March 20 – The U.S. House of Representatives demands that the U.S. State Department supply it with documents relating to the negotiation of the Jay Treaty; President Washington declines the request, citing that only the U.S. Senate has jurisdiction over treaties.
March 26 – Napoleon Bonaparte arrives at Nice to take command of the Army of Italy (37,000 men and 60 guns), which is scattered in detachments as far as Genoa.
March 30 – Carl Gauss obtains conditions for the constructibility by ruler and compass of regular polygons, and can announce that the regular 17-gon is constructible by ruler and compasses.
April 14–15 – War of the First Coalition – Battle of Dego: French troops under Napoleon Bonaparte defeat the Austro-Sardinian forces near Dego. The hamlet changes hands for two days in hard fighting. The battle confirms the vulnerability of dispersed coalition forces. The Austrians lose 670 men killed or wounded, plus 1,087 men captured. The French lose 621 men killed or wounded, and 317 men captured.
April 16 – War of the First Coalition – Battle of Ceva: French troops (some 8,000 men) under General Pierre Augereau assault the Sardinian defensive positions at Ceva. After fierce fighting, the defensive system gives way under French pressure. The Sardinians are forced to withdraw. The French lose some 600 men killed or wounded.
April 21 – War of the First Coalition – Battle of Mondovi: Napoleon Bonaparte decisively defeats the army of Piedmont-Sardinia, leaving its capital of Turin defenseless. This convinces Piedmont to sign an armistice and withdraw from the war, turning the war in Italy decisively in France's favor.
April 27 – Case of the Lyons Mail: During the night, five highwaymen attack the mail between Paris and Lyon, kill the postmen and steal the funds sent to the armies in Italy.
April 28 – In an impassioned speech, U.S. Representative Fisher Ames of Massachusetts persuades his fellow members of the House to support the Jay Treaty.
May 6 – Napoleon Bonaparte forms an advanced guard (3,500 infantry and 1,500 cavalry) under General Claude Dallemagne. He sends this force along the south bank of the Po River, to cross it with boats at Piacenza.
War of the First Coalition – Battle of Lodi: General Napoleon Bonaparte defeats the Austrian rearguard, in forcing a crossing of the bridge over the Adda River in Italy. The Austrians lose some 2,000 men, 14 guns, and 30 ammunition wagons.
May 30 - War of the First Coalition - Battle of Borghetto: French troops (28,000 men) under Napoleon Bonaparte force a crossing of the Mincio River and push the Austrian army back towards the Tyrol. The Austrians lose 572 men killed or wounded, while the French lose some 500 men.
June 4 - The Siege of Mantua (1796-1797) begins when Napoleon Bonaparte lays siege to the city of Mantua, Austria's final stronghold in Northern Italy. The siege and Austria's attempts to relieve it will take the majority of the Italian campaign.
June 6–7 – Ragunda lake in Sweden bursts and drains completely, leaving the Döda fallet dry.
August 9 – The Wearmouth Bridge in England, designed by Rowland Burdon in cast iron, opens to traffic. Its span of 72m (236ft) makes it the world's longest single-span vehicular bridge extant at this date.
September 15 – Siege of Mantua: Napoleon Bonaparte fights a pitched battle at La Favorita on the east side of the Mincio River. The Austrians withdraw into the fortress of Mantua, which is crowded with nearly 30,000 men. Within six weeks, 4,000 die from wounds or sickness.
September 17 – U.S. President George Washington issues his Farewell Address, which warns against partisan politics and foreign entanglements. In addition, he sets a precedent by declining to run for a third term.
October – Jane Austen begins writing her first draft of Pride and Prejudice, under the title First Impressions (the book will not be published until 1813).
French forces (9,500 men) under Masséna attack the Austrian army at Fontaniva. After a desperate assault he is outnumbered, and forced to retreat to Verona.
Battle of Caldiero: French forces are defeated by the Austrians at Caldiero, and pushed back to Verona. This marks Napoleon's first defeat, losing nearly 2,000 men and 2 guns.
November 17 – Battle of Arcole: French forces under General Napoleon defeat the Austrians at Arcole. After a bold maneuver, he outflanks the Austrian army (24,000 men) under Freiherr József Alvinczi, and cuts off its line of retreat. Alvinczi is forced to take up a defensive position behind the Brenta River.
The Spanish government lifts the restrictions against neutrals trading with the colonies, thus acknowledging Spain's inability to supply the colonies with needed goods and markets.
12345Harper's Encyclopaedia of United States History from 458 A. D. to 1909, ed. by Benson John Lossing and, Woodrow Wilson (Harper & Brothers, 1910) p171.
↑Reginald George Burton (2010). Napoleon's Campaigns in Italy 1796–1797 & 1800, p. 22. ISBN978-0-85706-356-4
↑Smith, Digby (1998). The Napoleonic Wars Data Book, p. 112. London: Greenhill. ISBN1-85367-276-9.
↑Boycott-Brown, Martin (2001). The Road to Rivoli, p. 264–265. London: Cassell & Co. ISBN0-304-35305-1.
↑Reginald George Burton (2010). Napoleon's Campaigns in Italy 1796–1797 & 1800, p. 33. ISBN978-0-85706-356-4
↑Reginald George Burton (2010). Napoleon's Campaigns in Italy 1796–1797 & 1800, p. 43. ISBN978-0-85706-356-4
↑Smith, Digby (1998). The Napoleonic Wars Data Book, p. 113. London: Greenhill. ISBN1-85367-276-9.
↑Tyrrell, Henry Grattan (1911). History of Bridge Engineering. Chicago: Published by the author. pp.153–154. Retrieved August 16, 2011. 210. The Sunderland bridge over the Wear at Wearmouth.
↑Troyano, Leonardo Fernández (2003). Bridge Engineering: a Global Perspective. London: Thomas Telford Publishing. p.49. ISBN0-7277-3215-3.