II. Second Continental
Congress and Continued
Fighting
Warm Up: Why was the Stamp
Act bad idea for the British?
The colonists prepared for war
Colonial early warning system
The Minutemen
Lexington and Concord
Colonists prepared for combat
 In several
Massachusetts towns
people had begun to
stockpile weapons and
train openly for combat
 General Thomas Gage,
British military governor
of Massachusetts, learned
of colonial military
preparations, and ordered
British troops to Lexington
and Concord to seize
weapons
General Thomas Gage
“One if by land, two if by sea”
Many of the leaders of the
rebel movement, known as
the “Patriots”, fled Boston to
avoid arrest by the British.
Those who stayed devised a
plan to alert those who
remained of a British
advance: one lantern in the
steeple of the Old North
Church, two if from the
Charles River.
On April 18, 1775 silversmith
Paul Revere saw the lanterns
and along with William
Dawes and Dr. Samuel
Prescott, rode through the
countryside warning
colonists and militia that the
British were on the march to
Lexington and Concord.
The riders
William Dawes
Only Prescott
was able to
make it to
Concord
Paul Revere
Revere was captured,
but lied to the British
about colonial troop
strength, and was
eventually released to
return to Boston on a
poorly rested horse.
Dawes took the longer “by
land” route across the
isthmus of Massachusetts and
was able to elude capture by
British forces and warned
militia at several locations
along the route the British
traveled to Lexington and
Concord. Dawes was thrown
from his horse and was
captured.
The Minutemen
 Based on English militia
model
 All males over age 16 were
required to join militia and
attend musters. Minutemen
were selected from colonial
militia rosters
 The average age was about
25 years old, and many were
veterans of the French and
Indian War
 Term “minute men” first
used in 1756; but not
officially used for colonial
militia until 1774; meant
they would be ready to fight
“in a moment’s notice”
Lexington and Concord
April 19, 1775
“The shot heard round the world”
Cartoon shows George III and Lord Mansfield,
seated on an open chaise drawn by two horses
labeled "Obstinacy" and "Pride," about to lead
Britain into an abyss represented by the war with
the American colonies
How the war began
When the British troops arrived in Lexington, the colonial
militia under Captain John Parker, was lined up on the village
green. Parker had ordered his men to “stand their ground…”,
but added “if they mean to have a war, let it begin here”.
As the two sides watched each other, a shot apparently was
fired in the distance. The British responded by firing at the
militia, who returned fire. At the end of the skirmish, along
with the subsequent one at Concord, 50 militia and 73 British
soldiers were killed.
The British marched back to Boston under heavy fire from the
colonists, who practiced guerrilla warfare, meaning they were
hiding behind rocks and trees. The British army had always
fought in a traditional style, in the open with both sides facing
each other, which made it difficult for them to effectively fight
back. Eventually the British troops made it back to
Charlestown after suffering many more casualties on the
march.
The British army and colonials were now at war.
A. The Second Continental Congress
1. Where, When, Who, and What
– May 1775: Meet in Philadelphia
– New Members: Included Ben Franklin, John
Hancock, and Thomas Jefferson
–
–
–
–
Many still felt loyalty to the King George III
Blamed the Parliament
Only a few actually wanted independence
The Congress does 3 major things during
this meeting
2. Creates Continental Army
– Congress agreed to
support the war already
going on
– Turns the New England
forces into the Continental
Army
– June 1775: Appoints
George Washington to
lead the new army
3. Declaration of the Causes and Necessity
of Taking Up Arms
–
–
–
–
July 1775: Congress issues this document
Explains why Americans were at war
Accused Parliament for causing the war
Says the war is not to separate from Great
Britain but to defend its rights and property
4. Olive Branch Petition
– Congress sends this to the King George III
– Call themselves “faithful subjects of the
Colonies”
– Asks the king to make a reconciliation with
the colonies
– Despite petition the King says the Colonies
are in open rebellion
– Parliament passes law banning colonial
trade outside the British Empire
B. Fighting Continues
1. Green Mountain Boys
– Vermont Militia
– Organized by Ethan Allen
– May 10 1775: Capture
British Fort Ticonderoga
– Later captures a fort at Crow Point
2. Siege of Boston
– After Lexington and Concord
– British Soldiers fall back to Boston and
occupy the town
– 15,000 militia from New England surrounded
Boston
– Battle of Bunker Hill pushes the Militia back
losing 400 soldiers
– British lost 1000 but still won the battle
3. Washington takes Boston
– Washington has captured weapons from
Ticonderoga brought to Boston
– By March 1776: Washington had enough
weapons
– Takes Boston
– Forces the British to retreat out of Boston
Harbor
– British sail to Halifax Nova Scotia with 1,100
Loyalists (colonists who sympathized with the
British)