Boston Tea Party After Britain gave the British East India Company exclusive rights to import and tax tea to America, the colonists became upset. The Sons of Liberty refused to allow the ships to unload, then boarded the ships and threw the tea crates into the Boston Harbor. England responded by passing a set of 5 laws called the Coercive Acts. The colonist called them the Intolerable Acts.

George III and the Colonists After the passage of the Intolerable Acts, colonists began preparing for war. They ran military drills and stockpiled weapons and ammunition. In April 1775, King George III of Britain issued new orders to control the colonists: 1.Arrest colonial leaders, particularly Samuel Adams and John Hancock. (They were moved to Lexington for safety) 2.Capture colonists ammo stockpiles, specifically the gunpowder stored in Concord (several miles west of Boston).

Easy Rider and the Jewish Vacuum When the colonists became aware of the British plan to attack Concord, rebel leaders put the alarm system into action. 1.At the Old North Church, lanterns would issue the warning. “One is by land, two if by sea”. 2.Three alarm riders took action. A.Paul Revere rode a northern route 19 miles, just past Lexington, where he was captured. (He was able to alert another rider, Samuel Prescott, who rode on to Concord.) B.William Dawes rode a southern route. He was forced back by a British patrol. C.Israel Bissell rode 345 miles warning people in Providence, Hartford, New York, Trenton, and Philadelphia.

Shot Heard Round the World. When the 700 British troops, led by John Pitcairn, arrived in Lexington, they were met on the town green by 77 local militiamen, led by John Parker. Both leaders told their troops to hold their fire, but someone fired a shot. It became known as the “shot heard ‘round the world”. The Patriots were severely outmatched and retreated. 8 colonists were killed and 10 were wounded. 1 Brit was wounded (probably Johnson). This was the first battle of the Revolution, if you can consider it a battle. After this, the British moved on to Concord.

Advance and Retreat Hours later, when the British, under Francis Smith, arrived at Concord, they were met by a larger force of militiamen. The colonists were surprised by their ability to repel the king’s troops along the North Bridge over the Concord River. As the British soldiers retreated back to Boston, they were repeatedly ambushed by more and more minutemen. In the end, Britain suffered 275 casualties, as opposed to the colonists 94 casualties.

Bunker Hill? Boston is very different today than it was in In June of 1775, the British surrounded the city of Boston and laid seige. On June 16, 1775, American William Prescott led 1500 men on to Breed’s Hill to dig ditches and build walls. British general William Howe (2600 men) sent charge after charge in an attempt to dislodge the Patriots from the hill.

Whites of Their Eyes By the third British assault, the colonists had little or no ammunition. Prescott issued his famous order “Do not fire until you see the whites of their eyes.” Eventually, the British forced the Patriots to retreat. It was a pyrrhic victory for the British. British casualties (226 dead) Colonists casualties (140 dead) Moral victory for the colonists.