Download The Revolution Begins

Essential Question

What series of events led to the official
beginning of the American Revolution?
The Revolution Begins
Ch 6 Sec 3 Pt II
Colonists Prepare to Fight

By 1774, colonists were preparing
for potential armed conflict w/ the
British
 Most colonial leaders, though,
believed war w/ Britain would
be a disaster
 The colonies had no standing
army or navy
 Britain, on the other
hand, had:
 A highly-trained &
experienced army
 The World’s largest
& most powerful
navy
The British “Attack”

General Thomas Gage was the
British Governor of MA in 1775.



Gage received information that the
MA militia was storing arms &
ammunition in Concord (about 20
miles NW of Boston)
It was also known that Sam Adams &
John Hancock were staying in nearby
Lexington
On the night of April 18, 1775,
Gage ordered his troops to march
out of Boston:


1. Arrest Adams & Hancock
2. Destroy the militia’s supplies in
Concord
Summary/Test Question

Why did British troops march from Boston
into the countryside in April 1775?
a.
b.
c.
d.
To break up the First Continental Congress
To capture Paul Revere
To recover cannons that rebel colonists had
captured
To arrest Patriot leaders and destroy militia
supplies
The Midnight Ride



The Sons of Liberty were
prepared for this British advance
 Messengers were stationed
around Boston in order to
alert the militia if the British
moved out of Boston
Paul Revere and William Dawes
were charged with riding out
from Boston to sound an alarm
Revere had arranged a system of
signals to alert colonists across
the harbor of British troop
movement
New Arrives in Concord
The signal was placed in the steeple
of the Old North Church:
 1 lantern burning meant British
troops were taking the land route
 2 lanterns burning meant they
were leaving Boston by water
When the British moved, so did Revere
& Dawes
 They rode through the night
spreading the news
 In Lexington, they were joined by
Dr. Samuel Prescott
 When Revere & Dawes were
stopped by a British patrol, Prescott
broke away and took the news to
Concord


Lexington & Concord

At dawn on Apr.19, 1775, more than 700 British
troops had reached Lexington
 70 colonial militiamen met them on the town green
 Colonists were told to drop their muskets, but
refused
 Suddenly a shot rang out, & within minutes 8
militiamen were dead
 The British then marched on to Concord
where a major engagement broke out
Minutemen


Over 4,000 minutemen arrived in the
area within hours of the first shot at
Lexington
 These militiamen were trained to
fight “at a minute’s notice”
 At Concord, they forced the
British to retreat
 Then, using the stone walls
that lined the road for cover,
they harassed the British all
the way back to Boston
Soon after the battles at Lexington &
Concord ended, both sides realized
that a revolution in the colonies had
officially begun