1778 in the United States

Events from the year 1778 in the United States.

Incumbents

 * President of the Second Continental Congress: Henry Laurens (until December 10), John Jay (starting December 10)

January–March

 * January 18 – The third Pacific expedition of Capt. James Cook, with ships HMS Resolution and HMS Discovery, first view O'ahu then Kaua'i in the Hawaiian Islands, which he names the Sandwich Islands.
 * February 5 – South Carolina becomes the first state to ratify the Articles of Confederation.
 * February 6 – American Revolutionary War: In Paris the Treaty of Alliance and the Treaty of Amity and Commerce are signed by the United States and France, signaling official recognition of the new republic.
 * February 23 – American Revolutionary War: Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania and begins to train the American troops.
 * March 18 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Quinton's Bridge

April–June

 * May 1 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Crooked Billet
 * May 17 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Thomas Creek
 * May 20 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Barren Hill
 * May 30 – Benedict Arnold signs U.S. oath of allegiance at Valley Forge.
 * June 24 – A total solar eclipse takes place across parts of the U.S. from Texas to Virginia.
 * June 28 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Monmouth: George Washington's Continental Army battles the British general Sir Henry Clinton's army to a draw near Monmouth, New Jersey.

July–September

 * July 3 – American Revolutionary War: the Battle of Wyoming, also known as the Wyoming Massacre, takes place near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, ending in a terrible defeat of the local colonists.
 * July 4 – American Revolutionary War: George Rogers Clark takes Kaskaskia.
 * July 27 – American Revolution – First Battle of Ushant: British and French fleets fight to a standoff.
 * August 29 – American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Rhode Island takes place when the Continental Army attempts to retake Aquidneck Island from the British.
 * September – The Massachusetts Banishment Act, providing punishment for Loyalists, is passed.
 * September 17 – The Treaty of Fort Pitt is signed, the first formal treaty between the United States and a Native American tribe (the Lenape or Delaware).
 * September 19 – The Continental Congress passes the first budget of the United States.

October–December

 * October 6 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Chestnut Neck
 * November 11 – American Revolutionary War: Cherry Valley massacre – British forces and their Iroquois allies attack a fort and the village of Cherry Valley, New York, killing 14 soldiers and 30 civilians.
 * November 26 – In the Hawaiian Islands, Capt. James Cook becomes the first European to land on Maui.
 * November 30 – American Revolutionary War: Continental Army in winter quarters at Middlebrook Cantonment, New Jersey.

Undated

 * The first settlement is made in the area of what is now Louisville, Kentucky by 13 families under Colonel George Rogers Clark.
 * Phillips Academy, a prestigious secondary boarding school in the United States, is founded by Samuel Phillips Jr.
 * The term "thoroughbred" is first used in the United States in an advertisement in a Kentucky gazette to describe a New Jersey stallion called Pilgarlick.

Ongoing

 * American Revolutionary War (1775–1783)
 * Slavery in the United States

Births

 * January 6 – Thomas Lincoln, farmer and father of President Abraham Lincoln (died 1851)
 * February 22 – Rembrandt Peale, artist and museum keeper (died 1860)
 * April 11 – John Johnson, early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement in Ohio (died 1843)
 * April 27 – Gideon Lee, politician (died 1841)
 * May 3 – David Wilder, Jr., politician (died 1866)
 * May 15 – Enoch Fenwick, Jesuit priest (died 1827)
 * August 1
 * John Collins Warren, magazine founder (died 1856)
 * Mary Jefferson Eppes, Thomas Jefferson's younger child (died 1804)
 * August 2
 * Jabez Delano Hammond, politician (died 1855)
 * Robert Richford Roberts, bishop (died 1843)
 * August 3 – Jessup Nash Couch, politician (died 1821)
 * August 4 – John Hunter, politician (died 1852)
 * August 15 – John Tanner, early Mormon leader (died 1850)
 * August 18 – Silas Condit, politician (died 1861)
 * August 26 – John Adams, United States House of Representatives member (died 1854)
 * August 27 – Mary Whitmer, Book of Mormon witness (died 1856)

Deaths

 * June 12 – Philip Livingston, merchant and statesman from New York City (born 1716)
 * November 11 – 30 people in the Cherry Valley massacre
 * June 15 - William Henry Ferrell (born 1740) "killed by Indians in New Garden Settlement, Washington, Virginia, United States" Source: Ancestry.com