EXPERIENCE THE REVOLUTION: TIME LINE OF THE WAR FOR AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE

WHEN I SAY BRING AMERICA HOME…
By Beth Ann

Each day I close the show with a reminder of how it is a must for Americans to come together and Bring America Home. The meaning of this is for our nation to go back in time, so-to-speak, when we had simpler lives and commonsense prevailed in matters of life as well as national and worldly policies.

Back in time families were close… strong families are what makes a nation (a free nation) strong, sovereign and prosperous. Families & life are not without problems; problems either brought on by poor choices are perhaps tragedy. When such occurred, the family pulled together – the family came home to embrace, encourage and support. Family would work together to solve and work through whatever problem was at hand.

America is a family. Don’t allow the media and others to label and separate us – we are one nation… one sovereign nation… and we need to be ONE NATION UNDER GOD!

Our Founding Fathers were men of faith and men of sacrifice. The leaders of today are men of means and gaining such at the cost and sacrifice of others. Perhaps and intervention of family is needed!!

America… Come Home – we have a problem and we need to solve it… As family, we will not agree on every issue but we must believe in liberty and battle for that… we must realize how important the preservation of our Constitution and Bill of Rights truly is… we must recognize this nation was established as a Christian nation. Freedom of religion is just that – you are free to choose but then that’s the beauty of the faith of Christianity.

I’m just a simple person a common woman who believes in God, Liberty and our Nation! I am humbled when I read about the many sacrifices of our Founding Father. You know, they too didn’t agree on every issue but they did believe in freedom and liberty! They worked hard to come together for the commonality of that goal: LIBERTY~

July 4 we celebrated “INDEPENDENCE DAY” ~ Independence didn’t happen the day those brave men signed The Declaration of Independence, there followed years of bloody battles and sacrifice of life.

September 17 is Constitution Day! We must know from whence we came to know and understand who we are and what I direction in life is as a free nation – if we are to remain (or go back to) a free nation where sovereign people of liberty reside.

I share a time line of how our liberty was won – for a time – I say for a time, because it is always being threatened for tyrants and greedy men & women. Patriots who truly love liberty must remain vigilant and strong… yes even stubborn, as we protect and preserve freedom and liberty for the future generations of this America, the land of 50 states United! The United States of America – Are we the home of the free and the brave?
I had a listeners call me after the July 4 show, when this timeline was presented – she is a naturalized citizens and although she’s been in this land many years, she thanked me for sharing this – because she had not heard of the many battles and great sacrifices. My listener was choked with emotion and I wept after speaking to her. This is WHO WE ARE AMERICA!

EXPERIENCE THE REVOLUTION

Experience the Revolution – Through its key events. Many of the places mentioned in this section can be visited today

LEAD-IN TO WAR 1763 – 1774

End of the Seven Years War – February 10, 1763
The Treaty of Paris ends the Seven Years War (French and Indian War). France surrenders all of its North American possessions east of the Mississippi to Britain. This ends a source of insecurity for the British colonists along the Atlantic Coast. The costs of the war and maintaining an army will lead the British government to impose new taxes on its colonists, with world-shaking results.

Passage of the Stamp Act – March 22, 1765
Britain passes the Stamp Act, imposing a tax on legal documents, newspapers, even playing cards. This is the first direct tax on the American colonists and is hotly resisted. A successful American campaign to have the act repealed will give Americans confidence that they can avoid future taxes as well.

British troops occupy Boston – October 1768
British troops land in Boston to enforce the Townshend duties (taxes on paint, paper, tea, etc., passed in June 1767) and clamp down on local radicals. The troops’ presence doesn’t sit well with locals and leads to street fights. One clash between soldiers and a mob in March 1770 will leave five dead. Radicals will call it the Boston Massacre, while the British will call it the incident on King Street.
Committees of Correspondence established – Spring 1772
Committees of Correspondence are established throughout the colonies to coordinate American response to British colonial policy. This represents an important move toward cooperation, mutual action, and the development of a national identity among Americans.
Britain tries to intimidate Massachusetts – March to June, 1774
The British Parliament passes the Coercive Acts, often called the Intolerable Acts in America. Among other actions, Britain closes the port of Boston and requires British troops to be housed in taverns and vacant buildings. The acts generate considerable sympathy for Massachusetts among other colonies.
INDEPENDENCE DECLARED 1775-1777

War breaks out – April 19, 1775
The first shots of the Revolutionary War are fired at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. The news of the bloodshed rockets along the eastern seaboard, and thousands of volunteers converge on Cambridge, Mass. These are the beginnings of the Continental Army.

British form an alliance with patriots’ slaves – November 1775
The British governor of Virginia, Lord Dunmore, issues a proclamation offering freedom to any slaves of rebellious Americans who are able to enter British lines. Throughout the course of the war, tens of thousands of African Americans will seek their freedom by supporting the British. A smaller number will fight on the patriot (pro-independence) side, despite policies that discourage their enlistment

Americans hold their own at the Battle of Bunker Hill – June 17, 1775
In the first major action of the war, inexperienced colonial soldiers hold off hardened British veterans for more than two hours at Breed’s Hill. Although eventually forced to abandon their position, including the high ground of Bunker Hill overlooking Boston, the patriots show that they are not intimidated by the long lines of red-coated infantrymen. Of the 2,200 British seeing action, more than 1,000 end up dead or wounded.

Loyalists defeated at Moores Creek – February 27, 1776
A force of loyalists (Americans who want to remain British subjects), most of them of Scots descent, is defeated by a patriot army at the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge. This setback will largely quiet loyalist activity in the Carolinas for three years.

South Carolinians repel British attempt to take Charleston – June 28, 1776
A British invasion force mounts an all-day attack on a patriot force on Sullivan’s Island. The invaders are unable to land their troops on the island, and the tricky waters of Charleston Harbor frustrate the British navy. The fleet retires in defeat, and South Carolina will remain untouched by the enemy for three more years

America declares its independence – July 1776
The Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Second Continental Congress. Following a decade of agitation over taxes and a year of war, representatives make the break with Britain. King George III isn’t willing to let his subjects go without a fight, and loyalist sentiment remains strong in many areas. Americans’ primary allegiance is to their states; nationalism will grow slowly.

Washington crosses the Delaware – December 1776 – January 1777
In a bold move, Washington moves his troops into New Jersey on Christmas night. The patriots then surprise a force of German troops fighting for Britain at Trenton on December 26. They achieve a similar victory over British troops at Princeton on January 3, reviving hopes that the war just might be winnable. The army then encamps for the winter at Morristown, New Jersey.

WAR IN THE NORTH 1777 – 1778

Big British setback at Saratoga – October 17, 1777
General John Burgoyne’s attempt to separate the rebellious New England colonies from those farther south ends in a spectacular failure. The surrender of 6,000 British regulars at Saratoga will shock London and help induce France to enter the war on the American side.

Winter of change for the Continental Army – December 1777
With the British occupying Philadelphia just 20 miles away, the Continental Army enters winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. During the winter, supply arrangements will be improved and the Continental troops will be drilled and emerge as a more disciplined, unified fighting force

France enters the war against Britain – February 1778
As a result of the patriot victory at Saratoga and American diplomatic efforts, France allies itself with the new American government. French financial and military aid will prove critical in winning the war. The Continental Army will learn of the French Alliance in May.

George Rogers Clark attacks the British in the Ohio country – May thru December, 1778
With barely 150 men, Virginian George Rogers Clark captures several British posts in the Ohio Territory (present-day Illinois and Indiana) and convinces French-speaking inhabitants of Kaskaskia and Cahokia to support the patriot side. Although Indians will continue to oppose white settlement for three decades, Clark’s exploits pave the way for the expansion of the U.S. north of the Ohio River

SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN 1779 – 1781

Charleston falls to the British – May 12, 1780
The British take Charleston, S.C., capture a large patriot army, and deal the rebels one of their worst defeats of the war. The Charleston move is part of a broader British strategy to hang on to the southern colonies, at least, now that the war is stalemated in Pennsylvania and New York.

Kings Mountain victory revives patriot hopes – October 7, 1780
Patriot militia from the Carolinas, Virginia, and present-day Tennessee surround and defeat a force of loyalists under Major Patrick Ferguson at Kings Mountain, S.C. Indicating the deep divisions within America, Ferguson is the only British soldier on the field-Kings Mountain is truly a battle among Americans about their future.

The American tide continues at the Cowpens – January 17, 1781
Continental soldiers and patriot militia under General Daniel Morgan defeat a British force under Banastre Tarleton at Cowpens. Coming on the heels of the victory at Kings Mountain, Cowpens helps convince worried patriots that the British southern strategy can be countered

Costly British victory at Guilford Courthouse – March 15, 1781
British troops win a costly victory over Continentals and militia at Guilford Courthouse, N.C. The battle is part of General Nathanael Greene’s strategy of engaging the British on ground of his choosing. Without winning a single clear-cut victory, he will succeed in wearing down the British army through hit-and-run tactics and set-piece battles.

Longest siege of the war at Ninety Six – May – June, 1781
The isolated British garrison at Ninety Six is laid siege to by patriot forces under Gen. Nathanael Greene. The approach of a British relief column leads Greene to make a final, unsuccessful assault on the fort on June 18. The events at Ninety Six underline the fact that Britain has too few troops to hold the southern hinterlands

Large British army surrenders at Yorktown – September – October, 1781
A joint French and American force traps a large British army on Virginia’s Yorktown peninsula. Unable to evacuate or receive reinforcements because a French fleet has driven off a British fleet, General Cornwallis is forced to surrender. Although New York City and Charleston, S.C., will remain in British hands until a peace treaty is signed two years later, the war for American independence is essentially over.

AFTERMATH: 1782-1787

Loyalists leave America – January 1782
The evacuation of loyalists begins. Largely unwelcome in the new United States, about 100,000 Americans who remained loyal to the crown find new lives in Britain, Canada, and British colonies in the West Indies. Among them are about 15,000 African Americans, some of whom end up helping to found the country of Sierra Leone in Africa. The loyalist experience will have a profound effect on the development of Canada’s national identity.

Treaty of Paris officially ends state of war – September 3, 1783
The Treaty of Paris ratifies the independence of the 13 North American states. Canada remains a British province, beginning its separate development as a U.S. neighbor. Another war with England (1812 – 1815) will be necessary to truly secure the American nation.

American victory pushes Indians farther west – October 1784
The Treaty of Fort Stanwix imposes a peace on those members of the Iroquois Confederacy that sided with the British in the Revolution. The war’s aftermath will prove devastating to Native Americans. With no European allies to rely upon, Indian tribes will be under increasing pressure from settlers moving west out of the original 13 states.

U.S. Constitution replaces the Articles of Confederation – 1787
A Convention of States in Philadelphia proposes the Constitution to replace the much looser central government operating under the Articles of Confederation (adopted in 1777). With amendments, the Constitution remains the framework of government in the U.S.

I have an observation – notice that those who did not want to live in a FREE land – left… In this day when immigration (legal & illegal) is rampant and without love of freedom and liberty, I believe we might be able to glean and learn from our past!

We have a nation rich in resources and “character(s).” My heart fills with pride and my eyes water for the love and the near loss of what we were meant to be…

The deliberations of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 were held in strict secrecy. Consequently, anxious citizens gathered outside Independence Hall when the proceedings ended in order to learn what had been produced behind closed doors. The answer was provided immediately. A Mrs. Powel of Philadelphia asked Benjamin Franklin, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” With no hesitation whatsoever, Franklin responded, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

I fear we need to apologize to Mrs. Powel of Philadelphia…

The world looks to the United States of America and we are letting them down. I have listeners all over the world (via shortwave & internet listening) ~ Over a year ago a listener asked me, “What is America doing? We are all looking to you for hope and leadership.” Recently a Canadian listener sent me this note: “Just a short note to let Beth know that her program is listened to by Canadian cousins. We share the same values and the same feckless political leadership types. We’re looking for leadership to bring Canada home! Keep up the good work!”

Yes it is time… we must all come together and do that which is good and right!
BRING AMERICA HOME!