-
First Continental Congress Meets
- All colonies but Georgia have representatives
- Voted to send a "statement of grievances"
- Voted to Boycott all British Trade
- Patrick Henry - VA rep. urged colonists to unite against Britain
-
Fighting Begins
British officer stationed in Boston wrote a note in his diary. "The people are evidently making every preparation for resistance. They are taking every means to provide themselves with Arms." - Frederick Mackenzie 1775 -
Great Britain Sends Troops
- Several British troops were surrounded and in Boston and some on the way
- Thomas Gage sent orders to seize the Massachusetts militas weapons and to arrest the leaders
- He sent 700 troops under Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith to Concard to seize the artillery and ammunition "to Concord, where you will seize and destroy all the artillery and ammunition you can find." - Gage
-
Washington Reached Boston
- Washington realized his army had no discipline or organization skills so he trained them to become better soldiers
- Needing weapons, Washington got tons of cannons but moving these was a hard task
-
British on the Move
- Dr. Joseph Warren walked through Boston to check for any unusual activity from the British. He ended up spotting troops leaving the city.
- Warren told Paul Revere and William Dawes (members of the Sons of Liberty)
- Revere and Dawes road to Lexington to spread the word "What a glorious morning this is!" -Samuel Adams
- Adams wanted independance so he was ready to fight
- a British patrol leader captured Revere and Dawes so a rider named Sameul Presscott carried the message to Concord
-
Lexington
- the redcoats approached Lexington and ran into around 70 minutemen, led by Caption John Parker
- since the minutemen were outnumbered they were about to give into the British
- a shot was fired, from which side is unknown, and the shots begin firing
- afterward 8 minutemen lay dead
- the British continued their journey to Concord
-
Concord
- some troops burned weapons they found on the way but other met some minutemen at the Northbridge
- a short battle took place and the British faced harsh losses so they made their way back to Boston
- on the way back there were men hiding behind trees and shot at the British and by the time the redcoats made it to Boston at least 174 were hurt and 73 men were dead.
-
Fort Ticonderoga
- Benedict Arnold, a caption of the Connecticut militia, gathered a force of 400 people to seize
- Ticonderoga was rich in supplies and occupied a key location
- Arnold learned that Ethan Allen, Vermont, was also planning to attack Ticonderoga
- They joined forces and attacked together
- Fort Tiiconderoga was surrendered
-
Second Continental Congress
- Delegates included John and Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, and George Washington. All were in the First Continental Congress but new delegates showed
- George Washington was a leader of Pennsylvania and helped repeal the Stamp Act
- John Handcock was wealthy and represented Massachusetts. He founded Son of Liberty
- Thomas Jefferson was only 32 and served in the Virginia Legislature. He was highly intelligent
- they didn't want to break away from the battle with Britain yet
-
Second Continental Congress Actions
- decided to start the printing of money and to set up a post office, Franklin in charge
- wanted to start building relations with the Natives
- created a Continental Army, which would be stronger than the militias and it would be lead by George Washington
- George Washington left immediately to charge British Soliders
- offered Britian no war but George III declined the offered and prepared for war
-
Bunker Hill Posts
- more volunteers join the colonial militias (about 200000 people)
- Colonel William Prescott commanded militias to post on Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill.
-
Battle of Bunker Hill
- redcoats stood at Breeds Hill and charged at the Americans
- Prescott ordered "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes" because they were low on ammunition
- Americans fired and caused the British to retreat
- the redcoats charged 2 more times and receiving harsh fires from the Americans
- eventually PAtriots ran out of gun powder and had to surrender
- althought the British took victory, almost 1000 men hurt or dead, so they suffered more than the Americans
-
Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. -
Washington Believes
- Washington felt his army was greatly prepared for the upcoming war
- In the night he moved his soldiers and cannons to Boston and positioned them to watch the British sleep
- British soon found out and fled from Boston
-
Washington Leds
Washington led his army to watch the British as they left Boston and discovered the British were sailing to Halifax, Nova Scotia, an area of Canada. -
Lee's Resolution
- the Second Continental Congress voted for Lee's independence
- 12 colonies casted a vote, excluding New York, but later New York expressed their support
-
Declaration of Independence
- delegates discussed the draft of the Declaration of Independence
- they fixed it a bit then approved it on this day
- John Hancock was the first to sign the document
- 56 delegates signed this document making the United States official
- this day is now considered Independence Day, celebrating this day in history
-
Read to Washingtons Troops
After copies of the Declaration were out, on this day Washington read the document to his troops, while in New York City. -
Benedict Arnold Betrayal
- after the battle at Fort Ticonderoga Arnold betrayed the Pariot cause and sold information to the British
- when his actions were noticed he then moved to New York City (which was controlled by the British) and commanded raids against American Virginia and Connecticut