History of North America

How many of forces or Red Coats were in the American colonies before and after at start The Revolutionary War?

Before the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775, the British had approximately 7,000-9,000 troops stationed in the American colonies. This included both regular soldiers, known as Redcoats, and colonial auxiliaries. The main concentration of British forces was in Boston, Massachusetts, where nearly half of the total were based.

As tensions escalated between the British and the American colonists in the lead-up to the war, the Crown ordered significant reinforcements to be sent to America. By 1775,the total numbers of British troops on American soil had jumped to around 20,000, of which approximately 8,000 were regular soldiers and the rest were local militias and auxiliaries.