Short answers, pulled from the story.
The American Revolutionary War began on the 19th of April 1775 when British troops marched toward Concord to seize colonial militia ordnance. This event marked the beginning of open armed conflict between Great Britain and its Thirteen Colonies following tensions that had been building since 1763.
Thomas Jefferson wrote almost exclusively the document identifying inhabitants of the Thirteen Colonies as one people and dissolving political links with Britain. The Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted this declaration on the 4th of July 1776 after voting for independence two days earlier.
British General John Burgoyne capitulated on the 17th of October 1777 after his forces were surrounded at Saratoga. Around 6,222 soldiers including German forces commanded by Friedrich Adolf Riedesel surrendered arms before transport to Boston.
France signed the Treaty Amity Commerce and defensive military alliance with the United States on the 6th of February 1778 after the British defeat at Saratoga. This alliance provided crucial naval support and allowed American ships to carry cargoes through French ports while securing French West Indies from American expansion.
The final surrender occurred at Yorktown when British General Charles Cornwallis negotiated with General George Washington following heavy bombardment starting on the 16th of October 1781. The war officially ended with the signing of the Treaty Paris on the 3rd of September 1783 which acknowledged US independence.