The "shot heard round the world" rang out at Lexington in April 1775, and the Treaty of Paris finally ended the war in September 1783. From first musket volley to signed peace, how long did America's Revolutionary War actually last? About 3 years About 5 years More than 8 years Exactly 6 years None Beginning in 1778, George Washington ran a secret intelligence network in British-occupied New York — the Culper Ring — whose reports moved by courier and coded signal through Long Island. One tool made their letters especially hard to catch. What was it? Invisible ink Carrier pigeons Hollowed-out musket balls Messages sewn into flags None Here's a grim question the textbooks tend to skip. The deadliest place for an American in the Revolutionary War wasn't Bunker Hill, Saratoga, or any battlefield at all. Where did more American patriots die than in every battle of the war combined? Crossing the Delaware in winter storms Aboard British prison ships in New York Harbor In the smallpox epidemic at Valley Forge On the march south to Yorktown None In 1782, a tall young Massachusetts recruit named Robert Shurtliff joined the Continental Army and served nearly a year and a half in an elite light infantry unit — fighting skirmishes and taking wounds. What was Robert Shurtliff's secret? He was a British deserter He was only 13 years old He was Deborah Sampson, a woman in disguise He was the son of Benedict Arnold None France's aid — fleets, troops, muskets, and mountains of money — helped America win its independence. But bankrolling our Revolution came at a staggering price for King Louis XVI. What did France's war spending help trigger back home? The sale of Louisiana to Spain The French Revolution A war with Austria The collapse of the French navy None Stumper. The last surviving veterans of the Revolution lived so astonishingly long that they crossed into a whole new technological age. In the 1860s, a minister tracked down the final six old soldiers — including 105-year-old Lemuel Cook, who had been at Yorktown — to preserve them in a way no one in 1776 could have imagined. How? He recorded their voices on wax cylinders He had them photographed He filmed them with an early motion camera He commissioned life-size marble statues None Time's up
