1779

1779 was a year during the ongoing American Revolutionary War, in which major European powers and their colonies were drawn into a widening conflict against Britain. France and Spain continued to support the American colonies, and Spain formally declared war on Britain on June 21, 1779, expanding military operations to new theaters in the Atlantic and the Caribbean.

In North America, fighting continued on land and at sea. On July 16, American forces under General Anthony Wayne captured the fortified position at Stony Point, New York, in a bold nighttime assault. In the southern and coastal theaters, the Siege of Savannah from September 16 to October 9 ended with British control of the city after Allied efforts failed to retake it. At sea, John Paul Jones achieved a celebrated victory off the coast of England on September 23–24 when his fleet, including the Bonhomme Richard, defeated HMS Serapis near Flamborough Head; the encounter is famous for Jones’s assertion of fighting spirit, though the Bonhomme Richard subsequently sank.

The year also marked a significant loss in the exploration of the Pacific. Captain James Cook, on his third voyage seeking the Northwest Passage, was killed at Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii, on February 14, 1779, effectively ending his famous expedition.

Together, these events reflected a global war with multiple theaters, shifting alliances, and ongoing efforts to expand international involvement in the struggle for American and colonial independence.