The document provides an overview of key events from 1775-1776 during the American Revolutionary War, including:
- Paul Revere and William Dawes' midnight rides on April 18th, 1775 to warn of approaching British troops.
- The battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19th, 1775, which marked the beginning of the war.
- Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys' capture of Fort Ticonderoga in May 1775.
- George Washington being appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army in June 1775.
- The battle of Bunker Hill on June 17th, 1775 and the declaration of independence in July 1
2. 1775: The War Begins The Rides of Paul Revere and William Dawes (4/18) The Battles of Lexington and Concord (4/19) Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys Seize Fort Ticonderoga (5/10) The Second Continental Congress (met in Philadelphia, 5/10) Washington named Commander in Chief (6/15) Battle of Bunker Hill (fought on Breed's Hill) (6/17) Benedict Arnold's failed attack on Quebec (12/30)
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4. The Midnight Ride of Whom? Paul Revere became a figure of popular history and legend, however, because of his ride on the night of Apr. 18, 1775, to warn the people of the Massachusetts countryside that British soldiers were being sent out in the expedition that, as it turned out, started the American Revolution. William Dawes and Samuel Prescott also rode forth with the news. Revere did not reach his destination at Concord, but was captured by the British; nevertheless, it is Revere who is remembered as the midnight rider, chiefly because of the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Actually, Dawes didn't make it to Concord either. When Revere was captured, Dawes got lost in the dark, strange countryside. The only one to complete the mission, as you put it, was Dr. Samuel Prescott, a young M.D. from Concord who had been visiting his girlfriend in Lexington & had met up with Revere and Dawes as they rode out of Lexington towards Concord. He was far more familiar with the landscape and was able to evade the redcoat patrol. Dr. Prescott was 23 years old when he rode to Concord that fateful morning (it was the AM by the time Paul and William Dawes ran into him). He arrived in Concord by 1 AM, and warned the town of the regulars approach. Revere was captured on the way, but Prescott got through with the news. After the war broke out, he joined a privateer as the ship's surgeon, and wound up captured off the coast of Nova Scotia in 1776, with the rest of the crew. He died in prison that year, at the age of 24, and is thereby largely forgotten in our history books. His portion of the midnight ride is arguably more important than the portion that Revere rode.
5. The War Begins April 19, 1775 As tensions between the colonists and the British grew, a split developed and widened between those taking sides in America as the loyalists (colonists remaining loyal to the king) and the patriots (those opposing British laws). Near midnight, April 18, 1775 General Thomas Gage (British commander-in-chief) sent his soldiers toward Lexington. He wanted to seize patriot arms and ammunition stored in Concord. Paul Revere and William Dawes rode ahead to warn the local minutemen, or patriot volunteers, who would be ready to fight at a moment’s notice. At dawn 70 minutemen met 770 English Redcoats on the village green at Lexington. Militia leader John Parker faces Br. Gen. Pitcairn and 8 minutemen are killed and 11 wounded. The British again engaged in fighting at the bridge north of Concord before retreating to Boston.
19. Battle for Bunker Hill June 17, 1775 In Massachusetts, the patriot army was growing. Thousands of rebels poured into New England ready to drive the British out of the colonies, and more specifically, out of Boston. The rebel army took position on Breed's Hill near Boston on June 16, 1775. Led by Col. William Prescott and Gen Israel Putnam, they also intended to take neighboring Bunker Hill. The British, however, attacked on June 17 before these plans were completed. Although the resulting battle was for Bunker Hill, the fighting took place on Breed's Hill. The British attacked the hilltop on three separate charges, with one coming as close as forty yards before the patriots opened fire. The rebels did not flee the hill until they had run out of bullets. Though the British won, about 1,000 redcoats were killed, most of them were not easily replaced officers.
20. The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775 by John Trumbull
21. Breed’s Hill June 17, 1775 To conserve ammunition, they were told by Prescott:, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!”
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23. 1776: The Year of Independence Paine's "Common Sense" published (1/15) The British evacuate Boston (3/17) Richard Henry Lee proposes Independence (6/7) Declaration of Independence adopted (7/4) Declaration of Independence signed (8/2) Arrival of 30,000 British troops in New York harbor British win the Battle of Long Island (Battle of Brooklyn) (8/27-30) British occupy New York City (9/15) British win the Battle of Harlem Heights (9/16) Benedict Arnold defeated at Lake Champlain (10/11) American retreat at the Battle of White Plains (10/28) British capture Fort Washington, NY and Fort Lee, NJ (11/16) Washington Crosses the Delaware and captures Trenton (12/25)
42. George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River in December 1776 and the resulting destruction of the Hessian garrison of Trenton and defeat of a British brigade at Princeton. 918 captured, 106 killed—Johann Rall among them in Trenton.
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44. Called Westward Ho the Course of Empire Takes Its Way, the allegorical mural represents the settlement of the frontier.
