LEXINGTON AND CONCORD:THE SHOT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD

Boston, 1775

Winter, 1775: Boston is on edge from the Intolerable Acts

British commander General Thomas Gage hears a report of munitions stockpiles in Concord, Massachusetts Gage sends 800 troops to seize Concord

Concord is defended by the MINUTEMEN: local militia ready to fight 60 seconds after a call to arms

The Regulars are Coming!

An elaborate spy network catches wind of the British attack 2 Lanterns placed in Boston’s Old North

Church Steeple warn of the attack

Paul Revere, Samuel Prescott, and William Dawes ride through the night of April 18 warning the countryside Paul Revere was NOT the only rider Paul Revere actually got caught by the British

A Shot Heard Round the World

At Lexington, the British defeat the Colonials in three minutes…

…But the Colonials are ready at Concord and defeat the British British are chased 16 miles back to

Boston

The Battle of Lexington and Concord is the first battle of the American Revolution

Liberty or Death

Word of Lexington and Concord spreads like wildfire

“I know not what course others may take, as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” –Patrick Henry

Fort Ticonderoga

While Congress debates what to do next…

Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold capture Fort Ticonderoga in New York’s Hudson Valley

Commander-in-Chief

While Allen and Arnold raid Fort Ticonderoga…

John Adams nominates 42 year old Colonel George Washington as the commander-in-chief of the new Continental Army

The Siege of Boston

June, 1775: Boston is under siege by the British Navy, and Washington is en route to Massachusetts to assume command

Colonials scramble to retake Boston before the navy arrives and the British look for a quick end to the war General Sir William Howe launches an

attack on Breed’s Hill to break the back of the resistance

The Battle of Bunker Hill

Howe sends two waves up the hill to attack the colonials The first two waves are soundly beaten back

with massive casualties

Howe risks everything on a last throw, and sends a third and final wave up the hill Colonials fight until they run out of ammo British win…but suffer over 1000 casualties

(twice as many as the colonials)

The Continental Army

July 3, 1775: George Washington assumes command

The battle stalemates for the next 8 months until a young Boston bookseller launches a daring plan to save Boston...

The Guns of Fort Ticonderoga

Henry Knox goes on a daring covert mission: drag the cannons

from Fort Ticonderoga…

Three hundred miles…

Back to Boston!

He arrives with cannon and weapons intact on January 24, 1776

Dorchester Heights

Washington and Knox fortify Dorchester Heights

General Gage is stunned to see the guns from Fort Ticonderoga pointed at him and his navy

Fallout

Every American is now forced to choose sides: Loyalist or Patriot, Continental or Tory.

Washington gets his first victory of the Revolution when the British Army is forced to evacuate Boston

But the British set their sights on a new target, and a bigger prize…

New York City

Summarize

In your interactive notebook, at the bottom of your notes page, write a short paragraph about today’s lesson. Write about: What the main idea of the lesson was AND what you learned today.

Your summary should be able to explain today’s lesson to someone who was not in class today.