The U.S. Army Campaigns of the Revolutionary War
CMH Pub 71-49
GPO S/N: Not Available

The Revolutionary War entered a new phase on 6 February 1778, when the kingdom of France signed a formal treaty of alliance with the United States. Previously, the thirteen states had waged their war for independence against Great Britain with only limited support from foreign powers. Yet the American military had managed to resist the forces of the British Crown for three years. In early 1778, British armies held two of North America’s largest ports, New York and Philadelphia, but had failed to extend their occupation inland. Indeed, the British invasion of New York from the north had failed spectacularly in October 1777, resulting in the surrender of a Crown army at Saratoga, New York. France’s entry into the war forced a significant change in British strategy.

Possessions in the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, and Mediterranean required naval and land reinforcements, relegating British operations in North America to secondary status. Facing an adversary with global reach, Britain could not hope to maintain garrisons in both New York and Philadelphia.