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American Revolution: Quick Facts

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Facts

Also Known As War of Independence • United States War of Independence • American Revolutionary War
Date 1775 - September 3, 1783
Location United States
Participants Dutch Republic • France • loyalist • Spain • United Kingdom • United States • American colonies

Did You Know?

  • The American Revolution was the United States' longest military conflict before the Vietnam War.
  • Charles Cornwallis did not himself surrender at Yorktown; rather, claiming illness, he sent his deputy, Charles O'Hara.
  • Roughly 5,000 members of the Continental Army, 5 percent of the total number, were black.

Photos and Videos

The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis
Boston Harbor
portrait of Thomas Gage by John Singleton Copley
Paul Revere's ride
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.
Painting by William Barnes Wollen showing Minutemen firing at advancing British soldiers across Lexington Common, with colonial buildings and smoke in the background.
Historical map of the Battle of Bunker Hill showing the Charlestown Peninsula north of Boston, with American forces marked in blue defending positions on Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill. British forces' positions and advances are shown in red, illustrating their three assault waves from landing points along the Mystic River toward the American lines, as well as the direction of the American retreat. The map includes colonial and present-day shorelines and key locations such as Charlestown, Boston,
Battle of Bunker Hill
George Washington
Ethan Allen
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.
The video thumbnail image shows the silhouette of a colonial man riding a horse in the early morning.
The video thumbnail image shows a historical painting of George Washington and Revolutionary troops in the winter.
See All Videos, Images and Interactives →

Related Topics and References

Topics
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Key People

McCrea, Jane
Jane McCrea
North American colonist
George Washington
George Washington
president of United States
Digitally restored vector painting of President Thomas Jefferson, shown from the chest up wearing a dark coat and white cravat, with a neutral background.
Thomas Jefferson
president of United States
default image
Artemas Ward
United States general
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
American publisher, author, and scientist
Oil portrait by John Trumbull of Alexander Hamilton, shown from the waist up in a tan coat and white cravat, gazing to his left against a dark background.
Alexander Hamilton
American statesman
Gilbert Stuart: portrait of John Adams
John Adams
president of United States
Full-length portrait of King George III in a red military uniform and black bicorne hat, standing outdoors with a distant building and cloudy sky in the background.
George III
king of Great Britain
James Monroe
James Monroe
president of United States
Portrait painting of Thomas Paine by John Wesley Jarvis, showing Paine with graying hair, a white cravat, and dark coat against a plain brown background.
Thomas Paine
British-American author
Tadeusz Kościuszko
Tadeusz Kościuszko
Polish general and statesman
The Marquis de Lafayette
Marquis de Lafayette
French noble
Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams
American politician
Charles III
Charles III
king of Spain
Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry
American statesman
default image
Alexander McGillivray
Muscogee chief
Laurens, John; Hamilton, Alexander
John Laurens
American army officer
default image
Bernardo de Gálvez
Spanish colonial administrator
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold
American general
Portrait of Paul Revere showing Revere seated at a table, holding a silver teapot and resting his chin on his hand.
Paul Revere
United States military officer and silversmith

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