To set the historical record straight, there were NOT "thirteen colonies".
There were seventeen, the thirteen that everyone knows about plus East florida, West Florida, Canada, and Nova Scotia. These last four remained loyal to the Crown and gave great service during the war not only as a haven for loyalist refugees from the rebelling colonies but with troops as well.
These troops usually took the form of auxilliaries (rangers etc.) attached to a regular Birtish line unit. Those groups which fromed in the rebelling colonies such as Fannings Rangers in the Carolinas operated more or less independently.
So now you know "the rest of the story."

troll