The defeat of cornwallis in October 1781 was decisive. American independence had been won, although no one on either side grasped that fact immediately. The war continued on other fronts for a time, but the news of Cornwallis's defeat persuaded Great Britain to give up the attempt to crush the American rebellion. British soldiers in America were instructed only to defend themselves until they could be brought home.

General Washington entered New York following the British evacuation of the city in late 1783. As soon as he could do so, he bade farewell to the officers who had served with him, resigned his commission as commander in chief, and returned to Mount Vernon.

As many as fifty thousand Tories left the United States as the war concluded. The majority of those who departed went to Canada, some emigrated to England, and others scattered to various locations around the world. Most Tories remained in America, however, and were gradually absorbed into the mainstream of American life.

The patriots had won their liberty, but they were physically and emotionally exhausted. The war had wreaked economic, political, and social havoc, and those disruptions created more turmoil in the years ahead. The individual states distrusted one another; new taxes were denounced; the work of the law courts was obstructed; the country's problems were only beginning. Even so, forged from the crucible of suffering for the cause of freedom, Americans had created a new nation, and the future was theirs.