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First Continental Congress Meets
*All colonies but Georgia had representatives.
*Voted to send a "statement of grievances"
*Voted to boycott all British trade
*Patrick Henry - VA rep. urged colonists to unite against Britain -
George Washington Reaches Boston
George Washington arrived at Boston and trained the Patriot militia to be disciplined. -
Great Britain Sends Troops
By April 1775, Boston had British troops in and around it with even more to come. Thomas Gage, general for the British, was given orders to take weapons from the militia of Massachusetts and arrest the leaders. -
Paul Revere and William Dawes alert the people of Lexington of arrival of the British.
Paul Revere and William Dawes rode to Lexington to warn people of the arrival of the British troops. -
Battle of Lexington
In Lexington, the minutemen were outnumbered by the British and the British killed 8 minutemen. -
Battle of Concord
After the battle in Lexington, some of the British troops burned weapons they found while the others went to the North Bridge where they met a group of minutemen. In this battle, the British took heavy losses and returned to Boston only to be fired at by colonists hidden behind trees. After this, 174 redcoats were wounded and 73 were dead. -
Fort Ticonderoga Surrenders
Benedict Arnold made a militia of 400 to seize Fort Ticonderoga. Fort Ticonderoga was rich in materials. Because of this, it was a target for attack. Benedict Arnold joined forces with Ethan Allen's men, the Green Mountain Boys, because he was also planning to attack Fort Ticonderoga. They took the British by surprise and the fort surrendered. -
Second Continental Congress Meets
*Included some of the colonies' greatest leaders
*Authorized the printing of money
*Set up a post office, with Benjamin Franklin in charge
*Formed committees to handle relating with foreign countries and Native Americans
*Created Continental Army which George Washington was chosen to lead
*Sent a petition to George III to assure the king that the colonists wanted peace and ask him to protect the rights of the colonists -
The Battle of Bunker Hill
On June 16, 1775, Colonel William Prescott's militia set up posts on Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill. The next day, the redcoats arrived at Breed's Hill. The American militia fired first and forced the British to retreat but they charged twice more until the Americans ran out to gunpowder and withdrew. Because of this, the battle was a British victory, but more than 1000 redcoats were dead or wounded. -
Thomas Paine published "Common Sense"
Thomas Paine arrived in America in 1774 and published "Common Sense" in January 1776. In it, he called for an absolute break from British rule. -
Patriot Militia Scares British Troops Away from Boston
After training the Patriot militia and deciding they were ready, George Washington positioned his troops and cannons overlooking Boston, where the redcoats were asleep. This scared the redcoats because they realized they were vulnerable so their general, William Howe, commanded his troops to leave Boston and board ships. -
Second Continental Congress Votes on Richard Henry Lee's resolution of independence
*12 colonies voted to have independence
*New York didn't vote but announced its support later on -
The Second Continental Congress Approved Thomas Jefferson's Draft of the Declaration of Independence
The delegates discussed and made some changes to Thomas Jefferson's draft of the Declaration of Independence. -
The Declaration of Independence is Read in New York City to George Washington's troops
The Declaration was read aloud in New York City to George Washington's troops.