A Call to ArmsChapter 5: Section 3
September 1774 55 delegates from all the colonies
except Georgia
Political body to represent American interests and challenge British control
Delegates included: Samuel Adams, John Adams, John Jay, Richard Henry Lee, and George Washington
Continental Congress
Called for the repeal of 13 acts of Parliament◦ Believed these laws violated the “laws of nature,
the principles of the English constitution, and the several charters” of the colonies
Boycott British trade◦ No British goods could be used in the colonies◦ No colonial goods could be sold to Britain
Decisions of the Continental Congress
Called on the people of the county to arm themselves against the British
Militias are formed◦ Militia: Group of citizen soldiers
Suffolk Resolves
New England was thought to be the site where war would begin
Militia companies in Massachusetts held training sessions, made bullets, and stockpiled weapons
Minutemen◦ Militias which would be ready to fight in a
minute’s notice
The First Battles
April 1775◦ Several thousand British soldiers were in
Boston◦ Instructions to take away weapons and
arrest leaders of the Massachusetts militia
700 British troops march to Concord (20 miles from Boston) to destroy weapons cache
Britain Sends Troops
April 18, 1775
Paul Revere and William Dawes ride to Lexington to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock
Alerting the Colonists
Lexington◦ British redcoats discover 70 minutemen waiting
on the town common◦ 8 minutemen die◦ British continue their march toward Concord
Concord◦ British destroy some supplies◦ Most had been removed before the British
arrived◦ Minutemen force the British to turn back to
Boston
Lexington and Concord
British redcoats march from Concord to Boston◦ Farmers, blacksmiths, and clerks hid among
trees and stone fences◦ As the British marched, the militia fired◦ 174 wounded, 73 British soldiers dead
“shot heard ‘round the world”
Road Back to Boston
Captain of Connecticut militia Given authority to raise an army and seize
Fort Ticonderoga
Later during the war, Arnold sold military information to the British◦ His treason was discovered and he fled to British-
controlled New York City
Benedict Arnold
June 16, 1775 British victory
◦ Americans ran out of gunpowder and were forced to withdraw
◦ British had more than 1,000 men dead or wounded
The Battle of Bunker Hill
Loyalists: Those who chose to stay with Britain◦ As many as 1/3 Americans◦ Some lived in relative isolation and werent part of the
waves of discontent◦ Some expected the British would win and wanted to gain
favor◦ Loyalist support was largest in the Carolinas and Georgia
Patriots: Colonists who supported the war for independence◦ 1/3 Americans◦ British rule was unbearable◦ Unfair taxes and regulations◦ Patriot support strongest in New England
Loyalist or Patriot?