<P> Tensions erupted into battle between Patriot militia and British regulars when the king 's army attempted to capture and destroy Colonial military supplies at Lexington and Concord on April 19 , 1775 . The conflict then developed into a global war , during which the Patriots ( and later their French , Spanish , and Dutch allies ) fought the British and Loyalists in what became known as the American Revolutionary War ( 1775 -- 83 ) . Each of the thirteen colonies formed a Provincial Congress that assumed power from the old colonial governments and suppressed Loyalism , and from there they built a Continental Army under the leadership of General George Washington . The Continental Congress determined King George 's rule to be tyrannical and infringing the colonists ' rights as Englishmen , and they declared the colonies free and independent states on July 2 , 1776 . The Patriot leadership professed the political philosophies of liberalism and republicanism to reject monarchy and aristocracy , and they proclaimed that all men are created equal . </P>
who was in charge of the revolutionary war
the king General George Washington