Although the Americans suffered severe setbacks for
months after independence was declared, their tenacity and perseverance
eventually paid off. During August 1776, in the Battle of Long Island
in New York, Washington's position became untenable, and he executed
a masterly retreat in small boats from Brooklyn to the Manhattan shore.
British General William Howe twice hesitated and allowed the Americans
to escape. By November, however, Howe had captured Fort Washington
on Manhattan Island. New York City would remain under British control
until the end of the war.
By December, Washington's forces were nearing collapse,
as supplies and promised aid failed to materialize. But Howe again
missed his chance to crush the Americans by deciding to wait until
spring to resume fighting. In the meantime, Washington crossed the
Delaware River, north of Trenton, New Jersey. In the early morning
hours of December 26, his troops surprised the garrison at Trenton,
taking more than 900 prisoners. A week later, on January 3, 1777,
Washington attacked the British at Princeton, regaining most of the
territory formally occupied by the British. The victories at Trenton
and Princeton revived flagging American spirits.
In 1777 Howe defeated the American army at Brandywine
in Pennsylvania and occupied Philadelphia, forcing the Continental
Congress to flee. Washington had to endure the bitterly cold winter
of 1777-
1778 at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, lacking adequate
food, clothing and supplies. The American troops suffered less because
of shortages of these items than because farmers and merchants preferred
exchanging their goods for British gold and silver rather than for
paper money issued by the Continental Congress and the states.
Valley Forge was the lowest ebb for Washington's Continental
Army, but 1777 proved to be the turning point in the war. In late
1776, British General John Burgoyne devised a plan to invade New York
and New England via Lake Champlain and the Hudson River. Unfortunately,
he had too much heavy equipment to negotiate the wooded and marshy
terrain. At Oriskany, New York, a band of Loyalists and Indians under
Burgoyne's command ran into a mobile and seasoned American force.
At Bennington, Vermont, more of Burgoyne's forces, seeking much-needed
supplies, encountered American troops. The ensuing battle delayed
Burgoyne's army long enough to enable Washington to send reinforcements
from the lower Hudson River near Albany, New York. By the time Burgoyne
resumed his advance, the Americans were waiting for him. Led by Benedict
Arnold -- who would later betray the Americans at West Point, New
York -- the Americans twice repulsed the British. Burgoyne fell back
to Saratoga, New York, where American forces under General Horatio
Gates surrounded the British troops. On October 17, 1777, Burgoyne
surrendered his entire army. The British lost six generals, 300 other
officers and 5,500 enlisted personnel.