A Call To Arms Chapter 5 Section 3

The Continental Congress Met in September 1774 55 Delegates from every colony except Georgia met in Philadelphia to talk about American interests John Adams Sam Adams John Jay Richard Henry Lee Patrick Henry George Washington “The distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, and New Englanders, are no more. I am not a Virginian, but an American.” -Patrick Henry

What happened at the Congress The delegates drafted a statement of grievances calling for the repeal of 13 acts of Parliament. Boycotted British goods Forbade the sale of Colonial goods to Britain. Congress decided to support the Suffolk Resolves which stated that people of the colonies should start arming themselves, and start forming militias.

The First Battles The colonists expected that if fighting broke out that it would happen in New England. Militia from New England started to train and boasted that they could be ready in a minutes notice, and called themselves minutemen.

The British send more troops King George sent more troops to the colonies and by April 1775 several thousand troops were in and around Boston. The leader of the British troops, Thomas Gage learned that the local militia was storing arms and ammunition in the town of Concord

Alerting the Colonists On the night of April 18, 1775 is a famous night in American history where William Dawes and Paul Revere rode to Lexington to warn people that the British were on their way.

Lexington and Concord In Lexington minutemen met the British troops on the town common. A shot was fired and the revolutionary war officially began As the British troops moved towards weapon stores in concord they met heavy resistance on the way. By the time they made it back to Boston 73 were killed and 174 were wounded.

Bunker Hill On June 16, 1775, 1,200 militiamen under the command of Colonel William Prescott, set up fortifications at Bunker Hill across the harbor from Boston. The British decided to drive the Americans from their post on the hill. Colonel Prescott gave the order, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes.” The Americans eventually had to retreat when they ran out of gunpowder but not until they had wounded or killed 1,000 British troops.

Choosing Sides Loyalists- colonists that believed that the offenses that Britain had done were not reason enough to start a revolution. Patriots- colonists that supported the revolution. They believed that British rule had become unbearable.