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First Continental Congress Meets
All colonies except Georgia send representatives.
Voted to send a "statement of grievances"
Boycott all British trade
Patrick Henry - VA rep. urged colonists to unite against Britain -
Great Britain Sends Troops
King George declared to parliament that the New England Colonies were rebelling and sent a few thousand British troops. 700 troops were also sent to concord to destroy artillery and ammunition. -
The British move to Concord
During the night, colonial protest leader Dr. Joseph Warren spotted British troops exiting Boston while walking and told Paul Revere and William Dawes, Sons of Liberty members who went to Lexington to warn of the British approaching and were eventually captured. -
The Battle of Lexington
The British reach Lexington during the dawn and run into 70 minutemen armed with muskets who ended up losing due to being greatly outnumbered. After a shot from a side (unknown) shots broke out leaving 8 minutemen dead. -
The Battle of Concord
After the win for the British at Lexington, they moved to Concord and they found minutemen waiting at a bridge and after a short battle they lost badly. They attempted to travel back to Boston and they got sneak attacked by the colonists and by the end of it, 174 were wounded and 74 were dead, leaving a bad loss for the British. -
The Battle of Fort Ticonderoga
After the battles of Lexington and Concord, Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen and his "Green Mountain Boys" teamed up to plan to attack the fort. The British were surprised attacked and surrendered May 10, 1775. -
The Second Continental Congress
Some of the battle leaders showed up at the meeting as delegates including some new delegates. They were not ready to vote for a break from Britain at the time. Committees were formed to handle relations with foreigners and the continental army was formed. A petition to stop the war was sent to Britain, causing it to be denied and for Britain to hire 30,000 German troops. -
The Battle of Bunker Hill
Following Lexington and Concord, colonial militias gained more volunteers, boosting them up to 20,000 people. The British were reluctant to fire due to being low on ammunition and the Americans opened fire causing them to retreat, and the Americans exited after running out of gunpowder. The Battle on Bunker hill was a British victory but left 1,000 dead and wounded. -
Washington Begins Improving the Army
After Washington reached Boston he realized that the soldiers with undisciplined and disorganized, which made him begin turning them from civilians into soldiers. He also hauled heavy weaponry from Fort Ticonderoga. -
Common Sense is Published
As the support for independence was growing, Thomas Paine published a pamphlet called "Common Sense," it listed reasons for why Americans should separate from Great Britain. -
The Army Moves to Boston
After the training, the army moves to Boston with cannons and the British were surprised by the move and went from Boston to Canada. -
The Vote for Independence
During the second continental congress, twelve colonies voted to accept Lee's proposition previously and later New York supported. -
The Signing of the Declaration of Independence
After some changes of the original draft, the Declaration of Independence was signed, first by John Hancock, then 56 other delegates signed it. Copies of it were sent out to new states and George Washington declared independence to his soldiers. -
A Traitor After the War
Years after the declaration was written, Benedict Arnold, a captain of a Connecticut militia fled to New York City under British control and led raids against America.