The American Revolution, also known as the war for American Independence, was the conflict between the thirteen British colonies in North America and their mother country Britain. The American Revolution began on April 19, 1775 and ended on September 3, 1783. African Americans participated in the revolution from the beginning. In a Colonial Army of 300,000, approximately 5,000 African American soldiers fought on the side of American independence. The Continental Army introduced African Americans into its ranks because it lacked the necessary white man power to prosecute a war against the British. Slaves were excluded under the edict of the Continental Congress, and only free men were allowed to enlist. This rule was often ignored due to enlistment quotas and slaves were enlisted to fill the vacant slots in the regiments despite their official exclusion. When the British offered slaves their freedom in return for taking up arms for the Crown, thousands of African Americans flocked to the side of the British.