Short answers, pulled from the story.
The American Revolutionary War began on the 19th of April 1775, with the Battles of Lexington and Concord, and ended on the 3rd of September 1783, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. The war lasted approximately eight years.
George Washington commanded the Continental Army throughout the war. He was appointed commander-in-chief by the Second Continental Congress and officially proclaimed "General and Commander in Chief of the army of the United Colonies" by John Hancock on the 16th of June 1775.
The American victory at Saratoga in October 1777, where around 6,222 British and German soldiers surrendered under General Burgoyne, convinced France that an independent United States was a viable military partner. It directly led to France signing the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and a defensive Treaty of Alliance with the United States in February 1778.
France provided the Americans with money, weapons, soldiers, and naval assistance. French forces fought under US command in North America, and Admiral de Grasse's fleet was decisive at the Battle of the Chesapeake in September 1781, which cut off Cornwallis at Yorktown and made British surrender inevitable. France had also secretly funded munitions purchases for the Patriots before formally entering the war.
The Siege of Yorktown in September and October 1781 resulted in the surrender of General Cornwallis and effectively ended major combat in North America. The French navy blocked British naval relief, and a combined Franco-American force of around 19,000 besieged the town. Cornwallis surrendered on the 17th of October 1781, after twelve hours of negotiations with Washington.
In the Treaty of Paris, signed on the 3rd of September 1783, Great Britain acknowledged the sovereignty and independence of the United States. As part of the broader peace settlements, the Treaties of Versailles also required Britain to cede Tobago, Senegal, and small territories in India to France, and Menorca, West Florida, and East Florida to Spain.