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Northern theater after 1777
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The Northern theater of the American Revolutionary War after Saratoga consisted of a series of battles between the American revolutionaries and British forces, from 1778 through 1782 in the Thirteen Colonies of British North America.
After the surrender at Saratoga in 1777 the French entered the war, dispatching a fleet and army across the Atlantic to aid those Americans fighting for independence. The British withdrew from Philadelphia, and made the city of New York their headquarters for the remainder of the war. The French and their American allies did not co-operate well, and a failed attempt to seize Newport, Rhode Island from the British led to a great deal of ill feeling on both sides.
The British had shifted their attention away from the continental North America, moving troops, ships and resources to defend the West Indies, India and other colonial possessions as well as guarding against the threat of a French invasion of Great Britain itself. In America itself, the British embarked on a southern strategy, capturing Charleston, South Carolina and launching a major campaign throughout the southernmost four colonies.
In the north, following their consolidation after the Saratoga disaster, the British began to develop a fresh approach. As they longer had enough regular forces to deploy, the British began recruiting American Loyalists and Natives allies in great numbers. Using their naval supremacy the British also launched a number of raids against the New England coastline. One in 1781 was led by Benedict Arnold who had switched sides the year before.
Following the defeat at Yorktown the British Parliament passed a motion that no further offensive operations were to be launched in America. Washington was examining the feasibility of an assault on New York, when peace was agreed. The British agreed to give up New York and other remaining coastal enclaves they still held.
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