As Americans gear up to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary on July 4, many of the most fascinating facts from the war that brought U.S. independence are sometimes forgotten.
From the woman who disguised herself as a man to fight in defense of the colonies, to the deadly smallpox epidemic that claimed more lives than the war itself, these are five interesting facts you might not know about the American Revolutionary War.
1. Massive US Casualty Rate
Of the more than 230,000 American men who fought in the Revolutionary War, a staggering number died on the battlefield or from one of several diseases plaguing the colonies at the time….