Boston, 1775  Winter, 1775: Boston is on edge from the Intolerable Acts  British commander General Thomas Gage hears a report of munitions stockpiles in Concord, Massachusetts  Gage sends 800 troops to seize Concord  Concord is defended by the MINUTEMEN: local militia ready to fight 60 seconds after a call to arms

The Regulars are Coming!  An elaborate spy network catches wind of the British attack  2 Lanterns placed in Boston’s Old North Church Steeple warn of the attack  Paul Revere, Samuel Prescott, and William Dawes ride through the night of April 18 warning the countryside  Paul Revere was NOT the only rider  Paul Revere actually got caught by the British

A Shot Heard Round the World  At Lexington, the British defeat the Colonials in three minutes…  …But the Colonials are ready at Concord and defeat the British  British are chased 16 miles back to Boston  The Battle of Lexington and Concord is the first battle of the American Revolution

Liberty or Death  Word of Lexington and Concord spreads like wildfire  “I know not what course others may take, as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” –Patrick Henry

Fort Ticonderoga  While Congress debates what to do next…  Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold capture Fort Ticonderoga in New York’s Hudson Valley

Commander-in-Chief  While Allen and Arnold raid Fort Ticonderoga…  John Adams nominates 42 year old Colonel George Washington as the commander-in- chief of the new Continental Army

The Siege of Boston  June, 1775: Boston is under siege by the British Navy, and Washington is en route to Massachusetts to assume command  Colonials scramble to retake Boston before the navy arrives and the British look for a quick end to the war  General Sir William Howe launches an attack on Breed’s Hill to break the back of the resistance

The Battle of Bunker Hill  Howe sends two waves up the hill to attack the colonials  The first two waves are soundly beaten back with massive casualties  Howe risks everything on a last throw, and sends a third and final wave up the hill  Colonials fight until they run out of ammo  British win…but suffer over 1000 casualties (twice as many as the colonials)

The Continental Army  July 3, 1775: George Washington assumes command  The battle stalemates for the next 8 months until a young Boston bookseller launches a daring plan to save Boston...

The Guns of Fort Ticonderoga  Henry Knox goes on a daring covert mission:  drag the cannons from Fort Ticonderoga…  Three hundred miles…  Back to Boston!  He arrives with cannon and weapons intact on January 24, 1776

Dorchester Heights  Washington and Knox fortify Dorchester Heights  General Gage is stunned to see the guns from Fort Ticonderoga pointed at him and his navy

Fallout  Every American is now forced to choose sides: Loyalist or Patriot, Continental or Tory.  Washington gets his first victory of the Revolution when the British Army is forced to evacuate Boston  But the British set their sights on a new target, and a bigger prize…

New York City