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Continental Congress Wants to Meet Again
Continental Congress agrees to meet again if the British did not address their complaint. -
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 -
Great Britain Sends Troops
Several thousand British troops were in and around Boston.
British General Thomas Gage had orders to seize the weapons from Massachusetts militia and arrest the leaders. -
Washington Reaches Boston
Washington reached the Boston area a few weeks after the Battle of Bunker Hill
Realized that the men were disorganized and lacked discipline. -
The British on the Move
Colonial protest leader Dr. Joseph Warren saw troops march out of Boston.
Joseph alerted Sons of Liberty Members Paul Revere and William Dawes. -
Lexington and Concord
Revere and William rode to Lexington to the word that the British were coming.
British Patrol captured Dawes and Revere.
Samuel Prescott carried the warning to Concord.
At Dawn 70 minutemen were outnumbered by the British redcoats at Lexington.
British won the battle.
At concord British red coats fought more minutemen and took heavy losses.
Later while the British were making their way back to Boston and were ambushed by minutemen and 174 were wounded and 73 were dead. -
Continental Congress Meets Again.
Second Continental Congress met
Took steps about governing the colonies. -
Fort Ticonderoga Attack.
Benedict Arnold raised a force of 400 to seize Fort Ticonderoga which was a key location.
Arnold joined forces with the Green Mountain Boys.
Both groups attacked Fort Ticonderoga by surprise.
Arnold and the Green Mountain Boys won and Fort Ticonderoga Surrendered. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
British Redcoats assembled at Breeds hill.
Americans opened fire forcing them to retreat.
Two more times the Redcoats charged and withdrew from Breeds Hill.
Americans ran out of Gunpowder and surrendered.
The British won but had more than 1000 dead and wounded. -
Washington Gets Redcoats to Leave Boston
Washington led his troops into Boston which surprised the British.
The British sailed away to Halifax, Nova Scotia -
Second Continental Congress votes for independence.
Second Continental congress votes on the idea that people are born with natural rights to life liberty and property, an idea which was proposed by Locke.
12 of the colonies voted for independence except New York.
New York later showed support. -
Declaration of Independence
Delegates of Continental congress approved the document.
All 56 delegates signed the document. -
Declaration of Independence Reading
In Worcester, Massachusetts there was a public reading of the Declaration of Independence
The reading led to cheers and firing of weapons. -
Benedict Arnold Crime is discovered.
Benedict Arnold, once a captain in Connecticut militia, sold military information to the British. On September 1780 his crime was discovered and he fled to British-controlled New York City.