Patrick Henry of Virginia was so indignant at this treatment of Massachusetts that he said in the Virginia Convention, "There is

no longer any room for hope. We must fight. I repeat it, sir; we must fight." A few months after these offensive measures went into operation a Continental

or General Congress the first ever held in America- met in Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia (1774), to consider what course the colonies should take.

The spirit of that Congress was unmistakable. It was perfectly calm, perfectly respectful, but perfectly

determined. The delegates who met there, of whom George Washington was one, did not demand representation in Parliament they had got beyond that they demanded the right to levy all taxes, and make all laws (except those respecting foreign commerce and the like), in their own colonial assemblies.1

Not long after this, Massachusetts set up a government quite independent of the military rule of General Gage, and made John Hancock, a wealthy and influential merchant of Boston, head of it.2

1 They declared (Declaration of Rights, October 14, 1774) that since they " cannot be properly represented in the British Parliament, they are entitled to a free and exclusive power of legislation in their several Provincial Legislatures." Yet this same Congress (October 26, 1774) sent a petition to the king, imploring him, "as the loving Father of your whole People," to redress their wrongs. They might as well have petitioned the "Great Stone Face" in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. 2 Practically, Massachusetts had possessed an independent government ever since

LEXINGTON AND CONCORD.

157

The colony next proceeded to raise a military force of its own. Twelve thousand volunteers were enrolled, of whom one-third were "Minute Men"; that is, men ready to march or fight at a minute's notice.

I. FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR IN 1775 BY THE COLONISTS IN DEFENCE OF THEIR RIGHTS AS ENGLISH SUBJECTS, TO THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, JULY 4, 1776.

161. The British Expedition to Lexington and Concord; Paul Revere; the Battle; the Retreat.-General Gage having learned that the colonists had stored a quantity of powder and

that the heads of these two prominent "rebels" would soon be on exhibition in that city; but, as Gage found out, Adams and Hancock were not the kind of men to lose their heads so easily.

The British troops left Boston just before midnight of April 18, 1775. Paul Revere, a noted Boston patriot, was on the watch; at his request two signal lanterns flashed the news abroad from the steeple of the Old North Church,-a church still standing,- and he galloped through the country giving the alarm.1 When he reached

Governor Hutchinson, in 1772, had refused to convene a legislature to settle the question of how the judges' salaries should be paid. Samuel Adams then organized Committees of Correspondence" by means of which the towns could consult on all public matters by letter. This method was later extended to other colonies, and thus prepared the way for calling a Continental Congress.

1 Longfellow's grand poem, "Paul Revere's Ride," is not strictly historical.

the house in Lexington where Hancock and Adams were asleep, a man on guard cried out to him, "Don't make so much noise." "Noise," shouted Revere, "you'll have noise enough before long; the 'regulars' are coming."

1

Just before daybreak of April 19 the "regulars" marched on to the village green of Lexington where a number of "minute men had collected. "Disperse, ye rebels," shouted Pitcairn, the British commander. No one moved; then Pitcairn cried, "Fire! a volley blazed out, and seven Americans fell dead. Advancing to Concord, the soldiers destroyed such military stores as they could find; at Concord Bridge they were met by the patriots. Both fired, it was the true opening battle of the Revolution,— several men fell on each side. There the first British blood was shed; there the first British graves were dug. The "regulars" then drew back, leaving the Americans in possession of the bridge, and began their march toward Boston.2

But the whole country was now aroused. The enraged farmers fired at the British from behind every wall, bush, and tree. The march became a retreat, the retreat something like a run. When the "regulars" got back to Lexington, where Lord Percy met them with reinforcements, they dropped panting on the ground, their tongues hanging out like those of tired dogs. From Lexington the "minute men" chased the British all the way to Charlestown. Nearly three hundred of the "red-coats," as the Americans nicknamed the English soldiers, lay dead or dying on the road.

Percy had marched gaily out of Boston to the tune of "Yankee Doodle," played in ridicule of the Americans, but it was noticed that his band did not play it on re-entering the town-they had had quite enough of all that was "Yankee" for that day.

1 The soldiers of the regular British army.

2 When the news of the attack on Lexington and Concord reached England, a number of friends of the Americans and their cause made up a purse of $500 which they sent to Benjamin Franklin to distribute among the wounded patriots, and the wives and mothers of those who were killed by the British.

The next morning the British army found themselves shut up in Boston. The Americans had surrounded the town on the land side, and in future no expedition could leave it in that direction without a fight. The siege of Boston had begun.1

162. Ethan Allen takes Ticonderoga and Crown Point. A few weeks later Ethan Allen, a "Green Mountain Boy,"2 surprised the sentinel on duty and got entrance with his men to Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain. It was early in the morning and the garrison was asleep. Allen burst into the commandant's room and demanded the immediate and unconditional surrender of the fortress. "By what authority?" asked the astonished officer. "In the name of the great Jehovah and the Continental Congress," thundered Allen.3 The commandant surrendered. It was a great capture, for by it the Americans got possession of cannon, arms, and military stores of which they were in sore need. Crown Point, a little fortress up the lake, was taken the next day. Thus, within twenty-four hours, the patriots had got possession (1775) of two important strongholds.

163. Washington appointed Commander-in-chief of the Continental Army; Battle of Bunker Hill.—Not long after this exploit, Congress appointed Washington commander-in-chief of the army around Boston. General Gage had received reinforcements from England under the command of Generals Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne. He now had a force of about eight thousand men. Near the middle of June (1775), he planned an expedition to seize Bunker Hill. This hill is in Charlestown, and overlooks part of Boston. Gage was afraid that the Americans might get possession of it; if so, they could fire into his camp and make him very uncomfortable.

1 See Map, showing position of the army, page 160.

2 Allen was born in Litchfield, Connecticut (1742), but early removed to Bennington, Vermont, the "Green Mountain State."

3 It is now denied that Allen used these words, but it is admitted that he used some that were even more emphatic. One thing is certain: the British commander understood him, and gave up the fort,

What then was his surprise when he found on the morning of the 17th of June that the "rebels" had got the start of him and had actually seized and fortified the hill. During the night, while the British commander was peacefully sleeping, Colonel Prescott, aided later by General Putnam of Connecticut and General Warren of Boston, had entrenched himself there with about fifteen hundred men. General Gage saw that he must drive the Americans from Bunker Hill or they would drive him out of Boston. He sent

they

Howe to make the attack with three thousand British "regulars." The American officers ordered their men to waithad but little powder and that little was very precious. The word was: "Don't fire till you see the white of their eyes." They obeyed; when they did fire the destruction of life was terrible. The smoke lifted and there lay "The 'red-coats' stretched in windrows as a mower rakes his hay."1

The British fell back; rallied, made a second attack and again fell back. A third time Howe led his men up the hill. This time he was successful. The Americans had fired their last round of ammunition, and fighting desperately with the butt ends of their muskets-they had no bayonets- and even with clubs and stones, they slowly retreated-driven back not because they had been defeated, but because they no longer had the means to continue the battle.

In an hour and a half the British lost over a thousand men, out of three thousand. The American loss was also very heavy;"

1 See O. W. Holmes's fine poem, "Grandmother's Story of Bunker Hill." 2 Our loss was 449, that of the British, 1054. When the English government got the news of the battle, Gage was ordered to return to England, and the command of all the British forces in the colonies was given to General Howe.