More about Allied Battles
Latest Changes: 08May29 - list units at Yorktown / 08Oct08 - extracted from RSAR to W3R site /
MapsThe History Department of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point has posted about fifty Revolutionary War maps scanned at high-resolution (as both GIF and EPS files). You may download a file and view it at the magnification that suits your needs.See the  index to the RW map collection.
Left-click a map link and save it to a directory where you can find it and determine
which of your viewers works best for the file.
1778 Jul 29-Aug 31: The Battle for Newport (RI) -- Admiral d'Estaing arrived with a French fleet consisting of twelve ships-of-the-line (846 cannon) , four frigates, and several transports. The fleet was manned by 7,500 sailors and carried 2,500 marine riflemen, and 1,500 soldiers. Already in place was 10,000-man combined force of U.S. Continentals and New England militia. The objective was to dislodge the 3,000-man British garrison from Newport. Adm. d'Estaing's Fleet
The British were saved by the arrival of a British squadron and a storm,
which damaged the French ships severely, leading them to withdraw
for repairs at Boston. Then, aided by their naval squadron, the British repulsed the U.S. ground attack.
1781 Feb 12: Fort St. Joseph (near Niles MI) was captured by French Captain Eugene Poure and a force of 120 men raised from the French settlers and Indians in the area of St. Louis. The flag of Spain was raised over the fort because the local Spanish governor at St. Louis provided supplies for the raid in the hoped that the raid would deter an attack from the British post at Detroit. Fort St. Joseph had been built by the French and turned over to the British after the French and Indian War. Lost Link: www.serve.com/rbriggs/couriers/3-96/StJo.html was an article by Robert C. Myers on Fort St. Joseph. 1779 Sep-Oct: Repulse from Savannah (GA) - Some 3,200 British troops under Gen. Prevost repulsed an allied attack from 6,000 French troops (including the 700-man Chasseurs-Volontaires de Saint-Domingue Regiment, comprised of free blacks from the island colony of Saint Dominigue) plus 33 warships under Admiral d'Estaing plus 1,500 U.S. troops under Gen. Lincoln. Some 2,000 French naval cannon bombarded the town for five days, while 35 sailors died of scurvy each day. A badly coordinated attack on British fortifications failed and caused many casualties. The French fleet then returned to France. Dead: Est 50 U.S. troops, 150 French, 40 British Wounded: 200 U.S. troops, 640 French, 100 British The Battle for Savannah [About North Georgia]
brief description [Georgia Society SAR]  Photos of 2007 Oct 09 commemoration [Georgia Society SAR]
On 2007 Oct 08 the Haitian American Historical Society hosted a dedication for a monument commemorating the participation of the Chasseurs-Volontaires de Saint-Domingue Regiment in the 1779 battle of Savannah. Significance of Haitian participation
Photos of 2007 Oct 08 dedication [Georgia Society SAR]
1780 Feb 11 to 1780 May 12: Second Siege of Charleston (SC) -- Britsh Gen. Howe left New York City by sea on 1779 Dec 26 with 8,500 troops, bound for Savannah GA. After a difficult voyage he rested there, then on 1780 Feb 11 sailed to Charleston SC, laid siege to the city (defended by the U.S. Southern Army), and forced it to surrender. Casualties U.S. 90 killed, 140 wounded; British 76 killed, 189 wounded Taken Prisoner: U.S. 5,466, including 290 Continental officers. Many of these died while imprisoned. 1781 Jun 10 - Jul 3: After eleven months of recuperation and planning General Rochambeau led the second French Expeditionary Force out of Newport, was joined in Providence by additional French troops who had landed at Boston MA, marched to the area around Philipsburg NY (now the Ardsley / Hartsdale area), and established several camps near the main U.S. Continental Army camp. 1781 Jul 5-Aug 13: Testing the New York Defenses -- The U.S.-French allied troops under Generals Washington and Rochambeau spent six weeks in several campsites near Ardsley NY. Rochambeau was quartered at the Odell farm, at 425 Ridge Road, Hartsdale NY. They sent strong parties to probe the British lines for weakness. The British had spent five years developing their defenses, which included 18,000 troops and a strong fleet. 1781 Aug 14 - Oct 01: Departure for Yorktown -- Upon getting word that Admiral deGrasse would take the French fleet only as far north as the Chesapeake Bay (where a British army of about 9,000 troops under British Gen. Cornwallis was vulnerable to attack at Yorktown VA) Generals Washington and Rochambeau decided to focus their foces on Yorktown. Washington split the American forces -- 2,500 Continentals (backed by thousands of local militia) remained in New York under General Heath to keep the British bottled up in New York City. Washington and Rochambeau led the other 2,500 American troops and all 4,000 French troops on a rapid march 450 miles south to Yorktown VA to join with Lafayette's troops in Virginia and the large French fleet heading north from the Caribbean (led by French Admiral de Grasse) with additional French troops. For a high-resolution map of Cornwallis' withdrawal into Virginia and Washington's march to Yorktown, noting the final Yorktown battle formations, See the index to the RW map collection [U.S. Military Academy].
1781 Oct 3: Battle of the Hook at Gloucester Point VA -- - French Brig. Gen. de Choisy with French troops and a battalion of 800 Virginia militiamen clashed with 1,000 men under British Lt. Col. Dundas at Gloucester VA -- across the York River from Yorktown. The allied presence cut off British ability to forage for supplies outside their defensive perimeter and prevented an easy breakout from the siege. The major battle action was between Lauzun's legion and Tarlton's light cavalry. 
David R. Wagner's
"Virginia Militia Battle Tarleton" (used with the artist's permission)
1781 Oct 6 - 19: Yorktown (VA) -- The allied armies (11,000 American, 8,800 French) and a quarter of the French navy converged on Yorktown, isolating the British army (8,300 British) from supplies and military support. The allies besieged the British camp and gained victory with minimal losses. Gen. Cornwallis declined to participate in the surrender and grounding of arms, sending instead the second in command, Gen. O'Hara, to present his sword to the the commander of the victors as a token of surrender. O'Hara offered the sword to Gen. Rochambeau, who directed him to Gen. Washington, who directed him to Gen. Benjamin Lincoln -- who had been forced to surrender Charleston SC to the British in 1780 May. Thus the sword was presented by a senior subordinate of Cornwallis to a senior subordinate of Washington. Land battle casualties: 250 dead (30 American, 60 French, and 160 British)
For information and a link for ordering a three-hour DVD of the 225th anniversary ( in October 2006) re-enactment of the siege and surrender at Yorktown see W3R Merchandise page.
PRINT RESOURCES: Search Resource Page for: Greene, Hallahan, Landers After Yorktown activity in the global allied conflict continued outside of the U.S. theater of operations. The naval and land forces of France and Spain forces engaged in many battles with British forces all around the globe. This prevented any expansion of British forces in the United States to aid in expanding their fortified enclaves here. See After Yorktown [Expédition Particulière]
The British continued to hold the ports of New York NY, Charleston SC, and Savannah GA, and the U.S. sought to eject them so that these cities could not be used as bargaining chips in the peace negotiations, possibly allowing Britain to be granted control of some of the rebelling colonies. 1781 Dec: Evacuation of Charleston SC by British forces due to continued pressure on that garrison by Gen. Nathaniel Greene and the Southern Continental Army, as well as the state militia. |
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