The Continental Congress builds a small fleet to take on the British Navy. The new Commander of the Continental Navy begins his command by disobeying orders to confront the British Navy directly. Instead, he launches a raid on the Bahamas to collect needed arms and ammunition.
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Delegates to the Continental Congress, including conservatives, begin to consider independence as a realistic option. Lord Drummond sails to Philadelphia in a well intentioned but poorly conceived attempt to broker a peace deal. Congress blames General Schuyler for the failures in Canada and moves around some of its generals. It sends Silas Deane to France to open up diplomatic negotiations with the new King Louis XVI of France.
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General Henry Clinton leaves Boston to secure the southern colonies. His plan is to meet up with a fleet of regulars coming from Britain under the commend of General Cornwallis. These regulars will serve as a rally point for loyalists to enlist and reclaim the colonies for the King.
The British send two recruiting officers to western North Carolina, where they raise several thousand recruits. The Patriots learn of the organization of loyalist regiments. They send Continentals under Col. James Moore, along with patriot militia to prevent the loyalists from reaching the coast and joining with the regulars.
The parties meet at Moore's Creek Bridge. The loyalists attack, but fail and flee. The patriots capture most of the militia and disperse any loyalists. When Clinton and Cornwallis arrive in North Carolina, they find nothing but hostile patriot regiments to oppose them. They give up on North Carolina move on to South Carolina.
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Thomas Paine arrived in America in 1774 with a head full of radical ideas: abolition, women's rights, republicanism, and independence. This British immigrant was more radical than most Americans. His publication of Common Sense in January 1776 is widely credited with pushing public opinion in favor of independence.
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General Washington appoints Henry Knox Commander of Artillery. His first mission is to find some artillery to command. Knox hauls 59 artillery pieces from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston. These will prove instrumental in ending the Siege of Boston.
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General Montgomery and Colonel Arnold make a desperate attempt to take Quebec City before their soldiers' enlistments expire at the end of 1775. Despite a brave attack, the attack fails, leaving the Continental Army in Canada in tatters.
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General Arnold demands the surrender of Quebec, but the last minute arrival of local defenders gives them the courage to hold out. Arnold pulls back and links up with General Montgomery so that the combined force can assault the city together.
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Virginia Governor Lord Dunmore proclaims that slaves who abandon their rebel masters and join the British army can earn their freedom. Dunmore attempts to recruit a loyalist army of both black and white Virginians. He fights a pitched battle at Kemp's Landing and Great Bridge. Unable to hold land, his forces retreat to ships offshore. At the end of 1775, the British also burn and abandon Norfolk.
In South Carolina, patriots attack and scatter loyalist militia around Ninty-Six i the western interior. They also fight with naval forces supporting Royal Governor Campbell in Charleston Harbor. Patriots succeed in forcing the navy to leave the colony as well.
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Benedict Arnold leads a force across the New England wilderness to attack Quebec from an unexpected direction. More than half of his force does not make it through the deadly march.
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Congress accepts that it is in for a long term fight. It creates a Navy and Marine Corps and a southern army. It explores diplomacy with France and sends a diplomat to work with the Iroquois. It also recommends that the colonies create forms of government based on the will of the people. To pay for all this, it prints lots more paper money.
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