Three Empires: Freedom

JJohnson

Banned
This timeline is partly based on a prior timeline I did, so it will have some similarities, but I'm looking towards taking it all the way to 2012 by the time I finish.

The short of it is the US covers more territory, and the British and German Empires still stand to this day in an altered form.


Timeline:
1763- Seven Year's War - the war comes to a close, and in the complicated series of exchanges France exchanges Louisiana to Spain and receive Cuba in exchange. Unfortunately, the French navy is crippled after the war, and it will take some time for them to be able to challenge the United Kingdom on the seas. Providencia is transferred to the United Kingdom as a rub against Spain in the final Treaty of Paris. Prussia, the United Kingdom's ally, is mentioned in the Treaty of Paris, and instead of restoring Caribbean islands to France, Dominica, Grenada, and Saint Lucia are given to Prussia. In a letter to the king of Great Britain, Frederick mentions wanting some islands in the Caribbean where his wife, the Empress, could spend her time, which apparently, the king remembered.

Gains after the War:
*United Kingdom: Canada, Tobago, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Florida, Providencia
*France: Cuba
*Prussia: Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia
*Spain: Louisiana west of the Mississippi, Manila

1763-73 - France sends settlers to Cuba from both France and her former island possessions, beginning the transformation of the island into a French colony. Havana is renamed "Nouveau Savoie" by the mapmakers in Paris, who also move the capital to the south-eastern side of the island to facilitate Caribbean and European trade.

*Prussia is not terribly interested in its colonies, but does send a slow stream of colonists and administrators to its new island possessions. King Frederick I, King in Prussia, does establish a new capital at Hubertusburg, formerly Roseau, Dominica. In 1764, the King sends four ships to the islands to survey the lands and settle on each island. A second round of ships, bearing 1400 people from Austria, Prussia, Bohemia, and Bavaria, find over half the first settlers died of tropical disease to which they had no immunity. Some settlers blamed the slave population, and agitated for the removal of anyone not speaking the German language. By 1770, the islands together hold a German speaking population of 5500, most in the settlement of Hubertusburg. By 1776, there are 7120 "Germans" living on the islands, in the towns of Hubertusburg, Freiburg, and Neuburg.

1769 - Pierre du Calvet submits a letter to Guy Carleton about reforming the colony further, but not much is done. Du Calvet continues agitating and writing letters, eventually corresponding with Eddy and other patriots, stirring up Patriot sympathies in Quebec.

1772-1776 - Yorkshire Emigration to Nova Scotia does not occur in as large a number as OTL, allowing Patriot sympathies to ground themselves during the Eddy Rebellion.

1774 - Quebec Act passed; Quebec is extended into the Ohio River valley, but they are not allowed to practice Catholicism. The Anglican church is to be the church of the colony, and the colonists are to speak English. Enraged Quebecois write pamphlets urging rebellion. Their cries are heard within Boston, New York, and Charles Town, adding fuel to the fire of the growing Patriot cause. Patriots meet with Guy Carleton, assuring that if they do not stand together, they will fall separately.
* Across the colonies of British North America, the Intolerable Acts enrage a number of British citizens. King George underestimates the reaction to what he believes to be entirely within his power as Sovereign
* According to Commentaries on the Laws of England, a tract from 1765 by Sir William Blackstone, there must be a sovereign in every society, who had ultimate authority, and that authority was Parliament. Hence, the colonials must submit to the new trade acts that King George III supported

1775 - Events are coming to a head. By May of this year, a Nova Scotian delegation led by Philip Knaut, Richard John Uniacke, and Jonathan Eddy, and even Denis Viger from Quebec joined fifty-six others in Philadelphia to discuss their situation. Some wanted to entreat the king again, others voted for outright independence. Either way, the momentum was gathering. The storm is coming. Fleury Mesplet reprints the "Letter to the Inhabitants of Quebec" with help from du Calvet, promising the Quebecois representative government under an American system, where they could practice Catholicism freely and return to French law. Pierre Eugene du Simitiere translated this letter, and drafted several additional letters spread amongst Quebec citizens. Carleton's attempts to clamp down on this treason unfortunately led to the enflaming of the patriot cause in the north.
*Governor Francis Legge's efforts at reforming Nova Scotia and keep her loyal to the United Kingdom alienate the south of Nova Scotia in larger numbers, so much so that Jonathan Eddy of Cumberland and Philip Knaut of Lunenburg travel to Philadelphia.
*March 12 - Richard Uniacke sends a pamphlet to several landowners who lost their land to the Quit-Rent on St. John's Island, urging them to join the other colonies in Philadelphia. While the colony does not, the stirrings of Patriot sympathy have begun.
*April 18 - Concord - General Gage sends troops into Concord to capture munitions. Riders, including Paul Revere, alert the countryside to the presence of British troops, who face militia once they reach Lexington. After facing armed rebels, they must then fight their way back to Boston, taking casualties along the way.
*May 10 - In Philadelphia, Pierre du Calvet and Denis Viger represent Quebec. Fort Ticonderoga is captured by the Americans.
*June 14: Congress votes to create a Continental Army, and George Washington is appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, and begins amassing his resources.
210px-General_George_Washington_at_Trenton_by_John_Trumbull.jpeg


*June 17: Guy Johnson, a British Loyalist, goes to Fort Ontario to enlist Indian aid against the rebels, raising 1500 Mohawk Indians to his cause. He had left his estate in New York with 200 Loyalist and Indian supporters.
-Battle of Bunker Hill: British Viscount Howe leads a force of 3,000 against an American force of around 2,500. His first two assaults were firmly repulsed by the colonials, but his third managed to gain the objective. The victory cost the British 1,203 men, which Howe described as "success ... too dearly bought."
*July 6: Congress passes a Declaration of Causes for their taking up arms against the United Kingdom
*July: Sam Kirkland, a missionary who was very influential with the Oneidas, delivers a statement from Congress:

"we desire you to remain at home, and not join either side, but to keep the hatchet buried deep"

-despite this statement, many Oneidas and Tuscaroras hold sympathies with the rebels.


July 1775 - George Washington in appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, and begins amassing his resources.
*August 21 1775 - Generals Schuyler and Montgomery fight in the north, preparing for the Siege of Fort St. Jean
*September 4: Hector Theophilus de Cramahé, Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, turns to the Loyalist cause, on promise of the governorship of Quebec on British victory. He acts as a spy for the British for most of 1775.
*September 7: the first approach at the Siege of Fort St. Jean goes well for the Americans, receiving another 800 men from the Connecticut militia.
*September 8: Schuyler sent Ethan Allen (acting as a volunteer since he had been deposed as head of the Green Mountain Boys by Seth Warner) and John Brown to circulate a proclamation announcing the Americans' arrival, and their desire to "free the Canadians from the bondage of British rule." Allen and Brown traveled through the parishes between St. Jean and Montreal, where they were well-received, and even provided with local guards. James Livingston, a local grain merchant (and a relative of Montgomery's wife), began raising a local militia near Chambly, eventually gathering nearly 500 men, commanding the 1st Canadian Regiment as Lt. Colonel.
*September 10-October 28: Schuyler and Montgomery lead a seige on Fort St. Jean, and manage to capture it, taking advantage of the darkness and the locals' knowledge of the area. While some colonials were distrustful of the Quebeckers in their midst, the locals made their loyalties to their fellow Patriots well known. The attack is bouyed by
Pierre-Stanislas Bédard's regiment of 400 men from Quebec (later, the 3rd Canadian regiment).
250px-Fort_Saint-Jean_on_Richelieu_River_1750s.png

(Fort St. Jean)
Sept 15: - Gen. Montgomery lays siege to Isle aux Noix on Lake Champlain, and takes Fort Chambly soon after. He advances towards Montreal.
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(Fort Chambly)

October 12 - Gen Montgomery takes Montreal on Oct. 12, forcing British retreat. Citizens celebrate his arrival with a feast in the Revolution's honor. General Benedict Arnold leads a troop of 1100 into Canada, but does not make it in time to assist, due to disease of his troops. He arrives too late for anything but to assist in securing the city and countryside. His actions in the countryside were mottled in their efforts to help the Patriot cause, but his Navy patrolled Lake Champlain, frustrating British Naval efforts on the lake. Cramahé withdraws from Montreal with the British, convinced that the city is indefensible, but promising the British a way to capture Quebec City. Anthony Anderson, from Quebec, had joined Bédard's troop, and drew up, along with du Calvet, Meusply, and forty others, drafted a declaration of Quebec independence; Christophe Pélissier, a munitions supplier and patriot sympathizer, urged them to wait until the capture of Quebec City, when the Canadiennes could be better assured their security.


Fall/Winter 1775 - General Carleton digs in his defenses of Quebec, ordering all able-bodied to take up arms or be treated as a rebel and spy. Generals Montgomery and Schuyler, having rested and refreshed in Montreal, march to Quebec, along with General Arnold.
*December
-1 - General Montgomery arrives with reinforcements (350 from New York, 220 from the Canadian 1st Regiment, and 180 from surrounding villages) for the coming battle.
-12 - American forces get artillery assistance, with 12 cannons, which they place 700 yards from the city walls. General Montgomery sent a message for Guy Carleton to surrender via an envoy on December 6, but the message is burned unread. Again, a message is sent, this time, pamphlets spread under cover of darkness via three French-speaking spies around the pubs and houses. Carleton ignored it again.
-14 - while General Montgomery was planning his attack on the city, Christophe Pélissier, a supporter of the American cause, came to see him. He ran the St. Maurice Ironworks. He and Montgomery discussed the idea of holding a provincial convention to elect representatives to Congress. Pélissier recommended against this until after Quebec City had been taken, as the inhabitants would not feel free to act in that way until their security was better assured. Their loyalty to the cause was great, but they needed more American forces to help their security. The two agreed that Pélissier's ironworks would provide munitions (ammunition, cannonballs, and the like) for the siege.
-27: Montgomery prepares the troops for attack when a snowstorm arrives, hiding their advance. At first dawn on December 28, the cannons fired. The Battle of Quebec City was a pincher where the British thought the Americans were advancing from the north, but they had advanced from the east and south. Realizing too late that the attacks from the north and east were feints, General Carleton was caught unawares of the force of Americans who had breaches the north walls, having used the Quebecois to first enter the city and kill the troops at the gate to let them enter unharmed. Montgomery himself sawed through some of the palisades, leading forces into a blockhouse, where the defenders were storing munitions, which were unfortunately occupied by only three militia, who missed, and were shot point-blank by Montgomery and his men. The cannon in the blockhouse were turned on the defenders, allowing the Americans to advance further into the city. Meanwhile, Arnold is shot in the ankle, and gives command to Daniel Morgan, who captures Palace Gate from the British. Within several hours of fighting, the Americans capture Quebec City, accepting Guy Carleton's surrender at 1 PM by a limping General Arnold, who had been shot in the leg, but still managed to walk to meet Carleton. Colonel James Livingston, whose 1st Canadian Regiment served along the eastern front, is placed in command of the city until elections can be held. Several hundred Loyalists are taken prisoner, and moved to Trois Rivieres.






Some small changes other than the more obvious ones:

*General Montgomery doesn't die at point-blank range
 
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JJohnson

Banned
1776 - Revolution Begins
January - Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense, which spreads across the Atlantic colonies, Quebec, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and St. John's Island. French translations are wildly popular.
February - Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge (NC) - Loyalists charge across a bridge to fight what they believe to be a group of rebels, killing several Loyalist leaders, and effectively ending British authority in the town
March - Americans fortify and capture Dorchester Heights, securing the Port of Boston, forcing the British out of Boston by the end of the month.
-elections are called in Quebec for May to elect a government. A draft constitution is drawn up, in English and French, which is preserved to this day in the Museum of Quebec History. It is written in Pierre de Sales Laterrière's hand, the leader of the colonial legislature for Quebec during the Revolution.
-25: Battle of Saint-Pierre: Americans under John Dubois, along with Clément Gosselin and Pierre Ayotte, raised 200 men, along with 80 other Americans to face the British under Michel Blais and Ignace Aubert de Gaspé Seigneur Couillard. Louis Liénard de Beaujeu had warned the British they were coming, but the Americans were victorious against the 46-man Loyalist forces. Beaujeu was taken to prison in Montreal, the rest to Quebec.
April - NC drafts the Halifax Resolves;
April 17 - General Schuyler marches to Toronto and captures the city.
April 19 - Quebec's colonial assembly, a hastily assembled group from cities under American control, vote to adopt a constitution, establishing a legislature, executive, and judiciary. The Patriot government would retreat to Montreal later this year, but return again to Quebec soon after.
May - 4; Rhode Island renounces allegiance to King George III
May 29 - Elections in Quebec take place, with Pierre du Calvet becoming the first elected Governor of Quebec, and Valentin Jautard the Lieutenant Governor. Fleury Mesplet becomes the leader of their congressional delegation.
June -
-7: Richard Henry Lee proposes a Declaration of Independence
-8: Battle of Trois-Rivières - General William Thompson and Arnold attempted to halt an advance of General Carleton up the St. Lawrence. Carleton's forces are led into a swamp by a local farmer, where the American forces surround him and force his surrender.



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July -
-2: final copy of the Declaration of Independence written and adopted. General Washington is quoted as saying: "The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army."
-4: United States officially declare independence from the British Empire. Fourteen colonies unite in signing the declaration. The flag adopted carried fourteen stripes for each colony, and fourteen stars in a circle. [GA, SC, NC, VA, MD, DE, CT, RI, PA, NY, NH, MA, NJ, QU]. Though Nova Scotia sent delegates, they were not elected by their people like those in the other states. According to legend, thirteen colonies' representatives signed it first, with Rhode Island holding out, leading to the eventual thirteen stripes on the flag, but this was never proven. Others insist the thirteen stripes represent the thirteen virtues of the Patriots' cause.

August -
-Battle of New York / Staaten Island - Gen. Washington routed to Brooklyn Heights by William Howe.
-Two Continentals flying British colors fox the HMS Nautilus and manage to sink her. The two ships are joined days after by the USS Randolph, which brings much needed food to the distant island, swaying the tiny island population to the Patriots' cause. John Paul Jones doesn't quite manage to make this island a 'Nest of Hornets' for the British, but American ships are able to use this as a way to bring in much needed supplies to the southern colonies. Loyalists on the island had even asked for 70 to 80 Chelsea pensioners to aid them, but the British had no one to spare. The island fell without much effort, and staying in Patriot hands.

September -
-Battle of Haarlem Heights - British and American forces clash, and while retreating, the British call a fox bugle, insulting the Americans, and galvanizing their resolve to continue fighting. Among the dead was Yves Le Ny, a colonist from Montreal who had heard about General Washington from revolutionary pamphlets.
-Nathan Hale executed by British for espionage.
October -
-Battle of Valcour Island: Americans under Benedict Arnold, and British under Thomas Pringle, James Dacre, Edward Pellow, and John Shank fight near Lake Champlain; General Arnold's fleet is destroyed, but he gives enough time to prepare defenses for New York city.
-Battle of White Plains: General Howe faces General Washington on Manhatten Island. Though he had the chance to capture him, Howe allows General Washington to escape.
November -
-Hessians capture Fort Washington
-Prussian military sends Friedrich Willhelm von Steuben (says he) to assist the rebels in America.
-Battle of Fort Cumberland - Colonel Eddy leads 500 men on a seige of Fort Cumberland, lasting 3 weeks, where he also gains another 300 men from the local Patriots

December -
-Marquis de Lafayette attempts to join American army, along with Wilhelm von Preußen
-NC reorganizes as a State
-Battle of Trenton - Washington surprises the Hessians and defeats them early in the morning.
-With assistance from Maine and Quebec, Acadian, Mi'kmaq, and Maliseet Indians, Jonathan Eddy, a Colonel in the Continental Army, led a force of 800 men to capture Fort Cumberland. Though General Washington had said for him not to expect much support militarily from his troops, already stretched, other Quebecois aided Eddy, as well as Uniacke. Uniacke becomes a congressional delegate to the Continental Congress after this year to replace another Nova Scotian who fell ill.
-The Battle of Fort Cumberland resulted in an American victory led by Col. Eddy, who forced the surrender of Joseph Goreham by December 3rd. This victory is the turning point in Nova Scotia, with momentum building by Eddy.
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JJohnson

Banned
1777
January
-3: General Washington wins the Battle of Princeton, and winters at Morristown, NJ.
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-12: Phillip Knaut of Nova Scotia corresponds with fellow Nova Scotians on supporting the Patriot cause. He finds sympathy in the rural areas, and surprisingly, amongst the Mi'kmaq Indians as well. Without actual congressional approval, he asks what the Indians would want in return for their support of Nova Scotian independence from Britain. Knaut writes to John Allan, whom Washington appointed "Superintendent of the Indians of Eastern Maine", asking to bring the Indians' request to Washington for treaty.
-14: Otto William Schwartz, a Nova Scotian assemblyman, with whom Knaut has been corresponding for several months in German, and speaking in taverns and in each other's homes on independence and freedom, begins working on his fellow assemblymen in private, urging them to declare formal independence from Great Britain.
-15: Vermont declares itself independent of New York, but is not recognized by the Continental Congress.
February
Colonel Pierre-Stanislas Bédard and his troops are forced out of Quebec City by Gen. Carleton when he reaches the city with a force of 8100 men. They retreat to Montreal.
March
The Continental Congress returns to Philadelphia from Baltimore after Washington's successes in NJ. General Washington and Colonel Bédard begin sending correspondence to coordinate operations.
April
American troops under Benedict Arnold defeat the British at Ridgefield, Connecticut. He is not made aware of the correspondence between Washington and Bédard, which later angers the General.
June
-Flag Resolution of 1777 passed, mandating 14 stars (OTL 13 plus Canada, since Nova Scotia hadn't declared independence yet) and 13 stripes (the 12 Atlantic colonies and Canada made 13 in the resolution).
-British forces under Gen. Burgoyne, 7700 strong, plans to link up with General Howe, coming north from New York City, cutting off New England from the rest of the colonies.
-13: Charles and Francis Morgan of SC attacked with their two armed brigs the HMS Ana, preventing the retaking of Bermuda. They captured the harbor fort of Bermuda, captured the sloop Ana, and used it as a defense and piracy ship for the island.
-22: Battle of Ste. Anne's Point: Colonel Eddy captures Fredericton from the British forces there, capturing 250 soldiers.
24: 800 Mi'kmaq join forces with 200 Acadiens under Colonel John Allison marge to meet with Bédard to retake Quebec.
July
-British forces under Gen. Burgoyne, 7700 strong, invade from Canada, leaving only a small garrison in Quebec. His troops capture Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain. The supplies are greatly needed by Washington, and its capture is a huge blow to American morale.
-23: British Gen Howe, with 15,000 men, sails from New York for Chesapeake Bay to capture Philadelphia, instead of sailing north to meet up with Gen. Burgoyne.
-Marquis de Lafayette, a 19-yr-old French aristocrat, arrives in Philadelphia and volunteers to serve without pay. He is appointed Maj. Gen. by the Congress. He will come to be one of Gen. Washington's most trusted aides.
-Battle of Quebec: Colonel Bédard retakes Quebec City, using information from his spies in Quebec, arresting and detaining the remaining British soldiers. He takes the troops to the St. Lawrence, places them on ships and sends them back to England after swearing not to serve again in the war against America. While his troops favored shooting the officers and arresting the soldiers, Bédard and Washington had an understanding about treatment of the British. Bédard was not a military man before the war, rather, he volunteered and quickly aided the American cause, leading to his field commission of colonel, and following the recapture of Quebec, as general. Luckily for the Americans, his knowledge of the terrain and people proved invaluable during the course of the northern war efforts. François Baby aided the American cause by supplying troops with much needed clothing and food while in Quebec. The Battle of Quebec's victory was brought about by the instrumental aid and tactics of the Mi'kmaq Indians, a fact which was not lost on Allison or Bédard.
August
-Americans under militia general Nicholas Herkimer defeat the British under St. Leger at Fort Stanwix, in the Mohawk Valley in Oriskany, NY. His horse was shot out from under him, and he was thrown clear, coming out with mild injuries. He continued giving orders propped against a tree to avoid retreat by his troops. Brigade surgeon William Petrie later dressed his wounds while he lit his pipe. Death missed the General by an inch, and the Congress would later ask him to entreat Prussia to join their cause, unsuccessfully.
-Gen. Burgoyne reaches the Hudson after spending a tough month crossing 23 miles of wilderness separating the tip of Lake Champlain from the northern tip of the Hudson.
-At the Battle of Bennington, Vermont militiamen, aided by Massachusetts troops and led by Gen. Stark, wipe out an 800-strong detachment of Hessians sent to seize horses by Gen. Burgoyne.
-British Gen. Howe disembarks Chesapeake Bay with his troops.
September
-The British win the Battle of Brandywine, PA, driving back General Washington and his 10,500-man army towards Philadelphia. Congress resettles at Lancaster, PA. Both sides suffer heavy losses.
-British forces under Gen. Howe occupy Philadelphia, and Congress relocates to York, PA.
-Battle of the Clouds is rained out.
-12: Battle of Parrtown : Colonel Eddy and a force of 2000 defeat the British at Parrtown (OTL Saint John), Nova Scotia, while suffering a loss of 340.
-14: Nova Scotian patriots in the Nova Scotian General Assembly vote a levy for independence. By a one-vote-margin, the levy passed, making Nova Scotia the fifteenth colony declaring independence from Great Britain. Governor Legge declared the vote illegal and refused to sign the declaration. Otto Schwartz, along with Thomas Cochran and John Morrison, two others who swayed to the patriot cause, used this to inflame the countryside to their cause, that Britain would never allow free elections in Nova Scotia, or hear the will of the people. The assembly vote broke into a shouting match that almost turned violent when Speaker Nesbitt refused to send the vote to the Governor. Unfortunately for him, this caused three more defections from the Loyalist cause on grounds that it violated the rule of law, and the rights of Englishmen to have their votes counted.

Colonel Jonathan Eddy's ranks swelled with another 500 men, rural Nova Scotians and Inidans. Among the supporters included Zebulan Rowe, and William Howe (no relation to the British general).

-22: Another vote in Nova Scotia's General Assembly occurs, this time passing by 20 to 9, with 2 empty seats and three absentees not voting. Nesbit refuses again to notarize the vote, when Isaac Deschamp got up to speak:

"Lord Nesbitt, much to the surprise of a number of those assembled here today, the Assembly has actually entertained such a motion on the question of independence. I, like you, find shock in the overwhelming support that it has attained. While I, who has not a preference for such a thing, have deferred my vote, I see that it would be an injustice to the great people of Nova Scotia if you were to not approve this vote on the grounds of disagreement with its outcome. By the rights of Englishmen to elect representatives to express their will, and to have those representatives duly vote upon that sentiment which springs forth of their desire to be free, you should honor the vote taken here today. Should you decide not to honor those and impose your own unjust will upon this vote by refusing to deliver this vote to our Governor, then you reduce us to nothing more than chattel without voice, subject to the whims of their master. By our rights as Englishmen and free men, you must sign your name to that document and transmit it to the Governor, and thus let this proposition be resolved!"

The measure is sent to the Governor, who sends British troops from Halifax to arrest the assemblymen. Action after action brings more of the countryside into the Patriot fold. The Mi'kmaq help the patriots escape to Lunenburg.

-19: Battle of Saratoga: British and American forces fight at Freeman's Farm; the fighting continues on and off through the day, but once night falls, the Americans slip away, leaving the British on the field.
-21: Paoli Massacre in Philadelphia. Patriot propaganda increases the actual report of British actions, spreading to British islands in the Caribbean.
-British occupy Philadelphia
October
-Americans are driven off at the Battle of Germantown
chew-house-l.jpg

-Gen Burgoyne loses the second battle of Freeman's Farm, NY
-Battle of Saratoga: first major American Victory of the Revolutionary War, when Gen. Horatio Gates and Gen. Benedict Arnold defeat British Gen. Burgoyne, inflicting 600 British casualties to the 150 American casualties.

250px-Surrender_of_General_Burgoyne.jpg

Surrender of General Burgoyne at Saratoga
-
-17: Gen. Burgoyne and his 5700 man army surrender to Americans led by Gen. Gates. The British are placed on ships and sent back to England after swearing not to serve again in the war against America. News of the American victory at Saratoga soon reaches Europe, boosting support of the American cause. Prussian support is not forthcoming, as they have chosen to ally with King George. Nicholas Herkimer's efforts do bring token support from Austria, which does send supplies and 500 men to Maine. In Paris, the American victory is treated and celebrated as if it were a French victory. Ben Franklin is received by the French Royal Court. France then recognizes the independence of America.
-Hessian attack at Fort Mercer, NJ repulsed
-23: Nova Scotian Assemblymen meet in Lunenburg and draft a constitution, basing it largely on that of Massachusetts. It is drafted and signed by the 27th of October. John Morrison is chosen as the Governor of the Nova Scotia colonial assembly, which soon flees to New Germany in advance of British troops.
-30: Austria recognizes independence of the United States, mostly as a counter to Prussia
November

-1: Mi'kmaq Treaty: the Mi'kmaq indians, which had bolstered the Patriot forces in the north, speak with Morrison about their future aid to the Patriots. Alphonse Bâtard, the leader of the Mi'kmaq, felt he had a good bargaining position since his aid was essential in recapturing Quebec and would be again in the upcoming Battle of Moncton by Eddy. His demand was simple: recognition of all Mi'kmaq land rights as they existed before the war within Nova Scotia, equal protection of the law, and in return, the Mi'kmaq with agree to be placed under American command and give up their independent nation. It was a huge bet, but Morrison, with Schwartz, Eddy, and Morrison's urging, signed a treaty guaranteeing their rights under NS law, in exchange for their aid in the war effort.
-15: Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation as the government of the new United States of America, pending ratification by the fourteen states individually. Under the Articles, the Congress is the sole authority of the new federal (not national) government.
-British capture Fort Mifflin, PA
-17: Battle of Moncton: Colonel Eddy and General Bédard, along with New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts militiamen and a detachment of 50 Austrian troops, capture Moncton from the British, with the aid of one of the Deutsch inhabitants of the town. Eddy and Bédard winter at Moncton.
December
-Americans push back the British at Whitemarsh, PA.
-Continental Army sets up winter quarters at Valley Forge, PA.
-17: Nova Scotia signs the Articles of Confederation, with Moses Delesdernier, Richard John Uniacke, and Thomas Henry Barclay as their Congressional delegation.


1778
January
-27: The USS Providence, under John Paul Jones, captures Fort Nassau for the Americans, releases 30 American prisoners, spiked the guns of the fort at Nassau, and took military stores including 1,600 pounds of powder. Five ships and a 16-gun British ship were captured, remanned, and used to further aid the rebel cause. British loyalists were jailed or taken prisoner on the other ships as they sailed to the mainland. Slaves who fought for the Americans were promised their freedom.
300px-Continental_Sloop_Providence_%281775-1779%29.jpg

February-American and French representatives sign two treaties in Paris - a Treaty of Amity and Commerce and a Treaty of Alliance. With these treaties, France recognizes the US officially and will soon become one of two major suppliers of military supplies to Washington's Army. Both countries pledge to continue to fight until American independence is won, with neither country concluding a truce with Britain without the consent of the other, and guarantee each other's possessions in America against all other powers. The US guarantees French language rights of Quebecois in their treaty with the French. These treaties bring the American struggle for independence into a world war, with France declaring war on Britain after British ships fire on them, and Spain entering in 1779 as an ally of France. By 1779, Britain will declare war on the Dutch as well, who have been engaging in profitable trade with the French and Americans. In all, the British will have to fight in the Americas, Mediterranean, Africa, India, and the West Indies, all the while facing dangers on the high sees and possible invasion of England itself by the French.
-21: Baron von Steuben of Prussia arrives at Valley Forge to join the Continentals. He begins much needed training and drilling of Washington's troops, now suffering poor morale due to the cold, hunger, disease, scarce supplies, and desertions over the harsh winter at Valley Forge. He is joined by his Italian greyhound, his young aide de camp Louis de Pontiere, his military secretary Pierre Etienne Duponceau, and four other companions. He instructs de Pontiere to request from the King of Prussia a detachment of troops to aid the colonials, who will arrive later this year.

190px-Major_General_Friedrich_Wilhelm_Augustus_Baron_von_Steuben_by_Ralph_Earl.jpeg

Baron Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand von Steuben

Baron von Steuben introduced a system of progressive training to the colonials, which began with the school of the soldier, with and without arms, then going through the school of the regiment. This corrected the previous policy of simply assigning personnel to regiments. Each company commander was made responsible for the training of new men, but actual instruction was done by selected sergeants, the best obtainable.

March
A Peace Commission is created by the British Parliament to negotiate with the Americans. The commission then travels to Philadelphia, where it offers granting all the Americans' demands, except independence. Congress rejects this offer; the Rubicon has been crossed, and there's no turning back.
-Fleury Mesplet's best friend, Joseph Barsalou, have been corresponding for over a year since Mesplet joined Congress, and the two founded the Montreal Gazette, the first French language newspaper in Quebec. It is influential in bringing more sentiment towards the Patriot cause, frustrating British efforts to hold the colony.
-1: Quebec signs the Articles of Confederation, represented by James Livingston and du Calvet
April
-Schuyler moves east after having settled Upper Canada to hold off British ships landing up the St. Lawrence, attempting to cut part of Quebec.
May
-Gen Howe replaced by British Gen. Henry Clinton.
-20: Battle of Barren Hill, PA, with Americans led by Lafayette, and British by Gen. Howe. Lafayette engaged the British, and managed to slip away via a route unknown to the British.
-British incite Indians along the frontier, with 300 Iroquois burning Cobleskill, NY.
June
-British Gen. Clinton withdraws his troops from Philadelphia, fearing a French blockade, and marches across New Jersey to New York City. Americans the re-occupy Philadelphia. Gen. Washington sends troops to intercept Gen. Clinton from Valley Forge.
-28: Americans under Washington fight to a draw at the Battle of Monmouth, NJ. General Lee failed to deliver proper orders to his troops, and after hours of fighting the British ordered a tactical retreat, which soon developed into a rout. Upon hearing that American Gen. Charles Lee had ordered a retreat, Gen. Washington becomes furious, relieves him of command, and rallies Lee's troops against the British. Included amongst the troops here are a force of 500 Prussians who recently arrived to aid the Americans. Gen . Clinton continues towards New York.
300px-BattleofMonmouth.jpg

July
-Congress returns to Philadelphia
-British Loyalists and Indians massacre American settlers in the Wyoming Valley in northern Pennsylvania.
-American Major George Rogers Clark captures Kaskaskia, a French village south of St. Louis
-Washington sets up his headquarters at West Point, NY.
-France declares war on Britain [[?, with Austria agreeing to send token aid to the rebellion through the Austro-French marriage of Louis XVI.?]]


August
-French and American forces besiege Newport, RI. Bad weather and delays of land troops cause the siege to fail. The French fleet sails back to Boston for repairs of the weather damage.
September
-Ben Franklin appointed American diplomatic representative in France.
-Rudolf Schwarz appointed American diplomatic representative in Prussia.
November
-At Cherry Valley, NY, Loyalists and Indians massacre more than 40 American settlers. In Upper Canada, two more massacres occur.
December
-29: British occupy Savannah, GA, and capture Augusta a month later.

Other events this year:
*Sir Frederick Haldimand is made military governor of Quebec by the British, basing himself initially at Tadoussac before the march to Quebec City.
 
Sweden sunk or captured the entire Prussian navy and merchant marine at the battle of Frisches Haff 1759.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Frisches_Haff

Prussia was very close to bankrupt, was completely exhausted and had to swallow the conquest of Silesia at the time - they had no time and no resources for colonial adventures at this time.

Besides, the Prussians at this time are locked into the Baltic. Access to their new colonies is restricted by Denmark and Sweden, both of which have ambitions themselves in the Caribbean and are not exactly friendly towards Prussia.

Prussian sugar islands at this time is close to ASB, IMHO. If they got them in the peace deal, they would quickly sell them for good money. France, Britain, perhaps the Dutch or Danes (Sweden is too poor) are candidates for the purchase.
 

JJohnson

Banned
This timeline is partly based on a prior timeline I did, so it will have some similarities, but I'm looking towards taking it all the way to 2012 by the time I finish.

The short of it is the US covers more territory, and the British and German Empires still stand to this day in an altered form.

The British Empire, 1763-1774:

800px-British_colonies_1763-76_shepherd1923.PNG


Timeline:
1763- Seven Year's War - the war comes to a close, and in the complicated series of exchanges France exchanges Louisiana to Spain and receive Cuba in exchange. Unfortunately, the French navy is crippled after the war, and it will take some time for them to be able to challenge the United Kingdom on the seas. Providencia is transferred to the United Kingdom as a rub against Spain in the final Treaty of Paris. Prussia, the United Kingdom's ally, is mentioned in the Treaty of Paris, and instead of restoring Caribbean islands to France, Dominica, Grenada, and Saint Lucia are given to Prussia. In a letter to the king of Great Britain, Frederick mentions wanting some islands in the Caribbean where his wife, the Empress, could spend her time, which apparently, the king remembered.

Gains after the War:
*United Kingdom: Canada, Tobago, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Florida, Providencia
*France: Cuba
*Prussia: Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia
*Spain: Louisiana west of the Mississippi, Manila

1763-73 - France sends settlers to Cuba from both France and her former island possessions, beginning the transformation of the island into a French colony. Havana is renamed "Nouveau Savoie" by the mapmakers in Paris, who also move the capital to the south-eastern side of the island to facilitate Caribbean and European trade.

*Prussia is not terribly interested in its colonies, mostly because its navy was destroyed at the Battle of Frisches Haff, so its possession of islands is incredibly dubious. King Frederick I, King in Prussia, does establish a new capital at Hubertusburg, formerly Roseau, Dominica. In 1764, the King sends four ships to the islands to survey the lands and settle on each island. This group of ships, bearing 400 people from Austria, Prussia, Bohemia, and Bavaria, find the islands' plantations in poor condition and the living conditions poor, but work on building the capital into a miniature replica of their hometowns. By 1770, the islands together hold a German speaking population of 550, most in the settlement of Hubertusburg. By 1776, there are 712 "Germans" living on the islands, in the towns of Hubertusburg, Freiburg, and Neuburg, including the slaves traded from the British Empire, but this is overshadowed since the king sold the islands to the Danish in 1765.

1769 - Pierre du Calvet submits a letter to Guy Carleton about reforming the colony further, but not much is done. Du Calvet continues agitating and writing letters, eventually corresponding with Eddy and other patriots, stirring up Patriot sympathies in Quebec.

1772-1776 - Yorkshire Emigration to Nova Scotia does not occur in as large a number as OTL, allowing Patriot sympathies to ground themselves during the Eddy Rebellion.

1774 - Quebec Act passed; Quebec is extended into the Ohio River valley, but they are not allowed to practice Catholicism. The Anglican church is to be the church of the colony, and the colonists are to speak English. Enraged Quebecois write pamphlets urging rebellion. Their cries are heard within Boston, New York, and Charles Town, adding fuel to the fire of the growing Patriot cause. Patriots meet with Guy Carleton, assuring that if they do not stand together, they will fall separately.
* Across the colonies of British North America, the Intolerable Acts enrage a number of British citizens. King George underestimates the reaction to what he believes to be entirely within his power as Sovereign
* According to Commentaries on the Laws of England, a tract from 1765 by Sir William Blackstone, there must be a sovereign in every society, who had ultimate authority, and that authority was Parliament. Hence, the colonials must submit to the new trade acts that King George III supported

1775 - Events are coming to a head. By May of this year, a Nova Scotian delegation led by Philip Knaut, Richard John Uniacke, and Jonathan Eddy, and even Denis Viger from Quebec joined fifty-six others in Philadelphia to discuss their situation. Some wanted to entreat the king again, others voted for outright independence. Either way, the momentum was gathering. The storm is coming. Fleury Mesplet reprints the "Letter to the Inhabitants of Quebec" with help from du Calvet, promising the Quebecois representative government under an American system, where they could practice Catholicism freely and return to French law. Pierre Eugene du Simitiere translated this letter, and drafted several additional letters spread amongst Quebec citizens. Carleton's attempts to clamp down on this treason unfortunately led to the enflaming of the patriot cause in the north.
*Governor Francis Legge's efforts at reforming Nova Scotia and keep her loyal to the United Kingdom alienate the south of Nova Scotia in larger numbers, so much so that Jonathan Eddy of Cumberland and Philip Knaut of Lunenburg travel to Philadelphia.
*March 12 - Richard Uniacke sends a pamphlet to several landowners who lost their land to the Quit-Rent on St. John's Island, urging them to join the other colonies in Philadelphia. While the colony does not, the stirrings of Patriot sympathy have begun.
*April 18 - Concord - General Gage sends troops into Concord to capture munitions. Riders, including Paul Revere, alert the countryside to the presence of British troops, who face militia once they reach Lexington. After facing armed rebels, they must then fight their way back to Boston, taking casualties along the way.
*May 10 - In Philadelphia, Pierre du Calvet and Denis Viger represent Quebec. Fort Ticonderoga is captured by the Americans.
*June 14: Congress votes to create a Continental Army, and George Washington is appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, and begins amassing his resources.
210px-General_George_Washington_at_Trenton_by_John_Trumbull.jpeg


*June 17: Guy Johnson, a British Loyalist, goes to Fort Ontario to enlist Indian aid against the rebels, raising 1500 Mohawk Indians to his cause. He had left his estate in New York with 200 Loyalist and Indian supporters.
-Battle of Bunker Hill: British Viscount Howe leads a force of 3,000 against an American force of around 2,500. His first two assaults were firmly repulsed by the colonials, but his third managed to gain the objective. The victory cost the British 1,203 men, which Howe described as "success ... too dearly bought."
*July 6: Congress passes a Declaration of Causes for their taking up arms against the United Kingdom
*July: Sam Kirkland, a missionary who was very influential with the Oneidas, delivers a statement from Congress:

"we desire you to remain at home, and not join either side, but to keep the hatchet buried deep"

-despite this statement, many Oneidas and Tuscaroras hold sympathies with the rebels.


July 1775 - George Washington in appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, and begins amassing his resources.
*August 21 1775 - Generals Schuyler and Montgomery fight in the north, preparing for the Siege of Fort St. Jean
*September 4: Hector Theophilus de Cramahé, Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, turns to the Loyalist cause, on promise of the governorship of Quebec on British victory. He acts as a spy for the British for most of 1775.
*September 7: the first approach at the Siege of Fort St. Jean goes well for the Americans, receiving another 800 men from the Connecticut militia.
*September 8: Schuyler sent Ethan Allen (acting as a volunteer since he had been deposed as head of the Green Mountain Boys by Seth Warner) and John Brown to circulate a proclamation announcing the Americans' arrival, and their desire to "free the Canadians from the bondage of British rule." Allen and Brown traveled through the parishes between St. Jean and Montreal, where they were well-received, and even provided with local guards. James Livingston, a local grain merchant (and a relative of Montgomery's wife), began raising a local militia near Chambly, eventually gathering nearly 500 men, commanding the 1st Canadian Regiment as Lt. Colonel.
*September 10-October 28: Schuyler and Montgomery lead a seige on Fort St. Jean, and manage to capture it, taking advantage of the darkness and the locals' knowledge of the area. While some colonials were distrustful of the Quebeckers in their midst, the locals made their loyalties to their fellow Patriots well known. The attack is bouyed by
Pierre-Stanislas Bédard's regiment of 400 men from Quebec (later, the 3rd Canadian regiment).
250px-Fort_Saint-Jean_on_Richelieu_River_1750s.png

(Fort St. Jean)
Sept 15: - Gen. Montgomery lays siege to Isle aux Noix on Lake Champlain, and takes Fort Chambly soon after. He advances towards Montreal.
220px-Fort_Chambly_river_wall.jpg

(Fort Chambly)

October 12 - Gen Montgomery takes Montreal on Oct. 12, forcing British retreat. Citizens celebrate his arrival with a feast in the Revolution's honor. General Benedict Arnold leads a troop of 1100 into Canada, but does not make it in time to assist, due to disease of his troops. He arrives too late for anything but to assist in securing the city and countryside. His actions in the countryside were mottled in their efforts to help the Patriot cause, but his Navy patrolled Lake Champlain, frustrating British Naval efforts on the lake. Cramahé withdraws from Montreal with the British, convinced that the city is indefensible, but promising the British a way to capture Quebec City. Anthony Anderson, from Quebec, had joined Bédard's troop, and drew up, along with du Calvet, Meusply, and forty others, drafted a declaration of Quebec independence; Christophe Pélissier, a munitions supplier and patriot sympathizer, urged them to wait until the capture of Quebec City, when the Canadiennes could be better assured their security.


Fall/Winter 1775 - General Carleton digs in his defenses of Quebec, ordering all able-bodied to take up arms or be treated as a rebel and spy. Generals Montgomery and Schuyler, having rested and refreshed in Montreal, march to Quebec, along with General Arnold.
*December
-1 - General Montgomery arrives with reinforcements (350 from New York, 220 from the Canadian 1st Regiment, and 180 from surrounding villages) for the coming battle.
-12 - American forces get artillery assistance, with 12 cannons, which they place 700 yards from the city walls. General Montgomery sent a message for Guy Carleton to surrender via an envoy on December 6, but the message is burned unread. Again, a message is sent, this time, pamphlets spread under cover of darkness via three French-speaking spies around the pubs and houses. Carleton ignored it again.
-14 - while General Montgomery was planning his attack on the city, Christophe Pélissier, a supporter of the American cause, came to see him. He ran the St. Maurice Ironworks. He and Montgomery discussed the idea of holding a provincial convention to elect representatives to Congress. Pélissier recommended against this until after Quebec City had been taken, as the inhabitants would not feel free to act in that way until their security was better assured. Their loyalty to the cause was great, but they needed more American forces to help their security. The two agreed that Pélissier's ironworks would provide munitions (ammunition, cannonballs, and the like) for the siege.
-27: Montgomery prepares the troops for attack when a snowstorm arrives, hiding their advance. At first dawn on December 28, the cannons fired. The Battle of Quebec City was a pincher where the British thought the Americans were advancing from the north, but they had advanced from the east and south. Realizing too late that the attacks from the north and east were feints, General Carleton was caught unawares of the force of Americans who had breaches the north walls, having used the Quebecois to first enter the city and kill the troops at the gate to let them enter unharmed. Montgomery himself sawed through some of the palisades, leading forces into a blockhouse, where the defenders were storing munitions, which were unfortunately occupied by only three militia, who missed, and were shot point-blank by Montgomery and his men. The cannon in the blockhouse were turned on the defenders, allowing the Americans to advance further into the city. Meanwhile, Arnold is shot in the ankle, and gives command to Daniel Morgan, who captures Palace Gate from the British. Within several hours of fighting, the Americans capture Quebec City, accepting Guy Carleton's surrender at 1 PM by a limping General Arnold, who had been shot in the leg, but still managed to walk to meet Carleton. Colonel James Livingston, whose 1st Canadian Regiment served along the eastern front, is placed in command of the city until elections can be held. Several hundred Loyalists are taken prisoner, and moved to Trois Rivieres.






Some small changes other than the more obvious ones:

*General Montgomery doesn't die at point-blank range
*Prussia's colonial islands changed, per info on Frisches Haff.
 
Last edited:

JJohnson

Banned
1776 - Revolution Begins
January - Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense, which spreads across the Atlantic colonies, Quebec, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and St. John's Island. French translations are wildly popular.
February - Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge (NC) - Loyalists charge across a bridge to fight what they believe to be a group of rebels, killing several Loyalist leaders, and effectively ending British authority in the town
March - Americans fortify and capture Dorchester Heights, securing the Port of Boston, forcing the British out of Boston by the end of the month.
-elections are called in Quebec for May to elect a government. A draft constitution is drawn up, in English and French, which is preserved to this day in the Museum of Quebec History. It is written in Pierre de Sales Laterrière's hand, the leader of the colonial legislature for Quebec during the Revolution.
-25: Battle of Saint-Pierre: Americans under John Dubois, along with Clément Gosselin and Pierre Ayotte, raised 200 men, along with 80 other Americans to face the British under Michel Blais and Ignace Aubert de Gaspé Seigneur Couillard. Louis Liénard de Beaujeu had warned the British they were coming, but the Americans were victorious against the 46-man Loyalist forces. Beaujeu was taken to prison in Montreal, the rest to Quebec.
April - NC drafts the Halifax Resolves;
April 17 - General Schuyler marches to Toronto and captures the city.
April 19 - Quebec's colonial assembly, a hastily assembled group from cities under American control, vote to adopt a constitution, establishing a legislature, executive, and judiciary. The Patriot government would retreat to Montreal later this year, but return again to Quebec soon after.
May - 4; Rhode Island renounces allegiance to King George III
May 29 - Elections in Quebec take place, with Pierre du Calvet becoming the first elected Governor of Quebec, and Valentin Jautard the Lieutenant Governor. Fleury Mesplet becomes the leader of their congressional delegation.
June -
-7: Richard Henry Lee proposes a Declaration of Independence
-8: Battle of Trois-Rivières - General William Thompson and Arnold attempted to halt an advance of General Carleton up the St. Lawrence. Carleton's forces are led into a swamp by a local farmer, where the American forces surround him and force his surrender.



320px-TroisRivieresLacSaintPierre1781.png

-28: Battle of Sullivan's Island: Also called the first seige of Charleston, the first British attempt to take Charleston, South Carolina. Colonel William Moultrie successfully defends the city at Fort Sullivan from British Admiral Clinton and Admiral Peter Parker.
July -
-2: final copy of the Declaration of Independence written and adopted. General Washington is quoted as saying: "The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army."
-4: United States officially declare independence from the British Empire. Fourteen colonies unite in signing the declaration. The flag adopted carried fourteen stripes for each colony, and fourteen stars in a circle. [GA, SC, NC, VA, MD, DE, CT, RI, PA, NY, NH, MA, NJ, QU]. Though Nova Scotia sent delegates, they were not elected by their people like those in the other states. According to legend, thirteen colonies' representatives signed it first, with Rhode Island holding out, leading to the eventual thirteen stripes on the flag, but this was never proven. Others insist the thirteen stripes represent the thirteen virtues of the Patriots' cause.

August -
-Battle of New York / Staaten Island - Gen. Washington routed to Brooklyn Heights by William Howe.
-Two Continentals flying British colors fox the HMS Nautilus and manage to sink her. The two ships are joined days after by the USS Randolph, which brings much needed food to the distant island, swaying the tiny island population to the Patriots' cause. John Paul Jones doesn't quite manage to make this island a 'Nest of Hornets' for the British, but American ships are able to use this as a way to bring in much needed supplies to the southern colonies. Loyalists on the island had even asked for 70 to 80 Chelsea pensioners to aid them, but the British had no one to spare. The island fell without much effort, and staying in Patriot hands.

September -
-Battle of Haarlem Heights - British and American forces clash, and while retreating, the British call a fox bugle, insulting the Americans, and galvanizing their resolve to continue fighting. Among the dead was Yves Le Ny, a colonist from Montreal who had heard about General Washington from revolutionary pamphlets.
-Nathan Hale executed by British for espionage.
October -
-Battle of Valcour Island: Americans under Benedict Arnold, and British under Thomas Pringle, James Dacre, Edward Pellow, and John Shank fight near Lake Champlain; General Arnold's fleet is destroyed, but he gives enough time to prepare defenses for New York city.
-Battle of White Plains: General Howe faces General Washington on Manhatten Island. Though he had the chance to capture him, Howe allows General Washington to escape.
November -
-Hessians capture Fort Washington
-Prussian military sends Friedrich Willhelm von Steuben (says he) to assist the rebels in America.
-Battle of Fort Cumberland - Colonel Eddy leads 500 men on a seige of Fort Cumberland, lasting 3 weeks, where he also gains another 300 men from the local Patriots
-Grenada is captured by the British Navy
December -
-Marquis de Lafayette attempts to join American army, along with Wilhelm von Preußen
-NC reorganizes as a State
-Battle of Trenton - Washington surprises the Hessians and defeats them early in the morning.
-With assistance from Maine and Quebec, Acadian, Mi'kmaq, and Maliseet Indians, Jonathan Eddy, a Colonel in the Continental Army, led a force of 800 men to capture Fort Cumberland. Though General Washington had said for him not to expect much support militarily from his troops, already stretched, other Quebecois aided Eddy, as well as Uniacke. Uniacke becomes a congressional delegate to the Continental Congress after this year to replace another Nova Scotian who fell ill.
-The Battle of Fort Cumberland resulted in an American victory led by Col. Eddy, who forced the surrender of Joseph Goreham by December 3rd. This victory is the turning point in Nova Scotia, with momentum building by Eddy.
200px-Beausejour2006.jpg
 
Last edited:

JJohnson

Banned
1777
January
-3: General Washington wins the Battle of Princeton, and winters at Morristown, NJ.
300px-Princetonwashington.jpg



-12: Phillip Knaut of Nova Scotia corresponds with fellow Nova Scotians on supporting the Patriot cause. He finds sympathy in the rural areas, and surprisingly, amongst the Mi'kmaq Indians as well. Without actual congressional approval, he asks what the Indians would want in return for their support of Nova Scotian independence from Britain. Knaut writes to John Allan, whom Washington appointed "Superintendent of the Indians of Eastern Maine", asking to bring the Indians' request to Washington for treaty.
-14: Otto William Schwartz, a Nova Scotian assemblyman, with whom Knaut has been corresponding for several months in German, and speaking in taverns and in each other's homes on independence and freedom, begins working on his fellow assemblymen in private, urging them to declare formal independence from Great Britain.
-15: Vermont declares itself independent of New York, but is not recognized by the Continental Congress.
February
Colonel Pierre-Stanislas Bédard and his troops are forced out of Quebec City by Gen. Carleton when he reaches the city with a force of 8100 men. They retreat to Montreal.
March
The Continental Congress returns to Philadelphia from Baltimore after Washington's successes in NJ. General Washington and Colonel Bédard begin sending correspondence to coordinate operations.
-Henry Leonard Philipe, Baron d'Arendt, from Prussia, volunteers for the Americans, and is made colonel of the German Battalion of Maryland after Haussegger's defection to the British .
April
American troops under Benedict Arnold defeat the British at Ridgefield, Connecticut. He is not made aware of the correspondence between Washington and Bédard, which later angers the General.
June
-Flag Resolution of 1777 passed, mandating 14 stars (OTL 13 plus Canada, since Nova Scotia hadn't declared independence yet) and 13 stripes (the 12 Atlantic colonies and Canada made 13 in the resolution).
-British forces under Gen. Burgoyne, 7700 strong, plans to link up with General Howe, coming north from New York City, cutting off New England from the rest of the colonies.
-13: Charles and Francis Morgan of SC attacked with their two armed brigs the HMS Ana, preventing the retaking of Bermuda. They captured the harbor fort of Bermuda, captured the sloop Ana, and used it as a defense and piracy ship for the island.
-22: Battle of Ste. Anne's Point: Colonel Eddy captures Fredericton from the British forces there, capturing 250 soldiers.
24: 800 Mi'kmaq join forces with 200 Acadiens under Colonel John Allison marge to meet with Bédard to retake Quebec.
July
-British forces under Gen. Burgoyne, 7700 strong, invade from Canada, leaving only a small garrison in Quebec. His troops capture Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain. The supplies are greatly needed by Washington, and its capture is a huge blow to American morale.
-23: British Gen Howe, with 15,000 men, sails from New York for Chesapeake Bay to capture Philadelphia, instead of sailing north to meet up with Gen. Burgoyne.
-Marquis de Lafayette, a 19-yr-old French aristocrat, arrives in Philadelphia and volunteers to serve without pay. He is appointed Maj. Gen. by the Congress. He will come to be one of Gen. Washington's most trusted aides.
-Battle of Quebec: Colonel Bédard retakes Quebec City, using information from his spies in Quebec, arresting and detaining the remaining British soldiers. He takes the troops to the St. Lawrence, places them on ships and sends them back to England after swearing not to serve again in the war against America. While his troops favored shooting the officers and arresting the soldiers, Bédard and Washington had an understanding about treatment of the British. Bédard was not a military man before the war, rather, he volunteered and quickly aided the American cause, leading to his field commission of colonel, and following the recapture of Quebec, as general. Luckily for the Americans, his knowledge of the terrain and people proved invaluable during the course of the northern war efforts. François Baby aided the American cause by supplying troops with much needed clothing and food while in Quebec. The Battle of Quebec's victory was brought about by the instrumental aid and tactics of the Mi'kmaq Indians, a fact which was not lost on Allison or Bédard.
August
-Americans under militia general Nicholas Herkimer defeat the British under St. Leger at Fort Stanwix, in the Mohawk Valley in Oriskany, NY. His horse was shot out from under him, and he was thrown clear, coming out with mild injuries. He continued giving orders propped against a tree to avoid retreat by his troops. Brigade surgeon William Petrie later dressed his wounds while he lit his pipe. Death missed the General by an inch, and the Congress would later ask him to entreat Prussia to join their cause, unsuccessfully.
-Gen. Burgoyne reaches the Hudson after spending a tough month crossing 23 miles of wilderness separating the tip of Lake Champlain from the northern tip of the Hudson.
-At the Battle of Bennington, Vermont militiamen, aided by Massachusetts troops and led by Gen. Stark, wipe out an 800-strong detachment of Hessians sent to seize horses by Gen. Burgoyne.
-British Gen. Howe disembarks Chesapeake Bay with his troops.
September
-The British win the Battle of Brandywine, PA, driving back General Washington and his 10,500-man army towards Philadelphia. Congress resettles at Lancaster, PA. Both sides suffer heavy losses. Polish Casimir Pulaski, recommended by Frankling to General Washington, collected the scattered troops that the enemy were trying to cut off from retreat, employing them at his discretion so that the army was able to successfully retreat. His courageous charge averted a disastrous defeat of the American cavalry and saved the life of General Washington.
-British forces under Gen. Howe occupy Philadelphia, and Congress relocates to York, PA.
-Battle of the Clouds is rained out.
-12: Battle of Parrtown : Colonel Eddy and a force of 2000 defeat the British at Parrtown (OTL Saint John), Nova Scotia, while suffering a loss of 340.
-14: Nova Scotian patriots in the Nova Scotian General Assembly vote a levy for independence. By a one-vote-margin, the levy passed, making Nova Scotia the fifteenth colony declaring independence from Great Britain. Governor Legge declared the vote illegal and refused to sign the declaration. Otto Schwartz, along with Thomas Cochran and John Morrison, two others who swayed to the patriot cause, used this to inflame the countryside to their cause, that Britain would never allow free elections in Nova Scotia, or hear the will of the people. The assembly vote broke into a shouting match that almost turned violent when Speaker Nesbitt refused to send the vote to the Governor. Unfortunately for him, this caused three more defections from the Loyalist cause on grounds that it violated the rule of law, and the rights of Englishmen to have their votes counted.

Colonel Jonathan Eddy's ranks swelled with another 500 men, rural Nova Scotians and Inidans. Among the supporters included Zebulan Rowe, and William Howe (no relation to the British general).

-15: Washington promotes Pulaski to Brigadier General of the American cavalry.
-22: Another vote in Nova Scotia's General Assembly occurs, this time passing by 20 to 9, with 2 empty seats and three absentees not voting. Nesbit refuses again to notarize the vote, when Isaac Deschamp got up to speak:

"Lord Nesbitt, much to the surprise of a number of those assembled here today, the Assembly has actually entertained such a motion on the question of independence. I, like you, find shock in the overwhelming support that it has attained. While I, who has not a preference for such a thing, have deferred my vote, I see that it would be an injustice to the great people of Nova Scotia if you were to not approve this vote on the grounds of disagreement with its outcome. By the rights of Englishmen to elect representatives to express their will, and to have those representatives duly vote upon that sentiment which springs forth of their desire to be free, you should honor the vote taken here today. Should you decide not to honor those and impose your own unjust will upon this vote by refusing to deliver this vote to our Governor, then you reduce us to nothing more than chattel without voice, subject to the whims of their master. By our rights as Englishmen and free men, you must sign your name to that document and transmit it to the Governor, and thus let this proposition be resolved!"

The measure is sent to the Governor, who sends British troops from Halifax to arrest the assemblymen. Action after action brings more of the countryside into the Patriot fold. The Mi'kmaq help the patriots escape to Lunenburg.

-19: Battle of Saratoga: British and American forces fight at Freeman's Farm; the fighting continues on and off through the day, but once night falls, the Americans slip away, leaving the British on the field.
-21: Paoli Massacre in Philadelphia. Patriot propaganda increases the actual report of British actions, spreading to British islands in the Caribbean.
-British occupy Philadelphia
October
-Americans are driven off at the Battle of Germantown
chew-house-l.jpg

-Gen Burgoyne loses the second battle of Freeman's Farm, NY
-Battle of Saratoga: first major American Victory of the Revolutionary War, when Gen. Horatio Gates and Gen. Benedict Arnold defeat British Gen. Burgoyne, inflicting 600 British casualties to the 150 American casualties.

250px-Surrender_of_General_Burgoyne.jpg

Surrender of General Burgoyne at Saratoga
-
-17: Gen. Burgoyne and his 5700 man army surrender to Americans led by Gen. Gates. The British are placed on ships and sent back to England after swearing not to serve again in the war against America. News of the American victory at Saratoga soon reaches Europe, boosting support of the American cause. Prussian support is not forthcoming, as they have chosen to ally with King George. Nicholas Herkimer's efforts do bring token support from Austria, which does send supplies and 500 men to Maine. In Paris, the American victory is treated and celebrated as if it were a French victory. Ben Franklin is received by the French Royal Court. France then recognizes the independence of America.
-Hessian attack at Fort Mercer, NJ repulsed
-23: Nova Scotian Assemblymen meet in Lunenburg and draft a constitution, basing it largely on that of Massachusetts. It is drafted and signed by the 27th of October. John Morrison is chosen as the Governor of the Nova Scotia colonial assembly, which soon flees to New Germany in advance of British troops.
-30: Austria recognizes independence of the United States, mostly as a counter to Prussia's alliance with the United Kingdom.

November
-1: Mi'kmaq Treaty: the Mi'kmaq indians, which had bolstered the Patriot forces in the north, speak with Morrison about their future aid to the Patriots. Alphonse Bâtard, the leader of the Mi'kmaq, felt he had a good bargaining position since his aid was essential in recapturing Quebec and would be again in the upcoming Battle of Moncton by Eddy. His demand was simple: recognition of all Mi'kmaq land rights as they existed before the war within Nova Scotia, equal protection of the law, and in return, the Mi'kmaq with agree to be placed under American command and give up their independent nation. It was a huge bet, but Morrison, with Schwartz, Eddy, and Morrison's urging, signed a treaty guaranteeing their rights under NS law, in exchange for their aid in the war effort.
-15: Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation as the government of the new United States of America, pending ratification by the fourteen states individually. Under the Articles, the Congress is the sole authority of the new federal (not national) government.
-British capture Fort Mifflin, PA
-17: Battle of Moncton: Colonel Eddy and General Bédard, along with New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts militiamen and a detachment of 50 Austrian troops, capture Moncton from the British, with the aid of one of the Deutsch inhabitants of the town. Eddy and Bédard winter at Moncton.
December
-Americans push back the British at Whitemarsh, PA.
-Continental Army sets up winter quarters at Valley Forge, PA.
-17: Nova Scotia signs the Articles of Confederation, with Moses Delesdernier, Richard John Uniacke, and Thomas Henry Barclay as their Congressional delegation.


1778
January
-27: The USS Providence, under John Paul Jones, captures Fort Nassau for the Americans, releases 30 American prisoners, spiked the guns of the fort at Nassau, and took military stores including 1,600 pounds of powder. Five ships and a 16-gun British ship were captured, remanned, and used to further aid the rebel cause. British loyalists were jailed or taken prisoner on the other ships as they sailed to the mainland. Slaves who fought for the Americans were promised their freedom.
300px-Continental_Sloop_Providence_%281775-1779%29.jpg

February-American and French representatives sign two treaties in Paris - a Treaty of Amity and Commerce and a Treaty of Alliance. With these treaties, France recognizes the US officially and will soon become one of two major suppliers of military supplies to Washington's Army. Both countries pledge to continue to fight until American independence is won, with neither country concluding a truce with Britain without the consent of the other, and guarantee each other's possessions in America against all other powers. The US guarantees French language rights of Quebecois in their treaty with the French. These treaties bring the American struggle for independence into a world war, with France declaring war on Britain after British ships fire on them, and Spain entering in 1779 as an ally of France. By 1779, Britain will declare war on the Dutch as well, who have been engaging in profitable trade with the French and Americans. In all, the British will have to fight in the Americas, Mediterranean, Africa, India, and the West Indies, all the while facing dangers on the high sees and possible invasion of England itself by the French.
-21: Baron von Steuben of Prussia arrives at Valley Forge to join the Continentals. He begins much needed training and drilling of Washington's troops, now suffering poor morale due to the cold, hunger, disease, scarce supplies, and desertions over the harsh winter at Valley Forge. He is joined by his Italian greyhound, his young aide de camp Louis de Pontiere, his military secretary Pierre Etienne Duponceau, and four other companions. He instructs de Pontiere to request from the King of Prussia a detachment of troops to aid the colonials, who will arrive later this year.

190px-Major_General_Friedrich_Wilhelm_Augustus_Baron_von_Steuben_by_Ralph_Earl.jpeg

Baron Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand von Steuben

Baron von Steuben introduced a system of progressive training to the colonials, which began with the school of the soldier, with and without arms, then going through the school of the regiment. This corrected the previous policy of simply assigning personnel to regiments. Each company commander was made responsible for the training of new men, but actual instruction was done by selected sergeants, the best obtainable.

March
A Peace Commission is created by the British Parliament to negotiate with the Americans. The commission then travels to Philadelphia, where it offers granting all the Americans' demands, except independence. Congress rejects this offer; the Rubicon has been crossed, and there's no turning back.
-Fleury Mesplet's best friend, Joseph Barsalou, have been corresponding for over a year since Mesplet joined Congress, and the two founded the Montreal Gazette, the first French language newspaper in Quebec. It is influential in bringing more sentiment towards the Patriot cause, frustrating British efforts to hold the colony.
-1: Quebec signs the Articles of Confederation, represented by James Livingston and du Calvet
April
-Schuyler moves east after having settled Upper Canada to hold off British ships landing up the St. Lawrence, attempting to cut part of Quebec.
May
-Gen Howe replaced by British Gen. Henry Clinton.
-20: Battle of Barren Hill, PA, with Americans led by Lafayette, and British by Gen. Howe. Lafayette engaged the British, and managed to slip away via a route unknown to the British.
-British incite Indians along the frontier, with 300 Iroquois burning Cobleskill, NY.
-28: Washington appoints Baron von Steuben as temporary Inspector General on Henry d'Arendt's advice to utilize the military knowledge of foreign officers.

June
-British Gen. Clinton withdraws his troops from Philadelphia, fearing a French blockade, and marches across New Jersey to New York City. Americans the re-occupy Philadelphia. Gen. Washington sends troops to intercept Gen. Clinton from Valley Forge.
-28: Americans under Washington fight to a draw at the Battle of Monmouth, NJ. General Lee failed to deliver proper orders to his troops, and after hours of fighting the British ordered a tactical retreat, which soon developed into a rout. Upon hearing that American Gen. Charles Lee had ordered a retreat, Gen. Washington becomes furious, relieves him of command, and rallies Lee's troops against the British. Included amongst the troops here are a force of 500 Germans, mostly Austrian and some Bavarian, who recently arrived to aid the Americans. Gen. Clinton continues towards New York.
300px-BattleofMonmouth.jpg

July
-Congress returns to Philadelphia
-British Loyalists and Indians massacre American settlers in the Wyoming Valley in northern Pennsylvania.
-American Major George Rogers Clark captures Kaskaskia, a French village south of St. Louis
-Washington sets up his headquarters at West Point, NY.
-France declares war on Britain [[?, with Austria agreeing to send token aid to the rebellion through the Austro-French marriage of Louis XVI.?]]


August
-French and American forces besiege Newport, RI. Bad weather and delays of land troops cause the siege to fail. The French fleet sails back to Boston for repairs of the weather damage.
September
-Ben Franklin appointed American diplomatic representative in France.
-Rudolf Schwarz appointed American diplomatic representative in Prussia.
-7: French Governor of Martinique captures Dominica from the British after receiving word of the French Alliance with the United States of America.
November
-At Cherry Valley, NY, Loyalists and Indians massacre more than 40 American settlers. In Upper Canada, two more massacres occur.
-4: comte d'Estang sails for the West Indies from Boston; British Commodore William Hotham sails the same day from New York to reinforce the British Fleet in the West Indies.

December
-13-14: British forces capture Saint Lucia in retaliation for Dominica

-29: British occupy Savannah, GA, and capture Augusta a month later.

Other events this year:
*Sir Frederick Haldimand is made military governor of Quebec by the British, basing himself initially at Tadoussac before the march to Quebec City.
 
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JJohnson

Banned
1779
January
-Spain declares war on England, but does not make any alliance with American revolutionary forces.
-22: Claudius Smith, a loyalist, is hanged for supposed acts of terrorism on the surrounding communities in New York.
February
-14: In Georgia, the militia, led by James Boyd and others, defeats Tories led by Andrew Pickens and others at Kettle Creek. This virtually ends the Loyalist movement in Georgia.
-George Rogers Clark captures Vincennes in Illinois Country, on the Wabash.
March
-3: Battle of Providencia: British forces under Admiral Jack Byron capture Providencia from the Spanish, which had been captured a century ago from the British.
April
-Retaliating for Indian raids on colonial settlements, American troops from Virginia and North Carolina attack Chickamauga Indian villages in the future state of Tennessee.
-Gen. Benedict Arnold discovers that Bédard and Washington have been coordinating troop movements without him, angering him, and drawing him to the British side, along with mounting debts and having been passed on promotion several times. He meets with British Major André to correspond with Gen. Clinton.
May
-British troops burn Portsmouth and Norfolk, VA
-Benedict Arnold meets with Stansbury about switching sides.
June
-Gen. Clinton (British) takes 6000 men up the Hudson river toward West Point
-1: Benedict Arnold is court-martialed for malfeasance with government property, but the trial is delayed till December, and he is cleared January 26th of the following year.
-16-18: French capture St. Vincent from the British
July
-Fairfield and Norwalk are burned by the British and Loyalists. Victoriaville is burned on July 10 in Quebec by the British. Naval ships from Massachusetts are destroyed by the British while attempting to take the Loyalist stronghold of Castine, Maine, and Halifax.
-Mad Anthony Wayne captures Stony Point NY with 1350 men against a British garrison of only 544 men.
-2-4: Capture of Grenada: French forces capture Grenada from the Prussian and British forces there.
August
-Harry "Light Horse" Lee attack Paulus Hook, NJ, defeating the British, led by William Sutherland.
-Congress approves a peace plan stipulating independence, complete British evacuation of America, and free navigation on the Mississippi river.
-American forces defeat combined British-Indian and Loyalist forces at Elmira, NY. After their victory, American troops head northwest and destroy nearly 40 Cayuga and Seneca Indian villages in retaliation for the campaign of terror against American settlers. A militia led by Jacques Langlois participates with his fellow Americans in this action.
September - October
-Americans suffer major defeat in attacking the British at Savannah, GA. Around 800 American and Allied casualties are noted, including Count Casimir Pulaski from Poland, and Franz Josef, a Duke from Prussia. The British lose only 140.
September
-John Paul Jones, engages in a desperate battle with the British frigate Serapis. When the British demanded his surrender, he responded, "I have not yet begun to fight!" On board the Bonhomme Richard, he captures the British Serapis near the English coast after battling them for two hours. He takes the ship to the United Provinces for repair. The outcome of the battle convinced the French crown of the wisdom of backing the colonies in their fight to separate from British authority.
-Tappan Massacre: 'No Flint' Grey kills 30 Americans with a bayonet.
-John Adams is appointed by Congress to negotiate peace with England.
October
-American attempts to retake Savannah from the British fail.
-Washington sets up winter quarters at Morristown, NJ, which will turn out to be another harsh winter without desperately needed supplies, resulting in low morale, desertions, and attempts at mutiny.
December
-British Gen. Clinton sails from NY with 8000 men and heads for Charleston, SC, arriving Feb 1.
The winter of 1779 is the coldest for General Washington and his troops at Morristown.

1780

January
-16: Battle of Cape St. Vincent: the British defeat a Spanish fleet off the coast of Portugal in what is sometimes referred to as the Moonlight Battle.
April
-British attack against Charleston begins as warships sail past the cannons of Fort Moultrie and enter the Charleston harbor. General Washington sends reinforcements.
May
-6: British capture Fort Moultrie
-12: British capture Charleston, SC and its 5400-man garrison (the entire Southern American army), along with four ships and a military arsenal, while only losing 225 men.
-29: British crush Americans at Waxhaw Creek, SC, fighting against Abraham Buford's forces.
-After another severe winter, General Washington faces the serious threat of a mutiny at Morristown. Two Continental regiments conduct an armed march through the camp demanding immediate payment of their 5-month-overdue salary, and full rations. Pennsylvanian troops put down the rebellion, however, and two leaders of the protest are then hanged.
June
-A new Massachusetts constitution is endorsed asserting 'all men are born free and equal,' including black slaves.
-Gen Horatio Gates is commissioned by Congress to command the Southern Army.
-Patriots rout Tories at Ramseur's Mill, NC
-Patriots defeat British off the Nova Scotian coast with the aid of a surprise sea storm that wrecks the British ships attempting to return to Halifax.
-Americans defeat the British at the Battle of Springfield, NJ
July
-Six thousand French troops arrive at Newport, RI, to aid the American cause on the 11th, led by Count de Rochambeau. They remain for nearly a year, however, being blockaded by the British fleet.
-German troops arrive off Boston to aid the American cause. General Washington sends orders to take Halifax.
August
-Benedict Arnold is appointed commander of West Point. Unknown to the Americans, he has been secretly collaborating with Gen. Clinton since May 1779, supplying information on General Washington's tactics. Asked why he betrayed the General, he cited the discovery that he was to be court-martialed by Congress.
-Patriots defeat Tories at Hanging Rock, SC
-British under Gen. Cornwallis rout Americans led by Gates at Camden, SC. Nine hundred Americans are killed, 1000 captured.
-American defeat at Fishing Creek, SC, opens a route for Gen. Cornwallis to invade NC.
-16: Battle of Camden, SC: British forces under Lt. Gen. Charles Cornwallis defeat American Major Gen. Gates in a huge victory. Gates ordered his troops through areas with strong loyalist tendencies, drying up chances of supplies, and miscalculated the strategic abilities of his opponent, suffering 2000 casualties, including Johann von Robais, Baron de Kalb, a Bavarian serving as a Major General in the Continental Army, whose horse was shot out from underneath him and was bayonetted by the British soldiers.
September
-25: Benedict Arnold's plans to cede West Point to the British are discovered when Major André is captured with a letter from Arnold indicating he intends to turn traitor and surrender West Point. Two days later, Arnold hears of the spy's capture and flees from West Point to the British ship Vulture on the Hudson. Later, he is named brigadier general in the British Army and will fight against the Americans.
-29: 'German'/American forces siege Halifax. Col. Eddy and Colonel Gustavus Heinrich de Rosenthal under the assumed name "John Rose", the head of the 'German' troops, lead the forces.
October
-Combined American/French/'German' forces take Halifax, using the Austrian artillery to siege the fort, and burn the ships in the harbor after a two-week-long siege. Some British ships managed to sail out, with very few men aboard.
-Gen. Cornwallis abandons his invasion of NC after Americans, with a detachment of 'German' infantry, capture his reinforcements, a Loyalist force of 1000 men.
-Battle of King's Mountain, SC - lasts 65 minutes. American troops, led by Isaac Shelby and John Sevier defeated Maj. Patrick Ferguson and 1/3 of Gen. Cornwallis' army on the 7th.
-Washington names Nathanael Green commander of the Southern Army, replacing Gates. Greene then begins a strategy of rallying popular support for the Patriot cause, and wearing down the British by leading Gen. Cornwallis on a six-month chase through South Carolina's backwoods, into North Carolina, then Virginia, then back into North Carolina. The British, low on supplies, are then forced to steal from any Americans they encounter, thus enraging them against the British, destroying any Loyalist sentiment possible.

Other events in 1780:
-Washington, GA founded, the first city named after George Washington.

1781

January
-Unpaid Pennsylvania soldiers mutiny in New Jersey, near Princeton. They choose their own representatives to negotiate with state officials back in Pennsylvania. The crisis is eventually resolved through negotiations, but not before more than half the volunteers abandon the army.
-Americans wintering in Halifax re-fortify in preparation for an expected Royal Navy return
-American victory at Cowpens, SC, as Gen. Daniel Morgan defeats British Gen. Tarleton.
-Patriot victory on St. John's Island, when hundreds of settlers owing Quit-Rent oust the small British garrison there. Walter Patterson, the British Governor on the land, who had expressed Patriot sympathies early in the war, helped lead and supply the Patriots.
-Mutiny among American troops at Pompton, NJ. This mutiny is put down seven days later by a 600-man force sent by Gen. Washington. Two of its leaders are promptly hanged.
-Americans sail from Fort Nassau to the Turks and Caicos Islands, under John Paul Jones, and capture the islands after a brief skirmish.
February
-Battle of Cowan's Ford, Huntersville, NC. Gen. William Lee Davidson is ordered to Cowan's Ford by Gen. Morgan with 500 militia to delay Cornwallis' crossing the Catawba. Davidson's forces began picking off the British as they crossed the wagon ford. The return fire, however, came back heavy, and one shot his Davidson through the heart. Later, his naked body would be found that evening, robbed by British soldiers.
-3: Battle of Sint Eustatius: British capture the Dutch island of St. Eustatius, which had been a source of much piracy in the West Indies.
-5: Minorca is captured by French and Spanish forces after a months-long seige.
March
-Articles of Confederation adopted on March 2.
-British win a costly victory at Guilford Courthouse, NC. Cornwallis defeats Nathanael Greene, then retreats to Wilmington, and chooses to invade Virginia with his 7500 man army, abandoning his plans to conquer the Carolinas. At this point, it looks like Britain has control of GA and SC, though the decision to go north allows Greene the time to unravel British control of the Carolinas and Georgia, while leading Cornwallis to Yorktown.
-British send four ships to Quebec City, attempting to take the city. Patriots successfully defend the city against the bombardment.
-Four additional ships sail from the Great Lakes, attempting to meet up with the ships that attacked Quebec City, hoping to take Montreal.
April
-Americans expelled from Halifax by British Navy; Col Eddy and Col. Viger, commissioned late 1780, vow to return.
-Patriots led by General Bédard successfully defend Montreal from the British, and manage to expel the British from the Great Lakes. Bédard declares Rupert's Land United States Territory. (however, he does not have the manpower to cover the large territory)
-25: Battle of Hobkirk's Hill: American Maj. Gen. Greene is defeated by Lord Francis Rawdon
May
-British Gen. Cornwallis skirmishes at Guilford Courthouse
-21: Gen. Washington and French Gen. Rochambeau meet in Connecticut for a war council. Gen Rochambeau reluctantly agrees to Washingtons plan for a joint French naval and American ground attack on New York.
-Baron von Preußen agrees to a joint Prussian-French attack on Halifax.
June
-Thomas Jefferson narrowly escapes capture by the British at Charlottesville, VA.
-Americans retake Augusta, GA
-Americans under Marquis de Lafayette, Gen. Anthony Wayne, and Baron von Steuben begin to form a combined fighting force in VA to oppose British forces under Benedict Arnold and Gen. Cornwallis.
-Congress appoints a Peace Commission comprised of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay, Jacques Martin, and Henry Laurens. The commission supplements John Adams as the sole negotiator with the British.
-British hold off Americans at Ninety Six, SC; Nathanael Greene led a siege of the town, held off by the defending Loyalists.
July
-Patriot Mad Anthony Wayne repulsed at Battle of Green Spring, VA. Cornwallis' 5000-man army defeats his 500-man force.
-slave revolt in Williamsburg VA, who burn several buildings.
August
-After several months of chasing Patriot Greene's army through the south with little success, Gen. Cornwallis and his 10,000 tired soldiers arrive to seek rest and shelter at Yorktown VA on the Chesapeake Bay. He then establishes a base to communicate by sea with Gen. Clinton's forces in New York.
-Gen. Washington abruptly changes plans, and abandons the New York attack in favor of Yorktown, after he receives a letter from French Admiral Count de Grasse, indicating his entire 29-ship French fleet with 3000 soldiers is now heading for the Chesapeake Bay near Cornwallis. Gen. Washington then coordinates with Gen. Rochambeau to rush their best troops south to Virginia to destroy the British position at Yorktown.
-French Fleet under Count Le Fleur drives British naval forces from Halifax, pinning them between the Austrians, Americans, and themselves.
-Count de Grasse's French fleet arrives off Yorktown, VA. He immediately lands troops near Yorktown, linking Lafayette's American troops to cut Cornwallis off from any land retreat.
September
-Washington's and Rochambeau's troops arrive at Philadelphia.
-8: Battle of Eutaw Springs: Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene is defeated at Eutaw Springs by British Maj. Gen. Alexander Stuart. Though defeated, Greene's actions force the British to abandon much of their southern conquests, outside of Charleston and Savannah. The battle had several reversals, ultimately leading to an American defeat.
-French fleet drives the British Naval Force from Chesapeake Bay.
-Offshore, a major naval battle between Count de Grasse's French fleet and British Admiral Thomas Graves results in a victory for de Grasse. The British fleet then retreats to New York for reinforcements, leaving the French fleet in control of the Chesapeake Bay; they establish a blockade, cutting Cornwallis off from any chance of retreat by sea. French naval reinforcements then arrive from Newport, and some from Halifax.
-Benedict Arnold's troops loot and burn the port of New London, CT.
-de Grasse sends his ships up the Chesapeake to transport Washington and Rochambeau's troops to Yorktown.
-17: Gen. Washington, with a combined allied army of 17,000 men, begins the siege of Yorktown. French cannons bombard Cornwallis and his 9000 men day and night while the allied lines slowly advance to encircle him. Their supplies run dangerously low...
October
-Cornwallis, surrounded on land and sea by Americans and French, and surrenders at Yorktown, VA on the 19th, sending out a flag of truce, working out terms of surrender. The British army marches out in formation, playing "The world turned upside down," and surrenders. With the defeat at Yorktown, hope for a British victory in America is finished. In the English Parliament, there will soon be calls to end the costly war. David Ziegler, a German immigrant, future mayor of Cincinnati, is present.
-24: 7000 British reinforcements under Gen. Clinton arrive at the Chesapeake Bay, but turn back at hearing of the Yorktown surrender.
November
-Governor William Patterson declares an end to Quit-Rent on St. John's Island.

1782

January
-Loyalists begin leaving America, heading south towards the Mosquito Coast, British Honduras, and Patagonia. Some Nova Scotians opt to resettle in Panama, recalling the failed Company of Scotland. In all, around 15-20% of Americans resettle. Some settle along British forts in Africa, some in India, and some in Asia. Black Loyalists, numbering from between 75,000 to 100,000 leave the Patriot lands behind, settling in London, Mosquito Coast, British Honduras, Patagonia, and British Guyana. This marks the beginning of what later historians call the 'second' British Empire.
-British withdraw from North Carolina
February
-The House of Commons votes against further war in America.
-British fur trappers begin evacuating Rupert's Land.
-22: French forces capture the Caribbean island of Montserrat from the United Kingdom.
March
-British Parliament empowers the king to negotiate peace with the United States.
-American militiamen massacre 96 Delaware Indians in the Ohio country in retaliation for Indian raids conducted by other tribes.
-Lord North resigns as British Prime Minister on 20th March. He is succeeded by Lord Rockingham who seeks immediate negotiation with the American peace commissioners.
April
-Gen. Clinton overseas the British policy of ending hostilities and withdrawing British troops from America.
-Peace talks begin in Paris between Ben Franklin and Richard Oswald of Britain
-Gen. Washington establishes American army headquarters at Newburgh, NY
-The Dutch recognize the United States of America as a result of negotiations conducted in the Netherlands by John Adams.
-Bavaria and several other German states recognize the United States as a result of Rudolf Schwarz' efforts in Europe.
June
-British evacuate Savannah
-Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States of America with 16 arrows, leaves, and stars in formation about an eagle.
-Off the Great Lakes, one of the last battles of the Revolution occurs when Patriots take a fur trading post from the British near OTL Minnesota's northern Border.
August
-Loyalist and Indian forces attack and defeat American settlers near Lexington, KY
-Mohawk Indian Chief Joseph Brant conducts raids on settlements in Pennsylvania and Kentucky
-Last fighting of the Revolutionary War between Americans and British occurs with a skirmish in SC along the Combahee River.
November
-The final battle of the Revolutionary War occurs as Americans retaliate and Loyalist-Indian forces by attacking a Shawnee Indian village in Ohio country
-British sign preliminary Articles of Peace in Paris.
December
-British leave Charleston, SC
-In France, strong objections to the peace treaty signing without consulting them first nearly cause falling out with France, though Ben Franklin soothes their anger with a diplomatic response.

1783
January
-England signs preliminary peace treaty with France and Spain. Spain agrees to allow England to resettle in Patagonia, Mosquito Coast, and British Honduras any expelled subjects from North America in exchange for East and West Florida from the British, with some territory to allow the expansion of Mosquito and Honduras.
February
-Spain recognizes the United States of America, followed soon after by Denmark, Sweden, and Russia.
-England officially declares an end to hostilities in America.
March
-An anonymous letter circulates among Washington's senior officers at Newburg, NY calling for an unauthorized meeting, urging officers to defy the authority of the new US Congress for its failure to honor past promises to the Continental Army. The next day, General Washington forbids the unauthorized meeting, and instead suggests a regular meeting March 15. A second anonymous letter then appears claiming falsely that Washington himself sympathizes with the rebellious officers.
-15: General Washington gathers his officers and talks them out of a rebellion against the authority of Congress, in effect preserving the American democracy
April
-Congress officially declares an end to the Revolutionary War.
-26: 7,000 Loyalists set sail from NY to New Providence Islands, bringing the total to 123,000 Loyalists who have left America.
June
-The main portion of the Continental Army disbands
-Congress leaves Philadelphia and relocates to Princeton NJ to avoid protests from angry and unpaid war veterans.
July
The Supreme Court of Massachusetts abolishes slavery in that state
September
-Treaty of Paris formally ratified on the 3rd by the USA and Britain. Congress will ratify Jan 14, 1784.
October
In Virginia, the House of Burgesses grants freedom to slaves who served in the Continental Army
November
-George Washington delivers his farewell address to his army. The next day, his remaining troops are discharged.
-Colonel Eddy makes known his intent to retire to Halifax, the new capital of Nova Scotia.
-Washington enters Manhattan as the last British troops leave
-Congress meets in Annapolis, MD
December
-23: Washington makes an historic, triumphant journey from New York to Annapolis, and resigns as Commander-in-Chief of the American Revolutionary Army, then appears before Congress and voluntarily resigns his commission, an event unprecedented in history. Pierre Bédard and Jonathan Eddy also resign their commissions to return home following Washington's example.

The War is ended. Long live the United States of America.

Territory of the Northwestern Hemisphere after the war:
*United Kingdom: Grenada, New Providence Islands, Minorca, Rupert's Land, Newfoundland, Dominica, St Kitts & Nevis, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat, Barbados, Saint Martin (Sint Maartin) (until 1793), Cayman Islands, Jamaica,
**Gains: New Providence Islands, Saint Martin
*United States: OTL territory to the Mississippi River, plus the Province of Canada, Bahamas, Bermuda, Turks and Caicos Islands.
**Gains: Bahamas, Bermuda, Turks and Caicos
*France: Martinique, St Pierre et Miquelon, Cuba (from 1763), Guadalupe, La Désirade, Marie-Galante, Îles des Saintes, Saint Lucia, Haiti
*Dutch Republic: Sint Eustatius, Saba, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao,
*Spain: Florida (separate treaty), Puerto Rico (Spanish colony), Trinidad and Tobago; Viceroyalty of New Granada Islands (Los Roques Archipelago, La Orchila, La Tortuga, La Blanquilla, Margarita Island, Coche, Cubagua), Saint-Dominique (eastern Hispaniola)
*Sweden: Saint Barthélemy (1784)
*Denmark: Danish West Indies (US Virgin Islands: Saint Croix, Saint John, Saint Thomas)

Map and Articles of Peace to follow.
 
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