American Revolution - Revolutionary War

The war had its origins in the resistance of many Americans to taxes imposed by the British parliament, which they held to be unlawful. Formal acts of rebellion against British authority began in 1774 when the Patriot Suffolk Resolves effectively abolished the legal government of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. The tensions caused by this would lead to the outbreak of fighting between Patriot militia and British regulars at Lexington and Concord in April 1775. By the end of 1775 rebels had seized full control in all thirteen colonies and on July 4, 1776, their Continental Congress declared independence.

The British were meanwhile mustering large forces to put down the revolt. They inflicted significant defeats on the American rebel army, now under the command of George Washington, capturing New York City in 1776 and later Philadelphia in 1777. But they were unable or unwilling to land a finishing blow against him. British strategy relied on mobilizing American Loyalist militia, of whom they made little effort to enlist until late in the war. Poor coordination helped doom a British advance against Albany in 1777, which resulted in the capture of a British army following the Battles of Saratoga.