Who	Date	Year	Description	County	Remarks
		1492	On October 12, Christopher Columbus, sailing the Santa Maria for Spain lands on what he thinks is an Island near Japan. He will make four more trips back to the New World seeking a sea route to Asia, never certain that he wasn't in the Indies.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1497	Englishman John Cabot explores the Atlantic coast of Canada, and claims the area for the English King, Henry VII. Cabot seeks a northern water route to Asia.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1499	An Italian navigator sights the coast of South America while sailing for Spain. His name is Amerigo Vespucci.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1507	The name "America" (named after Amerigo Vespucci) is first used referring to the New World.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1517	The Protestant Reformation begins when Martin Luther posts his "95 Theses" at a church in Germany.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1519	1519 to 1522 The first person to sail around the world is Fernando Magellan.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1565	The first permanent European colony in North America is founded by the Spanish at St. Augustine, Florida.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1584	Sir Walter Raleigh lands on Roanoke Island and names the area Virginia, in honor of Queen Elizabeth I.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1588	In Europe, England defeats the Spanish Armada, beginning the Spanish decline and the rise of English power in the world.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1606	The London Company sponsors an expedition to Virginia.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1607	Jamestown is founded in Virginia by the colonists of the London Company. By the end of the year, starvation, disease, and the hard winter reduces the number of settlers from the original 105 to 32.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1608	In January, reinforcements of 110 additional colonists arrive at Jamestown. In December, the first items of export trade, lumber and iron ore are sent from Jamestown to England.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1609	Colonists first plant and harvest Native tobacco in Virginia.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1613	A Dutch trading post is established on Manhattan island.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1616	Smallpox destroys the Native American population in New England.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1619	The first session of the first legislative assembly in America convenes in the Virginia House of Burgesses in Jamestown. Twenty two burgesses represent eleven plantations.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1619	Twenty Africans are brought by a Dutch ship to Jamestown for sale as indentured servants, this is the beginning of slavery in Colonial America.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1620	November 9, the Mayflower lands at Cape Cod, Massachusetts, with 101 colonists. On November 11, the Mayflower Compact is signed by 41 men. It establishes a form of local government in which the colonists agree to abide by majority rule and to cooperate for the good of the colony. The Compact sets the precedent for other colonies as they set up governments.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1621	One of the first treaties between colonists and Native Americans is signed as the Plymouth Pilgrims agree to a peace pact with the Wampanoag Tribe, with the aid of Squanto, an English speaking Native American.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1624	The Virginia Company charter is revoked in London and Virginia is declared a Royal colony.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1626	Peter Minuit, a Dutch colonist, buys Manhattan island from Native Americans for 60 guilders (about $24) and he names the island New Amsterdam.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1629	In England, King Charles I dissolves Parliament and attempts to rule as absolute monarch, spurring many to leave for the American colonies.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1630	In March, John Winthrop leads a Puritan migration of 900 colonists to Massachusetts Bay, where he will serve as the first governor. In September, Boston is officially established and serves as the site of Winthrop's government.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1633	The first town government in the colonies is organized in Dorchester, Massachusetts.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1633	First public school in America.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1633	Feb 1, The tobacco laws of Virginia were codified, limiting tobacco production to reduce dependence on a single-crop economy. (HN, 2/1/99)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1634	200 colonists, many of them Catholic, settle in what would become Maryland. The lands were granted to Roman Catholic Lord Baltimore by King Charles I.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1634	Charles City	Charles City
		1634	Hampton	Elizabeth City
		1634	Richmond	Henrico
		1634	Originally Warrosquyoake Co, renamed in 1637 Isle of Wight	Isle of Wight
		1634	See New Kent County Williamsburg	James City
		1634	Originally Accawmack Co, renamed in 1642-43 Eastville	Northampton
		1634	now City of Newport News (Originally Warwick River Co, renamed in 1642-43) Independent City	Warwick
		1634	Originally Charles River Co, renamed in 1642-43 Yorktown	York
		1635	Apr 28, Virginia Governor John Harvey was accused of treason and removed from office. (HN, 4/28/98)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1636	In June, Roger Williams founds Providence and Rhode Island. Williams had been banished from Massachusetts for unpopular opinions calling for religious and political freedoms, including separation of church and state, not granted under the Puritan rules. Providence then becomes a haven for many other colonists fleeing religious intolerance.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1638	Anne Hutchinson is banished from Massachusetts for nonconformist religious views that advocate personal revelation over the role of the clergy. She then travels with her family to Rhode Island.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1639	Jan 6, Virginia became the 1st colony to order surplus crops (tobacco) destroyed. (MC, 1/6/02)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1643	Parishes - Chuckatuck (after 1643-1737), East (1643-1744), Lower (after 1643-1737), Lower Suffolk, South (after 1744), Suffolk (1737-    ), Upper (after 1643-after 1744), Upper Suffolk (after 1744, West (1643-before 1737).  Now City of Suffolk, Town 1808, City 1910, Independent City Jul 1972	Nansemond
		1645	Formed 1648 (Informally a county 1645-1648), Chickacoan District Heathsville	Northumberland
		1646	In Massachusetts, the general court approves a law that makes religious heresy punishable by death.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1646	A treaty with Virginia Indians required the state to protect the Mattaponi from "enemies," but only on the reservation in King William County.   (SFC, 6/4/97, p.A7)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1647	Jan 2, Nathaniel Bacon (d.1676), leader of Bacon's Rebellion (1676), Va., was born.  (MC, 1/2/02)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1651	York Gloucester	Gloucester
		1651	Northumberland, York Lancaster	Lancaster
		1652	Rhode Island enacts the first law in the colonies declaring slavery illegal.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1652	May 10, John Johnson, a free black, was granted 550 acres in Northampton, Va.  (MC, 5/10/02)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1652	James City Surry	Surry
		1653	Northumberland Montross	Westmoreland
		1654	Nov 21, Richard Johnson, a free black, was granted 550 acres in Virginia.  (MC, 11/21/01)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1654	York	New Kent
		1656	Mar 10, In the colony of Virginia, suffrage was extended to all free men regardless of their religion.   (HN, 3/10/99)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1660	The English Crown approves a Navigation Act requiring the exclusive use of English ships for trade in the English Colonies and limits exports of tobacco and sugar and other commodities to England or its colonies.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1660	Mar 13, A statute was passed limiting the sale of slaves in the colony of Virginia.   (HN, 3/13/99)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1661	Virginia became the 3rd colony to give statutory recognition to slavery. It was preceded by Mass. in 1641 and Connecticut Virginia in 1650.  (MC, 12/1/01)(HNQ, 5/20/02)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1662	Sep 12, Gov. Berkley of Virginia was denied his attempts to repeal the Navigation Acts.  (HN, 9/12/98)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1663	King Charles II establishes the colony of Carolina and grants the territory to eight loyal supporters.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1663	Navigation Act of 1663 requires that most imports to the colonies must be shipped through England on English ships.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1663	Sep 13, The 1st serious American slave conspiracy occurred in Virginia.  (MC, 9/13/01)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1663	Northampton Accomac	Accomack
		1664	The Dutch New Netherland colony becomes English New York after Gov. Peter Stuyvesant surrenders to the British following a naval blockade.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1664	Maryland passes a law making lifelong servitude for black slaves mandatory to prevent them from taking advantage of legal precedents established in England which grant freedom under certain conditions, such as conversion to Christianity. Similar laws are later passed in New York, New Jersey, the Carolinas and Virginia.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1664	Westmoreland Stafford	Stafford
		1665	Aug 27, "Ye Bare & Ye Cubb," the 1st play performed in N. America, was performed at Acomac, Va.  (MC, 8/27/01)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1667	Sep 23, Slaves in Virginia were banned from obtaining their freedom by converting to Christianity.  (HN, 9/23/98)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1670	Oct 13, Virginia passed a law that blacks arriving in the colonies as Christians could not be used as slaves.   (HN, 10/13/98)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1672	The Royal Africa Company is given a monopoly in the English slave trade.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1673	Sep 21, James Needham returned to Virginia after exploring the land to the west, which would become Tennessee.  (HN, 9/21/98)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1675	1675 to 1676 King Philip's War erupts in New England between colonists and Native Americans as a result of tensions over colonist's expansionist activities. The bloody war rages up and down the Connecticut River valley in Massachusetts and in the Plymouth and Rhode Island colonies, eventually resulting in 600 English colonials being killed and 3,000 Native Americans, including women and children on both sides. King Philip (the colonist's nickname for Metacomet, chief of the Wampanoags) is hunted down and killed on August 12, 1676, in a swamp in Rhode Island, ending the war in southern New England and ending the independent power of Native Americans there. In New Hampshire and Maine, the Saco Indians continue to raid settlements for another year and a half.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1676	May 10, Bacon's Rebellion began. It pitted frontiersmen against the government. Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia involved an attack on a local Indian community and the sacking of the colonial capital in Jamestown. It is described by Catherine McNicol Stock in her 1997 book "Rural Radicals; Righteous Rage in the American Grain."  (SFEC, 2/2/97, BR. p.8)(HN, 5/10/98)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1676	Jul 29, Nathaniel Bacon was declared a rebel for assembling frontiersmen to protect settlers from Indians. [see May 10, Sep 1]  (MC, 7/29/02)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1676	Sep 1, Nathaniel Bacon led an uprising against English Governor William Berkeley at Jamestown, Virginia, resulting in the settlement being burned to the ground. Bacon's Rebellion in 1675-76 was the first internal insurrection in America. Bacon's Rebellion came in response to the governor's repeated refusal to defend the colonists against the Indians. [see May 10, 1676]  (HN, 9/1/99)(HNQ, 10/14/99)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1676	Sep 19, Rebels under Nathaniel Bacon set Jamestown, Va., on fire. [see Sep 1]  (MC, 9/19/01)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1676	Oct 18, Nathaniel Bacon (b.1647), who rallied against Virginian government, was killed.  (MC, 10/18/01)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1677	Apr 27, Colonel Jeffreys became the governor of Virginia.   (HN, 4/27/98)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1677	May 29, King Charles II and 12 Virginia Indian chiefs signed a treaty that established a 3-mile non-encroachment zone around Indian land. The Mattaponi Indians in 1997 invoked this treaty to protect against encroachment.  (SFC, 6/2/97, p.A3)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1681	Pennsylvania is founded as William Penn, a Quaker, receives a Royal charter with a large land grant from King Charles II.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1682	A large wave of immigrants, including many Quakers, arrives in Pennsylvania from Germany and the British Isles.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1682	Nicholas Wise founded Norfolk, Va.  (SFEC, 7/4/99, Z1 p.8)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1685	The Duke of York ascends the British throne as King James II.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1685	Protestants in France lose their guarantee of religious freedom as King Louis XIV revokes the Edict of Nantes (Click here to go to a copy of the revocation), spurring many to leave for America.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1686	King James II begins consolidating the colonies of New England into a single Dominion depriving colonists of their local political rights and independence. Legislatures are dissolved and the King's representatives assume all of the judicial and legislative power.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1687	In March, New England Royal Governor, Sir Edmund Andros, orders Boston's Old South Meeting House to be converted into an Anglican Church. In August, the Massachusetts towns of Ipswich and Topsfield resist assessments imposed by Gov. Andros in protest of taxation without representation.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1688	In March, Gov. Andros imposes a limit of one annual town meeting for New England towns. The Governor then orders all militias to be placed under his control.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1688	Quakers in Pennsylvania issue a formal protest against slavery in America.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1688	In December, King James II of England flees to France after being deposed by influential English leaders.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1689	In February, William and Mary of Orange become King and Queen of England. In April, New England Governor Andros is jailed by rebellious colonists in Boston. In July, the English government orders Andros to be returned to England to stand trial.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1691	Aug 16, Yorktown, Va., was founded.  (MC, 8/16/02)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1691	Formed 1691 New Kent King and Queen	King and Queen
		1691	Formed 1691 Lower Norfolk County, Now City of Chesapeake Originally, Portsmouth	New Kent Norfolk
		1691	Formed 1691 now City of Virginia Beach	Princess Anne
		1692	In May, hysteria grips the village of Salem, Massachusetts, as witchcraft suspects are arrested and imprisoned. A special court is then set up by the governor of Massachusetts. Between June and September, 150 persons are accused, with 20 persons, including 14 women, being executed. By October, the hysteria subsides, remaining prisoners are released and the special court is dissolved.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1692	Formed 1692 old Rappahannock Tappahannock	Essex
		1692	Formed 1692 old Rappahannock Warsaw	Richmond
		1693	Feb 8, A charter was granted for the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.   (AP, 2/8/99)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1693	Feb 13, The College of William and Mary opened in Virginia.  (MC, 2/13/02)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1696	The Royal African Trade Company loses its slave trade monopoly, spurring colonists in New England to engage in slave trading for profit. In April, the Navigation Act of 1696 is passed by the English Parliament requiring colonial trade to be done exclusively via English built ships. The Act also expands the powers of colonial custom commissioners, including rights of forcible entry, and requires the posting of bonds on certain goods.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1697	The Massachusetts general court expresses official repentance regarding the actions of its judges during the witch hysteria of 1692. Jurors sign a statement of regret and compensation is offered to families of those wrongly accused.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1699	1699-1780 Williamsburg served as the capital of the British colony of Virginia.  (SSFC, 12/17/00, p.T7)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1699	Lancaster Saluda	Middlesex
		1700	The Anglo population in the English colonies in America reaches 275,000, with Boston (pop. 7000) as the largest city, followed by New York (pop. 5000).		Colonial Era Timeline
		1700	In June, Massachusetts passes a law ordering all Roman Catholic priests to leave the colony within three months, upon penalty of life imprisonment or execution. New York then passes a similar law.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1702	In March, Queen Anne ascends the English throne. In May, England declares war on France after the death of the King of Spain, Charles II, to stop the union of France and Spain. This War of the Spanish Succession is called Queen Anne's War in the colonies, where the English and American colonists will battle the French, their Native American allies, and the Spanish for the next eleven years.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1702	In Maryland, the Anglican Church is established as the official church, financially supported by taxation imposed on all free men, male servants and slaves.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1702	Formed 1701 King and Queen King William	King William
		1703	Formed 1702 Charles City Prince George	Prince George
		1704	In April, the first enduring newspaper in America, The Boston News Letter, is published.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1705	In Virginia, slaves are assigned the status of real estate by the Virginia Black Code of 1705. In New York, a law against runaway slaves assigns the death penalty for those caught over 40 miles north of Albany. Massachusetts declares marriage between African Americans and whites to be illegal.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1706	January 17, Benjamin Franklin is born in Boston. In November, South Carolina establishes the Anglican Church as its official church.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1707	England, Scotland and Wales are combined into the United Kingdom of Great Britain by the Act of the Union, endorsed by Queen Anne.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1710	The English Parliament passes the Post Office Act which starts a postal system in the American colony controlled by the postmaster general of London.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1712	In May, the Carolina colony is officially divided into North Carolina and South Carolina. In June, the Pennsylvania assembly bans the import of slaves into that colony. In Massachusetts, the first sperm whale is captured at sea by an American from Nantucket.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1714	Tea is introduced for the first time into the American Colonies. In August, King George I ascends to the English throne, succeeding Queen Anne.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1718	New Orleans founded by the French.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1718	Nov 22, A force of British troops during a battle off the Virginia coast captured English pirate Edward Teach -- better known as "Blackbeard" -- and beheaded him.  (SFC, 3/4/96, p.A4)(AP, 11/22/97)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1720	The population of American colonists reaches 475,000. Boston (pop. 12,000) is the largest city, followed by Philadelphia (pop. 10,000) and New York (pop. 7000).		Colonial Era Timeline
		1721	Formed 1720 New Kent Hanover	Hanover
		1721	Formed 1720 Richmond King George	King George
		1721	Formed 1720 Essex, King William, King and Queen Spotsylvania	Spotsylvania
		1721	Formed 1721 Essex, King William, King and Queen Independent City	Fredericksburg (City)
		1725	The population of black slaves in the American colonies reaches 75,000.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1725	Dec 11, James Mason (d.1792), American Revolutionary statesman, was born at Gunston Hall Plantation, situated on the Potomac River some 20 miles south of Washington D.C. Mason framed the Bill of Rights for the Virginia Convention in June 1776. This was the model for the first part of fellow Virginian Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence and the basis of the first 10 Amendments to the federal Constitution. Mason died at Gunston Hall on October 7, 1792.  (HNQ, 2/18/99)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Mason)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1727	King George II ascends the English throne.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1728	Jewish colonists in New York City build the first American synagogue.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1728	Formed 1727 Essex, King and Queen, King William Bowling Green	Caroline
		1728	Formed 1727 Henrico Goochland	Goochland
		1729	Benjamin Franklin begins publishing The Pennsylvania Gazette, which eventually becomes the most popular colonial newspaper.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1731	The first American public library is founded in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1731	Formed 1730 King George, Stafford Manassas	Prince William
		1732	1732 to 1757, Benjamin Franklin publishes Poor Richard's Almanac, containing weather predictions, humor, proverbs and epigrams, selling nearly 10,000 copies per year.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1732	Formed 1720 Prince George Lawrenceville	Brunswick
		1733	The Molasses Act, passed by the English Parliament, imposes heavy duties on molasses, rum and sugar imported from non British islands in the Caribbean to protect the English planters there from French and Dutch competition.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1734	In November, New York newspaper publisher John Peter Zenger is arrested and accused of seditious libel by the Governor. In December, the Great Awakening religious revival movement begins in Massachusetts. The movement will last ten years and spread to all of the American colonies.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1734	Formed 1734 Spotsylvania Orange	Orange
		1735	John Peter Zenger is brought to trial for seditious libel but is acquitted after his lawyer successfully convinces the jury that truth is a defense against libel.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1735	Formed 1734 Brunswick, Prince George Amelia	Amelia
		1736	May 29, Patrick Henry (d.1799), American Colonial patriot, orator and governor of Virginia, was born. He was a slave-owner and justified the fact by saying: "I am driven along by the general inconvenience of living here without them." He later said "Give me liberty or give me death."  (SFC,12/897, p.A27)(HN, 5/29/01)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1737	The first colonial copper coins are minted, in Connecticut.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1740	Fifty black slaves are hanged in Charleston, South Carolina, after plans for a revolt are revealed. Also in 1740, in Europe, the War of the Austrian Succession begins after the death of Emperor Charles VI and eventually results in France and Spain allied against England. The conflict is known in the American colonies as King George's War and lasts until 1748.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1742	Formed 1742 Prince William City of Fairfax	Fairfax
		1742	Formed 1742 Hanover Louisa	Louisa
		1743	Apr 13, Thomas Jefferson (d.1826), the third president of the United States, was born in present-day Albemarle County, Va. He called slavery cruel but included 25 slaves in his daughter's dowry, took enslaved children to market and had 10-year-old slaves working 12-hour days in his nail factory. He stated that blacks were "in reason inferior" and "in imagination they are dull, tasteless and anomalous. "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter." "History, in general, only informs us what bad government is."  (AP, 4/13/97)(SFC,12/897, p.A27)(AP, 4/13/98)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1743	Formed 1738 Orange Winchester	Frederick
		1744	Formed 1744 Goochland Charlottesville	Albemarle
		1745	Formed 1738 Orange Staunton	Augusta
		1746	Formed 1746 Brunswick Lunenburg Courthouse	Lunenburg
		1748	Lord Fairfax, Virginia land owner, commissioned a survey of the Patterson Creek Manor, which later became part of West Virginia. The surveyor was accompanied by the nephew of Lord Fairfax and the nephew's best friend, George Washington (16). The survey was unusually erroneous.  (WSJ, 4/21/06, p.R8)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1749	Formed 1749 Henrico Chesterfield Courthouse	Chesterfield
		1749	Formed 1748 Orange Culpeper	Culpeper
		1749	Formed 1748 Goochland Cumberland	Cumberland
		1749	Formed 1749 Isle of Wight Courtland	Southampton
		1750	The Iron Act is passed by the English Parliament, limiting the growth of the iron industry in the American colonies to protect the English Iron industry.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1750	The Spanish treasure ship La Galga sank. It was later believed that the wild ponies of Chincoteague Island off the coast of Virginia came from this ship.  (USAT, 5/7/98, p.9A)(WSJ, 7/17/98, p.A1)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1750	1750-1753 The Wilton mansion on the James River in Virginia was built to house William Randolph III, his wife Anne Carter Harrison and their 8 children. It was later moved and reconstructed in West Richmond as the headquarters of the National Society of The Colonial Dames of America.  (SFC, 10/17/98, p.A8)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1751	The Currency Act is passed by the English Parliament, banning the issuing of paper money by the New England colonies.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1751	Mar 16, James Madison (d.1836), Jefferson's successor as secretary of state and fourth president of the United States(1809-17), was born in Port Conway, Va. He invented the electoral college system "to break the tyranny of the majority." "If men were angels, no government would be necessary."  (V.D.-H.K.p.222)(SFEC, 11/24/96, zone 1 p.2) (AP, 3/16/97)(AP, 10/27/97) (HN, 3/16/98)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1752	The first general hospital is founded, in Philadelphia.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1752	Formed 1752 Prince George Dinwiddie	Dinwiddie
		1752	Formed 1752 Lunenburg Halifax	Halifax
		1753	Aug 10, Edmund Jennings Randolph, governor of Virginia and first U.S. attorney general, was born.  (HN, 8/10/00)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1753	Oct, Robert Dinwiddie, governor of Virginia, called a meeting to discuss the eviction of British settlers from homesteads west of the Appalachian Mountains by French soldiers from Canada. Major George Washington volunteered to deliver a letter of trespass to French authorities in the Ohio Valley.  (ON, 9/05, p.1)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1753	Dec 14, French Captain Jacques Le Gardeur rejected the pretensions of the English to ownership of the Ohio Valley, but promised to forward Virginia Gov. Dinwiddie's letter of trespass to his superiors in Canada.  (ON, 9/05, p.2)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1753	In the Virginia Piedmont Boswell's Tavern was built and for some 150 years served horseback riders flagons of spirit through a barred window. The ride-up window thus predates the drive-in window.  (SFEC, 1/25/98, Z1 p.8)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1754	The French and Indian War erupts as a result of disputes over land in the Ohio River Valley. In May, George Washington leads a small group of American colonists to victory over the French, then builds Fort Necessity in the Ohio territory. In July, after being attacked by numerically superior French forces, Washington surrenders the fort and retreats.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1754	Jan 6, Major George Washington, while returning to Virginia, encountered a party of English settlers and militiamen at Will's Creek sent by Gov. Dinwiddie to establish a fort and trading post at the Forks of the Ohio.  (ON, 9/05, p.2)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1754	Apr 2, A small expeditionary force of 159 men under Lt. Col. George Washington arrived at Will's Creek and learned that the French had taken over the new Fort Prince George at the Forks of the Ohio from British soldiers and frontiersmen and renamed it Fort Duquesne.  (ON, 9/05, p.2)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1754	Dec, Lt. Col. George Washington resigned his commission.  (ON, 9/05, p.5)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1754	Formed 1753 Lunenburg Bedford	Bedford
		1754	Formed 1753 Amelia Farmville	Prince Edward
		1754	Formed 1753 Surry Sussex	Sussex
		1755	In February, English General Edward Braddock arrives in Virginia with two regiments of English troops. Gen. Braddock assumes the post of commander in chief of all English forces in America. In April, Gen. Braddock and Lt. Col. George Washington set out with nearly 2000 men to battle the French in the Ohio territory. In July, a force of about 900 French and Indians defeat those English forces. Braddock is mortally wounded. Massachusetts Governor William Shirley then becomes the new commander in chief.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1756	England declares war on France, as the French and Indian War in the colonies now spreads to Europe.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1757	In June, William Pitt becomes England's Secretary of State and escalates the French and Indian War in the colonies by establishing a policy of unlimited warfare. In July, Benjamin Franklin begins a five year stay in London.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1757	Formed 1757 Fairfax Leesburg	Loudoun
		1758	In July, a devastating defeat occurs for English forces at Lake George, New York, as nearly two thousand men are lost during a frontal attack against well entrenched French forces at Fort Ticonderoga. French losses are 377. In November, the French abandon Fort Duquesne in the Ohio territory. Settlers then rush into the territory to establish homes. Also in 1758, the first Indian reservation in America is founded, in New Jersey, on 3000 acres.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1758	Apr 28, James Monroe (d.1831), later secretary of state and the fifth president of the United States (1817-1825), was born in Westmoreland County, Va. He created the Monroe Doctrine, warning Europe not to interfere in the Western Hemisphere.  (HFA, '96, p.28)(HNQ, 7/27/99)(HN, 4/28/02)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1758	Jul 24, George Washington was admitted to Virginia House of Burgesses.  (MC, 7/24/02)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1759	French Fort Niagara is captured by the English. Also in 1759, war erupts between Cherokee Indians and southern colonists.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1759	Formed 1759 Prince William Warrenton	Fauquier
		1760	The population of colonists in America reaches 1,500,000. In March, much of Boston is destroyed by a raging fire. In September, Quebec surrenders to the English. In October, George III becomes the new English King.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1761	Formed 1761 Albemarle Amherst	Amherst
		1761	Formed 1761 Albemarle Buckingham	Buckingham
		1762	England declares war on Spain, which had been planning to ally itself with France and Austria. The British then successfully attack Spanish outposts in the West Indies and Cuba.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1763	The French and Indian War, known in Europe as the Seven Year's War, ends with the Treaty of Paris. Under the treaty, France gives England all French territory east of the Mississippi River, except New Orleans. The Spanish give up east and west Florida to the English in return for Cuba.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1763	In May, the Ottawa Native Americans under Chief Pontiac begin allout warfare against the British west of Niagara, destroying several British forts and conducting a siege against the British at Detroit. In August, Pontiac's forces are defeated by the British near Pittsburgh. The siege of Detroit ends in November, but hostilities between the British and Chief Pontiac continue for several years.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1763	The Proclamation of 1763, signed by King George III of England, prohibits any English settlement west of the Appalachian mountains and requires those already settled in those regions to return east in an attempt to ease tensions with Native Americans.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1764	The Sugar Act is passed by the English Parliament to offset the war debt brought on by the French and Indian War and to help pay for the expenses of running the colonies and newly acquired territories. This act increases the duties on imported sugar and other items such as textiles, coffee, wines and indigo (dye). It doubles the duties on foreign goods reshipped from England to the colonies and also forbids the import of foreign rum and French wines.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1764	The English Parliament passes a measure to reorganize the American customs system to better enforce British trade laws, which have often been ignored in the past. A court is established in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that will have jurisdiction over all of the American colonies in trade matters.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1764	The Currency Act prohibits the colonists from issuing any legal tender paper money. This act threatens to destabilize the entire colonial economy of both the industrial North and agricultural South, thus uniting the colonists against it.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1764	In May, at a town meeting in Boston, James Otis raises the issue of taxation without representation and urges a united response to the recent acts imposed by England. In July, Otis publishes "The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved." In August, Boston merchants begin a boycott of British luxury goods.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1765	In March, the Stamp Act is passed by the English Parliament imposing the first direct tax on the American colonies, to offset the high costs of the British military organization in America. Thus for the first time in the 150 year old history of the British colonies in America, the Americans will pay tax not to their own local legislatures in America, but directly to England.  Under the Stamp Act, all printed materials are taxed, including; newspapers, pamphlets, bills, legal documents, licenses, almanacs, dice and playing cards. The American colonists quickly unite in opposition, led by the most influential segments of colonial society:  lawyers, publishers, land owners, ship builders and merchants, who are most affected by the Act, which is scheduled to go into effect on November 1.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1765	Also in March, the Quartering Act requires colonists to house British troops and supply them with food.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1765	In May, in Virginia, Patrick Henry presents seven Virginia Resolutions to the House of Burgesses claiming that only the Virginia assembly can legally tax Virginia residents, saying, "If this be treason, make the most of it." Also in May, the first medical school in America is founded, in Philadelphia.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1765	In July, the Sons of Liberty, an underground organization opposed to the Stamp Act, is formed in a number of colonial towns. Its members use violence and intimidation to eventually force all of the British stamp agents to resign and also stop many American merchants from ordering British trade goods.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1765	August 26, a mob in Boston attacks the home of Thomas Hutchinson, Chief Justice of Massachusetts, as Hutchinson and his family narrowly escape.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1765	On November 1, most daily business and legal transactions in the colonies cease as the Stamp Act goes into effect with nearly all of the colonists refusing to use the stamps. In New York City, violence breaks out as a mob burns the royal governor in effigy, harasses British troops, then loots houses.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1765	In December, British General Thomas Gage, commander of all English military forces in America, asks the New York assembly to make colonists comply with the Quartering Act and house and supply his troops. Also in December, the American boycott of English imports spreads, as over 200 Boston merchants join the movement.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1765	May 29, Patrick Henry denounced the Stamp Act before Virginia's House of Burgesses. Henry responded to a cry of "Treason!" by saying, "If this be treason, make the most of it!"  (AP, 5/29/97)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1765	Formed 1764 Lunenburg Charlotte	Charlotte
		1765	Formed 1764 Lunenburg Boydton	Mecklenburg
		1766	In January, the New York assembly refuses to completely comply with Gen. Gage's request to enforce the Quartering Act.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1766	In March, King George III signs a bill repealing the Stamp Act after much debate in the English Parliament, which included an appearance by Ben Franklin arguing for repeal and warning of a possible revolution in the American colonies if the Stamp Act was enforced by the British military.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1766	On the same day it repealed the Stamp Act, the English Parliament passes the Declaratory Act stating that the British government has total power to legislate any laws governing the American colonies in all cases whatsoever.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1766	In April, news of the repeal of the Stamp Act results in celebrations in the colonies and a relaxation of the boycott of imported English trade goods.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1766	In August, violence breaks out in New York between British soldiers and armed colonists, including Sons of Liberty members. The violence erupts as a result of the continuing refusal of New York colonists to comply with the Quartering Act. In December, the New York legislature is suspended by the English Crown after once again voting to refuse to comply with the Act.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1766	Feb 11, The Stamp Act was declared unconstitutional in Virginia.  (MC, 2/11/02)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1767	In June, The English Parliament passes the Townshend Revenue Acts, imposing a new series of taxes on the colonists to offset the costs of administering and protecting the American colonies. Items taxed include imports such as paper, tea, glass, lead and paints. The Act also establishes a colonial board of customs commissioners in Boston. In October, Bostonians decide to reinstate a boycott of English luxury items.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1767	March 4 to 17, American forces capture Dorchester Heights which overlooks Boston harbor. Captured British artillery from Fort Ticonderoga is placed on the heights to enforce the siege against the British in Boston. The British evacuate Boston and set sail for Halifax. George Washington then rushes to New York to set up defenses, anticipating the British plan to invade New York City.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1767	Formed 1766 Halifax Chatham	Pittsylvania
		1768	In February, Samuel Adams of Massachusetts writes a Circular Letter opposing taxation without representation and calling for the colonists to unite in their actions against the British government. The letter is sent to assemblies throughout the colonies and also instructs them on the methods the Massachusetts general court is using to oppose the Townshend Acts.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1768	In April, England's Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord Hillsborough, orders colonial governors to stop their own assemblies from endorsing Adams' circular letter. Hillsborough also orders the governor of Massachusetts to dissolve the general court if the Massachusetts assembly does not revoke the letter. By month's end, the assemblies of New Hampshire, Connecticut and New Jersey have endorsed the letter.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1768	In May, a British warship armed with 50 cannons sails into Boston harbor after a call for help from custom commissioners who are constantly being harassed by Boston agitators. In June, a customs official is locked up in the cabin of the Liberty, a sloop owned by John Hancock. Imported wine is then unloaded illegally into Boston without payment of duties. Following this incident, customs officials seize Hancock's sloop. After threats of violence from Bostonians, the customs officials escape to an island off Boston, then request the intervention of British troops.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1768	In July, the governor of Massachusetts dissolves the general court after the legislature defies his order to revoke Adams' circular letter. In August, in Boston and New York, merchants agree to boycott most British goods until the Townshend Acts are repealed. In September, at a town meeting in Boston, residents are urged to arm themselves. Later in September, English warships sail into Boston Harbor, then two regiments of English infantry land in Boston and set up permanent residence to keep order.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1769	In March, merchants in Philadelphia join the boycott of British trade goods. In May, a set of resolutions written by George Mason is presented by George Washington to the Virginia House of Burgesses. The Virginia Resolves oppose taxation without representation, the British opposition to the circular letters, and British plans to possibly send American agitators to England for trial. Ten days later, the Royal governor of Virginia dissolves the House of Burgesses. However, its members meet the next day in a Williamsburg tavern and agree to a boycott of British trade goods, luxury items and slaves.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1769	In July, in the territory of California, San Diego is founded by Franciscan Friar Juniper Serra. In October, the boycott of English goods spreads to New Jersey, Rhode Island, and then North Carolina.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1770	The population of the American colonies reaches 2,210,000 persons.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1770	Violence erupts in January between members of the Sons of Liberty in New York and 40 British soldiers over the posting of broadsheets by the British. Several men are seriously wounded.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1770	March 5 The Boston Massacre occurs as a mob harasses British soldiers who then fire their muskets pointblank into the crowd, killing three instantly, mortally wounding two others and injuring six. After the incident, the new Royal Governor of Massachusetts, Thomas Hutchinson, at the insistence of Sam Adams, withdraws British troops out of Boston to nearby harbor islands. The captain of the British soldiers, Thomas Preston, is then arrested along with eight of his men and charged with murder.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1770	In April, the Townshend Acts are repealed by the British. All duties on imports into the colonies are eliminated except for tea. Also, the Quartering Act is not renewed.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1770	In October, trial begins for the British soldiers arrested after the Boston Massacre. Colonial lawyers John Adams and Josiah Quincy successfully defend Captain Preston and six of his men, who are acquitted. Two other soldiers are found guilty of manslaughter, branded, then released.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1770	Aug 1, William Clark, American explorer, was born in Charlottesville, VA. He led the Corps of Discovery with Meriwether Lewis.  (HN, 8/1/00)(MC, 8/1/02)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1770	Formed 1769 Augusta Fincastle	Botetourt
		1772	In June, a British customs schooner, the Gaspee, runs aground off Rhode Island in Narragansett Bay. Colonists from Providence row out to the schooner and attack it, set the British crew ashore, then burn the ship. In September, a 500 pound reward is offered by the English Crown for the capture of those colonists, who would then be sent to England for trial. The announcement that they would be sent to England further upsets many American colonists.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1772	In November, a Boston town meeting assembles, called by Sam Adams. During the meeting, a 21 member committee of correspondence is appointed to communicate with other towns and colonies. A few weeks later, the town meeting endorses three radical proclamations asserting the rights of the colonies to self rule.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1772	Formed 1772 Frederick (Originally Dunmore Co, renamed in 1778) Woodstock	Shenandoah
		1773	In March, the Virginia House of Burgesses appoints an eleven member committee of correspondence to communicate with the other colonies regarding common complaints against the British. Members of that committee include, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee. Virginia is followed a few months later by New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut and South Carolina.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1773	May 10, the Tea Act takes effect. It maintains a threepenny per pound import tax on tea arriving in the colonies, which had already been in effect for six years. It also gives the near bankrupt British East India Company a virtual tea monopoly by allowing it to sell directly to colonial agents, bypassing any middlemen, thus underselling American merchants. The East India Company had successfully lobbied Parliament for such a measure. In September, Parliament authorizes the company to ship half a million pounds of tea to a group of chosen tea agents.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1773	In October, colonists hold a mass meeting in Philadelphia in opposition to the tea tax and the monopoly of the East India Company. A committee then forces British tea agents to resign their positions. In November, a town meeting is held in Boston endorsing the actions taken by Philadelphia colonists. Bostonians then try, but fail, to get their British tea agents to resign. A few weeks later, three ships bearing tea sail into Boston harbor.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1773	November 29/30, two mass meetings occur in Boston over what to do about the tea aboard the three ships now docked in Boston harbor. Colonists decide to send the tea on the ship, Dartmouth, back to England without paying any import duties. The Royal Governor of Massachusetts, Hutchinson, is opposed to this and orders harbor officials not to let the ship sail out of the harbor unless the tea taxes have been paid.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1773	December 16, About 8000 Bostonians gather to hear Sam Adams tell them Royal Governor Hutchinson has repeated his command not to allow the ships out of the harbor until the tea taxes are paid. That night, the Boston Tea Party occurs as colonial activists disguise themselves as Mohawk Indians then board the ships and dump all 342 containers of tea into the harbor.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1773	Feb 9, William Henry Harrison, the 9th president of the United States (March 4- April 4, 1841), was born in Charles City County, Va.   (HN, 2/9/97)(AP, 2/9/99)(MC, 2/9/02)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1773	1773 to 1833 John Randolph, state representative from Virginia. He said of Edward Livingston, a mayor of NY and later a senator from Louisiana and US Sec. Of State, that he "shines and stinks like rotten mackerel by moonlight."  (WSJ, 11/4/98, p.A20)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1774	In March, an angry English Parliament passes the first of a series of Coercive Acts (called Intolerable Acts by Americans) in response to the rebellion in Massachusetts. The Boston Port Bill effectively shuts down all commercial shipping in Boston harbor until Massachusetts pays the taxes owed on the tea dumped in the harbor and also reimburses the East India Company for the loss of the tea.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1774	May 12, Bostonians at a town meeting call for a boycott of British imports in response to the Boston Port Bill. May 13, General Thomas Gage, commander of all British military forces in the colonies, arrives in Boston and replaces Hutchinson as Royal governor, putting Massachusetts under military rule. He is followed by the arrival of four regiments of British troops.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1774	May 17 to 23, colonists in Providence, New York and Philadelphia begin calling for an intercolonial congress to overcome the Coercive Acts and discuss a common course of action against the British.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1774	May 20, The English Parliament enacts the next series of Coercive Acts, which include the Massachusetts Regulating Act and the Government Act virtually ending any self rule by the colonists there. Instead, the English Crown and the Royal governor assume political power formerly exercised by colonists. Also enacted; the Administration of Justice Act which protects royal officials in Massachusetts from being sued in colonial courts, and the Quebec Act establishing a centralized government in Canada controlled by the Crown and English Parliament. The Quebec Act greatly upsets American colonists by extending the southern boundary of Canada into territories claimed by Massachusetts, Connecticut and Virginia.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1774	In June, a new version of the 1765 Quartering Act is enacted by the English Parliament requiring all of the American colonies to provide housing for British troops in occupied houses and taverns and in unoccupied buildings. In September, Massachusetts Governor Gage seizes that colony's arsenal of weapons at Charlestown.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1774	September 5 to October 26, the First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia with 56 delegates, representing every colony, except Georgia. Attendants include Patrick Henry, George Washington, Sam Adams and John Hancock.  On September 17, the Congress declares its opposition to the Coercive Acts, saying they are "not to be obeyed," and also promotes the formation of local militia units. On October 14, a Declaration and Resolves is adopted that opposes the Coercive Acts, the Quebec Act, and other measure taken by the British that undermine self rule. The rights of the colonists are asserted, including the rights to "life, liberty and property." On October 20, the Congress adopts the Continental Association in which delegates agree to a boycott of English imports, effect an embargo of exports to Britain, and discontinue the slave trade.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1774	May 28, First Continental Congress convened in Virginia.  (HN, 5/28/98)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1774	Aug 18, Meriwether Lewis, American explorer, was born in Charlottesville, VA. He led the Corps of Discovery with William Clark.    (HN, 8/18/00)(MC, 8/18/02)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1774	Oct 14, Patrick Henry, in declaring his love of country in a speech during the First Continental Congress on October 14, 1774, proclaimed, "I am not a Virginian, but an American."  (HN, 8/2/98)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1775	February 1, in Cambridge, Mass., a provincial congress is held during which John Hancock and Joseph Warren begin defensive preparations for a state of war. February 9, the English Parliament declares Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion. March 23, in Virginia, Patrick Henry delivers a speech against British rule, stating, "Give me liberty or give me death!" March 30, the New England Restraining Act is endorsed by King George III, requiring New England colonies to trade exclusively with England and also bans fishing in the North Atlantic.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1775	In April, Massachusetts Governor Gage is ordered to enforce the Coercive Acts and suppress "open rebellion" among the colonists by all necessary force.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1775	April 14, Massachusetts Governor Gage is secretly ordered by the British to enforce the Coercive Acts and suppress "open rebellion" among colonists by using all necessary force.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1775	April 18, General Gage orders 700 British soldiers to Concord to destroy the colonists' weapons depot. That night, Paul Revere and William Dawes are sent from Boston to warn colonists. Revere reaches Lexington about midnight and warns Sam Adams and John		Colonial Era Timeline
		1775	April 23, The Provincial Congress in Massachusetts orders 13,600 American soldiers to be mobilized. Colonial volunteers from all over New England assemble and head for Boston, then establish camps around the city and begin a year long siege of British held Boston.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1775	May 10, American forces led by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold capture Fort Ticonderoga in New York. The fort contains a much needed supply of military equipment including cannons which are then hauled to Boston by ox teams.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1775	May 10, The Second Continental Congress convenes in Philadelphia, with John Hancock elected as its president. On May 15, the Congress places the colonies in a state of defense. On June 15, the Congress unanimously votes to appoint George Washington general and commander in chief of the new Continental Army.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1775	June 17, The first major fight between British and American troops occurs at Boston in the Battle of Bunker Hill. American troops are dug in along the high ground of Breed's Hill (the actual location) and are attacked by a frontal assault of over 2000 British soldiers who storm up the hill. The Americans are ordered not to fire until they can see "the whites of their eyes." As the British get within 15 paces, the Americans let loose a deadly volley of rifle fire and halt the British advance. The British then regroup and attack 30 minutes later with the same result. A third attack, however, succeeds as the Americans run out of ammunition and are left only with bayonets and stones to defend themselves. The British succeed in taking the hill, but at a loss of half their force, over a thousand casualties, with the Americans losing about 400, including important colonial leader, General Joseph Warren.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1775	July 3, At Cambridge, Massachusetts, George Washington takes command of the Continental Army which now has about 17,000 men.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1775	July 5, The Continental Congress adopts the Olive Branch Petition which expresses hope for a reconciliation with Britain, appealing directly to the King for help in achieving this. In August, King George III refuses even to look at the petition and instead issues a proclamation declaring the Americans to be in a state of open rebellion.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1775	July 6, The Continental Congress issues a Declaration on the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms detailing the colonists' reasons for fighting the British and states the Americans are "resolved to die free men rather than live as slaves."		Colonial Era Timeline
		1775	July 26, An American Post Office is established with Ben Franklin as Postmaster General.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1775	November 28, The American Navy is established by Congress. The next day, Congress appoints a secret committee to seek help from European nations.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1775	December 23, King George III issues a royal proclamation closing the American colonies to all commerce and trade, to take effect in March of 1776. Also in December, Congress is informed that France may offer support in the war against Britain.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1775	Apr 13, Lord North extended the New England Restraining Act to South Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland. The act forbade trade with any country other than Britain and Ireland.   (HN, 4/13/99)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	January 5, The assembly of New Hampshire adopts the first American state constitution.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	January 9, Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" is published in Philadelphia. The 50 page pamphlet is highly critical of King George III and attacks allegiance to Monarchy in principle while providing strong arguments for American independence. It becomes an instant best seller in America. "We have it in our power to begin the world anew...American shall make a stand, not for herself alone, but for the world," Paine states.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	April 6, The Continental Congress declares colonial shipping ports open to all traffic except the British. The Congress had already authorized privateer raids on British ships and also advised disarming all Americans loyal to England.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	April 12, The North Carolina assembly is the first to empower its delegates in the Continental Congress to vote for independence from Britain.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	May 2, The American revolutionaries get the much needed foreign support they had been hoping for. King Louis XVI of France commits one million dollars in arms and munitions. Spain then also promises support.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	May 10, The Continental Congress authorizes each of the 13 colonies to form local (provincial) governments.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	June 28, In South Carolina, American forces at Fort Moultrie successfully defend Charleston against a British naval attack and inflict heavy damage on the fleet.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	June to July, A massive British war fleet arrives in New York Harbor consisting of 30 battleships with 1200 cannon, 30,000 soldiers, 10,000 sailors, and 300 supply ships, under the command of General William Howe and his brother Admiral Lord Richard Howe.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	June to July, On June 7, Richard Henry Lee, a Virginia delegate to the Continental Congress, presents a formal resolution calling for America to declare its independence from Britain. Congress decides to postpone its decision on this until July. On June		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	July 4, United States Declaration of Independence		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	July 12, As a show of force, two British frigates sail up the Hudson River blasting their guns. Peace feelers are then extended to the Americans. At the request of the British, Gen. Washington meets with Howe's representatives in New York and listens to vague offers of clemency for the American rebels. Washington politely declines, then leaves.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	August 27 to 29, Gen. Howe leads 15,000 soldiers against Washington's army in the Battle of Long Island. Washington, outnumbered two to one, suffers a severe defeat as his army is outflanked and scatters. The Americans retreat to Brooklyn Heights, facing possible capture by the British or even total surrender.  But at night, the Americans cross the East River in small boats and escape to Manhattan, then evacuate New York City and retreat up through Manhattan Island to Harlem Heights. Washington now changes tactics, avoiding large scale battles with the British by a series of retreats.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	September 11, A peace conference is held on Staten Island with British Admiral, Lord Richard Howe, meeting American representatives including John Adams and Benjamin Franklin. The conference fails as Howe demands the colonists revoke the Declaration of Independence.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	September 16, After evacuating New York City, Washington's army repulses a British attack during the Battle of Harlem Heights in upper Manhattan. Several days later, fire engulfs New York City and destroys over 300 buildings.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	September 22, After he is caught spying on British troops on Long Island, Nathan Hale is executed without a trial, his last words, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	September 26, Congress appoints Jefferson, Franklin and Silas Deane to negotiate treaties with European governments. Franklin and Deane then travel to France seeking financial and military aid.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	October 9, San Francisco is established by Spanish missionaries on the California coast.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	October 11, A big defeat for the inexperienced American Navy on Lake Champlain at the hands of a British fleet of 87 gunships. In the 7 hour Battle of Valcour Bay most of the American flotilla of 83 gunships is crippled with the remaining ships destroyed in a second engagement two days later.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	October 28, After evacuating his main forces from Manhattan, Washington's army suffers heavy casualties in the Battle of White Plains from Gen. Howe's forces. Washington then retreats westward.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	November, More victories for the British as Fort Washington on Manhattan and its precious stores of over 100 cannon, thousands of muskets and cartridges is captured by Gen. Howe. The Americans also lose Fort Lee in New Jersey to Gen. Cornwallis. Washington's army suffers 3000 casualties in the two defeats. Gen. Washington abandons the New York area and moves his forces further westward toward the Delaware River. Cornwallis now pursues him.  Among Washington's troops is Thomas Paine, author of Common Sense, who now writes "...These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country: but he that stands it NOW deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like Hell, is not easily conquered. Yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	December 6, The naval base at Newport, Rhode Island, is captured by the British.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	December 11, Washington takes his troops across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. The next day, over concerns of a possible British attack, the Continental Congress abandons Philadelphia for Baltimore.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	December 25 & 26, On Christmas, George Washington takes 2400 of his men and recrosses the Delaware River. Washington then conducts a surprise raid on 1500 British Hessians (German mercenaries) at Trenton, New Jersey. The Hessians surrender after an hour with nearly 1000 taken prisoner by Washington who suffers only six wounded (including future president Lt. James Monroe). Washington reoccupies Trenton. The victory provides a much needed boost to the morale of all American Patriots.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	Jun 12 Virginia's colonial legislature became the first to adopt a Bill of Rights. The Virginia Declaration of Rights granted every individual the right to the enjoyment of life and liberty and to acquire and possess property. The Virginia document was written by George Mason and was a precursor to the Declaration of Independence. In 1787 Mason refused to endorse the Declaration of Independence because it did not include a Bill of Rights.  (SFEC, 7/27/97, Par p.8)(AP, 6/12/97)(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R55)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	Dec 5, Phi Beta Kappa was organized as the first American college scholastic Greek letter fraternity, at William and Mary College, Williamsburg, Va. In 2005 the honor society had some 600,00 members with about 15,000 new members joining annually.  (AP, 12/5/97)(HN, 12/5/98)(WSJ, 11/4/05, p.W12)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	Dec 6, Phi Beta Kappa, the first scholastic fraternity, was founded at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. [see Dec 5]  (HN, 12/6/00)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	Col. George Rogers Clark was charged by the Virginia Assembly to seize the Northwest Territory.  By 1778, Clark was in control of the land between Virginia and the Mississippi River-except Fort Sackville.   (HNQ, 7/24/00)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1776	1776 to 1781 During the Revolutionary War some 100 ships were scuttled in the Elizabeth River in Portsmouth, Virginia, to prevent their capture by the British.  (AM, Jul/Aug '97 p.15)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1777	January 3, A second victory for Washington as his troops defeat the British at Princeton and drive them back toward New Brunswick. Washington then establishes winter quarters at Morristown, New Jersey. During the harsh winter, Washington's army shrinks to about a thousand men as enlistments expire and deserters flee the hardships. By spring, with the arrival of recruits, Washington will have 9000 men.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1777	March 12, The Continental Congress returns to Philadelphia from Baltimore after Washington's successes against the British in New Jersey.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1777	April 27, American troops under Benedict Arnold defeat the British at Ridgefield, Connecticut.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1777	June 14, The flag of the United States consisting of 13 stars and 13 white and red stripes is mandated by Congress; John Paul Jones is chosen by Congress to captain the 18 gun vessel Ranger with his mission to raid coastal towns of England.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1777	June 17, A British force of 7700 men under Gen. John Burgoyne invades from Canada, sailing down Lake Champlain toward Albany, planning to link up with Gen. Howe who will come north from New York City, thus cutting off New England from the rest of the colonies.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1777	July 6, Gen. Burgoyne's troops stun the Americans with the capture of Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain. Its military supplies are greatly needed by Washington's forces. The loss of the fort is a tremendous blow to American morale.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1777	July 23, British Gen. Howe, with 15,000 men, sets sail from New York for Chesapeake Bay to capture Philadelphia, instead of sailing north to meet up with Gen. Burgoyne.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1777	July 27, Marquis de Lafayette, a 19 year old French aristocrat, arrives in Philadelphia and volunteers to serve without pay. Congress appoints him as a major general in the Continental Army. Lafayette will become one of Gen. Washington's most trusted aides.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1777	August 1, Gen. Burgoyne reaches the Hudson after a grueling month spent crossing 23 miles of wilderness separating the southern tip of Lake Champlain from the northern tip of the Hudson River.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1777	August 16, In the Battle of Bennington, militiamen from Vermont, aided by Massachusetts troops, wipe out a detachment of 800 German Hessians sent by Gen. Burgoyne to seize horses.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1777	August 25, British Gen. Howe disembarks at Chesapeake Bay with his troops.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1777	September 9 to 11, In the Battle of Brandywine Creek, Gen. Washington and the main American Army of 10,500 men are driven back toward Philadelphia by Gen. Howe's British troops. Both sides suffer heavy losses. Congress then leaves Philadelphia and resettles in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1777	September 26, British forces under Gen. Howe occupy Philadelphia. Congress then relocates to York, Pennsylvania.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1777	October 7, The Battle of Saratoga results in the first major American victory of the Revolutionary War as Gen. Horatio Gates and Gen. Benedict Arnold defeat Gen. Burgoyne, inflicting 600 British casualties. American losses are only 150.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1777	October 17, Gen. Burgoyne and his entire army of 5700 men surrender to the Americans led by Gen. Gates. The British are then marched to Boston, placed on ships and sent back to England after swearing not serve again in the war against America. News of the American victory at Saratoga soon travels to Europe and boosts support of the American cause. In Paris the victory is celebrated as if it had been a French victory. Ben Franklin is received by the French Royal Court. France then recognizes the independence of America.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1777	November 15, Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation as the government of the new United States of America, pending ratification by the individual states. Under the Articles, Congress is the sole authority of the new national government.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1777	December 17, At Valley Forge in Pennsylvania, the Continental Army led by Washington sets up winter quarters.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1777	Formed 1777 Albemarle Palmyra	Fluvanna
		1777	Formed 1776 Pittsylvania Martinsville	Henry
		1777	Formed 1776 Fincastle (abolished county Formed  from Botetourt) Christiansburg	Montgomery
		1777	Formed 1777 Cumberland Powhatan	Powhatan
		1777	Formed 1776 Fincastle (abolished county Formed  from Botetourt) Abingdon	Washington
		1778	February 6, American and French representatives sign two treaties in Paris: a Treaty of Amity and Commerce and a Treaty of Alliance. France now officially recognizes the United States and will soon become the major supplier of military supplies to Washin		Colonial Era Timeline
		1778	February 23, Baron von Steuben of Prussia arrives at Valley Forge to join the Continental Army. He then begins much needed training and drilling of Washington's troops, now suffering from poor morale resulting from cold, hunger, disease, low supplies and desertions over the long, harsh winter.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1778	March 16, A Peace Commission is created by the British Parliament to negotiate with the Americans. The commission then travels to Philadelphia where its offers granting all of the American demands, except independence, are rejected by Congress.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1778	May 8, British General Henry Clinton replaces Gen. Howe as commander of all British forces in the American colonies.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1778	May 30, A campaign of terror against American frontier settlements, instigated by the British, begins as 300 Iroquois Indians burn Cobleskill, New York.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1778	June 18, Fearing a blockade by French ships, British Gen. Clinton withdraws his troops from Philadelphia and marches across New Jersey toward New York City. Americans then reoccupy Philadelphia.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1778	June 19, Washington sends troops from Valley Forge to intercept Gen. Clinton.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1778	June 27/28, The Battle of Monmouth occurs in New Jersey as Washington's troops and Gen. Clinton's troops fight to a standoff. On hearing that American Gen. Charles Lee had ordered a retreat, Gen. Washington becomes furious. Gen. Clinton then continues on toward New York.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1778	July 2, Congress returns once again to Philadelphia.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1778	July 3, British Loyalists and Indians massacre American settlers in the Wyoming Valley of northern Pennsylvania.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1778	July 8, Gen. Washington sets up headquarters at West Point, New York.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1778	July 10, France declares war against Britain.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1778	August 8, American land forces and French ships attempt to conduct a combined siege against Newport, Rhode Island. But bad weather and delays of the land troops result in failure. The weather damaged French fleet then sails to Boston for repairs.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1778	September 14, Ben Franklin is appointed to be the American diplomatic representative in France.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1778	November 11, At Cherry Valley, New York, Loyalists and Indians massacre over 40 American settlers.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1778	December 29, The British begin a major southern campaign with the capture of Savannah, Georgia, followed a month later with the capture of Augusta.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1778	Formed 1778 Augusta, Botetourt Lexington	Rockbridge
		1778	Formed 1778 Augusta Harrisonburg	Rockingham
		1779	April 1 to 30, In retaliation for Indian raids on colonial settlements, American troops from North Carolina and Virginia attack Chickamauga Indian villages in Tennessee.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1779	May 10, British troops burn Portsmouth and Norfolk, Virginia.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1779	June 1, British Gen. Clinton takes 6000 men up the Hudson toward West Point.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1779	June 16, Spain declares war on England, but does not make an alliance with the American revolutionary forces.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1779	July 5 to 11, Loyalists raid coastal towns in Connecticut, burning Fairfield, Norwalk and ships in New Haven harbor.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1779	July 10, Naval ships from Massachusetts are destroyed by the British while attempting to take the Loyalist stronghold of Castine, Maine.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1779	August 14, A peace plan is approved by Congress which stipulates independence, complete British evacuation of America and free navigation on the Mississippi River.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1779	August 29, American forces defeat the combined Indian and Loyalist forces at Elmira, New York. Following the victory, American troops head northwest and destroy nearly 40 Cayuga and Seneca Indian villages in retaliation for the campaign of terror against American settlers.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1779	Sept. 3 to  Oct. 28, Americans suffer a major defeat while attacking the British at Savannah, Georgia. Among the 800 American and Allied casualties is Count Casimir Pulaski of Poland. British losses are only 140.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1779	September 23, Off the coast of England, John Paul Jones fights a desperate battle with a British frigate. When the British demand his surrender, Jones responds, "I have not yet begun to fight!" Jones then captures the frigate before his own ship sinks.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1779	September 27, John Adams is appointed by Congress to negotiate peace with England.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1779	October 17, Washington sets up winter quarters at Morristown, New Jersey, where his troops will suffer another harsh winter without desperately needed supplies, resulting in low morale, desertions and attempts at mutiny.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1779	December 26, British Gen. Clinton sets sail from New York with 8000 men and heads for Charleston, South Carolina, arriving there on Feb. 1.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1780	April 8, The British attack begins against Charleston as warships sail past the cannons of Fort Moultrie and enter Charleston harbor. Washington sends reinforcements.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1780	May 6, The British capture Fort Moultrie at Charleston, South Carolina.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1780	May 12, The worst American defeat of the Revolutionary War occurs as the British capture Charleston and its 5400 man garrison (the entire southern American Army) along with four ships and a military arsenal. British losses are only 225.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1780	May 25, After a severe winter, Gen. Washington faces a serious threat of mutiny at his winter camp in Morristown, New Jersey. Two Continental regiments conduct an armed march through the camp and demand immediate payment of salary (overdue by 5 months) and full rations. Troops from Pennsylvania put down the rebellion. Two leaders of the protest are then hanged.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1780	June 11, A new Massachusetts constitution is endorsed asserting "all men are born free and equal," which includes black slaves.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1780	June 13, Gen. Horatio Gates is commissioned by Congress to command the Southern Army.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1780	June 23, American forces defeat the British in the Battle of Springfield, New Jersey.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1780	July 11, 6000 French soldiers under Count de Rochambeau arrive at Newport, Rhode Island. They will remain there for nearly a year, blockaded by the British fleet.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1780	August 3, Benedict Arnold is appointed commander of West Point. Unknown to the Americans, he has been secretly collaborating with British Gen. Clinton since May of 1779 by supplying information on Gen. Washington's tactics.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1780	August 16, A big defeat for the Americans in South Carolina as forces under Gen. Gates are defeated by troops of Gen. Charles Cornwallis, resulting in 900 Americans killed and 1000 captured.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1780	August 18, An American defeat at Fishing Creek, South Carolina, opens a route for Gen Cornwallis to invade North Carolina.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1780	September 23, A British major in civilian clothing is captured near Tarrytown, New York. He is found to be carrying plans indicating Benedict Arnold intends to turn traitor and surrender West Point. Two days later, Arnold hears of the spy's capture and flees West Point to the British ship Vulture on the Hudson. He is later named a brigadier general in the British Army and will fight the Americans.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1780	October 7, Gen. Cornwallis abandons his invasion of North Carolina after Americans capture his reinforcements, a Loyalist force of 1000 men.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1780	October 14, Gen. Nathanael Greene, Washington's most able and trusted General, is named as the new commander of the Southern Army, replacing Gen. Gates. Greene then begins a strategy of rallying popular support and wearing down the British by leading Gen. Cornwallis on a six month chase through the back woods of South Carolina into North Carolina into Virginia then back into North Carolina. The British, low on supplies, are forced to steal from any Americans they encounter, thus enraging them.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1780	May, Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton, commander of the British Legion, led the British troops who massacred the surrendering Virginia regulars and militiamen. Tarleton's victory at Waxhaws eliminated the last organized force in South Carolina. During the course of the Revolutionary War, the lieutenant colonel became one of the most hated men in America.   (HNQ, 9/26/00)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	January 3, Mutiny among Americans in New Jersey as troops from Pennsylvania set up camp near Princeton and choose their own representatives to negotiate with state officials back in Pennsylvania. The crisis is eventually resolved through negotiations, but over half of the mutineers abandon the army.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	January 17, An American victory at Cowpens, South Carolina, as Gen. Daniel Morgan defeats British Gen. Tarleton.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	January 20, Mutiny among American troops at Pompton, New Jersey. The rebellion is put down seven days later by a 600 man force sent by Gen. Washington. Two of the leaders are then hanged.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	March 15, Forces under Gen. Cornwallis suffer heavy losses in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in North Carolina. As a result, Cornwallis abandons plans to conquer the Carolinas and retreats to Wilmington, then begins a campaign to conquer Virginia with an army of 7500 men.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	May 21, Gen. Washington and French Gen. Rochambeau meet in Connecticut for a war council. Gen Rochambeau reluctantly agrees to Washington's plan for a joint French naval and American ground attack on New York.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	June 4, Thomas Jefferson narrowly escapes capture by the British at Charlottesville, Virginia.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	June 10, American troops under Marquis de Lafayette, Gen. Anthony Wayne and Baron von Steuben begin to form a combined force in Virginia to oppose British forces under Benedict Arnold and Gen. Cornwallis.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	June 11, Congress appoints a Peace Commission comprised of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay and Henry Laurens. The commission supplements John Adams as the sole negotiator with the British.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	July 20, Slaves in Williamsburg, Virginia, rebel and burn several buildings.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	August 1, After several months of chasing Gen. Greene's army without much success, Gen. Cornwallis and his 10,000 tired soldiers arrive to seek rest at the small port of Yorktown, Virginia, on the Chesapeake Bay. He then establishes a base to communicate by sea with Gen. Clinton's forces in New York.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	August 14, Gen. Washington abruptly changes plans and abandons the attack on New York in favor of Yorktown after receiving a letter from French Admiral Count de Grasse indicating his entire 29		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	August 30, Count de Grasse's French fleet arrives off Yorktown, Virginia. De Grasse then lands troops near Yorktown, linking with Lafayette's American troops to cut Cornwallis off from any retreat by land.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	September 1, The troops of Washington and Rochambeau arrive at Philadelphia.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	September 5 to 8, Off Yorktown, a major naval battle between the French fleet of de Grasse and the outnumbered British fleet of Adm. Thomas Graves results in a victory for de Grasse. The British fleet retreats to New York for reinforcements, leaving the French fleet in control of the Chesapeake. The French fleet establishes a blockade, cutting Cornwallis off from any retreat by sea. French naval reinforcements then arrive from Newport.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	September 6, Benedict Arnold's troops loot and burn the port of New London, Connecticut.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	September 14 to 24, De Grasse sends his ships up the Chesapeake Bay to transport the armies of Washington and Rochambeau to Yorktown.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	September 28, Gen. Washington, with a combined Allied army of 17,000 men, begins the siege of Yorktown. French cannons bombard Gen. Cornwallis and his 9000 men day and night while the Allied lines slowly advance and encircle them. British supplies run dangerously low.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	October 17, As Yorktown is about to be taken, the British send out a flag of truce. Gen. Washington and Gen. Cornwallis then work out terms of surrender.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	October 19, As their band plays the tune, "The world turned upside down," the British army marches out in formation and surrenders at Yorktown. Hopes for a British victory in the war against America are dashed. In the English Parliament, there will soon be calls to bring this long costly war to an end.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	October 24, 7000 British reinforcements under Gen. Clinton arrive at Chesapeake Bay but turn back on hearing of the surrender at Yorktown.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	Jan 5, A British naval expedition led by Benedict Arnold burned Richmond, Va.  (AP, 1/5/98)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	Jul 6, In Virginia the Battle of Green Spring took place on the Jamestown Peninsula. It was the last major engagement of the Revolutionary War prior to the Colonial's final victory at Yorktown in October.  (LP, Spring 2006, p.60)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	Aug 1, English army under Lord Cornwallis occupied Yorktown, Virginia.  (MC, 8/1/02)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	Aug 20, George Washington began to move his troops south to fight Cornwallis.  (MC, 8/20/02)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	Sep 5, The British fleet arrived off the Virginia Capes and found 26 French warships in three straggling lines. Rear Adm. Thomas Graves waited for the French to form their battle lines and then fought for 5 days. Outgunned and unnerved he withdrew to New York. The French had some 37 ships and 29,000 soldiers and sailors at Yorktown while Washington had some 11,000 men engaged. French warships defeated British fleet, trapping Cornwallis in Yorktown.  (NG, 6/1988, p.763)(SFEC,11/23/97, Par p.19)(MC, 9/5/01)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	Sep 28, American forces in the Revolutionary War, backed by a French fleet, began their siege of Yorktown Heights, Va. 9,000 American forces and 7,000 French troops began the siege of Yorktown.  (AP, 9/28/97)(MC, 9/28/01)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	Oct 6, Americans and French began the siege of Cornwallis at Yorktown, the last battle of Revolutionary War.  (MC, 10/6/01)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	Oct 9, General George Washington commenced a bombardment of the Lord Cornwallis's encircled British forces at Yorktown, Virginia (Battle of Yorktown Revolutionary War). For eight days Lord Cornwallis endured the Americans heavy bombardment and had no choice but to surrender his 9,000 troops. It was considered that Washington had achieved the inconceivable with victory at Yorktown and that the British were defeated.  (HN, 10/9/99)(MC, 10/9/01)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	Oct 16, Gen. Washington took Yorktown.  (MC, 10/16/01)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	Oct 19, Major General Lord Charles Cornwallis, surrounded at Yorktown, Va.,  by American and French regiments numbering 17,600 men, surrendered to George Washington and Count de Rochambeau at Yorktown, Va. Cornwallis surrendered 7,157 troops, including si		Colonial Era Timeline
		1781	Formed 1780 Brunswick Emporia	Greensville
		1782	January 1, Loyalists begin leaving America, heading north to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1782	January 5, The British withdraw from North Carolina.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1782	February 27, In England, the House of Commons votes against further war in America.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1782	March 5, The British Parliament empowers the King to negotiate peace with the United States.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1782	March 7, American militiamen massacre 96 Delaware Indians in Ohio in retaliation for Indian raids conducted by other tribes.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1782	March 20, British Prime Minister, Lord North, resigns, succeeded two days later by Lord Rockingham who seeks immediate negotiations with the American peace commissioners.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1782	April 4, Sir Guy Carleton becomes the new commander of British forces in America, replacing Gen. Clinton. Carleton will implement the new British policy of ending hostilities and withdraw British troops from America.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1782	April 12, Peace talks begin in Paris between Ben Franklin and Richard Oswald of Britain.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1782	April 16, Gen. Washington establishes American army headquarters at Newburgh, New York.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1782	April 19, The Dutch recognize the United States of America as a result of negotiations conducted in the Netherlands by John Adams.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1782	June 11, The British evacuate Savannah, Georgia.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1782	June 20, Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States of America.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1782	August 19, Loyalist and Indian forces attack and defeat American settlers near Lexington, Kentucky.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1782	August 25, Mohawk Indian Chief Joseph Brant conducts raids on settlements in Pennsylvania and Kentucky.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1782	August 27, The last fighting of the Revolutionary War between Americans and British occurs with a skirmish in South Carolina along the Combahee River.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1782	November 10, The final battle of the Revolutionary War occurs as Americans retaliate against Loyalist and Indian forces by attacking a Shawnee Indian village in the Ohio territory.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1782	November 30, A preliminary peace treaty is signed in Paris. Terms include recognition of American independence and the boundaries of the United States, along with British withdrawal from America.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1782	December 14, The British evacuate Charleston, South Carolina.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1782	December 15, In France, strong objections are expressed by the French over the signing of the peace treaty in Paris without America first consulting them. Ben Franklin then soothes their anger with a diplomatic response and prevents a falling out between France and America.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1782	Formed 1781 Bedford Rustburg	Campbell
		1782	Henrico Independent City	Richmond City
		1783	January 20, England signs a preliminary peace treaty with France and Spain.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1783	S February 3, pain recognizes the United States of America, followed later by Sweden, Denmark and Russia.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1783	February 4, England officially declares an end to hostilities in America.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1783	March 10, An anonymous letter circulates among Washington's senior officers camped at Newburgh, New York. The letter calls for an unauthorized meeting and urges the officers to defy the authority of the new U.S. national government (Congress) for its failure to honor past promises to the Continental Army. The next day, Gen. Washington forbids the unauthorized meeting and instead suggests a regular meeting to be held on March 15. A second anonymous letter then appears and is circulated. This letter falsely claims Washington himself sympathizes with the rebellious officers.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1783	March 15, General Washington gathers his officers and talks them out of a rebellion against the authority of Congress, and in effect preserves the American democracy. Read more about this		Colonial Era Timeline
		1783	April 11, Congress officially declares an end to the Revolutionary War.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1783	April 26, 7000 Loyalists set sail from New York for Canada, bringing a total of 100,000 Loyalists who have now fled America.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1783	June 13, The main part of the Continental Army disbands.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1783	June 24, To avoid protests from angry and unpaid war veterans, Congress leaves Philadelphia and relocates to Princeton, New Jersey.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1783	July 8, The Supreme Court of Massachusetts abolishes slavery in that state.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1783	September 3, The Treaty of Paris is signed by the United States and Great Britain. Congress will ratify the treaty on January 14, 1784.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1783	October 7, In Virginia, the House of Burgesses grants freedom to slaves who served in the Continental Army.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1783	November 2, George Washington delivers his farewell address to his army. The next day, remaining troops are discharged.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1783	November 25, Washington enters Manhattan as the last British troops leave.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1783	November 26, Congress meets in Annapolis, Maryland.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1783	December 23, Following a triumphant journey from New York to Annapolis, George Washington, victorious commander in chief of the American Revolutionary Army, appears before Congress and voluntarily resigns his commission, an event unprecedented in history.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1783	Oct 23, Virginia emancipated slaves who fought for independence during the Revolutionary War.   (HN, 10/23/98)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1783	Dec 23, George Washington resigned as commander-in-chief of the Army and retired to his home at Mount Vernon, Va.   (AP, 12/23/97)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1784	January 14, The Treaty of Paris is ratified by Congress. The Revolutionary War officially ends.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1784	March 1, A congressional committee led by Thomas Jefferson proposes to divide up sprawling western territories into states, to be considered equal with the original 13. Jefferson also proposes a ban on slavery everywhere in the U.S. after 1800. This proposal is narrowly defeated.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1784	August 30, Beginning of the China Trade, as the American Ship Empress of China, sailing from New York, arrives at Canton, China. The ship will return with exotic goods, including silks and tea, spurring large numbers of American merchants to enter the trade.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1784	September 22, Russians establish their first settlement in Alaska, on Kodiak Island.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1784	Nov 24, Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States, was born in Orange County, Va.   (AP, 11/24/97)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1785	January 11, Congress relocates to New York City, temporary capital of the U.S.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1785	February 24, Although England refuses to send an ambassador to the U.S., John Adams is sent as the American ambassador to Britain. He will spend the next three years trying without success to settle problems regarding the existence of a string of British forts along the Canadian border, pre war debts owed to British creditors, post war American treatment of Loyalists, and the closing of the West Indian colonies to American trade.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1785	May 8, Congress passes the Land Ordinance of 1785 which divides the northwest territories into townships, each set at 6 square miles, subdivided into 36 lots of 640 acres each, with each lot selling for no less than $640.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1785	James Madison wrote the petition "Memorial and Remonstrance" for circulation in Virginia to oppose the use of public funds for Christian education.  (WSJ, 9/1/99, p.A24)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1786	January 16, The Virginia legislature passes Jefferson's Ordinance of Religious Freedom guaranteeing that no man may be forced to attend or support any church or be discriminated against because of his religious preference. This will later serve as the model for the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1786	Summer of 1786 Americans suffer from post war economic depression including a shortage of currency, high taxes, nagging creditors, farm foreclosures and bankruptcies.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1786	August 8, Congress adopts a monetary system based on the Spanish dollar, with a gold piece valued at $10, silver pieces at $1, one tenth of $1 also in silver, and copper pennies.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1786	August 22 to 25, Angry representatives from 50 towns in Massachusetts meet to discuss money problems including the rising number of foreclosures, the high cost of lawsuits, heavy land and poll taxes, high salaries for state officials, and demands for new paper money as a means of credit.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1786	August 31, In Massachusetts, to prevent debtors from being tried and put in prison, ex Revolutionary War Captain Daniel Shays, who is now a bankrupt farmer, leads an armed mob and prevents the Northampton Court from holding a session.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1786	September 20, In New Hampshire, an armed mob marches on the state assembly and demands enactment of an issue of paper money.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1786	September 26, Shays' rebels, fearing they might be charged with treason, confront 600 militiamen protecting the state Massachusetts Supreme Court session in Springfield and force the court to adjourn.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1786	October 16, Congress establishes the United States mint.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1786	October 20, Congress authorizes Secretary of War Henry Knox to raise a an army of 1340 men over concerns of the safety of the federal arsenal at Springfield, Mass.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1786	December 26, Shays assembles 1200 men near Worcester, Mass. and heads toward Springfield. Massachusetts Governor, Bowdoin, then orders mobilization of a 4400 man force.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1786	Jan 16, The Council of Virginia passed the Virginia Act for Establishing Religious Freedom.   (HN, 1/16/99)(WSJ, 12/14/02, p.W17)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1786	Formed 1785 Bedford, Henry Rocky Mount	Franklin
		1786	Formed 1786 Washington Lebanon	Russell
		1787	January 26, Shays' rebels attack the federal arsenal at Springfield but are unsuccessful. Revolutionary War hero, Gen. Benjamin Lincoln, then arrives with reinforcements from Boston to pursue the rebels.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1787	February 4, Gen. Lincoln's troops attack Shays' rebels at Petersham, Massachusetts, and capture 150 rebels. Shays flees north to Vermont.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1787	February 21, Amid calls for a stronger central government, due in part to Shays' Rebellion, Congress endorses a resolution calling for a constitutional convention to be held in Philadelphia, beginning in May.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1787	May 25, With 29 delegates from nine states present, the constitutional convention begins in the state house (Independence Hall) in Philadelphia. A total of 73 delegates have been chosen by the states (excluding Rhode Island) although only 55 will actually attend. There are 21 veterans of the Revolutionary War and 8 signers of the Declaration of Independence. The delegates are farmers, merchants, lawyers and bankers, with an average age of 42, and include the brilliant 36 year old James Madison, the central figure at the convention, and 81 year old Ben Franklin. Thomas Jefferson, serving abroad as ambassador to France, does not attend.  The delegates first vote is to keep the proceedings absolutely secret. George Washington is then nominated as president of the constitutional convention.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1787	June 19,  Rather than revise the Articles of Confederation, delegates at the constitutional convention vote to create an entirely new form of national government separated into three branches  the legislative, executive and judicial thus dispersing power with checks and balances, and competing factions, as a measure of protection against tyranny by a controlling majority.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1787	July 13, Congress enacts the Northwest Ordinance which establishes formal procedures for transforming territories into states. It provides for the eventual establishment of three to five states in the area north of the Ohio River, to be considered equal with the original 13. The Ordinance includes a Bill of Rights that guarantees freedom of religion, the right to trial by jury, public education and a ban on slavery in the Northwest.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1787	July 16, At the constitutional convention, Roger Sherman proposes a compromise which allows for representation in the House of Representatives based on each state's population and equal representation for all of the states in the Senate. The numerous black slaves in the South are to counted at only three fifths of their total number. A rough draft of the constitution is then drawn up.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1787	August 6 to 10, Items in the draft constitution are debated including the length of terms for the president and legislators, the power of Congress to regulate commerce, and a proposed 20 year ban on any Congressional action concerning slavery.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1787	September 17, Thirty nine delegates vote to approve and then sign the final draft of the new Constitution.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1787	September 19, For the first time the proposed Constitution is made public as printed copies of the text are distributed. A storm of controversy soon arises as most people had only expected a revision of the Articles of Confederation, not a new central government with similarities to the British system they had just overthrown.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1787	September 28, Congress votes to send the Constitution to the state legislatures for ratification, needing the approval of nine states.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1787	October 27, The Federalists, who advocate a strong central government and approval of the new Constitution, begin publishing essays in favor of ratification. Written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, the total number of articles will eventually reach 85 and be compiled and published as the Federalist Papers.  Federalist Papers at Library of Congress		Colonial Era Timeline
		1787	Delaware is the first of the nine states needed to ratify the Constitution. To be followed by: Pennsylvania (Dec. 12) New Jersey (Dec. 18) Georgia (Jan. 2, 1788) Connecticut (Jan. 9) Massachusetts (Feb. 7) Maryland (April 28) South Carolina (May 23) and New Hampshire (June 21).		Colonial Era Timeline
		1787	May 29, The "Virginia Plan" was proposed.   (SC, 5/29/02)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1787	Sep 17, The Constitution of the United States was completed and signed by a majority of delegates (12) attending the constitutional convention in Philadelphia. The US Constitution went into effect on Mar 4, 1789. Clause 3 of Article I, Section 8 empowered Congress to "regulate Commerce with foreign nations, among the several states, and with the Indian Tribes." Two of the signers went on to become presidents of the United States. George Washington, the president of the Constitutional Convention, and James Madison both signed the Constitution. The US Constitution is the world's oldest working Constitution. James Mason of Virginia refused to sign the document because he thought it made the federal government too powerful believed that it should contain a Bill of Rights.   (HFA, '96, p.38)(AP, 9/17/97)(HN, 9/17/98)(WUD, 1994, p.314)(WSJ, 4/9/99, p.W17)(HNQ, 5/19/99)(WSJ, 3/31/06, p.A1)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1788	February 6, Anti Federalists in Massachusetts, led by Sam Adams and John Hancock, favor a more decentralized system of government and give their support to ratification of the Constitution only after a compromise is reached that amendments will be included which guarantee civil liberties.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1788	February 27, In Massachusetts, following an incident in which free blacks were kidnapped and transported to the island of Martinique, the Massachusetts legislature declares the slavery trade illegal and provides for monetary damages to victims of kidnappings.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1788	March 24, In Rhode Island, the Constitution is rejected by a popular referendum. The state, fearful of consolidated federal power, had refused to send a delegation to the constitutional convention in Philadelphia and had subsequently rejected a state convention to consider ratification.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1788	June 2, In Virginia, anti Federalist forces, led by Patrick Henry and George Mason, oppose ratification of the Constitution. They are joined by Richard Henry Lee who calls for a bill of rights and a lower house set up on a more democratic basis.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1788	June 25, In Virginia, the Federalists, led by James Madison, finally prevail as ratification of the Constitution (with a proposed bill of rights and 20 other changes) is endorsed by a close vote of 89 to 75.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1788	July 2, A formal announcement is made by the president of Congress that the Constitution of the United States is now in effect, having been ratified by the required nine states.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1788	July 8, A committee in the old Congress (still under the Articles of Confederation) is established to prepare for an orderly transfer of power, including procedures for electing representatives to the first Congress under the new Constitution and procedures for choosing the electors of the first president.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1788	July 26, The state of New York votes 30 to 27 to endorse ratification while also recommending a bill of rights be included.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1788	September 13, New York City is chosen by Congress to be the temporary seat of the new U.S. government.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1788	October to December Commodity prices stabilize, spurring economic recovery and a gradual return to pre war levels of prosperity.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1788	November 1, The old Congress, operating under the Articles of Confederation, adjourns. The U.S. is temporarily without a central government.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1788	November 21, North Carolina endorses the Constitution by a vote of 194 to 77.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1788	December 23, Maryland proposes giving a 10 square mile area along the Potomac River for the establishment of a federal town to be the new seat of the U.S. government.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1788	Constitution ratified.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1788	Jun 25, Virginia ratified the U.S. Constitution.  (AP, 6/25/97)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1789	January 7, Presidential electors are chosen in the 11 ratifying states, except New York.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1789	January 23, Georgetown University, the first Catholic college in the U.S., is founded by Father John Carroll.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1789	February 4, Ballots are cast in the first presidential election, to be counted on April 6.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1789	March 4, The first Congress convenes in New York City, but is unable to achieve a quorum, since most members are still traveling there.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1789	April 1, A quorum is reached in Congress with 30 of 59 members present and the House of Representatives begins to function. Of the 59 members, 54 had also been delegates to the constitutional convention.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1789	April 6, In the Senate, with 9 of 22 senators present, the presidential ballots cast on Feb. 4 are counted. George Washington is the unanimous choice for President with 69 votes. John Adams is elected Vice President with 34 votes. Messengers are then sent to inform Washington and Adams.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1789	April 14, Charles Thomson, secretary of Congress, arrives at Mount Vernon and informs George Washington of his election as President. Two days later, Washington leaves for New York City.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1789	April 21, John Adams arrives in New York and is sworn in as Vice President, then takes his seat as presiding officer of the Senate.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1789	April 23, After an eight day triumphal journey, Washington arrives in New York City.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1789	April 30, On the balcony of New York's Federal Hall, George Washington, at age 57, is sworn in as the first President of the United States. He then enters the Senate chamber to deliver his inaugural address.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1789	May 7, The first inaugural ball occurs in honor of President Washington.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1789	June 1, In its first act, Congress establishes the procedure for administering oaths of office.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1789	July 4, Congress passes its first tax, an 8.5 percent protective tax on 30 different items, with items arriving on American ships charged at a lower rate than foreign ships.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1789	July 14, In France, the French Revolution begins with the fall of the Bastille in Paris, an event witnessed by the American ambassador, Thomas Jefferson.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1789	July 20, Congress passes the Tonnage Act of 1789 levying a 50 cents per ton tax on foreign ships entering American ports, 30 cents per ton on American built but foreign owned ships, and 6 cents per ton on American ships.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1789	July 27, Congress begins organization of the departments of government with the establishment of the Department of Foreign Affairs, later renamed the Department of State. Followed by the War Department (Aug. 7) Treasury Dept. (Sept. 2) and Postmaster General under the Treasury Dept. (Sept. 2).		Colonial Era Timeline
		1789	September 22, The Federal Judiciary Act passed by Congress establishes a six man Supreme Court, attorney general, 13 federal district courts and 3 circuit courts. All federal cases would originate in the district court and, if appealed, would go to the circuit court and from there to the Supreme Court.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1789	September 25, Congress submits 12 proposed constitutional amendments to the states for ratification. The first ten will be ratified and added to the Constitution in 1791 as the Bill of Rights.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1789	September 29, The U.S. Army is established by Congress. Totaling 1000 men, it consists of one regiment of eight infantry companies and one battalion of four artillery companies.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1789	November 26, A Day of Thanksgiving is established by a congressional resolution and a proclamation by George Washington.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1789	Washington inaugurated President establishes cabinet with Departments of State, War, and  Treasury.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1789	Judiciary Act of 1789, creates Supreme Court with six justices and provides for lower courts.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1789	French Revolution overthrows French monarchy.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1789	Tariff of 1789  protective tariff instituted.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1789	Congress submits the Bill of Rights for Ratification.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1789	Formed 1788 Amelia Nottaway	Nottoway
		1790	March 1, A Census Act is passed by Congress. The first census, finished on Aug. 1, indicates a total population of nearly 4 million persons in the U.S. and western territories. African Americans make up 19 percent of the population, with 90 percent living in the South. Native Americans were not counted, although there were likely over 80 tribes with 150,000 persons. For white Americans, the average age is under 16. Most white families are large, with an average of eight children born. The white population will double every 22 years.   The largest American city is Philadelphia, with 42,000 persons, followed by New York (33,000) Boston (18,000) Charleston (16,000) and Baltimore (13,000). The majority of Americans are involved in agricultural pursuits, with little industrial activity occurring at this time.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1790	April 17, Benjamin Franklin dies in Philadelphia at age 84. His funeral four days later draws over 20,000 mourners.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1790	July 10, The House of Representatives votes to locate the national capital on a 10 square mile site along the Potomac, with President George Washington choosing the exact location.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1790	Hamilton submits his Reports on Public Credit  outlines his financial program concerning  assumption of state debts.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1790	Mar 29, The 10th president of the United States, John Tyler, was born in Charles City County, Va. He was also the first vice-president to succeed to office on the death of a president.    (AP, 3/29/97)(HN, 3/29/99)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1790	Formed 1789 Montgomery Wytheville	Wythe
		1791	The Bank of the United States created, enacting second element of Hamiltonís financial plan.  Launches constitutional debate between Jefferson and Hamilton.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1791	Hamilton submits his Report on Manufactures to Congress  calls for high tariff, federal aid for  public works projects to promote U.S. industry		Colonial Era Timeline
		1791	Congress passes Whiskey Tax, on recommendation of Hamilton.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1791	Bill of Rights ratified by the states.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1791	Aug 1, Robert Carter III, a Virginia plantation owner, freed all 500 of his slaves in the largest private emancipation in U.S. history.  (HN, 8/1/98)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1791	Dec 15, Virginia became the 11th state to ratify the first ten amendments to the US Constitution and allowed passage under the three fourths quorum.  (WUD, 1994, p.1703)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1791	Formed 1790 Augusta, Botetourt & Greenbrier (now WV) Warm Springs	Bath
		1791	Formed 1790 Gloucester Mathews	Mathews
		1791	Formed 1790 Henry Stuart	Patrick
		1792	Oct 7, James Mason (b.1725), American Revolutionary statesman, died at Gunston Hall Plantation, situated on the Potomac River some 20 miles south of Washington D.C. Mason framed the Bill of Rights for the Virginia Convention in June 1776. This was the model for the first part of fellow Virginian Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence and the basis of the first 10 Amendments to the federal Constitution.  (HNQ, 2/18/99)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Mason)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1792	Nancy Randolph (18) gave birth to a baby that she claimed was born dead. She said the father was Theodoric Randolph, who had recently died. Gossip said the father was Richard Randolph, who was acquitted under defense attorneys Patrick Henry and John Marshall. Nancy later married Governor Morris of New York. In 2000 Alan Pell Crawford authored "Unwise Passions," an account of these events.  (WSJ, 11/21/00, p.A24)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1793	France declares war on Britain.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1793	Proclamation of Neutrality issued by Washington in war between Britain and France.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1793	Citizen Genet affair furthers tension between America and France.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1793	Feb 25, The department heads of the U.S. government met with President  Washington at his Mt. Vernon home for the first Cabinet meeting on record.   (AP, 2/25/98)(MC, 2/25/02)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1793	Mar 2, Sam Houston, the first president of the Republic of Texas (1836-38, 1841-44), was born near Lexington, Va. He fought for Texas' independence from Mexico; President of Republic of Texas; U.S. Senator; Texas governor  (AP, 3/2/98)(HC, Internet, 2/3/98)(SC, 3/2/02)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1793	Formed 1792 Wythe Independence	Grayson
		1793	Formed 1792 Russell Jonesville	Lee
		1793	Formed 1792 Culpeper Madison	Madison
		1794	Whiskey Rebellion erupts in rural Pennsylvania over whiskey tax. Washington calls out 13,000  troops to put down the insurrection.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1794	Jan 14, Dr. Jessee Bennet of Edom, Va., performed the 1st successful Cesarean section operation on his wife.  (MC, 1/14/02)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1795	Jayís Treaty with Britain  ratified by narrow margin in the senate. Arouses controversy,  particularly along sectional and party lines.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1796	Pinckneyís Treaty with Spain resolves boundary disputes in the South and West.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1796	Washingtonís Farewell Address  warns against divisiveness of political parties and against  entangling alliances with European nations.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1797	John Adams (Federalist)  inaugurated President, Republican Thomas Jefferson is Vice President.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1797	XYZ Affair  results in an undeclared naval war (quasi war) with France, and sharp rise in  anti French sentiment.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1797	John Anderson, a Scottish farm manager, convinced George Washington that distilling whiskey would make money.  (AM, 9/01, p.80)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1798	Alien and Sedition Acts passed by Federalist Congress inspired in part by anti French  hysteria and designed to silence Republican opposition and strengthen federal government.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1798	Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions drafted by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison  protest  the usurpation of power by federal government under Alien and Sedition acts. Promote compact  theory of government (state sovereignty) and doctrine of nullification.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1799	Jun 6, Patrick Henry, American orator, died in Charlotte County, Va. Henry urged the restoration of the property and rights of Loyalists after the Revolutionary War. He believed that Loyalists would make good citizens of the new republic. Henry also bitterly opposed the Constitution as a threat to the liberties of the people and rights of the states. He believed that once the war had been won, a central authority was no longer needed. In 1998 Henry Mayer (d.2000) authored a biography of Patrick Henry.  (AP, 6/6/99)(SFC, 7/28/00, p.D5)(HN, 7/12/02)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1799	Dec 12,  Two days before his death, George Washington composed his last letter, to Alexander Hamilton, his aide-de-camp during the Revolution and later his Secretary of the Treasury. In the letter he urged Hamilton to work for the establishment of a nationally military academy. Washington wrote that letter at the end of a long, cold day of snow, sleet and rain that he had spent out-of-doors. He remained outside for more than five hours, according to his secretary Tobias Lear, did not change out of his wet clothes or dry his hair when he returned home.  (HNQ, 10/25/02)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1799	Dec 14, George Washington (66), the first president of the United States (1789-97), died at his Mount Vernon, Va., home at age 67. He died from the incompetence of physicians who bled him to death while fighting pneumonia. Richard Brookhiser authored "Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington." The Washingtons at this time had 317 slaves. His 5 stills in Virginia turned out some 12,000 gallons of corn whiskey a year.  (A&IP, ESM, p.16)(AP, 12/14/97)(WSJ, 11/6/98, p.W15)(SFEC, 5/2/99, Z1 p.8)(SFC, 12/11/99, p.B6)(MC, 12/14/01)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1799	Dec 18, George Washington's body was interred at Mount Vernon.  (MC, 12/18/01)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1800	Election decided by the House of Representatives due to a deadlock  Thomas Jefferson is  chosen, Aaron Burr becomes Vice President. These difficulties result in the 12th Amendment to  the Constitution, passed in 1804.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1800	Washington D.C. established as the nationís capital moved from Philadelphia. Washington  D.C. is officially incorporated as a city in 1802.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1800	Treaty of Mortefontaine  restores normal diplomatic relations between France and the U.S.,  ending undeclared naval war.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1800	Oct 2, Nat Turner, slave and the property of Benjamin Turner, was born in Southampton county, Va. He was sold in 1831 to Joseph Travis from Jerusalem, Southampton county, Va.   (www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3p1518.html)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1800	Oct 7, Gabriel, slave revolt leader in Virginia, was hanged. Gabriel Prosser had mounted a slave rebellion.  (SFC, 6/24/96, p.A19)(MC, 10/7/01)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1800	Dec, In Virginia Martha Washington set all her slaves free.  (SFEC, 5/2/99, Z1 p.8)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1800	Formed 1799 Russell, Wythe Tazewell	Tazewell
		1801	John Marshall, a Federalist, is nominated Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by President  Adams.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1801	"Midnight Justices" appointed by President Adams  opposition to which will lead to 1803 case  Marbury v. Madison.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1801	Formed 1801 DC, Fairfax (Alexandria Co. until 1920) Arlington	Arlington
		1802	Thomas Jefferson inaugurated as President.  Aaron Burr is Vice President.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1802	Excise duties, including controversial whiskey tax, abolished by Congress.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1802	Jan 29, John Beckley of Virginia was appointed 1st Librarian of Congress.  (MC, 1/29/02)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1802	Oct 28, The 34-gun Spanish frigate Juno, enroute back to Spain from Mexico [Puerto Rico], ran into a storm off the coast of Virginia. Captain Don Juan Ignacio Bustillo perished along with 425 men, women and children and an estimated half-billion dollars in treasure. A boy from the wreck survived on Assateague Island and was named James Alone. He later changed his name to James Lunn. Many Chincoteague islanders later traced their descent to James.   (USAT, 5/7/98, p.9A)(WSJ, 7/17/98, p.A1)(SFC, 8/14/00, p.A3)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1802	James Callender, an English-born journalist, published a report in the Richmond, Va., Recorder about Thomas Jefferson and his relationship with the slave Sally Hemmings.  (WSJ, 9/23/97, p.A1)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1803	Naturalization Act of 1798, part of the Alien and Sedition act, nullified by Congress.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1803	Marbury v. Madison  the Supreme Court rules an act of Congress null and void, thus  establishing the principle of judicial review.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1803	Louisiana Purchase  for approximately $15 million, the United States purchases the territory  from France, thus doubling the land of the United States. Jefferson and Democratic Republican  Congress take a loose construction of the Constitution.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1804	Lewis and Clark Expedition, sponsored by the U.S. government, sets out		Colonial Era Timeline
		1804	Federalist associate justice of the Supreme Court Samuel Chase impeached by Republican  House of Representatives for partisan conduct unbecoming to a judge. Senate acquits in 1805.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1805	Hostilities between France and Britain are renewed; harassment of U.S. neutral shipping is  reinstituted, leading to public antipathy toward the British.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1805	Napoleonic wars continue to disrupt American commercial shipping.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1805	May 1, The state of Virginia passed a law requiring all freed slaves to leave the state, or risk either imprisonment or deportation.   (HN, 5/1/99)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1806	Thomas Jefferson inaugurated for his second term as President. George Clinton is Vice President.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1806	Report on the continuing British interference with commercial shipping of neutral nations,  including America, delivered to Congress by Secretary of State James Madison. Senate issues a  resolution condemning British actions as "unprovoked aggression."		Colonial Era Timeline
		1806	First Non Importation act passed by Congress forbids the importation from England of  enumerated items. Becomes effective in 1807.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1806	Ban on all slave importation to the United States, to become effective January 1, 1808,  requested by President Jefferson in a message to Congress.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1806	Formed 1806 Montgomery, Tazewell, Monroe (now WV) Pearisburg	Giles
		1807	Monroe Pinckney Treaty, negotiated between U.S. and Great Britain, is received by President  Jefferson  failure for American diplomacy because Britain has made no concessions on problems  of impressment and interference with American commercial shipping. Jefferson never submits  the treaty to Congress; hopes to reopen negotiations.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1807	Leopard Chesapeake Affair  British ship, the Leopard, tries to stop the U.S.S. Chesapeake  off the coast of Virginia. British commander insists that four men on the Chesapeake are  British deserters and demands their surrender. American commander refuses to acquiesce;  British open fire. The incident brings Britain and the U.S. to the brink of war.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1807	Robert Fultonís steamboat, the Clermont, travels from New York City to Albany, inaugurating  the era of commercially successful steamboat navigation.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1807	First Non Importation act becomes effective  fails to secure any concessions from the British in  the matter of harassment of American commercial shipping.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1807	Embargo Act requested by President Jefferson in a message to Congress  Federalist faction tries,  but fails, to block this measure; embargo on all trade with foreign nations becomes law. Forbids  all American ships to set sail for foreign ports. The act is widely protested in states with  maritime interests, such as New England.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1807	Jan 19, Robert E. Lee, the commander-in-chief of the Confederate  Armies, was born in Stratford, Va.   (AP, 1/19/98)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1807	May 22, The treason trial of former VP Aaron Burr began in Richmond, Va. [see Sep 1]  (PCh, 1992, p.367)(MC, 5/22/02)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1807	Sep 1, Former Vice President Aaron Burr was found innocent of treason. [see 1806] Aaron Burr had been arrested in Mississippi for complicity in a plot to establish a Southern empire in Louisiana and Mexico.  (AP, 9/1/97)(HN, 9/1/99)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1808	Second and third Embargo acts are passed, reinforcing the first  poses economic hardships on  New England states and does not achieve concessions from Britain.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1808	Formed 1807 Amherst Lovingston	Nelson
		1809	Enforcement Act passed  designed to enforce Embargo Acts by halting smuggling activities;  leads to further protest in New England, and interpretation of the Embargo Act as pro French  and anti British.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1809	New England Conventions called to nullify the Embargo. Governor of Connecticut, John  Trumbull, maintains that the Embargo Acts are an unconstitutional exercise of power by the  federal government.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1809	Non Intercourse Act signed by President Jefferson in response to widespread opposition to the  Embargo Acts  reopens all overseas commerce to American shipping, except that of France and  Britain. Should France, Britain, or both, halt their interference with neutral shipping, trade  may resume with these nations as well.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1809	James Madison inaugurated as President. George Clinton is Vice President.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1809	Proclamation reinstating trade with Great Britain issued by President Madison.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1809	Reinstatement of Non Intercourse Act by President Madison.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1810	Maconís Bill #2 passed by Congress authorizes President Madison to reopen trade with Britain  and France, but stipulates that he may restore non intercourse with either nation if interference  with American shipping does not cease.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1810	Midterm elections drastically alter political alignment of both houses  prevalent nationalism  and pro war sentiment sweep the "War Hawks" into office.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1811	Reinstatement of non intercourse policy against Great Britain.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1812	President Madison asks Congress for a declaration of war against Great Britain. Congress  supports war, except for most New England states and other maritime and commercial states  such as New York, New Jersey, and Delaware.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1812	James Monroe is inaugurated for his second term as President. He has defeated antiwar  candidate DeWitt Clinton of New York. Madisonís Vice President is Elbridge Gerry.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1812	provides for release of prisoners and restoration of conquered territory, but does not resolve maritime issues.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1814	Hartford Convention secretly convenes  26 Federalist antiwar delegates gather to adopt a  series of statesí rights proposals in the form of amendments to the Constitution. News of the  New Orleans victory brings the Convention to an end, and the Convention will become an object  of public derision, as well as an excuse to levy accusations of conspiracy and treason, thus  hastening the demise of the Federalist party.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1814	Treaty of Ghent signed by American and British peace commissioners, ending the war of		Colonial Era Timeline
		1814	Battle of New Orleans unaware that peace has been declared, Andrew Jackson leads   American soldiers into the most spectacular land victory of the war.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1814	Aug 19, British forces landed on the Patuxent River and routed the Americans in the Battle of Bladensburg, and then marched to Washington.   (HNQ, 12/10/00)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1814	Formed 1814 Lee, Russell, Washington Gate City	Scott
		1815	Treaty of Ghent unanimously ratified by the Senate		Colonial Era Timeline
		1816	Second Bank of the United States established.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1816	Tariff Act of 1816 passed by Congress perpetuates protective duties set during  the War of 1812  to shelter developing American industries facing foreign competition.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1816	Dec 4, James Monroe of Virginia was elected the fifth president of the United States.   (AP, 12/4/97)		Colonial Era Timeline
		1817	Federally financed public works projects, such as roads and canals, passed by Congress  New  England Federalists oppose the bill, fearing its impetus to westward expansion. This bill is  vetoed by Madison, who does not accept the implied powers interpretation of the Constitution  with regard to federally funded internal improvements.		Colonial Era Timeline
		1817	James Monroe is inaugurated as President. Federalists lose seats in Congress. Daniel Tomkins of  New York is Vice President. The Democratic Republican party has adopted the nationalistic  principles of the waning Federalist party, thus ushering in the "Era of Good Feelings"		Colonial Era Timeline