<P> The Continental Army forced the redcoats out of Boston in March 1776 , but that summer the British captured and held New York City and its strategic harbor for the duration of the war . The Royal Navy blockaded ports and captured other cities for brief periods , but they failed to defeat Washington 's forces . The Patriots unsuccessfully attempted to invade Canada during the winter of 1775 -- 76 , but successfully captured a British army at the Battle of Saratoga in October 1777 . France now entered the war as an ally of the United States with a large army and navy that threatened Britain itself . The war turned to the American South where the British under the leadership of Charles Cornwallis captured an army at Charleston , South Carolina in early 1780 but failed to enlist enough volunteers from Loyalist civilians to take effective control of the territory while fighting partisans . A combined American -- French force captured a second British army at Yorktown in the fall of 1781 , effectively ending the war in North America . The Treaty of Paris , signed September 3 , 1783 , formally ended the conflict , confirming the new nation 's complete separation from the British Empire . The United States took possession of nearly all the territory east of the Mississippi River and south of the Great Lakes , with the British retaining control of Canada and Spain taking Florida . </P>
<P> The Continental Army forced the redcoats out of Boston in March 1776 , but that summer the British captured and held New York City and its strategic harbor for the duration of the war . The Royal Navy blockaded ports and captured other cities for brief periods , but they failed to defeat Washington 's forces . The Patriots unsuccessfully attempted to invade Canada during the winter of 1775 -- 76 , but successfully captured a British army at the Battle of Saratoga in October 1777 . France now entered the war as an ally of the United States with a large army and navy that threatened Britain itself . The war turned to the American South where the British under the leadership of Charles Cornwallis captured an army at Charleston , South Carolina in early 1780 but failed to enlist enough volunteers from Loyalist civilians to take effective control of the territory while fighting partisans . A combined American -- French force captured a second British army at Yorktown in the fall of 1781 , effectively ending the war in North America . The Treaty of Paris , signed September 3 , 1783 , formally ended the conflict , confirming the new nation 's complete separation from the British Empire . The United States took possession of nearly all the territory east of the Mississippi River and south of the Great Lakes , with the British retaining control of Canada and Spain taking Florida . </P>
when did the us break away from england
when did the us break away from england
September 3 , 1783
September 3 , 1783