Notes Essays - New York, Vermont, United States,

Notes: Liberty or Death On March 23 rd 1775, Patrick Henry gave one of the most famous speeches in our country's history. He argued that the British troop were in Boston to take away the colonist' rights. The fall of Fort Ticonderoga It was the main supply post for the B ritish. The Green mountain boys served in the militia under Ethan Allen. On May 10 th , 1775, the Green Mountain boys crept past the forts light defenses. Allen woke the commander and demanded his surrender. Without any bloodshed, the Americans had captured British cannons and cut off British supplies from Canada. The battle of bunker hill In June some 1,2000 militia around Boston were sent across the bay to Charleston Whoever controlled the hills around Charleston would be able to fire cannons on Boston. By dawn a British ship in the harbor began to fire cannons at the worn out men... The colonist fought off two charges. But they ran out of ammunition, and a 3 rd charge forced them to retreat to nearby Bunker Hill. The British commander colonel Pitcairn leaped upon a wall of the fort to declare victory. Peter Salem, a former slave killed him with a single shot. Why it matters In the first battles between colonists and British troops, the colonial militias learned the skills they would need in the American Revolution. In the first continental congress the colonist gained experience in forming a government. By 1775 the final break had not come. Some colonist still hoped the British would repeal the intolerable act and restore peace. Colonial unity and a ready militia showed the beginnings of a new country.