Thirteen British colonies joined to form the United States at the start of the American Revolution.
The colonies stretched along the Atlantic coast from New Hampshire to Georgia. They were commonly grouped as the four New England colonies, four Middle Colonies, and five Southern Colonies. Although they had separate governments and distinct economies, they increasingly cooperated through the Continental Congress during the conflict with Britain.
The thirteen colonies declared independence in 1776 and later became the original thirteen states. Their names were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
The number is sometimes confused with the number of stars or stripes on later American flags. The first U.S. flag under the Flag Act of 1777 had thirteen stars and thirteen stripes, representing the original states. Vermont and Kentucky joined the Union later, becoming the fourteenth and fifteenth states rather than part of the original thirteen.