Like the two earlier cases, Rutgers v. Waddington grew directly out of the events of the Revolutionary war. After being driven out of Boston in the spring of 1776, the British army adapted its strategy in America, determining to invade and occupy New York City, preparing the groundwork for an attempt to drive a military wedge between the New England colonies, parts of New York and the remainder of the country. Following a series of American defeats in the late summer and early fall of 1776, the British Army took possession of New York City and its immediate surroundings, where it remained for the next seven years, only departing in November, 1783 after the Definitive Treaty of Peace had been signed. Great numbers of Patriots fled the British occupation, abandoning the properties they owned in the city.