What Happened in 1781

  • Mozart in Vienna

    All Mozart biographers struggle with the same problem: The later the year, the more meager the documentation. The composer's early years were... Read more

  • Battle Of Jersey

    The Battle of Jersey was technically the last battle fought in the British Islands (coming after the Battle of Culloden in 1745). It was the last... Read more

  • Battle of Mobile

    The British garrison nearest to Mobile was in West Florida's capital, Pensacola. The commander, General John Campbell, had under his command about... Read more

  • Battle of Cowpens

    Morgan's strategy worked perfectly. The British drove in successive lines, anticipating victory only to encounter another, stronger line after... Read more

  • Mozart's "Idomeneo" Is First Performed

    Idomeneo, re di Creta ossia Ilia e Idamante (Italian for Idomeneo, King of Crete, or, Ilia and Idamante; usually referred to simply as Idomeneo, K.... Read more

  • Battle of Cowan's Ford

    On January 31, Cornwallis began to move his army despite the heavy rain fearing any further delay would cause him to lose his chance of destroying... Read more

  • Pyle's Massacre

    The most commonly accepted account of the battle, pieced together from reports from Lee and Captain Joseph Graham, indicates that Lee's deception... Read more

  • Battle Of Haw River

    The Battle of Haw River occurred near the Haw River in North Carolina on February 25, 1781, late in the American Revolutionary War. Patriot militia... Read more

  • Articles of Confederation Adopted

    The political push for the colonies to increase cooperation began in the French and Indian Wars in the mid 1750s. The American Revolution in... Read more

  • Battle Of Wetzell's Mill

    The Battle of Wetzell's Mill (the name may also be spelled Weitzell, Weitzel, Whitesell, or Whitsall) was an American Revolutionary War skirmish... Read more

  • Battle of Pensacola

    On April 28, siege operations finally got underway. By May 1 they had emplaced a battery of cannons overlooking the Queen's Redoubt, and begun... Read more

  • Battle of Guilford Court House

    The advance guard met near the Quaker New Garden Meeting House. Banastre Tarleton's Light Dragoons were briefly engaged by Light Horse Harry Lee's... Read more

  • Skirmish at Waters Creek

    Lord Cornwallis, while on his Peninsula campaign, sent Captain Brown on a foraging mission. This mission brought Brown, and his group of 40... Read more

  • Siege Of Fort Watson

    The Siege of Fort Watson was an American Revolutionary War confrontation in South Carolina that began on April 15, 1781 and lasted until April 23,... Read more

  • Battle Of Porto Praya

    The Battle of Porto Praya was a naval battle which took place during the American Revolutionary War on 16 April 1781 between a British squadron... Read more

  • Battle of Hobkirk's Hill

    On the morning of April 25, 1781, Rawdon was still under the impression that the Continental army was without its artillery. At approximately 9am... Read more

  • Battle Of Blandford

    The Battle of Blanford was a battle during the American War of Independence, that took place near Petersburg, Virginia on 25 April 1781. Roughly... Read more

  • Siege Of Fort Motte

    The Siege of Fort Motte was a military operation during the American Revolutionary War. A force of Patriots led by General Francis "Swamp Fox"... Read more

  • Siege Of Ninety-Six

    The Siege of Ninety Six was a siege late in the American Revolutionary War. From May 22 to June 18, 1781, Continental Army Major General Nathanael... Read more

  • Siege Of Augusta

    The Siege of Augusta began on May 22, 1781 and was conducted by General Andrew Pickens and Colonel Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee against British... Read more

  • Francisco's Fight

    Francisco's Fight is the name commonly given to a skirmish between Tarleton's Raiders and Peter Francisco during the American Revolutionary War in... Read more

  • Battle of Green Spring

    Lord Cornwallis having failed to defeat the Marquis de Lafayette in the campaign in Virginia, was marching from Williamsburg to position his army... Read more

  • Invasion of Minorca

    Work soon began on gun emplacements to besiege St. Philip's Castle, the most important being at La Mola, on the opposite side of the harbor mouth,... Read more

  • Lochry's Defeat

    On the night of August 18, 1781, Clark and his men floated past the mouth of the Great Miami River, near the present-day border between Ohio and... Read more

  • El Pueblo De La Reyna De Los Angeles Is Founded

    On September 4, 1781, the eleven men, eleven women, and twenty-two children recruited by Alta California Governor Felipe de Neve founded El Pueblo... Read more