✦ History

American Revolutionary War

April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783 · Philadelphia, Yorktown

Result American and allied victory

19 April 1775-3 September 1783 war in which American Patriot forces, the Continental Army under George Washington, defeated the British Army. Fought in North America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic, its decisive moment came with Washington's 1781 victory at Yorktown. The 1783 Treaty of Paris acknowledged the independence of the Thirteen Colonies, creating an independent United States.

On the map Overview Contemporaries

American

British

French

Spanish

Dutch

Other

United States The thirteen colonies
Great Britain Kingdom of Great Britain
Muscogee Confederacy
Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel
Province of Quebec
Electorate of Hanover
Cherokee
Shawnee
France Joined the war in 1778
Spain Fought Britain from 1779 as an ally of France
Dutch Republic
James Monroe John Adams Diplomat, Negotiated the Treaty of Paris Thomas Jefferson Governor of Virginia, Drafted the Declaration of Independence George Washington Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army Alexander Hamilton Benjamin Franklin Minister to France, Secured the French alliance; negotiated the Treaty of Paris Marquis de Lafayette Major General, French volunteer in the Continental Army; served at Yorktown Peyton Randolph belligerent leader
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Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben Major General, Inspector General of the Continental Army; trained the troops at Valley Forge Horatio Gates Major General, Won at Saratoga; defeated at Camden
Thomas Gage William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe Charles Cornwallis Lieutenant General, Surrendered at Yorktown, October 1781 George III King of Great Britain, British head of state through the war Henry Clinton General, Commander-in-Chief of British forces in North America, 1778-1782 John Burgoyne General, Surrendered at Saratoga, October 1777 Frederick North, Lord North Prime Minister William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne belligerent leader
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George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville Secretary of State for the Colonies, Directed British strategy in America
Comte de Rochambeau Lieutenant General, commander of the French expeditionary force in America Comte de Grasse Lieutenant General of the Naval Armies, commanded the French fleet operating in American waters Louis XVI King of France, Allied France with the United States in 1778

Strength and losses

Killed
6,800
Wounded
6,100–8,500
Captured
11,500

United States Strength c. 217,000 · Killed 4,435 · Wounded 6,188

Units

Continental Army Northern Army (Continental Army) Arnold's Expedition to Quebec Arnold's Lake Champlain flotilla Southern Army (Continental Army) Morgan's flying army 14th Continental Regiment 1st Maryland Regiment Also under Southern Army (Continental Army) and Morgan's flying army 1st Rhode Island Regiment Lee's Legion Also under Southern Army (Continental Army) United States Army United States Army Corps of Engineers Green Mountain Boys Continental Navy Bonhomme Richard Penobscot Expedition fleet
British main army in North America Rall's Hessian brigade British southern army (Clinton and Cornwallis) British Legion (Tarleton) Burgoyne's army Baum's detachment Royal Marines 40th (the 2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment of Foot 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot Royal Navy Royal Navy North American fleet British Lake Champlain squadron Parker's squadron HMS Serapis
Expédition Particulière French Army French Navy D'Estaing's fleet De Grasse's fleet Ville de Paris French squadron at Newport
Spanish Army Spanish army of Bernardo de Gálvez
111th Infantry Regiment (United States) Royal Indian Navy

Battles and events 137

Key events

1774 1 event
1775 15 events
1776 21 events
1777 23 events
1778 12 events
1779 19 events
1780 11 events
1781 18 events
1782 14 events
1783 3 events

Before and after

Followed from
Boston Tea Party December 16, 1773
Battles of Lexington and Concord April 19, 1775
Ended by
Treaty of Paris (1783) September 3, 1783
Peace of Paris (1783) September 3, 1783
Led to
Evacuation Day (New York) November 25, 1783
Constitutional Convention May 25 – September 17, 1787

Related events 1 degree away • 2 degrees away

1774
1776
1778
1780
1782
1784
1786
1788
1790
 
Boston Tea Party
 
American Revolutionary War
 
Battles of Lexington and Concord
 
Siege of Boston
 
Anglo-French War (1778–1783)
 
Spain and the American Revolutionary War
 
Fourth Anglo-Dutch War
 
Siege of Yorktown
 
Treaty of Paris (1783)
 
Peace of Paris (1783)
 
Evacuation Day (New York)
 
Constitutional Convention
 
United States Bill of Rights

Also involved 131

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