American Life During the Revolution

At the start of the Revolutionary War, the 13 colonies lacked a professional army, relying on locally sponsored militias.

Smallpox broke out in army camps in 1775, during an epidemic that lasted for most of the war.

During the Revolutionary War, colonial women supported the revolution by boycotting British goods and raising money.

Religion offered a moral sanction for opposing the British in the colonies. Nonetheless, the Revolution split some denominations.

Congress and the individual colonies encountered difficulties financing the Revolutionary War.