The War of Independence of the United States was fought in 1775-1783 between the American colonists (future US citizens), supported for some time by France, and Great Britain. The main type of armed forces fighting in the American army, which was just emerging, were, of course, the infantry, accounting for about 70 to about 80% of all American armed forces in the course of this war. Its regular units served in the Continental Army, but units composed of the so-called Minutemen. The latter formed light, irregular infantry, which trained and armed at their own expense, which, however, often showed high combat value, and above all, knew the area in which they were to fight very well, which often determined their advantage over regular units British. The Continental Army, on the other hand, was formed in July 1775 by a decision of the Continental Congress, and its commander-in-chief throughout the war was George Washington - the future 1st President of the United States. It is assumed that at its peak, 80,000-90,000 people fought in its ranks. It is worth remembering that initially the regular US infantry units were significantly inferior to their British counterparts in terms of training, discipline and tactics. They also suffered from a shortage of good NCOs and officers. A great contribution to changing this state of affairs was made by a Prussian officer who served as a volunteer in the American army - Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben. Also other officers who came from the Old to the New World, including Tadeusz Ko¶ciuszko and Kazimierz Pu³aski, did a great deal in increasing the combat value of the Continental Army. The latter proved its combat value in such battles as Saratoga (1777) and especially at Yorktown (1781).