Sam Adams and John Hancock had been stirring up trouble in Massachusetts. They were hiding out in Lexington. A little farther away, in Concord, the rebels were stockpiling guns.

General Gage in Boston wanted the guns taken and the two rebel leaders arrested, even though his own spies told him that the rebels had lookouts everywhere, waiting for British troops. (even Gen. Gage’s wife was a patriot spy)

One British spy warned that even if the British sent "10,000 regulars and a train of artillery, not one of them would get back alive."

Gage ignored the warning, and sent Colonel Francis Smith, Major John Pitcairn and 800 regulars on a "secret" mission.

The troops left at night to avoid detection, but within a few miles, warning bells were ringing all over the countryside.

Joseph Warren and Paul Revere set up a "one if by land, two if by sea" warning signal in the Old North Church.

Paul Revere rowed across the Charles River, then set off across the countryside on a borrowed horse, waking up the minutemen.

John Hancock and Sam Adams got away safely, thanks to Revere’s warning.

Revere was captured on the way to Concord, but two others, Dawes and Prescott, got there and warned the patriots to hide their weapons.

John Parker and 77 minutemen gathered at Buckman’s Tavern on Lexington Green.

At dawn, the regulars arrived, and Pitcairn yelled, "Lay down your arms, you damned rebels, and disperse!"

The minutemen began to move away, but then someone fired "the shot heard ‘round the world."

The British responded with a whole volley. Eighteen fell, eight were killed. The British then came on with bayonnets.

The Americans scattered, the British cheered, and they kept marching toward Concord, deeper into enemy territory.

At Concord, militia first welcomed the Brits; even put out chairs for the officers.

Brits became frustrated not finding weapons, so they burned the Concord courthouse.

The sick deacon’s wife was forced out of her home so the British could burn it, too.

Brits began retreat; skirmishes began.

At the north bridge, Brits fired on militia blocking the way; militia returned fire; two Americans killed; three British.

Rumors that two redcoats left behind were scalped; probably not true.

Total: 3700 militia faced 1800 redcoats; 273 redcoats died; 93 militia and civilians.

Col. Smith said he would’ve surrendered, but there was no one to accept his sword.

Reinforcements saved the redcoats, barely – got them to Boston.

Casualties included a 58 year-old American crippled man, who was bayonneted in his doorway.

Militia followed to Boston and formed the beginnings of a colonial army; about 10,000 men beseiged the city.

Fort Ticonderoga was weakly garrisoned with only 40 men, and the defenses were in bad repair.

It had 100 cannon and plenty of ammunition the Americans could use to beseige Boston.

It could also guard the colonies from Canadian offensives, or be used to launch an assault on Canada.

Benedict Arnold was a Connecticut Son of Liberty; a juvenile delinquent as a kid, used to tie pots to cows’ tails and at 12, challenged the local constable to a fight.

He equipped 60 local men at his own expense. When they arrived at the Boston siege, they were "the best drilled and the only perfectly equipped and uniformed company in the camp."

Because they looked flashy, Arnold got respect. He suggested an attack on Ticonderoga and the Continental Congress agreed.

Ethan Allen had the same idea as Arnold.

Allen was a Vermont radical – he would fight anybody that tried to claim Vermont was theirs – French, Indians, England, other colonies.

Allen headed a band of rowdies called the Green Mountain Boys.

Allen and Arnold met at a tavern in Connecticut, had an argument about who would be in charge, and uneasily settled on joint command.

They did a force march on the Fort and arrived May 9. They attacked with only 83 men, b/c they only had one boat to cross the lake.

The Americans surprise a sleeping sentry and get into the fort.

All the guns are lined up against the wall – the Americans take them.

Allen wakes up the commander, who is caught literally with his pants down.

When the commander asks: "On whose authority do you attack?" Allen says: "In the same of great Jehovah and the Continental Congress!"

After taking Fort Ticonderoga, 59 cannon are dragged by oxen 300 miles to help with the siege of Boston.

The guns weighed up to a ton each.

42 sleds full of lead and bullets are also transported.

The guy who does the transporting is Henry Knox (namesake of later Fort Knox)

Rebels decide to fortify the high ground in Charleston, across the harbor from Boston, so the regulars would have a harder time making them retreat. They chose Breed’s Hill.

In four hours at night, Col. William Prescott and his men built an earthwork fort 160 long, 80 feet wide, with six foot high walls, one foot thick.

The walls were reinforced with sharpened sticks and hogshead barrels. Outside the wall was a trench filled with fence rails.

The British were stunned when they saw the fort at dawn, and opened fire from their ships, but caused little damage.

At 3 PM, 2200 men under Gen. Howe landed from barges and began their assault up the hill.

Rebels had no food, no drink but rum, and few bullets, even though they’d melted down the nearest church organ to make more.

They were ordered not to fire until the enemy "were near enough for us to see the whites of their eyes."

Howe could have sealed up the peninsula and starved out the rebels, but he chose a direct assault instead.

Hot summer day; each redcoat carried 125 lbs of equipment.

The Americans held until the last minute, then retreated to Bunker Hill. 1000 British died; about half that many Americans.

Nathanael Green said, "I wish we could sell them another hill at the same price."

Spectators watched from every rooftop in Boston.

Almost all of Charleston burned to the ground.

Even Gen. Gage was impressed with American courage: "The rebels are not the despicable rabble too many have supposed them to be."

Though the Americans retreated, they had proved they could stand against British regulars.

This British cartoon made fun of ladies’ hairstyles and British stupidity in the battle.

Note Bunker and Breed’s Hills on the lady’s head.

Second Continental Congress appointed Washington general and commander in chief of the Continental troops.

Some were worried about a Viriginian taking charge of mostly New England troops.

When Washington was nominated, he blushed from modesty and left the room.

Washington takes charge of the army at Boston; tries to impose discipline.

His title was "Your Excellency."

When the guns from Ticonderoga arrived, Washington fortified the hills of Dorchester and was in a position to destroy Boston with cannon fire.

The British had no choice but to negotiate for a withdrawal. The Americans let them leave in order to save Boston.

The evacuation took eight days. Anything of value that couldn’t be taken was destroyed. Heavy cannon were thrown in Boston Harbor.

Most people were still divided about declaring independence.

Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet "Common Sense" that argued the British government and other monarchies were unnatural and wrong.

The pamphlet sold 120,000 in three months; 500,000 copies total.

It made Paine a rich man.

Paine was a privateer at age 16; then a corset-maker; then a customs officer until he was accused of fraud; then a tobacco smuggler; then a customs officer again until he was fired for negligence.

He was about to go to debtors’ prison when he met Ben Franklin, who advised him to get a fresh start in America.

Paine finally made it big as an American journalist.

Was the English king divine? Paine said of the first one, William the Conqueror: "A French bastard landing with armed banditti and establishing himself king of England against the consent of the natives, is in plain terms a very paltry rascally original. It certainly hath no divinity in it."

"Everything that is right or natural pleads for separation. The blood of the slain, the weeping voice of nature cries, ‘TIS TIME TO PART."

"There is something very absurd in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by an island. In no instance hath nature made a satellite larger than its primary planet."

The Second Continental Congress appointed Thomas Jefferson, with Ben Franklin and John Adams, to write a Declaration of Independence.

It was approved and signed on July 4, 1776. (but this didn’t mean the war was over – it just had begun.

Signing the Declaration would be the signers’ death warrant if England won the war.

A majority of the delegates signed it anyway.

last royal governor of Virginia

Offered freedom to all slaves who would fight for the British.

White plantation owners’ worst fear -- told their slaves the British were lying, would really sell them to sugar plantations in the W. Indies.

Washington said, "if Dunmore is not crushed before spring, he will become the most formidable enemy America has. His strength will increase like a snowball."

Dunmore soon had 500 black volunteers, whom he organized as the "Loyal Ethiopian Regiment."

Mocking the rebels, they stitched "Liberty to Slaves" on their shirts.

In response, Congress reluctantly authorized free blacks to serve in its army. In all, 5000 served as patriots (more than served the British)

Dunmore took over Norfolk, made it a rebel stronghold.

The Virginia militia attacked, killed the British commander with 14 bullets. The Ethiopians were routed.

Dunmore had to flee Norfolk, but he bombarded it from his ship before leaving, burning it to the ground.

Dunmore turned to pirating. He sailed up the Potomac River and burned the countryside around Mount Vernon (Washington’s home).

1000 slaves flocked to Dunmore’s banner, expecting to be freed.

To pay his expenses, Dunmore took these slaves to the West Indies and sold them.

Americans thought French Canadians would come to their aid, so they believed a force of 2000 would be enough to take Montreal and Quebec.

Two commanders, Schuyler and Montgomery, led the invasion.

When Montgomery attacked Montreal, the British retreated immediately to Quebec.

Americans took Montreal.

Arnold decided to march to Quebec to join Montgomery.

Arnold miscalculated the distance to Quebec by half. His men began starving halfway through Maine

They butchered and ate their mascot dog, and wax candles. "Nor did shaving soap, lip salve, shoe leather, cartridge boxes, etc. suffer a better fate."

A small part of the force made it to Canada and joined Montgomery.

They laid siege to Quebec City in the middle of the winter.

The Americans built a fort out of ice – snow bricks poured with water for cement.

The British sent prostitutes infected with small pox into the American camp.

During the attack, British cannons blew up the ice fort easily.

Montgomery was killed charging into the city.

The Americans withdrew; 462 were captured; 60 killed.

If Montgomery hadn’t died, Canada might be part of the U.S. today.

New York was a loyalist stronghold, but Washington wanted to defend it.

The first major series of battles between the Continental Army and the regulars.

Washington vs. Howe.

Washington was beaten every time.

Washington lost battles in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Harlem.

He needed a spy, and sent his only volunteer, Nathan Hale, to find out British plans.

Hale was captured and executed.

His famous last words: "I regret that I only have one life to give for my country."

Washington retreated to New Jersey, having lost every battle to Howe.

Mid-winter, fighting should have stopped; British settled down to party in New York.

Howe posted a small Hessian force in Trenton and a British force under Cornwallis in Princeton, just to keep an eye on the rebels across the Delaware River.

Washington badly needed a victory.

He launched a surprise attack on Christmas Night.

GW ferried 2200 men, horses, and cannon across the frozen river in a sleet storm.

They didn’t arrive until 4 A.M.

Hessian commander Rahl had been warned of their arrival. Forunately, there had been an earlier false alarm, and Rahl assumed that the warning was wrong.

The Hessians were sleepy or drunk from Christmas celebrations.

The Americans lost only three men (one froze to death).

They captured 1000 men, 23 officers, 6 cannon, and 1000 guns.

Cornwallis came to attack, but the Americans tricked him with campfires and snuck behind him to attack Princeton.

Cornwallis awoke the next morning to cannon fire in the north, and realized Washington had snuck behind him.

Washington took Princeton easily, stole lots of supplies.

As the British fled, they pursued, and Washington said, "It is a fine fox chase, my boys!"

Princeton burned: "the smoke mingled as it rose, and went up in one beautiful cloud."