<P> Burgoyne 's defeat had drastic consequences ; France formally allied with the Americans and entered the war in 1778 , and Spain joined the war the following year as an ally of France but not as an ally of the United States . In 1780 , the Kingdom of Mysore attacked the British in India , and tensions between Great Britain and the Netherlands erupted into open war . In North America , the British mounted a `` Southern strategy '' led by Charles Cornwallis which hinged upon a Loyalist uprising , but too few came forward . Cornwallis suffered reversals at King 's Mountain and Cowpens . He retreated to Yorktown , Virginia , intending an evacuation , but a decisive French naval victory deprived him of an escape . A Franco - American army led by the Comte de Rochambeau and Washington then besieged Cornwallis ' army and , with no sign of relief , he surrendered in October 1781 . </P>
<P> Burgoyne 's defeat had drastic consequences ; France formally allied with the Americans and entered the war in 1778 , and Spain joined the war the following year as an ally of France but not as an ally of the United States . In 1780 , the Kingdom of Mysore attacked the British in India , and tensions between Great Britain and the Netherlands erupted into open war . In North America , the British mounted a `` Southern strategy '' led by Charles Cornwallis which hinged upon a Loyalist uprising , but too few came forward . Cornwallis suffered reversals at King 's Mountain and Cowpens . He retreated to Yorktown , Virginia , intending an evacuation , but a decisive French naval victory deprived him of an escape . A Franco - American army led by the Comte de Rochambeau and Washington then besieged Cornwallis ' army and , with no sign of relief , he surrendered in October 1781 . </P>
who were america 's allies in the revolutionary war
who were america 's allies in the revolutionary war
France
France