Most of the early battles involved few troops. At Bunker Hill, for example, about 2,200 British soldiers fought 1,200 Americans. The British had not yet won a decisive victory over the Patriots, however, and they realized they would need more troops to end the war quickly. During the summer of 1776, Britain sent 32,000 troops across the Atlantic to New York. The British commander, General William Howe, hoped the size of his army would convince the Patriots to give up. He was soon disappointed.

Although Washington and the Patriots had fewer than 20,000 troops, they were determined to fight. In late August, the two sides clashed in the Battle of Long Island. Outnumbered and outmaneuvered, the Continental Army suffered a serious defeat at the hands of the British forces. One Patriot, Nathan Hale, proved a hero at Long Island. A teacher from Connecticut, Hale volunteered to spy on British troops and disguised himself as a Dutch schoolteacher. The British discovered his identity, however, and hanged him. According to tradition, just before his hanging, Hale’s last words were, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”

Although the Americans showed bravery, they ran short of supplies for the army. In Autumn 1776, a British officer noted that many of the Patriot soldiers killed on Long Island had not been wearing shoes, socks, or jackets. After the defeat on Long Island, Washington retreated to Manhattan, pursued by the British. By late November, the Continental Army had retreated across New Jersey into Pennsylvania. In the winter of 1776–1777, the Patriots’ cause was near collapse. The size of the Continental Army had dwindled. Some soldiers completed their terms of service and went home. Other soldiers ran away. Still, Washington could not believe that the fight for liberty would truly fail.

Washington pleaded with the Continental Congress for more troops. He asked the Congress to enlist free African Americans. Early in the war, the Southern states had persuaded the Congress to not allow African Americans in the Continental Army. Many white people in the South felt uncomfortable about giving guns to African Americans and allowing them to serve as soldiers. In Southern states with large enslaved populations, whites feared revolts. As the need for soldiers grew, some states ignored the ban and enlisted African Americans. Rhode Island raised an all-African American regiment in 1778.

The British army settled in New York for the winter of 1776, leaving some troops in New Jersey at Trenton and Princeton. Armies usually called a halt to their wars during the winter, and the British did not expect to fight. Stationed across the Delaware River from the British camp in New Jersey, Washington saw a chance to catch the British off guard. On Christmas night 1776, Washington took 2,400 troops across the icy river and surprised the enemy at Trenton the next day. The Americans captured more than 900 Hessians. The British sent reinforcements under Lord Charles Cornwallis, but Washington led his troops away from Cornwallis’s men. Washington then marched the army to Princeton, where they drove away the British. One discouraged British soldier wrote in his diary, “A few days ago [the Americans] had given up the cause for lost. Their late successes have turned the scale and now they are all liberty mad again.”

The British worked out a battle plan for 1777. They would take Albany, New York, and gain control of the Hudson River. This would separate New England from the Middle Colonies. The plan involved a three-pronged attack. General John Burgoyne would lead nearly 8,000 troops south from Canada. A second force, under Lieutenant Colonel Barry St. Leger, would move east from Lake Ontario. A third group, under Howe, would move north from New York City. The three British forces would meet at Albany and destroy the Patriot troops. Howe planned to take Philadelphia, the American capital, before marching to Albany. After winning battles in September 1777 at Brandywine and Paoli near Philadelphia, Howe’s troops captured the city itself, forcing the Continental Congress to flee. In early October, Washington attacked the main British camp at nearby Germantown, but he was forced to withdraw. Howe postponed the move north to Albany and decided to spend the winter in Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, problems delayed the British plans to take Albany. In August, American soldiers halted St. Leger’s advance at Fort Stanwix, New York. Led by Benedict Arnold, the Americans forced the British to retreat. Burgoyne’s army was not making much progress toward Albany either. In July Burgoyne captured Fort Ticonderoga, but trouble followed. Burgoyne, a wealthy and arrogant general who enjoyed good food and fine clothes, traveled with 30 wagons of luxury goods. Loaded down with this heavy baggage, Burgoyne’s army moved slowly through the dense forests. To make matters worse, the Americans blocked the British by chopping down trees across their path. In need of food and supplies, Burgoyne sent 800 troops and Native Americans to capture the American supply base at Bennington, Vermont. The British troops’ brightly colored uniforms made the soldiers easy targets in the woods. A local militia group, the Green Mountain Boys, attacked and defeated them. Having lost part of his army and desperately short of supplies, Burgoyne retreated in October to the town of Saratoga in New York.

At Saratoga, Burgoyne faced serious trouble. He expected British forces from the west and south to join him, but they had not arrived: Howe was still wintering in Philadelphia, and St. Leger had been defeated. In addition, American troops under the command of General Horatio Gates blocked Burgoyne’s path to the south. He found himself surrounded by an army about three times as large as his own. Burgoyne made a last desperate attack on October 7, but the Americans held firm. On October 17, 1777, Burgoyne surrendered. As a Patriot band played “Yankee Doodle,” over 5,700 British soldiers handed their weapons to the Americans. The British plan to separate New England from the Middle Colonies had failed. Soon afterward, Howe resigned as commander of the British troops in America and was replaced by General Henry Clinton.