January of 1777
January 1, 1777
Hessian prisoners taken at Trenton marched through Philadelphia on this day.

Cornwallis, who had been about to leave for England, rode 50 miles from New York to take command at Princeton, NJ. The total troops camped there numbered 8,000; Washington at Trenton, commanded 5,000.

Benjamin Franklin was appointed Commissioner to Spain, in addition to his duties in France.

January 2, 1777
Cornwallis marched toward Trenton to attack Washington with 6,000 men. Washington's troops were in great danger, backed up against the Delaware River. Their saving grace was Cornwallis' decision to wait until the next day to finish the battle.

January 3, 1777
During the early morning hours of this day, Washington and his troops attacked the British rear guard at Princeton. Forty patriots and 275 British soldiers were killed during the battle. The Battle of Princeton was vital to boosting Washington' prestige and American morale.

January 5, 1777
General Leopold von Heister writes to Lord George Germain describing the defeat at Trenton.

January 6, 1777
Washington moves into winter quarters at Morristown, NJ.

January 7, 1777
Royal Governor to East Florida, Patrick Tonyn, wrote to Lord Germain that the estates of Sir James Wright (Royal Governor of Georgia and South Carolina) and others had been seized in Georgia. A Battery was also being built at Tybee Island, GA.
January 8, 1777
British withdrew all forces from NJ except posts at W. Brunswick and Perth Amboy.

January 10, 1777
An American shore battery drove away the British ship, HMS Cerberus.

January 14, 1777
British raid Prudence Island, Rhode Island.

January 16, 1777
A convention in Westminster votes to ask Congress to recognize the new state of New Connecticut (present-day Vermont).

January 17, 1777
Patriot forces under General William Heath begin a movement toward a Britsh post at Fort Independence, King's Bridge, New York.

January 20, 1777
Patriot and British forces skirmish at Somerset Courthouse (present-day Millstone), New Jersey.

January 25, 1777
British forces counterattack from besieged Fort Independence, scattering the Americans.

January 27, 1777
Congress adjourns to Baltimore, Maryland.
January 28, 1777
In England, General John Burgoyne submits a plan to the government designed to isolate New England from the other colonies.

January 29, 1777
Americans abandon their siege at King's Bridge, New York.

February of 1776
February 2-9, 1777
Local patriots engage in skirmishes with Tories at Fort McIntosh, Georgia, and are forced to surrender the fort following a two-day siege.
February 4, 1777
Georgia adopts a new constitution.

February 27, 1777
In Baltimore, Congress adjourns and makes plans to return to Philadelphia now that General Washington has eliminated the British threat to the city.

March of 1777
March 8, 1777
American troops under the command of Brigadier General William Maxwell defeat the British at Amboy, New Jersey.

March 12, 1777
Congress convenes in Philadelphia.
March 13, 1777
Congress issues a call for qualified foreign military experts through its agents in Europe.
March 23-24, 1777
American troops under the command of Brigadier General Alexander McDougall failed to stop British raiders from destroying magazines and storehouses in Peekskill, New York. Lieutenant Colonel Marinus Willett arrives with reinforcements from Fort Constitution and force a British withdrawal.
April of 1777
April 13, 1777
A British expedition led by Cornwallis surprises American troops at Bound Brook, New Jersey. American Major General Benjamin Lincoln and most of his 500 troops escape capture, although the artillery detachment and its guns are seized by the British.
April 14, 1777
Congress authorizes the establishment of what will become the Springfield Arsenal at Springfield, Massachusetts.
April 16, 1777
Congress encourages the state of Rhode Island to assemble troops to drive the British out of Newport.
April 17, 1777
The Congressional Committee of Secret Correspondence becomes the Committee for Foreign Affairs.
April 20, 1777
New York adopts a new constitution.
April 21-28, 1777
British troops under the command of General William Tryon attack Danbury, Connecticut, where they destroy houses, barns, storehouses, and more than 1,500 tents. As the British withdraw, they are attacked by American forces under Generals Benedict Arnold, David Wooster, and Gold Silliman. The outnumbered American troops are unable to stop the British who march through Ridgefield and Compo Hill, Connecticut, en route to their ships at Long Island Sound.
May of 1777
May 1, 1777
Arthur Lee replaces Benjamin Franklin as the United States' representative to the Spanish court.

May 2, 1777
Patriots at Fort Henry, Virginia on the western frontier gladly receive 98 barrels of gunpowder courtesy of Lieutenant William Linn who arrives from New Orleans.
May 6, 1777
With his orders for an invasion of New York in hand, General Burgoyne arrives in Quebec to assume command of British forces.
May 7, 1777
Ralph Izard replaces Benjamin Franklin as the commissioner to the Grand Duke of Tuscany.
May 9, 1777
Congress appoints William Lee as the United States' representative to Vienna and Berlin.
May 10, 1777
The 42nd Highlanders repulse a surprise attack by American troops under the command of Major General Adam Stephen at Piscatawy, New Jersey.
May 15, 1777
American Colonel John Baker retrieves stolen horses from Indians at Sawpit Bluff, Florida.
May 17, 1777
Almost one third of Colonel John Baker's 109 men are captured after Baker's troops are attacked by Indians and British regulars at Thomas' Swamp, Florida. The Indians kill 15 of the captives before British Colonel Augustine Prevost intervenes to stop the massacre.
May 23, 1777
At Sag Harbor, New York, American troops under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Return Jonathan Meigs capture several British vessels and burned supplies.
May 28, 1777
In the opening move of the campaign of 1777, Washington marches from Morristown to Middlebrook Valley.
June of 1777
June 14, 1777
Congress adopts the "stars and stripes" flag composed of thirteen stars and thirteen stripes, one for each of the original states, as the American flag.
June 17, 1777
At Millstone (Somerset Courthouse) in New Jersey, a former prisoner-of-war Colonel Daniel Morgan and his regiment harass entrenching British forces.
June 18, 1777
Sir Henry Clinton and 16,000 men depart for New York City. Lafayette pursues him based on Washington's previously arranged plan.
June 30, 1777
General John Burgoyne's army begins to arrive near Fort Ticonderoga.

British General William Howe leaves New Jersey for New York City and Staten Island. He intends to carry out the plan to begin an offensive attack against Philadelphia.
July of 1777
July 1-4, 1777
After a defeat by frontier militia, Cherokee Indians relinquish contested lands to North Carolina and Virginia in the Treaty of Long Island.
July 5, 1777
American Brigadier General Arthur St. Clair is not able to continue holding defense of Fort Ticonderoga and evacuates leaving substantial supplies behind. During this time, the British occupy an undefended Mount Defiance, which overlooks Fort Ticonderoga.
July 6, 1777
The British now occupy Fort Ticonderoga and endanger the flight of St. Clair's army.
July 7, 1777
Hessians and the British under command of German General Friedrich von Riedesel and British General Simon Fraser defeat the retreating Americans at Hubbardton, Vermont. St. Clair is able to escape British pursuit.
July 8, 1777
Vermont (formerly New Connecticut) approves a written constitution as an independent republic, which provides for manhood suffrage and the abolition of slavery.

At Fort Anne, New York British forces capture boatloads of supplies as well as invalids of the American rear guard retreating from Skenesboro. However, the British do not achieve their main objective, which is to cut off the retreating American forces.

July 9, 1777
New York elects its first governor George Clinton.
July 9-10, 1777
William Barton, a militia officer, captures British General Richard Prescott in Newport, Rhode Island.
July 16, 1777
A two-year operation against British shipping in European and eastern Atlantic waters begins when American Captain Gustavus Conyngham ("The Dunkirk Pirate") departs from Dunkirk.
July 23, 1777
British General William Howe departs from New York with 15,000 troops. This move perplexes Washington due to his understanding of orders that British General Germain has given to John Burgoyne as well as Howe.
July 26, 1777
British Colonel Barry St. Leger's forces advance from Oswego to Albany to meet John Burgoyne's troops. 875 British, Tory, and Hessian troops as well as 1,000 Indians under the supervision of Joseph Brant are involved in this advance.
July 27, 1777
An advance party of Burgoyne's Indians near Fort Edward, New York, captures Loyalist Jane McCrea, fiance of Lieutenant David Jones of Burgoyne's army. McCrea's death created an anti-British sentiment among settlers in the region.

Marquis de Lafayette and Baron Johann de Kalb arrive in Philadelphia. These men eventually become two of the best of the foreign officers in the Continental army.
July 29, 1777
General Philip Schuyler retreats down the Hudson River from Fort Edward, New York.
July 31, 1777
To Congress's delight the Marquis de Lafayette volunteers to serve the Continental Army without pay.
August of 1777
August 2, 1777
The HMS Renown is driven from Dutch Island Harbor by a Rhode Island battery.
August 4, 1777
Horatio Gates replaces Phillip John Schuyler as Commander of the Northern Army.
August 6, 1777
800 of General Nicholas Herkimer's militiamen are ambushed as they attempt to relieve Fort Stanwix. Herkimer is mortally wounded during this attempt.
August 10, 1777
General Benedict Arnold offers to lead an expedition of 900 men from Stillwater to Fort Stanwix.
August 16, 1777
British and Hessian forces are defeated at the Battle of Bennington, Vermont, which is fought entirely in New York.
August 22, 1777
British Colonel Barry St. Leger abandons Fort Stanwix for Canada as Arnold's forces approach.
August 25, 1777
Washington marches toward Wilmington, Delaware, in an attempt to block the British advance on Philadelphia.
September of 1777
September 1, 1777
In what becomes known as McCulloch's leap, American Major Samuel McCulloch rides his horse down a 150-foot cliff to escape Fort Henry, Virginia, which is under siege by Indians. McCulloch escapes across Wheeling Creek and leads reinforcements back to the fort, forcing the Indians to flee.
September 3, 1777
At Iron Hill, Delaware, German jagers drive back American Brigadier General William Maxwell's Light Infantry Brigade, which has been sent to delay Howe's advance.
September 11, 1777
Howe outmaneuvers Washington at the Battle of Brandywine. Washington withdraws toward Philadelphia.
September 13, 1777
Burgoyne moves to the west bank of the Hudson.
September 15, 1777
Congress offers a commission of major general to Baron de Kalb, who had threatened to sue Congress for breach of contract after Congress failed to fulfill a contract between Kalb and Silas Deane promising such a commission.
September 16, 1777
A major battle is averted after torrential rain soaks the powder supplies of both American and British troops at Warren Tavern, Pennsylvania.
September 17, 1777
Congress prepares to leave Philadelphia as the British approach and grants Washington dictatorial powers with full responsibility for conducting the war.
September 18, 1777
Members of Congress flee west toward York, Pennsylvania, where they will remain until June, 1778.
The Liberty Bell is relocated from Phildelphia to Allentown, Pennsylvania.
September 18-24, 1777
American troops under the command of Colonel John Brown capture 300 British troops on the west shore of Lake George, New York.
September 19, 1777
At the First Battle of Saratoga, Bourgoyne's forces are repulsed largely thanks to efforts by Benedict Arnold and Daniel Morgan. When General Gates and Benedict Arnold clash over strategy, Gates removes Arnold as second-in-command.
September 20-21, 1777
British troops under the command of Major General Charles Grey defeat General Anthony Wayne in a surprise attack at Paoli, Pennsylvania in what becomes known as the "Paoli Massacre."
September 24, 1777
Colonel John Brown leads his troops on a raid against a British post south of Fort Ticonderoga, and although the Americans fail to recapture the fort, they do obtain important information regarding Burgoyne's provisions.
September 25, 1777
Brigadier General Thomas Conway complains to Congress about his commanding officer, General William Alexander, Lord Stirling.
September 26, 1777
British forces occupy Philadelphia.
September 30, 1777
Congress convenes for one day at York, Pennsylvania, then adjourns.
 
October of 1777
October 3, 1777
In an attempt to help General Burgoyne, General Clinton begins an expedition up the Hudson River towards Albany.
October 4, 1777
Although the Americans suffer high casualties and their attack is repulsed, Washington's assault on Howe's encampment at Germantown, Pennsylvania, is considered a psychological success because of its boldness.
October 6, 1777
As the proceed up the Hudson, British forces under General Clinton capture Forts Clinton and Montgomery.
October 7, 1777
Benedict Arnold assumes command of the troops in spite of Gates's orders and repulses Burgoyne in the Second Battle of Saratoga.

Congress decides that each state will have one vote in the new national legislature under the Articles of Confederation.
October 8, 1777
Desperate for food and ammunition, Burgoyne retreats.
October 9, 1777
General Clinton receives Burgoyne's appeal for help but makes not attempt to fight through to Saratoga.
October 11, 1777
Continuing his pattern of disparaging his commanding officers, Thomas Conway sends Gates a letter suggesting that Washington should be relieved of his duties as commander-in-chief and Gates should be appointed as his replacement.
October 13, 1777
Gates accepts Burgoyne's request for a cessation of hostilities.
October 16, 1777
Clinton's troops burn the town of Esopus, New York, thinking the action will divert American attention away from Bourgoyne.
October 17, 1777
Burgoyne surrenders. The American victory at Saratoga assures French aid to the American cause.

Congress establishes a Board of War consisting of three individuals who were not members of Congress.
October 22, 1777
An American garrison at Fort Mercer, New Jersey, repels an attack by Hessian troops.

After failing to receive requested reinforcements, General Howe asks that he be relieved of command.
October 23, 1777
American artillery at Fort Mifflin, Pennsylvania, inflicts severe damage on the British fleet as it moves up the river from Delaware Bay.
November of 1777
November 2, 1777
The USS Ranger, under the command of John Paul Jones, leaves Portsmouth, New Hampshire for France.
November 3, 1777
Washington is informed that a conspiracy is afoot to discredit him with Congress and have him replaced by General Gates.

November 6, 1777
A British ship runs aground at Point Judith, Rhode Island, and is captured by American forces.
November 15, 1777
American troops evacuate Fort Mifflin, Pennsylvania, following a six-day bombardment by the British fleet.

Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union.
November 17, 1777
Congress submits the Articles of Confederation to the states for ratification.

November 20-22, 1777
American forces at Fort Mercer, New Jersey, evacuate as the British fleet prepares to begin a naval bombardment. The Delaware River is now open to the British as far as Philadelphia.
November 22, 1777
In its first fiscal requisition, Congress requests that the states submit payments to support the war effort in paper money.
November 25, 1777
Lafayette and his 300 troops win a skirmish with a larger force of Hessians at Gloucester, New Jersey.
November 27, 1777
Congress recommends that the states confiscate the estates of loyalist sympathizers noting that such residents had "forfeited the right to protection."
November 28, 1777
After the judgement and loyalty of Silas Deane is called into question, Congress appoints John Adams to succeed Deane as the commissioner to France.
December of 1777
December 2, 1777
The USS Ranger, under the command of John Paul Jones, arrives in Nantes, France.
December 5-8, 1777
Howe withdraws to Philadelphia after briefly following a British raiding force to Whitemarsh, Chestnut Hill, and Edge Hill.
December 6, 1777
French Foreign Minister Comte Charles G. de Vergennes responds positively to the American suggestions of a military alliance in the wake of the American victory at Saratoga.
December 10, 1777

An American raid by Colonel Samuel B. Webb and his regiment on Long Island, New York, is foiled by British ships. Webb and his regiment are captured.
December 11, 1777
Washington begins moving his troops from Whitemarsh to Valley Forge for the winter.
Cornwallis clashes with the main American army, en route to Valley Forge, and then captures over 2,000 sheep and cattle at Gulph's Mill, Pennsylvania.
Washington delays the march to Valley Forge for several days.
December 13, 1777
In response to the "Conway Cabal," an action by the followers of Brigadier General Thomas Conway, Congress establishes the Inspector General Department in the Continental Army.
December 14, 1777
Congress names Thomas Conway Inspector General.
December 15, 1777
American representatives in Paris begin negotiations with British agent Paul Wentworth, whom Ben Franklin considers unsavory and two-faced. The negotiations with Wentworth prove fruitless, although the motivate the French conclude an alliance with the Americans.
December 19, 1777
Washington and the Continental Army set up winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.