Revolution Times
By Travis Hall
Boston Massacre
A platoon of British soldiers fired upon a group of colonists on March 5, 1770. Before the shoots were fired the colonists were throwing snowballs and rocks at the soldiers. They were doing this in protest of the presence of the British soldiers. When they did fire upon the colonists they killed 5 people and wounded 6. Only two of the British soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter.
Boston Tea Party
On December 16, 1773 a group of colonists boarded British ships and destroyed British tea. They did this to protest against the Tea Act placed on May 10. This was organized by the Sons of Liberty. Some of them were disguised as Indians to scare the soldiers. This lead to the Intolerable Acts.
Intolerable Acts
The British started passing laws in 1774 meant to punish the colonists of Massachusetts. These punitive laws are a direct result of the Boston Tea Party. Some of these laws include the Stamp Act and the Quebec Act. One of the laws took away Massachusetts self government. In September of that year the Patriots organized the First Continental Congress to organize a protest against these acts.
First Continental Congress
56 delegates from all the colonies except Georgia met at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia. This meeting lasted from September 5 to October 26, 1774. The Continental Congress was created in response to the Intolerable Acts. They organized a boycott on British goods starting December 1, 1774. They also made the Second Continental Congress, which contained delegates from all thirteen colonies. The Second Continental Congress managed the war and adopted the Declaration of Independence.
Lexington and Concord
On April 19, 1775 the Revolutionary War begins at Lexington and Concord. 700 British troops were stoop up to by 77 Patriots in Lexington. The British ordered the Patriots to throw down their arms but they wouldn't. When the first shot was fired the Patriots dispersed themselves as they were ordered to do so. Who fired the first shot remains unknown.
Battle of Yorktown
In 1781, George Washington led a platoon of 17000 soldiers. This platoon contained both French and Continental soldiers. They fought a British platoon of 9000 led by British General Lord Cornwallis. Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington in Yorktown on October 17, 1781. This ended the War with a colonial victory.