Every year on July 4th, this country celebrates its independence from Great Britain. It took a long war to achieve this end, but the events that led up to the Declaration of Independence provide an interesting story in their own right.
The Seven Years War, Ending February 10, 1763: From 1756 to 1763 the British Military and colonial militias fought the French and their Indian allies over territorial rights in eastern and northern North American territories. The British won, but it was very expensive and left the national debt at nearly double what it was before the war. Further, rather than disband the military, British policymakers decided to garrison a number of them in and around the thirteen colonies, also costing a lot of money.
The Stamp Act, March 22, 1765: Parliament and Prime Minister George Grenville decided to place a major portion of this financial burden onto the shoulders of the colonists. One of the first steps in this process was the passage of the Stamp Act, that required the colonies to print only on special paper that bore an embossed revenue stamp. The colonists immediately objected to this tax pointing out that they had contributed significantly during the war already, and the tax was believed to be patronage to some 1,500 British officers who would have otherwise been laid off. Other taxes soon popped up, but in several cases were circumvented by colonial smugglers who understood that some of these taxes were applied simply to raise the cost of a product and block out competition. These methods of taxation lead to the rallying cry of “No Taxation Without Representation,” as the colonists had no voting rights in Parliament.
The Boston Massacre, March 5, 1770: The presence of large numbers of British troops in Massachusetts caused considerable friction with the colonials, who did not see the need for the “extra protection” and instead thought of it as Parliament grinding its heel into their way of life. Further, with the addition of 4,000 troops in a town of 15,000 population their housing requirement took up all available space. There presence was everywhere and resentment among the locals grew. On March 5, 1770, a single British soldier standing guard at the Customs House was confronted by a group of unarmed colonists. The insults gave way to snowballs being thrown followed by oyster shells and bricks of ice. British troops soon came to provide backup support, but the snowball fight turned into a mele. A shot was fired incidentally, and the mob pressed their assault with clubs and sticks in response. More shots were fired, and five colonists were killed. The British troops involve went on trial for murder. In a closely watched court proceeding, all but two of the British soldiers were acquitted, and the two who were not acquitted received greatly reduced sentences. Their attorney was John Adams, who became an important revolutionary figure and the second President of the United States.
The Boston Tea Party, December 16, 1773: One of those products that was smuggled into the colonies to avoid taxation was tea. Tea was a very popular beverage, but had to be imported from Asia. It was also heavily taxed both in Britain and in the colonies. Smuggling cost the British East India Company a tremendous amount of lost revenue not to mention the decline in tax revenues for the government. Political maneuvering and the Tea Act in 1773 gave the East India Company a tax exemption and an exclusive right to sell the tea cheaper than the smuggled tea. By October, 1773, seven cargo ships were on route to colonist ports with many tons of this now ultra cheap tea. Organized committees of colonists were able to persuade the ship’s masters to return the cargo to Britain without incident in all of the colonist ports except Boston, where four ships arrived. When the Massachusetts governor refused to let the ships leave, the local committee boarded the ships and threw the entire tea cargo overboard into the harbor. This loss amounted to perhaps nine million dollars in today’s currency. The Tea Act protests also included an additional Boston Tea Party at a later date, and one in New York.
The Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts), 1774: In response to the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed a series of acts that became known as the Intolerable acts to the colonies. The first one, Boston Port Act, closed the port of Boston until the dumped tea was paid for. The Massachusetts Government Act took self-government away from the people of Massachusetts and put it under the control of the British government. The Administration of Justice Act enabled the British appointed governor to send trials of any British appointed public official to Britain, or to anywhere else where the accused could “get a fair trial.” The Quartering Act allowed the governor to select better accommodations for British troops (this did not include housing them in private residences, however). Needless to say, there was a huge uproar against these acts that spread beyond the Massachusetts border.
The Continental Congress, 1774-1781: Although the Intolerable Acts were aimed at Massachusetts, the other twelve colonies came to the conclusion that the same process could easily be applied to them. Representatives of twelve of the overall thirteen colonies convened in Philadelphia from September 5 to October 26, 1774, to respond to the application of the Intolerable Acts. After some debate they agreed on a Declaration and Resolves statement that called for an embargo on trade with Britain. They also drew up a petition to King George III calling for the repeal of the Intolerable Acts. Their actions did not bring success, but the fact that the colonies were binding together with Massachusetts to stand up to British rule became part of the colonial establishment. The Continental Congress disbanded, but the Second Continental Congress was convened after the Battle of Lexington and Concord, and remained apart of American law and culture ever since.
The Battle of Lexington and Concord, April 19, 1775: In February, 1775, Parliament declared to King George III that a state of rebellion existed primarily in the “Province of the Massachusetts Bay.” In April, orders were sent to General Thomas Gage, the British commander in Boston, to disarm all rebellious elements and imprison their leaders. Gage then planned a military operation to seize a cache of weapons in the nearby town of Concord, Massachusetts. Colonist spies were able to pick up on the plan and spread the word that the British were staging a military operation. This mobilized the Massachusetts militia as the British moved out early on the morning of April 19. The British force, about 700 soldiers, was confronted by a group of about 80 militia on the Lexington Green about 5AM. The militia were not blocking the British march, but an officer rode up to the militia and ordered them to disperse. At that point, a single shot was fired from an unknown source in the direction of the British. Although the shot did not come from any of the assemble militia, a company of British troops returned fire into the crowd of militia. A few intermittent shots were fired by both sides and the outnumbered militia slowly began to disperse. But then the British troops attacked with bayonets. Before it ended, eight militiamen were killed and ten more wounded. The British then marched to Concord and uncovered the weapons cache which had been previously emptied by the colonists. They then took a break near the Concord Bridge. But on the other side of the bridge was a huge group of angry colonists and militiamen. Some skirmishing took place and two of the militiamen were killed and another four wounded. Finally, a militia commander managed to get his forces to return fire. When they did, three British soldiers were killed and another eight were wounded. The British regrouped and proceeded down the road back to Boston. However, they were bushwhacked by the militia at nearly every turn of the road. By the time they made it back to the safety of Charlestown they suffered 300 casualties to 93 for the militia. By the end of the day, Boston had been surrounded by over 15,000 militia. At this point, there would be no turning away from war for either the colonists or the British.
The Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775: Two months later the second major military engagement of the war took place very close to Boston on Breed’s hill (although the battle was named for Bunker Hill which was close by). It began with intelligence that told the militiamen that British troops aimed to occupying the hills that surrounded the town in order to protect the harbor. To counter this move, the militia sent a force of 1,200 up to Breed’s hill with orders to dig in and build a redoubt to thwart a British attack. The morning of June 17, the British recognized the defensive militia positions, and that afternoon attacked with five regiments. The militia waited patiently for the British to climb Breed’s hill and come within range, then opened fire repulsing two assaults by the attacking British. However, the British attacked again and were able to break through the defenses and drive the militia, who were out of ammunition, off Breed’s hill and Bunker Hill. It was a pyric victory for the British as they suffered over twice the casualties of the militia. Many other such “victories” would take place for the British before the war ended.
The Capture of Fort Ticonderoga, May 10, 1775: On the early morning of May 10, 1775, a small force of volunteers led by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold surprised the British garrison at Ft. Ticonderoga in Upper New York, and captured the fort without firing a shot. The fort had a strategic significance in the French and Indian war, but was without purpose during the early stages of the American Revolution. What was important about the event was the capture of a large amount of heavy artillery. In the ensuing months this artillery was transported to the militia’s high ground positions near Boston.
The British Military Evacuates Boston, March 17, 1776: From April 19, 1775 to March 17, 1776, The British force sent to press the Intolerable Acts onto the Massachusetts Colony found itself bottled up in Boston with the only escape route left being via the harbor and sea. On July 2, 1775 General George Washington took command of the militias. He ordered the conversion of fishing boats and merchant ships for use to provide intelligence about British naval activity, and to intercept supply ships headed for the British garrison in Boston. The strategy worked as the tourniquet blocked about 55 supply ships from getting to Boston Harbor. As the captured Artillery from Ft. Ticonderoga began to arrive, it was strategically placed around the high ground out of range of the British artillery, but still able to pound the British positions including the fleet. The British hold on Boston became more and more tenuous, and General Howe, who had replaced Gage as British Commander, chose to withdraw his nearly 10,000 man army completely by the early morning of March 17, 1776. There would be no more significant military operations in Massachusetts during the entire war after that day.
The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776: Having driven the British out of Boston, the colonials completed a major stepping stone towards removal of all British authority in the colonies. The Second Continental Congress gravitated towards recognition by the remainder of the world of the North American colonies as sovereign states. A “Committee of Five” was appointed to prepare a draft of a document stating the congress’s case for independence. Amid substantial debate, Thomas Jefferson wrote the draft and presented it for approval. The original draft was edited until it finally was agreed upon by vote on July 4, 1776. It was transposed to paper and was then sent to a printer to create 200 copies for distribution. It was soon published in every newspaper in North America. Two days later, John Hancock, the President of the Second Continental Congress, applied the first signature. Most of the 56 delegates signed the document in early August, however at least one delegate signed after the war ended in 1781.
The War Continued until the Siege of Yorktown, October 19, 1781: The war continued for over five more years with the British strength reaching over 100,000 troops including nearly 30,000 German mercenaries, and 38,000 local loyalists and Native Americans. The colonists were about 63,000 strong, including about 10,800 French and about 12,000 Spanish troops. The British suffered about 12,000 killed in combat, whereas the Americans had only 9,283. Disease was rampant for both sides, as was desertion. The fighting finally came to an end on October 19, 1781 with the British surrendering a large army at Yorktown, Virginia. There was another British army still intact in New York that was later peacefully recalled.
Sources: Wikipedia, Timeline of the Revolution.
History.com, Did a Snowball Fight Start the American Revolution? by Annette McDermott, June 13, 2023.