Portraits of War

The Battle of Princeton (1782)
by James Peale

QUICK FACTS

Within nine months, the Americans exhaust their supply of gunpowder. Not able to manufacture it in sufficient quantities, they rely on imports — mainly from the Caribbean.

CONTENTS

Battles

British Commanders-in-Chief in North America

Lieutenant General Jeffrey Amherst, 1758—63
Major General Thomas Gage, 1763—75
Lieutenant General William Howe, 1775—78
Lieutenant General Henry Clinton, 1778—82
General Guy Carleton, 1782—83

Continental Army Commander-in-Chief

General George Washington, 1775—83

Perspectives

The failure of the Loyalists to flock to the royal standard cannot be understood without appreciating how effectively they had been locked down and neutralized by the patriots. Loyalists could not buy, sell, or bequeath property or other assets. They were barred from all legal recourse to recover debts or redress any other injury. They could not practice law or teach unless they had taken an oath of allegiance to the cause. They could not be executors of estates or be a guardian to a child. Any person who wrote, or spoke, or by any act libeled or defamed Congress ... should be brought to trial.

— Michael Stephenson

Patriot Battles: How the War of Independence Was Fought (2007)