C) moving past a point per second. It is named after French mathematician and physicist André-Marie Ampère (1775–1836), considered the father of electromagnetism along with Danish physicist Hans Christian Ørsted.
As of the 2019 revision of the SI, the ampere is defined by fixing the elementary charge to be exactly , which means an ampere is an electric current equivalent to elementary charges moving every seconds or elementary charges moving in a second. Prior to the redefinition the ampere was defined as the current passing through two parallel wires 1 metre apart that produces a magnetic force of newtons per metre.
The earlier CGS system has two units of current, one structured similarly to the SI's and the other using Coulomb's law as a fundamental relationship, with the CGS unit of charge defined by measuring the force between two charged metal plates. The CGS unit of current is then defined as one unit of charge per second. |
Ampere | History | History
The ampere is named for French physicist and mathematician André-Marie Ampère (1775–1836), who studied electromagnetism and laid the foundation of electrodynamics. In recognition of Ampère's contributions to the creation of modern electrical science, an international convention, signed at the 1881 International Exposition of Electricity, established the ampere as a standard unit of electrical measurement for electric current.
The ampere was originally defined as one tenth of the unit of electric current in the centimetre–gram–second system of units. That unit, now known as the abampere, was defined as the amount of current that generates a force of two dynes per centimetre of length between two wires one centimetre apart. The size of the unit was chosen so that the units derived from it in the MKSA system would be conveniently sized.
The "international ampere" was an early realization of the ampere, defined as the current that would deposit of silver per second from a silver nitrate solution. Later, more accurate measurements revealed that this current is .
Since power is defined as the product of current and voltage, the ampere can alternatively be expressed in terms of the other units using the relationship , and thus 1 A = 1 W/V. Current can be measured by a multimeter, a device that can measure electrical voltage, current, and resistance. |
Ampere | Former definition in the SI | Former definition in the SI
Until 2019, the SI defined the ampere as follows:
The ampere is that constant current which, if maintained in two straight parallel conductors of infinite length, of negligible circular cross-section, and placed one metre apart in vacuum, would produce between these conductors a force equal to newtons per metre of length.
Ampère's force law states that there is an attractive or repulsive force between two parallel wires carrying an electric current. This force is used in the formal definition of the ampere.
The SI unit of charge, the coulomb, was then defined as "the quantity of electricity carried in 1 second by a current of 1 ampere". Conversely, a current of one ampere is one coulomb of charge going past a given point per second:
In general, charge was determined by steady current flowing for a time as .
This definition of the ampere was most accurately realised using a Kibble balance, but in practice the unit was maintained via Ohm's law from the units of electromotive force and resistance, the volt and the ohm, since the latter two could be tied to physical phenomena that are relatively easy to reproduce, the Josephson effect and the quantum Hall effect, respectively.
Techniques to establish the realisation of an ampere had a relative uncertainty of approximately a few parts in 10, and involved realisations of the watt, the ohm and the volt. |
Ampere | Present definition | Present definition
The 2019 revision of the SI defined the ampere by taking the fixed numerical value of the elementary charge to be when expressed in the unit C, which is equal to A⋅s, where the second is defined in terms of , the unperturbed ground state hyperfine transition frequency of the caesium-133 atom.
The SI unit of charge, the coulomb, "is the quantity of electricity carried in 1 second by a current of 1 ampere".. Conversely, a current of one ampere is one coulomb of charge going past a given point per second:
In general, charge is determined by steady current flowing for a time as .
Constant, instantaneous and average current are expressed in amperes (as in "the charging current is 1.2 A") and the charge accumulated (or passed through a circuit) over a period of time is expressed in coulombs (as in "the battery charge is "). The relation of the ampere (C/s) to the coulomb is the same as that of the watt (J/s) to the joule. |
Ampere | Units derived from the ampere | Units derived from the ampere
The international system of units (SI) is based on seven SI base units the second, metre, kilogram, kelvin, ampere, mole, and candela representing seven fundamental types of physical quantity, or "dimensions", (time, length, mass, temperature, electric current, amount of substance, and luminous intensity respectively) with all other SI units being defined using these. These SI derived units can either be given special names e.g. watt, volt, lux, etc. or defined in terms of others, e.g. metre per second. The units with special names derived from the ampere are:
Quantity Unit Symbol Meaning In SI base units Electric charge coulomb C ampere second A⋅s Electric potential difference volt V joule per coulomb kg⋅m2⋅s−3⋅A−1 Electrical resistance ohm Ω volt per ampere kg⋅m2⋅s−3⋅A−2 Electrical conductance siemens S ampere per volt or inverse ohm s3⋅A2⋅kg−1⋅m−2 Electrical inductance henry H ohm second kg⋅m2⋅s−2⋅A−2 Electrical capacitance farad F coulomb per volt s4⋅A2⋅kg−1⋅m−2 Magnetic flux weber Wb volt second kg⋅m2⋅s−2⋅A−1 Magnetic flux density tesla T weber per square metre kg⋅s−2⋅A−1
There are also some SI units that are frequently used in the context of electrical engineering and electrical appliances, but are defined independently of the ampere, notably the hertz, joule, watt, candela, lumen, and lux. |
Ampere | SI prefixes | SI prefixes
Like other SI units, the ampere can be modified by adding a prefix that multiplies it by a power of 10. |
Ampere | See also | See also
|
Ampere | References | References |
Ampere | External links | External links
The NIST Reference on Constants, Units, and Uncertainty
NIST Definition of ampere and μ0
Category:SI base units
Category:Units of electric current |
Ampere | Table of Content | Short description, History, Former definition in the SI, Present definition, Units derived from the ampere, SI prefixes, See also, References, External links |
Algorithm | Short description | thumb|Flowchart of using successive subtractions to find the greatest common divisor of number r and s|alt=In a loop, subtract the larger number against the smaller number. Halt the loop when the subtraction will make a number negative. Assess two numbers, whether one of them is equal to zero or not. If yes, take the other number as the greatest common divisor. If no, put the two numbers in the subtraction loop again.
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of mathematically rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specifications for performing calculations and data processing. More advanced algorithms can use conditionals to divert the code execution through various routes (referred to as automated decision-making) and deduce valid inferences (referred to as automated reasoning).
In contrast, a heuristic is an approach to solving problems without well-defined correct or optimal results.David A. Grossman, Ophir Frieder, Information Retrieval: Algorithms and Heuristics, 2nd edition, 2004, For example, although social media recommender systems are commonly called "algorithms", they actually rely on heuristics as there is no truly "correct" recommendation.
As an effective method, an algorithm can be expressed within a finite amount of space and time"Any classical mathematical algorithm, for example, can be described in a finite number of English words" (Rogers 1987:2). and in a well-defined formal languageWell defined concerning the agent that executes the algorithm: "There is a computing agent, usually human, which can react to the instructions and carry out the computations" (Rogers 1987:2). for calculating a function."an algorithm is a procedure for computing a function (concerning some chosen notation for integers) ... this limitation (to numerical functions) results in no loss of generality", (Rogers 1987:1). Starting from an initial state and initial input (perhaps empty),"An algorithm has zero or more inputs, i.e., quantities which are given to it initially before the algorithm begins" (Knuth 1973:5). the instructions describe a computation that, when executed, proceeds through a finite"A procedure which has all the characteristics of an algorithm except that it possibly lacks finiteness may be called a 'computational method (Knuth 1973:5). number of well-defined successive states, eventually producing "output""An algorithm has one or more outputs, i.e., quantities which have a specified relation to the inputs" (Knuth 1973:5). and terminating at a final ending state. The transition from one state to the next is not necessarily deterministic; some algorithms, known as randomized algorithms, incorporate random input.Whether or not a process with random interior processes (not including the input) is an algorithm is debatable. Rogers opines that: "a computation is carried out in a discrete stepwise fashion, without the use of continuous methods or analog devices ... carried forward deterministically, without resort to random methods or devices, e.g., dice" (Rogers 1987:2). |
Algorithm | Etymology | Etymology
Around 825 AD, Persian scientist and polymath Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī wrote kitāb al-ḥisāb al-hindī ("Book of Indian computation") and kitab al-jam' wa'l-tafriq al-ḥisāb al-hindī ("Addition and subtraction in Indian arithmetic"). In the early 12th century, Latin translations of said al-Khwarizmi texts involving the Hindu–Arabic numeral system and arithmetic appeared, for example Liber Alghoarismi de practica arismetrice, attributed to John of Seville, and Liber Algorismi de numero Indorum, attributed to Adelard of Bath.Blair, Ann, Duguid, Paul, Goeing, Anja-Silvia and Grafton, Anthony. Information: A Historical Companion, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2021. p. 247 Hereby, alghoarismi or algorismi is the Latinization of Al-Khwarizmi's name; the text starts with the phrase Dixit Algorismi, or "Thus spoke Al-Khwarizmi". Around 1230, the English word algorism is attested and then by Chaucer in 1391, English adopted the French term. In the 15th century, under the influence of the Greek word ἀριθμός (arithmos, "number"; cf. "arithmetic"), the Latin word was altered to algorithmus. |
Algorithm | Definition | Definition
One informal definition is "a set of rules that precisely defines a sequence of operations",Stone 1973:4 which would include all computer programs (including programs that do not perform numeric calculations), and any prescribed bureaucratic procedure
or cook-book recipe. In general, a program is an algorithm only if it stops eventuallyStone requires that "it must terminate in a finite number of steps" (Stone 1973:7–8).—even though infinite loops may sometimes prove desirable. define an algorithm to be an explicit set of instructions for determining an output, that can be followed by a computing machine or a human who could only carry out specific elementary operations on symbols.Boolos and Jeffrey 1974, 1999:19
Most algorithms are intended to be implemented as computer programs. However, algorithms are also implemented by other means, such as in a biological neural network (for example, the human brain performing arithmetic or an insect looking for food), in an electrical circuit, or a mechanical device. |
Algorithm | History | History |
Algorithm | Ancient algorithms | Ancient algorithms
Step-by-step procedures for solving mathematical problems have been recorded since antiquity. This includes in Babylonian mathematics (around 2500 BC), Egyptian mathematics (around 1550 BC), Indian mathematics (around 800 BC and later),Hayashi, T. (2023, January 1). Brahmagupta. Encyclopedia Britannica. the Ifa Oracle (around 500 BC), Greek mathematics (around 240 BC), Chinese mathematics (around 200 BC and later), and Arabic mathematics (around 800 AD).
The earliest evidence of algorithms is found in ancient Mesopotamian mathematics. A Sumerian clay tablet found in Shuruppak near Baghdad and dated to describes the earliest division algorithm. During the Hammurabi dynasty , Babylonian clay tablets described algorithms for computing formulas. Algorithms were also used in Babylonian astronomy. Babylonian clay tablets describe and employ algorithmic procedures to compute the time and place of significant astronomical events.
Algorithms for arithmetic are also found in ancient Egyptian mathematics, dating back to the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus . Algorithms were later used in ancient Hellenistic mathematics. Two examples are the Sieve of Eratosthenes, which was described in the Introduction to Arithmetic by Nicomachus, and the Euclidean algorithm, which was first described in Euclid's Elements ().Examples of ancient Indian mathematics included the Shulba Sutras, the Kerala School, and the Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta.
The first cryptographic algorithm for deciphering encrypted code was developed by Al-Kindi, a 9th-century Arab mathematician, in A Manuscript On Deciphering Cryptographic Messages. He gave the first description of cryptanalysis by frequency analysis, the earliest codebreaking algorithm. |
Algorithm | Computers | Computers |
Algorithm | Weight-driven clocks | Weight-driven clocks
Bolter credits the invention of the weight-driven clock as "the key invention [of Europe in the Middle Ages]," specifically the verge escapement mechanismBolter 1984:24 producing the tick and tock of a mechanical clock. "The accurate automatic machine"Bolter 1984:26 led immediately to "mechanical automata" in the 13th century and "computational machines"—the difference and analytical engines of Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace in the mid-19th century.Bolter 1984:33–34, 204–206. Lovelace designed the first algorithm intended for processing on a computer, Babbage's analytical engine, which is the first device considered a real Turing-complete computer instead of just a calculator. Although the full implementation of Babbage's second device was not realized for decades after her lifetime, Lovelace has been called "history's first programmer". |
Algorithm | Electromechanical relay | Electromechanical relay
Bell and Newell (1971) write that the Jacquard loom, a precursor to Hollerith cards (punch cards), and "telephone switching technologies" led to the development of the first computers.Bell and Newell diagram 1971:39, cf. Davis 2000 By the mid-19th century, the telegraph, the precursor of the telephone, was in use throughout the world. By the late 19th century, the ticker tape () was in use, as were Hollerith cards (c. 1890). Then came the teleprinter () with its punched-paper use of Baudot code on tape.
Telephone-switching networks of electromechanical relays were invented in 1835. These led to the invention of the digital adding device by George Stibitz in 1937. While working in Bell Laboratories, he observed the "burdensome" use of mechanical calculators with gears. "He went home one evening in 1937 intending to test his idea... When the tinkering was over, Stibitz had constructed a binary adding device".Melina Hill, Valley News Correspondent, A Tinkerer Gets a Place in History, Valley News West Lebanon NH, Thursday, March 31, 1983, p. 13.Davis 2000:14 |
Algorithm | Formalization | Formalization
thumb|Ada Lovelace's diagram from "Note G", the first published computer algorithm
In 1928, a partial formalization of the modern concept of algorithms began with attempts to solve the Entscheidungsproblem (decision problem) posed by David Hilbert. Later formalizations were framed as attempts to define "effective calculability"Kleene 1943 in Davis 1965:274 or "effective method".Rosser 1939 in Davis 1965:225 Those formalizations included the Gödel–Herbrand–Kleene recursive functions of 1930, 1934 and 1935, Alonzo Church's lambda calculus of 1936, Emil Post's Formulation 1 of 1936, and Alan Turing's Turing machines of 1936–37 and 1939. |
Algorithm | Representations | Representations
Algorithms can be expressed in many kinds of notation, including natural languages, pseudocode, flowcharts, drakon-charts, programming languages or control tables (processed by interpreters). Natural language expressions of algorithms tend to be verbose and ambiguous and are rarely used for complex or technical algorithms. Pseudocode, flowcharts, drakon-charts, and control tables are structured expressions of algorithms that avoid common ambiguities of natural language. Programming languages are primarily for expressing algorithms in a computer-executable form but are also used to define or document algorithms. |
Algorithm | Turing machines | Turing machines
There are many possible representations and Turing machine programs can be expressed as a sequence of machine tables (see finite-state machine, state-transition table, and control table for more), as flowcharts and drakon-charts (see state diagram for more), as a form of rudimentary machine code or assembly code called "sets of quadruples", and more. Algorithm representations can also be classified into three accepted levels of Turing machine description: high-level description, implementation description, and formal description.Sipser 2006:157 A high-level description describes the qualities of the algorithm itself, ignoring how it is implemented on the Turing machine. An implementation description describes the general manner in which the machine moves its head and stores data to carry out the algorithm, but does not give exact states. In the most detail, a formal description gives the exact state table and list of transitions of the Turing machine. |
Algorithm | Flowchart representation | Flowchart representation
The graphical aid called a flowchart offers a way to describe and document an algorithm (and a computer program corresponding to it). It has four primary symbols: arrows showing program flow, rectangles (SEQUENCE, GOTO), diamonds (IF-THEN-ELSE), and dots (OR-tie). Sub-structures can "nest" in rectangles, but only if a single exit occurs from the superstructure. |
Algorithm | Algorithmic analysis | Algorithmic analysis
It is often important to know how much time, storage, or other cost an algorithm may require. Methods have been developed for the analysis of algorithms to obtain such quantitative answers (estimates); for example, an algorithm that adds up the elements of a list of n numbers would have a time requirement of , using big O notation. The algorithm only needs to remember two values: the sum of all the elements so far, and its current position in the input list. If the space required to store the input numbers is not counted, it has a space requirement of , otherwise is required.
Different algorithms may complete the same task with a different set of instructions in less or more time, space, or 'effort' than others. For example, a binary search algorithm (with cost ) outperforms a sequential search (cost ) when used for table lookups on sorted lists or arrays. |
Algorithm | Formal versus empirical | Formal versus empirical
The analysis, and study of algorithms is a discipline of computer science. Algorithms are often studied abstractly, without referencing any specific programming language or implementation. Algorithm analysis resembles other mathematical disciplines as it focuses on the algorithm's properties, not implementation. Pseudocode is typical for analysis as it is a simple and general representation. Most algorithms are implemented on particular hardware/software platforms and their algorithmic efficiency is tested using real code. The efficiency of a particular algorithm may be insignificant for many "one-off" problems but it may be critical for algorithms designed for fast interactive, commercial, or long-life scientific usage. Scaling from small n to large n frequently exposes inefficient algorithms that are otherwise benign.
Empirical testing is useful for uncovering unexpected interactions that affect performance. Benchmarks may be used to compare before/after potential improvements to an algorithm after program optimization.
Empirical tests cannot replace formal analysis, though, and are non-trivial to perform fairly. |
Algorithm | Execution efficiency | Execution efficiency
To illustrate the potential improvements possible even in well-established algorithms, a recent significant innovation, relating to FFT algorithms (used heavily in the field of image processing), can decrease processing time up to 1,000 times for applications like medical imaging. In general, speed improvements depend on special properties of the problem, which are very common in practical applications.Haitham Hassanieh, Piotr Indyk, Dina Katabi, and Eric Price, "ACM-SIAM Symposium On Discrete Algorithms (SODA) , Kyoto, January 2012. See also the sFFT Web Page . Speedups of this magnitude enable computing devices that make extensive use of image processing (like digital cameras and medical equipment) to consume less power. |
Algorithm | Design | Design
Algorithm design is a method or mathematical process for problem-solving and engineering algorithms. The design of algorithms is part of many solution theories, such as divide-and-conquer or dynamic programming within operation research. Techniques for designing and implementing algorithm designs are also called algorithm design patterns, with examples including the template method pattern and the decorator pattern. One of the most important aspects of algorithm design is resource (run-time, memory usage) efficiency; the big O notation is used to describe e.g., an algorithm's run-time growth as the size of its input increases. |
Algorithm | Structured programming | Structured programming
Per the Church–Turing thesis, any algorithm can be computed by any Turing complete model. Turing completeness only requires four instruction types—conditional GOTO, unconditional GOTO, assignment, HALT. However, Kemeny and Kurtz observe that, while "undisciplined" use of unconditional GOTOs and conditional IF-THEN GOTOs can result in "spaghetti code", a programmer can write structured programs using only these instructions; on the other hand "it is also possible, and not too hard, to write badly structured programs in a structured language".John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz 1985 Back to Basic: The History, Corruption, and Future of the Language, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc. Reading, MA, . Tausworthe augments the three Böhm-Jacopini canonical structures:Tausworthe 1977:101 SEQUENCE, IF-THEN-ELSE, and WHILE-DO, with two more: DO-WHILE and CASE.Tausworthe 1977:142 An additional benefit of a structured program is that it lends itself to proofs of correctness using mathematical induction.Knuth 1973 section 1.2.1, expanded by Tausworthe 1977 at pages 100ff and Chapter 9.1 |
Algorithm | Legal status | Legal status
By themselves, algorithms are not usually patentable. In the United States, a claim consisting solely of simple manipulations of abstract concepts, numbers, or signals does not constitute "processes" (USPTO 2006), so algorithms are not patentable (as in Gottschalk v. Benson). However practical applications of algorithms are sometimes patentable. For example, in Diamond v. Diehr, the application of a simple feedback algorithm to aid in the curing of synthetic rubber was deemed patentable. The patenting of software is controversial, and there are criticized patents involving algorithms, especially data compression algorithms, such as Unisys's LZW patent. Additionally, some cryptographic algorithms have export restrictions (see export of cryptography). |
Algorithm | Classification | Classification |
Algorithm | By implementation | By implementation
Recursion
A recursive algorithm invokes itself repeatedly until meeting a termination condition and is a common functional programming method. Iterative algorithms use repetitions such as loops or data structures like stacks to solve problems. Problems may be suited for one implementation or the other. The Tower of Hanoi is a puzzle commonly solved using recursive implementation. Every recursive version has an equivalent (but possibly more or less complex) iterative version, and vice versa.
Serial, parallel or distributed
Algorithms are usually discussed with the assumption that computers execute one instruction of an algorithm at a time on serial computers. Serial algorithms are designed for these environments, unlike parallel or distributed algorithms. Parallel algorithms take advantage of computer architectures where multiple processors can work on a problem at the same time. Distributed algorithms use multiple machines connected via a computer network. Parallel and distributed algorithms divide the problem into subproblems and collect the results back together. Resource consumption in these algorithms is not only processor cycles on each processor but also the communication overhead between the processors. Some sorting algorithms can be parallelized efficiently, but their communication overhead is expensive. Iterative algorithms are generally parallelizable, but some problems have no parallel algorithms and are called inherently serial problems.
Deterministic or non-deterministic
Deterministic algorithms solve the problem with exact decisions at every step; whereas non-deterministic algorithms solve problems via guessing. Guesses are typically made more accurate through the use of heuristics.
Exact or approximate
While many algorithms reach an exact solution, approximation algorithms seek an approximation that is close to the true solution. Such algorithms have practical value for many hard problems. For example, the Knapsack problem, where there is a set of items, and the goal is to pack the knapsack to get the maximum total value. Each item has some weight and some value. The total weight that can be carried is no more than some fixed number X. So, the solution must consider the weights of items as well as their value.
Quantum algorithm
Quantum algorithms run on a realistic model of quantum computation. The term is usually used for those algorithms that seem inherently quantum or use some essential feature of Quantum computing such as quantum superposition or quantum entanglement. |
Algorithm | By design paradigm | By design paradigm
Another way of classifying algorithms is by their design methodology or paradigm. Some common paradigms are:
Brute-force or exhaustive search
Brute force is a problem-solving method of systematically trying every possible option until the optimal solution is found. This approach can be very time-consuming, testing every possible combination of variables. It is often used when other methods are unavailable or too complex. Brute force can solve a variety of problems, including finding the shortest path between two points and cracking passwords.
Divide and conquer
A divide-and-conquer algorithm repeatedly reduces a problem to one or more smaller instances of itself (usually recursively) until the instances are small enough to solve easily. Merge sorting is an example of divide and conquer, where an unordered list can be divided into segments containing one item and sorting of the entire list can be obtained by merging the segments. A simpler variant of divide and conquer is called a decrease-and-conquer algorithm, which solves one smaller instance of itself, and uses the solution to solve the bigger problem. Divide and conquer divides the problem into multiple subproblems and so the conquer stage is more complex than decrease and conquer algorithms. An example of a decrease and conquer algorithm is the binary search algorithm.
Search and enumeration
Many problems (such as playing chess) can be modelled as problems on graphs. A graph exploration algorithm specifies rules for moving around a graph and is useful for such problems. This category also includes search algorithms, branch and bound enumeration, and backtracking.
Randomized algorithm
Such algorithms make some choices randomly (or pseudo-randomly). They find approximate solutions when finding exact solutions may be impractical (see heuristic method below). For some problems, the fastest approximations must involve some randomness.For instance, the volume of a convex polytope (described using a membership oracle) can be approximated to high accuracy by a randomized polynomial time algorithm, but not by a deterministic one: see Whether randomized algorithms with polynomial time complexity can be the fastest algorithm for some problems is an open question known as the P versus NP problem. There are two large classes of such algorithms:
Monte Carlo algorithms return a correct answer with high probability. E.g. RP is the subclass of these that run in polynomial time.
Las Vegas algorithms always return the correct answer, but their running time is only probabilistically bound, e.g. ZPP.
Reduction of complexity
This technique transforms difficult problems into better-known problems solvable with (hopefully) asymptotically optimal algorithms. The goal is to find a reducing algorithm whose complexity is not dominated by the resulting reduced algorithms. For example, one selection algorithm finds the median of an unsorted list by first sorting the list (the expensive portion), and then pulling out the middle element in the sorted list (the cheap portion). This technique is also known as transform and conquer.
Back tracking
In this approach, multiple solutions are built incrementally and abandoned when it is determined that they cannot lead to a valid full solution. |
Algorithm | Optimization problems | Optimization problems
For optimization problems there is a more specific classification of algorithms; an algorithm for such problems may fall into one or more of the general categories described above as well as into one of the following:
Linear programming
When searching for optimal solutions to a linear function bound by linear equality and inequality constraints, the constraints can be used directly to produce optimal solutions. There are algorithms that can solve any problem in this category, such as the popular simplex algorithm.George B. Dantzig and Mukund N. Thapa. 2003. Linear Programming 2: Theory and Extensions. Springer-Verlag. Problems that can be solved with linear programming include the maximum flow problem for directed graphs. If a problem also requires that any of the unknowns be integers, then it is classified in integer programming. A linear programming algorithm can solve such a problem if it can be proved that all restrictions for integer values are superficial, i.e., the solutions satisfy these restrictions anyway. In the general case, a specialized algorithm or an algorithm that finds approximate solutions is used, depending on the difficulty of the problem.
Dynamic programming
When a problem shows optimal substructures—meaning the optimal solution can be constructed from optimal solutions to subproblems—and overlapping subproblems, meaning the same subproblems are used to solve many different problem instances, a quicker approach called dynamic programming avoids recomputing solutions. For example, Floyd–Warshall algorithm, the shortest path between a start and goal vertex in a weighted graph can be found using the shortest path to the goal from all adjacent vertices. Dynamic programming and memoization go together. Unlike divide and conquer, dynamic programming subproblems often overlap. The difference between dynamic programming and simple recursion is the caching or memoization of recursive calls. When subproblems are independent and do not repeat, memoization does not help; hence dynamic programming is not applicable to all complex problems. Using memoization dynamic programming reduces the complexity of many problems from exponential to polynomial.
The greedy method
Greedy algorithms, similarly to a dynamic programming, work by examining substructures, in this case not of the problem but of a given solution. Such algorithms start with some solution and improve it by making small modifications. For some problems, they always find the optimal solution but for others they may stop at local optima. The most popular use of greedy algorithms is finding minimal spanning trees of graphs without negative cycles. Huffman Tree, Kruskal, Prim, Sollin are greedy algorithms that can solve this optimization problem.
The heuristic method
In optimization problems, heuristic algorithms find solutions close to the optimal solution when finding the optimal solution is impractical. These algorithms get closer and closer to the optimal solution as they progress. In principle, if run for an infinite amount of time, they will find the optimal solution. They can ideally find a solution very close to the optimal solution in a relatively short time. These algorithms include local search, tabu search, simulated annealing, and genetic algorithms. Some, like simulated annealing, are non-deterministic algorithms while others, like tabu search, are deterministic. When a bound on the error of the non-optimal solution is known, the algorithm is further categorized as an approximation algorithm. |
Algorithm | Examples | Examples
One of the simplest algorithms finds the largest number in a list of numbers of random order. Finding the solution requires looking at every number in the list. From this follows a simple algorithm, which can be described in plain English as:
High-level description:
If a set of numbers is empty, then there is no highest number.
Assume the first number in the set is the largest.
For each remaining number in the set: if this number is greater than the current largest, it becomes the new largest.
When there are no unchecked numbers left in the set, consider the current largest number to be the largest in the set.
(Quasi-)formal description:
Written in prose but much closer to the high-level language of a computer program, the following is the more formal coding of the algorithm in pseudocode or pidgin code:
Input: A list of numbers L.
Output: The largest number in the list L.
if L.size = 0 return null
largest ← L[0]
for each item in L, do
if item > largest, then
largest ← item
return largest |
Algorithm | See also | See also
Abstract machine
ALGOL
Algorithm aversion
Algorithm engineering
Algorithm characterizations
Algorithmic bias
Algorithmic composition
Algorithmic entities
Algorithmic synthesis
Algorithmic technique
Algorithmic topology
Computational mathematics
Garbage in, garbage out
Introduction to Algorithms (textbook)
Government by algorithm
List of algorithms
List of algorithm general topics
Medium is the message
Regulation of algorithms
Theory of computation
Computability theory
Computational complexity theory |
Algorithm | Notes | Notes |
Algorithm | Bibliography | Bibliography
Bell, C. Gordon and Newell, Allen (1971), Computer Structures: Readings and Examples, McGraw–Hill Book Company, New York. .
Includes a bibliography of 56 references.
,
: cf. Chapter 3 Turing machines where they discuss "certain enumerable sets not effectively (mechanically) enumerable".
Campagnolo, M.L., Moore, C., and Costa, J.F. (2000) An analog characterization of the subrecursive functions. In Proc. of the 4th Conference on Real Numbers and Computers, Odense University, pp. 91–109
Reprinted in The Undecidable, p. 89ff. The first expression of "Church's Thesis". See in particular page 100 (The Undecidable) where he defines the notion of "effective calculability" in terms of "an algorithm", and he uses the word "terminates", etc.
Reprinted in The Undecidable, p. 110ff. Church shows that the Entscheidungsproblem is unsolvable in about 3 pages of text and 3 pages of footnotes.
Davis gives commentary before each article. Papers of Gödel, Alonzo Church, Turing, Rosser, Kleene, and Emil Post are included; those cited in the article are listed here by author's name.
Davis offers concise biographies of Leibniz, Boole, Frege, Cantor, Hilbert, Gödel and Turing with von Neumann as the show-stealing villain. Very brief bios of Joseph-Marie Jacquard, Babbage, Ada Lovelace, Claude Shannon, Howard Aiken, etc.
,
Yuri Gurevich, Sequential Abstract State Machines Capture Sequential Algorithms, ACM Transactions on Computational Logic, Vol 1, no 1 (July 2000), pp. 77–111. Includes bibliography of 33 sources.
, 3rd edition 1976[?], (pbk.)
, . Cf. Chapter "The Spirit of Truth" for a history leading to, and a discussion of, his proof.
Presented to the American Mathematical Society, September 1935. Reprinted in The Undecidable, p. 237ff. Kleene's definition of "general recursion" (known now as mu-recursion) was used by Church in his 1935 paper An Unsolvable Problem of Elementary Number Theory that proved the "decision problem" to be "undecidable" (i.e., a negative result).
Reprinted in The Undecidable, p. 255ff. Kleene refined his definition of "general recursion" and proceeded in his chapter "12. Algorithmic theories" to posit "Thesis I" (p. 274); he would later repeat this thesis (in Kleene 1952:300) and name it "Church's Thesis"(Kleene 1952:317) (i.e., the Church thesis).
Kosovsky, N.K. Elements of Mathematical Logic and its Application to the theory of Subrecursive Algorithms, LSU Publ., Leningrad, 1981
A.A. Markov (1954) Theory of algorithms. [Translated by Jacques J. Schorr-Kon and PST staff] Imprint Moscow, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1954 [i.e., Jerusalem, Israel Program for Scientific Translations, 1961; available from the Office of Technical Services, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Washington] Description 444 p. 28 cm. Added t.p. in Russian Translation of Works of the Mathematical Institute, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, v. 42. Original title: Teoriya algerifmov. [QA248.M2943 Dartmouth College library. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Office of Technical Services, number OTS .]
Minsky expands his "...idea of an algorithm – an effective procedure..." in chapter 5.1 Computability, Effective Procedures and Algorithms. Infinite machines.
Reprinted in The Undecidable, pp. 289ff. Post defines a simple algorithmic-like process of a man writing marks or erasing marks and going from box to box and eventually halting, as he follows a list of simple instructions. This is cited by Kleene as one source of his "Thesis I", the so-called Church–Turing thesis.
Reprinted in The Undecidable, p. 223ff. Herein is Rosser's famous definition of "effective method": "...a method each step of which is precisely predetermined and which is certain to produce the answer in a finite number of steps... a machine which will then solve any problem of the set with no human intervention beyond inserting the question and (later) reading the answer" (p. 225–226, The Undecidable)
Cf. in particular the first chapter titled: Algorithms, Turing Machines, and Programs. His succinct informal definition: "...any sequence of instructions that can be obeyed by a robot, is called an algorithm" (p. 4).
. Corrections, ibid, vol. 43(1937) pp. 544–546. Reprinted in The Undecidable, p. 116ff. Turing's famous paper completed as a Master's dissertation while at King's College Cambridge UK.
Reprinted in The Undecidable, pp. 155ff. Turing's paper that defined "the oracle" was his PhD thesis while at Princeton.
United States Patent and Trademark Office (2006), 2106.02 **>Mathematical Algorithms: 2100 Patentability, Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP). Latest revision August 2006
Zaslavsky, C. (1970). Mathematics of the Yoruba People and of Their Neighbors in Southern Nigeria. The Two-Year College Mathematics Journal, 1(2), 76–99. https://doi.org/10.2307/3027363 |
Algorithm | Further reading | Further reading
Jon Kleinberg, Éva Tardos(2006): Algorithm Design, Pearson/Addison-Wesley, ISBN 978-0-32129535-4
Knuth, Donald E. (2000). Selected Papers on Analysis of Algorithms . Stanford, California: Center for the Study of Language and Information.
Knuth, Donald E. (2010). Selected Papers on Design of Algorithms . Stanford, California: Center for the Study of Language and Information.
|
Algorithm | External links | External links
Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures – National Institute of Standards and Technology
Algorithm repositories
The Stony Brook Algorithm Repository – State University of New York at Stony Brook
Collected Algorithms of the ACM – Associations for Computing Machinery
The Stanford GraphBase – Stanford University
Category:Articles with example pseudocode
Category:Mathematical logic
Category:Theoretical computer science |
Algorithm | Table of Content | Short description, Etymology, Definition, History, Ancient algorithms, Computers, Weight-driven clocks, Electromechanical relay, Formalization, Representations, Turing machines, Flowchart representation, Algorithmic analysis, Formal versus empirical, Execution efficiency, Design, Structured programming, Legal status, Classification, By implementation, By design paradigm, Optimization problems, Examples, See also, Notes, Bibliography, Further reading, External links |
Annual plant | short description |
right|thumb|240px|Peas are an annual plant.
An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one growing season, and then dies. Globally, 6% of all plant species and 15% of herbaceous plants (excluding trees and shrubs) are annuals. The annual life cycle has independently emerged in over 120 different plant families throughout the entire angiosperm phylogeny. |
Annual plant | The evolutionary and ecological drivers of the annual life cycle | The evolutionary and ecological drivers of the annual life cycle
Traditionally, there has been a prevailing assumption that annuals have evolved from perennial ancestors. However, recent research challenges this notion, revealing instances where perennials have evolved from annual ancestors. Intriguingly, models propose that transition rates from an annual to a perennial life cycle are twice as fast as the reverse transition.
The life-history theory posits that annual plants are favored when adult mortality is higher than seedling (or seed) mortality, i.e., annuals will dominate environments with disturbances or high temporal variability, reducing adult survival. This hypothesis finds support in observations of increased prevalence of annuals in regions with hot-dry summers, with elevated adult mortality and high seed persistence. Furthermore, the evolution of the annual life cycle under hot-dry summer in different families makes it one of the best examples of convergent evolution. Additionally, annual prevalence is also positively affected by year-to-year variability.
Globally, the prevalence of annual plants shows an upward trend with an increasing human footprint. Moreover, domestic grazing has been identified as contributing to the heightened abundance of annuals in grasslands. Disturbances linked to activities like grazing and agriculture, particularly following European settlement, have facilitated the invasion of annual species from Europe and Asia into the New World.
In various ecosystems, the dominance of annual plants is often a temporary phase during secondary succession, particularly in the aftermath of disturbances. For instance, after fields are abandoned, annuals may initially colonize them but are eventually replaced by long-lived species. However, in certain Mediterranean systems, a unique scenario unfolds: when annuals establish dominance, perennials do not necessarily supplant them. This peculiarity is attributed to alternative stable states in the system—both annual dominance and perennial states prove stable, with the ultimate system state dependent on the initial conditions. |
Annual plant | Traits of annuals and their implication for agriculture | Traits of annuals and their implication for agriculture
Annual plants commonly exhibit a higher growth rate, allocate more resources to seeds, and allocate fewer resources to roots than perennials. In contrast to perennials, which feature long-lived plants and short-lived seeds, annual plants compensate for their lower longevity by maintaining a higher persistence of soil seed banks. These differences in life history strategies profoundly affect ecosystem functioning and services. For instance, annuals, by allocating less resources belowground, play a more minor role in reducing erosion, storing organic carbon, and achieving lower nutrient- and water-use efficiencies than perennials.
The distinctions between annual and perennial plants are notably evident in agricultural contexts. Despite constituting a minor part of global biomass, annual species stand out as the primary food source for humankind, likely owing to their greater allocation of resources to seed production, thereby enhancing agricultural productivity. In the Anthropocene epoch, marked by human impact on the environment, there has been a substantial increase in the global cover of annuals. This shift is primarily attributed to the conversion of natural systems, often dominated by perennials, into annual cropland. Currently, annual plants cover approximately 70% of croplands and contribute to around 80% of worldwide food consumption. |
Annual plant | Molecular genetics | Molecular genetics
In 2008, it was discovered that the inactivation of only two genes in one species of annual plant leads to its conversion into a perennial plant. Researchers deactivated the SOC1 and FUL genes (which control flowering time) of Arabidopsis thaliana. This switch established phenotypes common in perennial plants, such as wood formation. |
Annual plant | See also | See also
- Plant that flowers & sets seeds once, then dies.
Ephemeral plant |
Annual plant | References | References |
Annual plant | External links | External links
|
Annual plant | Table of Content | short description, The evolutionary and ecological drivers of the annual life cycle, Traits of annuals and their implication for agriculture, Molecular genetics, See also, References, External links |
Anthophyta | short description | The anthophytes are a paraphyletic grouping of plant taxa bearing flower-like reproductive structures. The group, once thought to be a clade, contained the angiosperms – the extant flowering plants, such as roses and grasses – as well as the Gnetales and the extinct Bennettitales.
Detailed morphological and molecular studies have shown that the group is not actually monophyletic, with proposed floral homologies of the gnetophytes and the angiosperms having evolved in parallel. This makes it easier to reconcile molecular clock data that suggests that the angiosperms diverged from the gymnosperms around 320-300 mya.
Some more recent studies have used the word anthophyte to describe a hypothetical group which includes the angiosperms and a variety of extinct seed plant groups (with various suggestions including at least some of the following groups: glossopterids, corystosperms, Petriellales Pentoxylales, Bennettitales and Caytoniales), but not the Gnetales. |
Anthophyta | References | References
Category:Historically recognized plant taxa |
Anthophyta | Table of Content | short description, References |
Atlas (disambiguation) | Wiktionary | An atlas is a collection of maps.
Atlas may also refer to: |
Atlas (disambiguation) | Arts, entertainment and media | Arts, entertainment and media |
Atlas (disambiguation) | Fictional characters | Fictional characters
Atlas (DC Comics), several fictional characters
Atlas (Teen Titans)
Atlas, an Astro Boy (1980) character
Atlas (BioShock)
Atlas, a BattleMech in the BattleTech universe
Atlas, an antagonist in Mega Man ZX Advent
Atlas, a Portal 2 character
Atlas, a PS238 character
Erik Josten, a.k.a. Atlas, a Marvel Comics supervillain
The Atlas, a strong driving force from No Man's Sky |
Atlas (disambiguation) | Literature | Literature
Atlas, a photography book by Gerhard Richter
The Atlas (novel), by William T. Vollmann
Atlas (magazine)
The Atlas (newspaper), published in England from 1826 to 1869 |
Atlas (disambiguation) | Music | Music |
Atlas (disambiguation) | Bands | Bands
Atlas (band), a New Zealand rock band |
Atlas (disambiguation) | Albums | Albums
Atlas (Kinky album)
Atlas (Laurel Halo album)
Atlas (Parkway Drive album)
Atlas (Real Estate album)
Atlas (RÜFÜS album)
Atlas (The Score album) |
Atlas (disambiguation) | Opera | Opera
Atlas (opera), 1991, by Meredith Monk
Atlas: An Opera in Three Parts, a 1993 recording of Monk's opera |
Atlas (disambiguation) | Songs | Songs
"Atlas" (Battles song), 2007
"Atlas" (Bicep song), 2020
"Atlas" (Coldplay song), 2013
"Atlas", by Delphic
"Atlas", from the album The Tide, the Thief & River's End by Caligula's Horse
"Atlas", by Parkway Drive
"Atlas", from Man Overboard by Man Overboard
"Atlas", by Jake Chudnow, used as the main theme in the YouTube series Mind Field
“Atlas”, by Coheed and Cambria
“Atlas”, by Good Kid |
Atlas (disambiguation) | Gaming | Gaming
The Atlas (video game), a 1991 multiplatform strategy video game
Atlas (video game), a massively-multiplayer online video game released for early access in 2018
Atlas Corporation, an arms manufacturer in the video game series Borderlands
Atlas Corporation, a private military company in the video game Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare |
Atlas (disambiguation) | Other uses in arts, entertainment and media | Other uses in arts, entertainment and media
Atlas (1961 film), an action-adventure film
Atlas (2024 film), an American science fiction thriller film
Atlas (comic book series), by Dylan Horrocks
Atlas (statue), a statue by Lee Lawrie in Rockefeller Center |
Atlas (disambiguation) | Businesses and organizations | Businesses and organizations
Atlas Air, an American cargo airline
Atlas Aircraft, a 1940s aircraft manufacturer
Atlas Aviation, an aircraft maintenance firm
Atlas Blue, a Moroccan low-cost airline
Atlas (appliance company), in Belarus
Atlas Car and Manufacturing Company, a locomotive manufacturer
Atlas Comics (1950s), a publisher
Atlas/Seaboard Comics, a 1970s line of comics
Atlas Consortium, a group of technology companies
Atlas Copco, a Swedish company founded in 1873
Atlas Corporation, an investment company
Atlas Drop Forge Company, a parts subsidiary of REO Motor Car Company
Atlas Elektronik, a German naval/marine electronics and systems business
Atlas Entertainment, a film production company
Atlas Group, a Pakistani business group
Atlas Media Corp., a non-fiction entertainment company
Atlas Aircraft Corporation, a South African military aircraft manufacturer
Atlas Model Railroad, American maker of model trains and accessories
Atlas Network, formerly Atlas Economic Research Foundation
Atlas Powder Company, an American explosives and chemicals company
Atlas Press, a UK publisher
Atlas Press (tool company)
Atlas (restaurant), a Michelin-starred restaurant in Atlanta
Atlas Solutions, an online advertising subsidiary of Meta Platforms
Atlas Van Lines, a moving company
Atlas Werke, a defunct German shipbuilding company
RTV Atlas, a broadcaster in Montenegro |
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