American Revolution

Introduction & Top Questions
Setting the stage: The two armies
Conflict begins in Massachusetts
Paul Revere’s ride and the Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Siege of Boston and the Battle of Bunker Hill
Washington takes command
The battle for New York
A British general surrenders, and the French prepare for war
After a hungry winter at Valley Forge
Setbacks in the North
Final campaigns in the South and the surrender of Cornwallis
How the war was fought at sea
- Early engagements and privateers
- French intervention and the decisive action at Virginia Capes
The end of the war and the terms of the Peace of Paris (1783)
How did the American colonies win the war?

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images, Videos & Interactives

The word semiquincentennial appears in white text on a blue background.

Historical map showing the eastern United States during the American Revolutionary War, with states labeled and troop positions marked for Washington and Clinton near New York.

Historical illustration of the Boston Tea Party, showing colonists dumping tea chests from a ship into Boston Harbor while a crowd gathers on the shore in the background.

portrait of Thomas Gage by John Singleton Copley

The video thumbnail image shows the silhouette of a colonial man riding a horse in the early morning.

Map depicting the routes and key events of the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 18-19, 1775, near Boston, Massachusetts. The map uses colored arrows to show Paul Revere's ride, William Dawes's ride, Samuel Prescott's ride, the movement of British forces, and the paths of militias and minutemen. Key locations such as Boston, Lexington, and Concord are marked, with symbols indicating where Revere was captured and where the British retreat began. An inset provides regional context.

At a Glance

American Revolution Timeline

Emanuel Leutze: Washington Crossing the Delaware

Key Facts of the American Revolution

Causes and Effects of the American Revolution

Quizzes

American Colonial Flag, popularly attributed to Betsy Ross, was designed during the American Revolutionary War features 13 stars to represent the original 13 colonies.

Facts You Should Know: American Revolution

Civil War era cannon overlooks Kennesaw Mountain National Battle. (military, artillery, American history)

Pick Your Battles Quiz

Louis IX of France (St. Louis), stained glass window of Louis IX during the Crusades. (Unknown location.)

World Wars

The American Revolution

D-Day. American soldiers fire rifles, throw grenades and wade ashore on Omaha Beach next to a German bunker during D Day landing. 1 of 5 Allied beachheads est. in Normandy, France. The Normandy Invasion of World War II launched June 6, 1944.

A History of War

Related Questions

How did American privateers challenge British ships during the American Revolution?
How did Baron von Steuben improve the Continental Army at Valley Forge?
How did French military and financial support help the Americans win independence?
How did Henry Knox’s artillery help end the siege of Boston?
How did Paul Revere help warn colonists before the Battles of Lexington and Concord?
How did Thomas Paine’s Common Sense influence support for independence?
How did state militias support the Continental Army during the American Revolution?
How did the American Revolution affect women’s responsibilities and property rights?
How did the American Revolution change inheritance laws in the new states?
How did the American Revolution lead to the decline of slavery in Northern states?
How did the Battles of Trenton and Princeton help the American cause?
How did the First Continental Congress respond to the Intolerable Acts?
How did the French and Indian War contribute to the American Revolution?
How did the French navy help trap British forces at Yorktown?
How did the Intolerable Acts punish Massachusetts after the Boston Tea Party?
How did the Netherlands support the American cause during the American Revolution?
How did the Proclamation of 1763 limit colonial settlement in the West?
How did the Second Continental Congress prepare the colonies for war?
What did colonists mean by “taxation without representation”?
What happened when British forces attacked New York in 1776?
What ideas about natural rights appeared in the Declaration of Independence?
What were the major causes of the American Revolution?
Who were the Patriots during the American Revolution?
Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
Why did Britain begin taxing the American colonies after 1763?
Why did British troops march to Concord in April 1775?
Why did France form an alliance with the United States in 1778?
Why did colonists object to British control of colonial affairs?
Why did colonists oppose the Stamp Act?
Why did hopes for reconciliation with Britain fade in 1776?
Why did the American colonies boycott British imports before the Revolutionary War?
Why did the British evacuate Boston in 1776?
Why did the British shift much of their military strategy to the South?
Why did the Continental Congress adopt the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776?
Why did the Declaration of Independence list grievances against King George III rather than Parliament?
Why did the First Continental Congress vote by colony instead of by population?
Why did the Quebec Act alarm many American colonists?
Why did the ideals of liberty and equality conflict with slavery after the American Revolution?
Why was George Washington chosen to command the Continental Army?
Why was Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River important?
Why was the American victory at Saratoga a turning point in the American Revolution?
What was the American Revolution?
How did the American Revolution begin?
What were the major causes of the American Revolution?
Which countries fought on the side of the colonies during the American Revolution?
How was the American Revolution a civil war?
What was the Scramble for Africa?
What seven countries were in the Scramble for Africa?
What role did the Berlin Conference play in the Scramble for Africa?
What were the main motivations behind the Scramble for Africa?
Who is the Marshall Plan is named for?

History Wars, Battles & Armed Conflicts

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External Websites

DigitalCommons at University of Nebraska - Lincoln - American Revolution (PDF)
Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum - American Revolution
American Battlefield Trust - American Revolution Timeline
Humanities LibreTexts - American Revolution
University of Oxford - Faculty of History - American Revolutions
Econlib - Benefits of the American Revolution: An Exploration of Positive Externalities

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

American Revolution - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
American Revolution - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

American Revolution

United States history

Also known as: American Revolutionary War, United States War of Independence, War of Independence(Show More)

Written by

Willard M. Wallace

Emeritus Professor of History, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut. Author of Appeal to Arms: A Military History of the American Revolution.

Willard M. Wallace

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 28, 2026 •History

The American Revolution was an insurrection carried out by 13 of Great Britain’s North American colonies that began in 1775 and ended with a peace treaty in 1783. The colonies won political independence and went on to form the United States of America. The war followed more than a decade of growing estrangement between the British crown and a large and influential segment of its North American colonies that was caused by British attempts to...

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