American Revoltuionary War Chessmen and white metal with the King standing 3 1/8" high. The picture shows the detail of each of these twenty chessmen. Ten pieces represent the American side, and ten represent the British. The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the American War of Independence,was, at least initially, a civil war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies on the North American continent. Now your chess game can represent that battle!