Question 1

True or false: Women fought disguised as men in several battles of the American Revolution.

Accepted Answer

True. Dozens of women, like Deborah Sampson, enlisted under male names, fighting in combat before being discovered.

Question 2

True or false: Paul Revere shouted 'The British are coming!' on his midnight ride.

Accepted Answer

False. He likely said 'The Regulars are coming out' since colonists still considered themselves British. The phrase is a later myth.

Question 3

True or false: France sent thousands of soldiers to fight alongside the Continental Army.

Accepted Answer

True. French forces under Rochambeau played a vital role, with approximately 12,000 troops aiding the colonists in battles such as Yorktown, which secured American independence.

Question 4

True or false: George Washington was actually the first to sign the Declaration of Independence.

Accepted Answer

False. George Washington did not sign the Declaration of Independence; he was commanding the army. John Hancock, as President of the Continental Congress, was the first to sign.

Question 5

True or false: The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776, by all delegates.

Accepted Answer

False. Most delegates signed on August 2, 1776. July 4 was the adoption date; signing took weeks.

Question 6

True or false: The British used poison-tipped arrows during the American Revolution.

Accepted Answer

False. No credible evidence supports that British forces used or supplied poison-tipped arrows. The myth may arise from confusion with the controversial claim that British officials gave smallpox-infected blankets to Native Americans during Pontiac's War, not the Revolution.

Question 7

True or false: The Boston Tea Party destroyed millions of dollars worth of tea.

Accepted Answer

False. The tea was worth about $1.7 million today, but not millions in 1773—closer to £9,000 then (roughly $1.2 million modern).

Question 8

True or false: One-third of all American soldiers during the Revolution were of African descent.

Accepted Answer

False. About 5,000 Black soldiers served in the Continental Army, out of over 200,000 total—far less than one-third. Some northern regiments did have Black troops making up a third, but the overall claim is false.

American Revolution Trivia Questions