1. War could have been prevented. Or maybe not…?.
The Fighting Begins
Maybe if King George III had JUST paid attention to the colonist…
Maybe if Parliament had repealed the Intolerable Acts…
Maybe if Britain had promised to respect the colonists’ “rights of Englishmen”…
Maybe if the British government removed all the British troops from the colonies…
War could have been prevented. Or maybe not…?.

2. Maybe That Didn’t Happen
Spring 1775 the militias (citizens who volunteered to be part-time soldiers) in most colonies were preparing for war
In March, a member of the Virginia state assembly debated whether their colony should prepare for war
Patrick Henry thought it was time for action!

3. “Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years… We must fight! Gentlemen may cry peace, peace—but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field. Why stand we here idle? What is the gentlemen wish? What would they have: is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, almighty God!”

4. “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!”

5. 3 weeks after Henry’s stirring speech, the war began
Minutemen: farmers and townspeople who had been training to fight; ready to fight at a minutes notice
Collected and hid supplies, including guns, gunpowder, etc., in a town called Concord, about 15 miles northwest of Boston
Governor General Gage (the British general who had been appointed to governor of Massachusetts) found out about the hidden supplies in Concord
Also learned that Sam Adams and John Hancock (two Sons of Liberty and main troublemakers in Boston) were hiding out in Lexington

6. General Gage thought he’d kill two birds with one stone
Sends troops to Lexington to capture Adams and Hancock
Continues on to Concord to seize the hidden supplies
Plan: leave Boston in the dead of night
Sons of Liberty: tipped off to the plan and were ready to cut off the redcoats
Two routes to Lexington… Which would the redcoats take?
Longer route: completely over land
Short route: cross Charles River by rowboat

7. Billy Dawes started out along the long route to Lexington
Along the way to Lexington, he yelled out to Patriot homes “The redcoats are coming!”
Paul Revere hung back and waited to see which route the redcoats would take
In order to warn the Sons of Liberty located on the opposite shore, he had two signals in preparation for the redcoats:
Would hang 1 lantern if they took the long route by land
Would hang 2 lanterns if they took the short route by land and water
“One if by land, two if by sea”
When Revere figured out which route the redcoats were taking, he would pass the information along to a young man, who would climb up the tower of Old North Church in Boston and signal with a lantern

8. Paul Revere and two friends hurried to a hidden rowboat and rowed across the water ahead of the British troops
When they reached shore, Revere borrowed a horse from the Sons of Liberty
Galloped off to carry the message to Lexington and Concord
Stopped at every village and town and pounded on doors, sounding the alarm: “The redcoats are coming!”
When he arrived in Lexington, he was able to warn Sam Adams and John Hancock
They got away safely!

9. The Battle at Lexington
Red coats arrive at dawn in Lexington, expecting to see no one since it was so early… What do they see?
70 Minutemen waiting for them
Captain John Parker told his men: “Stand your ground. Don’t fire unless fired upon. But if they mean to have war, let it begin here.”
The British officer ordered the Minutemen to leave
British Soldiers
men
Handsome uniforms
Well-armed
Minutemen
70 men
Rough dress
Few weapons

10. Someone suddenly opened fire, and the fight began
Within minutes:
8 minutemen dead, 10 wounded
British captured Billy Dawes and Paul Revere before they could get to Concord
Another Patriot, Dr. Samuel Prescott, got away and headed for Concord to warn of the British attack
British troops the continued to Concord and destroyed some of the hidden supplies along the way
Nearly 400 minutemen waiting for them at North Bridge, near Concord
British soldiers opened fire, and the Minutemen fired back
After just 5 minutes off fighting, the British retreated

11. Long march back to Boston was a nightmare for the British soldiers
Colonists who lived along the route and had been alerted by Paul Revere were waiting for the redcoats to return and march by
Colonists hid behind trees, fences, and barns
The redcoats were an easy target in their bright red uniforms, and the colonists shot at them throughout the march back to Boston
Before the British troops got back to Boston that night…
Minutemen killed 73 redcoats and wounded 200 (nearly half the number of soldiers who had started out)
Colonists had lost nearly 50 minutemen
Though Americans did not know it yet… the War for Independence had begun

12. Concord Hymn
By the rude bridge that arched the flood, Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled, Here once the embattled farmers stood, And fired the shot heard round the world.