Road To Independence A Call To Arms p

Road To Independence A Call To Arms p. 141

The Continental Congress • Colonial leaders realized they needed the colonies to act together in their opposition to British policies. • In Sept. 17744, 55 men arrived in Philadelphia to establish a political body to represent American interests and challenge British control. • The men were sent as delegates from all the colonies except Georgia. • This new organization was the Continental Congress.

Delegates to Congress • Major political leaders attended: –MA: Sam Adams and John Adams –NY: John Jay –VA: Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry and George Washington.

Decisions of the Congress • First, they drafted a statement of grievances calling for the repeal of 13 acts of Parliament passed since 1763. • They declared these laws violated the colonists’ rights. • They voted to boycott all British goods and trade. • They endorsed the Suffolk Resolves – resolutions put together by people of Suffolk County, MA.

The First Battles • Towns formed militia’s to fight against the British. • Minutemen boasted they would be ready to fight in a minute.

Britain Sends Troops • King George announced to Parliament that New England colonies were “in a state of rebellion” and “blows must decide” who would control America. • Sir Thomas Gage had instructions to take away the weapons of the MA militia and arrest the leaders. • Gage learned that the militia was storing arms and ammunition at Concord, near Boston. • He ordered sent 700 troops under Francis Smith to Concord.

Alerting the troops • Paul Revere and William Dawes were alerted by 2 lights in the steeple of the North Chapel in Boston that troops were forming rank and beginning to march in Boston Common. • They rode to Lexington to warn Sam Adams alerting minutemen along the way.

Fighting at Lexington and Concord • After marching all night, the redcoats reach Lexington at dawn. • At the center of town they found 70 minutemen ready to fight. • A shot was fired, and then both sides let loose with an exchange of bullets. • This was declared as the “shot heard ‘round the world” by poet Ralph Waldo Emerson in The Concord Hymn. • In the end, 8 minutemen died.

Fighting at Lexington and Concord • The British troops continued marching to Concord. • When they arrived, they discovered most ammo and gunpowder had already been removed, but they destroyed the remainder. • The minutemen were waiting at the North Bridge. • In the end, at least 174 redcoats were wounded and 73 died.

More Military Action • After the battles at Lexington and Concord, Benedict Arnold raised a force of 400 to seize Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain. • Fort Ticonderoga was rich with military supplies. • Arnold joined with Ethan Allen’s forces, the Green Mountain boys, and caught the British by surprise. The British surrendered. • Later Arnold later conspired to surrender West Point to the British. Arnold became an officer in the British army.

Building Forces • After the battles of Lexington and Concord, calls for volunteers to join the militia were sent out. • Both the American and British troops waited nervously for several weeks for the other to make the next move.

The Battle of Bunker Hill • In June 1775, about 1, 200 militia men set up fortifications at Bunker Hill and nearby Breed’s Hill, across the Boston harbor. • This was a strategic location because it was a high point overlooking the water. • The British knew they must drive the American forces from their. • The British forces charged up the hill. • American colonel, William Prescott, knowing the American army was low on ammunition, ordered, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes. ”

The Battle of Bunker Hill • When the Americans opened fire, the British retreated. • The British charged 2 more times, and the American army was forced to surrender when they ran out of ammunition. • British won, but over 1, 000 redcoats were dead or wounded. • Britain realized defeating the Americans would not be easy.

Choosing Sides • With the battle, people needed to make a decision on which side to take. • Loyalist – Colonists who remained loyal to England. • Patriot – Colonists who fought against Britain for independence.