The 13 Colonies

13 British colonies in North America joined in rebelling against British rule in 1775 and the Revolutionary War commenced. The representatives of the colonies met as the Second Continental Congress Congress in 1776 and adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4.

The names of the 13 colonies, that subsequently (following the Constitutional Convention of 1787) became the original 13 United States, from north to south:
Massachusetts (later Massachusetts and Maine); New Hampshire; Rhode Island; Connecticut; New York (later New York and Vermont);
New Jersey; Pennsylvania; Delaware; Maryland; Virginia (later Virginia, Kentucky and West Virginia); North Carolina (later North Carolina and Tennessee); South Carolina; and Georgia.

All of the 13 colonies (some called provinces) were along the East Coast. The only colony along the Eastern seabaoard not forming part of the original government of U. S. was Florida.