The correct answer is "the Loyalists". The American Revolution was a civil war over who would rule at home. Families were often divided as the war forced settlers to choose sides in a conflict that remained uncertain for many years. Should they accompany the rebels or remain loyal to King and Empire? Settlers, mostly recent arrivals, often felt to be both American and British, still owing a loyalty to Great Britain. Historians have estimated that between 15 and 20 percent of the whites in the colonies were Loyalists.
