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Northern theater of the American Revolutionary War after Saratoga
Part of theAmerican Revolutionary War
Destruction of the American Fleet at Penobscot Bay Dominic Serres,c. 1779
Date 1778–1782 Location New York,New Jersey,Pennsylvania, andNew England Result American victory
Belligerents
Great Britain Iroquois Mohawk Seneca Cayuga	United States  France Vermont Republic Iroquois Oneida
Commanders and leaders
Sir Henry Clinton Frederick Haldimand John Butler Walter Butler Sir George Collier Joseph Brant Sayenqueraghta Cornplanter	George Washington John Sullivan James Clinton Jacob Klock Abraham Ten Broeck Thomas Hartley

Thenorthern theater of the American Revolutionary War after Saratoga consisted of a series of battles between American revolutionaries and British forces, from 1778 to 1782 during theAmerican Revolutionary War. It is characterized by two primary areas of activity. The first set of activities was based around the British base of operations inNew York City, where each side made probes and counterprobes against the other's positions that sometimes resulted in notable actions. The second was essentially a frontier war inUpstate New York and rural northernPennsylvania that was largely fought by state militia companies and some Indian allies on the American side, and Loyalist companies supported by Indians, British Indian agents, and o^[1] ccasionally Britishregulars. The notable exception to significantContinental Army participation on the frontier was the 1779Sullivan Expedition, in which GeneralJohn Sullivan led an army expedition that drove the Iroquois out of New York. The warfare amongst the splinters of theIroquois Six Nations were particularly brutal, turning much of the Indian population into refugees^[2][3]

The only other notable actions occurred inNew England. A combined American-French attempt was made to drive the British out ofNewport, Rhode Island. TheBattle of Rhode Island ended badly when the French fleet abandoned the effort; the failure did some damage to American–French relations. In 1779, the British established a base on thePenobscot River in theDistrict of Maine with the intent of establishing a Loyalist presence there. The state ofMassachusetts responded with the amphibiousPenobscot Expedition, which ended in complete disaster

The British continued a process of raiding the New England coastal communities. One such raid led to askirmish at Freetown, Massachusetts, while others descended onMassachusetts andConnecticut coastal communities. In the 1781Battle of Groton Heights, the British were led by Connecticut nativeBenedict Arnold, who did substantial damage to the town.

After Lieutenant GeneralJohn Burgoyne surrendered his army following theSaratoga disaster in October 1777, France entered the war in February 1778. Britain's historical rival recognized theUnited States and entered into a military alliance. The conflict was now transformed from a civil war between Britain and colonial American insurgents into a major international war in which Britain had no allies. France dispatched a fleet and army across the Atlantic to aid the Americans fighting for independence, in addition to pursuing military operations in theCaribbean and theEast Indies. France also applied pressure on its allySpain to enter the war. Although this did not happen formally until 1779, Spanish actions in other theaters further stretched British military resources.

These major developments internally forced the British to take their focus from North America, moving troops, ships and resources to defend its valuable sugar-producing colonies in the Caribbean, India, Gibraltar, and other colonial possessions. It also now had to guard against a French invasion of Great Britain itself. In North America, the British strategically withdrew its troops fromPhiladelphia in 1778, and madeNew York City the headquarters for the North American theater of war. The British then embarked on a strategy for the southern colonies, where they believed thatLoyalists, many of whom were slaveholders, would actively support Britain. The southern colonies ofGeorgia,North andSouth Carolina, andVirginia, where they believed Loyalist sentiment to be strong. This activity formed the bulk of military activity in North America for the remainder of the war, but actions and forays occurred from British strongholds inQuebec,New York,Rhode Island, andNova Scotia. With no European allies or mercenary soldiers to supplement the depleted British troops, the British began recruiting American Loyalists andNative allies in great numbers to make up for their lack of army troops. They dispatched these irregular forces on raiding expeditions againstPatriot settlements on the frontiers. The British also launched raids and amphibious actions against theNew England coastline.^{[citation needed]}

American military strategy widened to some extent following entry of France into the war. The states were still dominated by the larger British army, which kept the Continental Army on the defensive outside Philadelphia and New York. The British began withdrawing from Philadelphia early in 1778, and the arrival of a French fleet off Philadelphia in July increased prospects for offensive action. While these large-scale actions occupied the army, militia and settlers on the northern and west frontiers of New York and Pennsylvania had to contend with incursions by Indians and Loyalists organized by the British out of posts in Quebec.

Each side made probes or diversionary movements designed to keep the other side on edge and uncertain of its intentions. General Clinton sent troops to "clean out that nest of Rebel Pirates" atLittle Egg Harbor, New Jersey. In theBattle of Chestnut Neck on October 6, 1778 the British destroyed some American supplies, and on the 15th surprisedPulaski's Legion in theLittle Egg Harbor massacre. Apparently as a diversion to draw attention away from that raid, Clinton also sent troops into northern New Jersey. During those movements, 12 companies of British light infantry led byCharles Grey surprised and slaughtered a sleeping company of American dragoons in theBaylor Massacre on September 27.

In May 1779 Clinton captured the outpost atStony Point, New York, which guarded one side of a major crossing point on the Hudson River. When he weakened this force to provide troops forWilliam Tryon's coastal raids, Washington devised an attack to regain the position. In theBattle of Stony Point on July 16, the fort was stormed and captured byAnthony Wayne's light infantry. Clinton later withdrew his forces back to New York as part of the planning for the invasion of the southern states. Later in 1779,Light Horse Harry Lee led American troops in a surprise raid onPaulus Hook in present-dayJersey City, New Jersey that weakened British control of northern New Jersey.

In early 1780, a British attack against an American outpost inWestchester County, New York resulted in about 50 American casualties and 75 captured in theBattle of Young's House. The last notable action in the New York City area was an attempt by the British to regain control of northern New Jersey in June by attacking the main Continental Army camp atMorristown. The first British-Hessian thrust byWilhelm von Knyphausen was blocked at theBattle of Connecticut Farms on June 7. A second offensive by Knyphausen on June 23 was halted in theBattle of Springfield after stiff fighting whenNathanael Greene appeared on the scene with 2,000 troops. This put an end to British ambitions in New Jersey.

On 21 July 1780, Wayne with two Pennsylvania brigades and four cannons attacked a loyalist blockhouse atBulls Ferry, New Jersey. In theBattle of Bull's Ferry, the 70 Tories endured an artillery barrage and repelled all American attacks, inflicting 15 killed and 49 wounded while suffering only 21 casualties.^[4]

The northern coast did not see a great deal of military action after 1777, although the British executed a series of raids against the coastal communities of Connecticut and Massachusetts, and there was occasional skirmishing.

The arrival off New York of a French fleet in July 1778 caused a flurry of activity. Major GeneralJohn Sullivan had earlier been sent toRhode Island to organize an attack on British-occupiedNewport. The Britishraided his supply caches, as well as destroying military defenses and significantly damaging several communities onMount Hope Bay. Sullivan's efforts became part of the first major attempt at Franco-American cooperation after the idea of an attack on New York was rejected. Marred by bad weather and poor communication, French troops arrived but were not used, and the Americans, while in retreat after a brief failed siege effort at Newport, fought an inconclusive battle with British forces in theBattle of Rhode Island. General Clinton marshalled troops from New York intending to support the New York garrison, but he arrived off Newport after the Americans had been driven off. Clinton instead ordered these troops ona raid (also led by General Grey) againstNew Bedford, Massachusetts andMartha's Vineyard in September. He also ordereda series of raids on the Connecticut coast led by William Tryon in 1779. The most devastating raid wasagainst New London in 1781, led by turncoat British GeneralBenedict Arnold.

In the summer of 1778 British military planners in London began to develop plans for a new Loyalist settlement inPenobscot Bay. An expedition was organized in early 1779, and on May 30, a fleet carrying troops and supplies leftHalifax, Nova Scotia. Arriving about two weeks later, the British established a series of fortifications on the east side of the bay. The State of Massachusetts organized an expedition to drive the British out with minimal support from the Continental Congress. Thisexpedition ended in disaster, with the entire fleet destroyed and nearly half the expedition's men killed, captured, or wounded. It was the worst defeat of an American naval force until the 20th century. Failure of the expedition was attributed to a lack of well-defined command between the land and naval components, and CommodoreDudley Saltonstall's unwillingness to engage the British fleet that arrived in relief.

In the aftermath of the Saratoga campaign, a frontier war emerged. Before Burgoyne's campaign, Quebec's GovernorGuy Carleton had previously restricted their use in Quebec territory (which at that time encompassed the Iroquois lands that are now western New York, Ohio, and northwestern Pennsylvania). Carleton was, however, ordered by Secretary of StateLord Sackville (who harbored an intense political and personal hatred for Carleton, and had denied him the command given to Burgoyne) to expand recruitment. This Carleton did, encouraging and fundingJohn Butler atFort Niagara for the purpose. Some of these recruits joined Burgoyne, while others joinedBarry St. Leger on his equally unsuccessfulSiege of Fort Stanwix in August 1777. The bloodyBattle of Oriskany, fought mainly between Native Americans on the British side and Tryon County militia accompanied by someOneidas, exposed fractures within the Iroquois Confederacy and marked the start of a bloody intra-Iroquois civil war.

Although there were still tribal interests that wanted to remain neutral, vocal advocates of war, including the Mohawk leaderJoseph Brant, and the continued persuasion of John Butler (which included many presents and the use of liquor to weakening Native resolve), convinced many of the Iroquois, particularly theSenecas andCayugas to take up arms for the British. These forces were principally led by war chiefs leadersCornplanter andSayenqueraghta, although Brant led a contingent of Mohawks and a small force of Loyalists known asBrant's Volunteers. Brant's recruitment of Loyalists sometimes put him at odds with the Butlers, who were also recruiting Loyalists for theirranger companies.

These forces engaged in destructive raids on outlying settlements of New York and Pennsylvania in theMohawk,Susquehanna,Delaware, and upperHudson River valleys, known as theBurning of the Valleys. These raids aimed to destroy farms and crops and disrupt the flow of supplies to the American forces. These operations were primarily under the leadership of John Butler, his sonWalter, or under the direction of one of the war chiefs. They were supplied by the British in Quebec and sympathetic Loyalist and Indian communities. These raids sometimes crossed into the territory of present-dayVermont, territory that was formally claimed by New York but had recentlyproclaimed independence from New York aftermany years of dispute. The frontier settlers organized militia to defend themselves, and were supported by a few Continental Army Regiments based atFort Schuyler,Cherry Valley, and theWyoming Valley (now part of Pennsylvania but then disputed between that state andConnecticut). These defenses were largely ineffective at preventing the raiders from acting, but communities were sometimes warned of impending attacks by friendlyOneidas, most of whom sided with the Americans.

In 1778, Brant recruiteda mixed force of Loyalists and Iroquois, and started his frontier raids with anattack onCobleskill, New York in May 1778, and the Senecas operated in the Susquehanna River valley, driving settlers out of present-dayLycoming County, Pennsylvania in a series of actions that became known as theBig Runaway. The Butlers and Senecas joined forces in early July toattack the Wyoming Valley. Although Brant was not present, atrocities claimed to have been committed there contributed to his reputation as a "monster", and the Seneca were outraged at false accusations that they had committed atrocities.

Brant joined forces with some ofButler's Rangers toattack German Flatts in early September. New York authorities responded to Brant's activities bydestroying the Indian towns ofUnadilla andOnaquaga in October; those towns had been used by Brant and the Butlers as bases of operation. Brant, the Butlers and some Senecas joined forces to take revenge by participating ina major attack onCherry Valley in early November in which as many as 30 non-combatants were slaughtered in the aftermath. British forces from theMontreal area led by MajorChristopher Carletonraided communities in the upper Hudson River valley in October.

The brutal frontier warfare led to calls in the Continental Congress for the army to take an active role. In 1779, Washington sent GeneralJohn Sullivan ona punitive expedition to suppress Indian attacks. Sullivan and his troops systematically destroyed evacuated Iroquois villages, successfully driving the Iroquois north into Quebec. In the only major action in that expedition, Sullivan's forces defeated those of the Butlers and Brant in theBattle of Newtown. Brant led raids that specifically targeted the villages of the Oneida and theTuscarora, who also supported the American cause. This destruction of Indian villages on both sides effectively depopulated much of the Iroquois territory as the survivors of the raids became refugees, but Sullivan's expedition failed in its objective of stopping or reducing the frequency of frontier attacks. In April, a few months prior to the Sullivan Expedition, AmericanColonel Van Schaick led an expedition of over 500 soldiers against theOnondagas, destroying several villages.^[5]

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The Butlers continued to attack New York frontier areas while Brant became more active on thewestern front. In early April 1782,Anne Hupp defended the fort of Miller's Blockhouse against aShawnee Indian attack,^[6] for over 24 hours in 1782 while eight months pregnant,^[7] after her husband was murdered and scalped.^[8][9]

Even after preliminary peace was agreed in 1782, Brant tried to continue the war, but was forced to abandon the effort when the British stopped supplying him.^{[citation needed]}

• Bibliography of Operations in the Northern Theater compiled by theUnited States Army Center of Military History

• Northern theater of the American Revolutionary War after Saratoga
• Campaigns of the American Revolutionary War
• New York (state) in the American Revolution
• New Jersey in the American Revolution
• Connecticut in the American Revolution
• Massachusetts in the American Revolution
• Maine in the American Revolution
• Rhode Island in the American Revolution
• Resistance to the British Empire
• Battles involving the Iroquois
• Northern theater of the American Revolutionary War

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