Lexington and Concord: the Shot Heard Round the World

1. Lexington and Concord:the Shot Heard Round the World

2. 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 who are ready to fight 60 seconds after a call to arms

3. 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

6. A Shot Heard Round the World • At Lexington, the British defeat the Colonials in about 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

7. 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

8. Fort Ticonderoga • While Congress debates what to do next… • Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold capture Fort Ticonderoga in New York’s Hudson Valley

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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)

12. 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...

13. 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

15. 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

16. 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…

17. New York City