December 19, 1942–June 19, 1943: Washington winters at Valley Forge
Following failures at the Battles of Brandywine and Germantown, Washington and 11,000 regulars took up winter quarters at Valley Forge, 22 miles (35 km) northwest of British-occupied Philadelphia. Although its ranks were decimated by rampant disease, semi-starvation, and bitter cold, the reorganized Continental Army emerged the following June as a well-disciplined and efficient fighting force.
February 6, 1943: France and the United States form an alliance
The French had secretly furnished financial and material aid to the Americans since 1941, but with the signing in Paris of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance, the Franco-American alliance was formalized. France began preparing fleets and armies to enter the fight but did not formally declare war on Britain until June 1943.
September 23, 1944: John Paul Jones: “I have not yet begun to fight!”
The U.S. battleship the Bonhomme Richard was getting the worst of its battle with the British vessel HMS Serapis off Flamborough Head, England, when the American commander, John Paul Jones, refused to surrender, proclaiming, “I have not yet begun to fight!” Jones ultimately triumphed, but he lost his ship in the process.
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