A topical question for today, the anniversary of our independence.
I once read somewhere that, based on the available evidence (newspaper
articles, army enrollment records, etc.), more Americans supported and
actually fought on the side of the British during the Revolutionary
War than sided with the patriots.  Is this true?  And, if so, where
can I read the details and evidence?

Hello chris4~

What an interesting question! This is what I discovered:

"About 16% of the total American population were colonists who did not
want to break away from Britain," says Social Studies For Kids ("The
British Empire Loyalists,"
http://www.plpsd.mb.ca/amhs/history/loyalists.html )

But many of these loyalists didn’t stick around for the fighting, and
fled to Canada. As many as half the approximately 80,000 to 100,000
colonists who fled the colonies entered Canada before the war. (“Black
Loyalists,” http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/2/18/h18-2982-e.html ; “US
Antibaptists during the Revolutionary War,”
http://www.anabaptists.org/history/rev-war.html ; “Why Were Some of
Our Ancestors Tories,"
http://sciway3.net/clark/revolutionarywar/loyalists.html ; 
“Development of Canada:” 
http://216.239.39.100/search?q=cache:KoFTHAYP-eUJ:www.politics.ubc.ca/fcutler/teaching/POLI101/CHAPT_01.RTF+%2250,000+American+loyalists%22+%22Revolutionary+War%22+&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
.) It should also be remembered that loyalists fled to other
countries, as well.

According to “The Brief American Pageant,” a textbook by David M.
Kennedy, Thomas A. Bailey, and Mel Piehl, the British “enlisted the
services of about 50,000 American loyalists” (p. 61). This figure is
also quoted by the following site:
http://www.pccua.edu/keough/hy_213_united_states_history.htm

There were about 2.5 million colonists (p. 60), so clearly most
colonists did not fight with the British.

Perhaps some confusion comes in here: According to the same textbook,
about 5,000 slaves fought on the side of the colonists (p. 61), but
most fought for the British, because the Brits promised their freedom.
In 1776, there were approximately 500,000 African slaves in the
colonies (“Sons of Liberty?”
http://64.226.212.131/03_educators/2001-2002curbook/new_page_14.htm  )
In addition, many Indians fought with the British.

For more information on black loyalists, see:
 “African Americans Fought With British:”
http://www.geocities.com/barnette_geo/february_5__2000.html

“Remembering Black Loyalists:”
http://museum.gov.ns.ca/blackloyalists/who.htm

“Black Loyalists:”
http://collections.ic.gc.ca/blackloyalists

I hope this answers your question thoroughly, but if I can clarify it
in any way, please don't hesitate to hit that "Clarify" button!

Kriswrite

Keywords Used:
“fought with British” “Revolutionary War” 
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%93fought+with+British%94+%93Revolutionary+War%22+&btnG=Google+Search

Loyalists "Revolutionary War"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=loyalists+%22Revolutionary+War%22+&btnG=Google+Search

Tories "Revolutionary War"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=tories+%22Revolutionary+War%22+

"black loyalists" "Revolutionary War"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22black+loyalists%22+%22Revolutionary+War%22&btnG=Google+Search

Kriswrite,
Thank you for a very good answer.  I wonder would it be possible to
get some more information about the proportions of rebels and tories
in different areas (colonies), and the sizes and compositions of the
armies on each side?  The reason I ask is because the newspaper
article I once read, reporting a speech by a Canadian politician,
specifically said more Americans enlisted to fight with the British
than with the Continental Army.  He also quoted John Adams as saying
the division between loyalists and patriots was (from his point of
view)no better than even, and he should know.  Another $20 if you can
zero in on this.
Regards
Chris4

Hi again!

I'm glad I was able to answer your question, and thank you for the tip
:)

I'd be happy to tackle the items you mention in your rating (in fact,
I've already unearthed the information on Adams' and a few other
things). However, since this question has already been rated, and
Google Answers doesn't allow any additional tips after the first,
you'll need to open up a new question. Just be sure to put my "handle"
in the question title. For example: For KRISWRITE: American
Revolution.

Thank you, and I look forward to answering your question!

Kriswrite

Chris~

I should add that I will be taking a mini-vacation this Independence
Day weekend, and won't back "Googling" again until Monday.

Thanks again,
Kriswrite