There were a few events that changed in the Revolutionary War from June 1776 to December 1776. However, the first major battle wouldn’t occur until October 1777 at Saratoga. While the British evacuated Boston in March 1776 because it wasn’t that safe for them to remain there, the Revolutionary War had not yet begun. It wasn’t until the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776, that we were at war with Great Britain.
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There were a few events that changed in the Revolutionary War from June 1776 to December 1776. However, the first major battle wouldn’t occur until October 1777 at Saratoga. While the British evacuated Boston in March 1776 because it wasn’t that safe for them to remain there, the Revolutionary War had not yet begun. It wasn’t until the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776, that we were at war with Great Britain.
Thus, in June 1776, we still were colonies of Great Britain. That ended, in our view, with the Declaration of Independence. Militarily, things didn’t go well for the colonists when the war began. The British forced the colonial army out of New York and New Jersey in the summer and fall of 1776. Things appeared bleak for the colonists heading into the winter. George Washington knew it was important to have some sort of victory before the winter really started. On Christmas night, he led the colonial army across the icy Delaware River and surprised the British at Trenton. The British never expected an attack would come on Christmas. Shortly thereafter, the colonial army also won at Princeton.
While these victories weren’t major military campaigns, it gave the colonists hope heading into 1777 that they could win battles. To only have suffered defeats would not have been good for our army heading into 1777. These victories lifted the spirits of the colonists as 1777 began. This was a key part of our victories at Trenton and Princeton.
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