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Road to Independence

By stu.easonl@mishawaka.k12.in.us

  • The Second Continental Congress

    The Second Continental Congress
    • In 1774 the continental congress agreed to meet again if the British did not address their first complaints.
    • The battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775 showed that the dispute between the British and the Patriots had worsened.

  • first Continental Congress Meets

    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

  • Britain Sends Troops

    Britain Sends Troops
    • King George told the Parliament that the New England Colonies were "in a state of rebellion" and that "blows must decide" who will end up controlling America.
    • Several thousand British troops were in and around Boston, and there were still more on the way.
    • General Thomas Gage had orders to seize weapons from the Massachusetts militia, and arrest the leaders.
    • He learned that the militia stored their weapons in a town 20 miles northwest of Boston.
    • He ordered 700 troops to seize the guns.

  • Fighting Begins

    Fighting Begins
    • 1774-1775
    • Colonist believed if fighting broke out with the British, it would happen in New England.
    • Militias in Massachusetts started to hold drills, make bullets, and stockpiled weapons.
    • Some militias were known as minutemen, because they boasted that they would be ready at a moments notice.

  • The British on the Move

    The British on the Move
    • Colonial protest leader Dr. Joseph Warren walked through Boston on the night of April 18th, 1775.
    • He saw British troops marching out of the city.
    • Warren alerted Paul Revere and William Dawes, members of the Sons of Liberty.
    • Revere and Dawes rode to Lexington to spread the word that the British were coming.
    • Hearing this news, Samuel Adams said, "What a glorious morning this is!" He was ready to fight.

  • Lexington and Concord

    Lexington and Concord
    • At dawn, the redcoats approached Lexington. They ran into 70 waiting minutemen. Badly outnumbered, the minutemen were about to give in, but just then, a shot was fired. The side that fired the shot is undetermined.
    • Both sides let out an exchange of bullets, but when the shooting ended, 8 minutemen lay dead. -The British continued to concord. They met more minutemen waiting on the North bridge.
    • In a short battle, the British took heavy losses. The British retreated back to Boston.

  • More Military Action

    More Military Action
    • Benedict Arnold, a captain in the Connecticut militia, raised a force of 400 to take Fort Ticonderoga.
    • Fort Ticonderoga was rich in military supplies.
    • Arnold learned that Ethan Allen of Vermont also planned to attack the fort.
    • Arnold joined the so-called Green Mountain Boys, and together they took the British fort by surprise. Fort Ticonderoga surrendered on May 10, 1775.
    • Later, Arnold became a traitor to the Patriots, selling military information to the British.

  • Bunker Hill

    Bunker Hill
    • On June 16, 1775, militia commanded by Colonel William Prescott set up posts on Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill, across the harbor from Boston.
    • The next day, redcoats assembled at Breed's Hill. They charged. Low on ammunition, Prescott reportedly ordered, "Don't fire unless you see the whites of their eyes."
    • The Americans opened fire on the British, forcing them to retreat. The British charged two more times, but after a while, the Americans ran out of gunpowder and had to withdraw.