Facts about the American Revolution

1. 10

   Approximately 70,000 colonists fought for the British as Loyalists during the Revolutionary War, representing roughly 20 percent of the white population in the thirteen colonies.

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2. 09

   Paul Revere's midnight ride on April 18, 1775, alerted Massachusetts militiamen to the British march toward Concord, triggering the first military engagements of the American Revolution at Lexington and Concord.

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3. 08

   Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence in just 17 days during June 1776, though Congress debated and revised it for three weeks before approving the final version on July 4.

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4. 07

   In 1778, France formally entered the American Revolution as an ally, providing crucial naval support and approximately 6,000 troops that helped secure victory at Yorktown.

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5. 06

   A total of 4,435 American soldiers died in combat during the Revolutionary War, while approximately 6,800 more perished from disease between 1775 and 1783.

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6. 05

   Washington's army endured a brutal winter at Valley Forge in 1777-1778, losing approximately 2,000 soldiers to disease and cold despite no active combat occurring.

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7. 04

   Approximately 230,000 soldiers served in the Continental Army between 1775 and 1783, though the force never exceeded 30,000 troops at any single time during the American Revolution.

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8. 03

   Benedict Arnold's 1780 plot to surrender West Point to the British was discovered when British spy John André was captured with incriminating documents in his boot.

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9. 02

   Roughly 10,000 British soldiers were captured at Yorktown in October 1781, effectively ending major combat in the American Revolution after six years of warfare.

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10. 01

    During the American Revolution, approximately 5,000 African Americans served in the Continental Army, with roughly 2,000 fighting at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781.

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