American Revolution Podcast

Following the failed attempt to take Quebec City, the Continentals keep a token force around the city. General Benedict Arnold recovers from his wounds while he fights with his fellow officers over what to do next. General David Wooster pulls rank and takes command of Quebec, forcing Arnold to leave. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After the Continentals capture Dorchester Heights, the British Army and Navy must leave Boston right away. Loyalists crowd onto ships and escape to Halifax. Gen. Howe spares the city in exchange for the Continentals not firing on the city or the fleet during the evacuation. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Continental Army occupies Dorchester Heights overnight, surprising the British and forcing them to evacuate Boston. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Continental Congress builds a small fleet to take on the British Navy. The new commander of the Continental Navy begins his command by disobeying orders to confront the British Navy directly. Instead, he launches a raid on the Bahamas to collect needed arms and ammunition. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Delegates to the Continental Congress, including conservatives, begin to consider independence as a realistic option. Lord Drummond sails to Philadelphia in a well intentioned but poorly conceived attempt to broker a peace deal. Congress blames General Schuyler for the failures in Canada and moves around some of its generals. It sends Silas Deane to France to open up diplomatic negotiations with the new King Louis XVI of France. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

General Henry Clinton leaves Boston to secure the southern colonies. His plan is to meet up with a fleet of regulars coming from Britain under the commend of General Cornwallis. These regulars will serve as a rally point for loyalists to enlist and reclaim the colonies for the King. The British send two recruiting officers to western North Carolina, where they raise several thousand recruits. The Patriots learn of the organization of loyalist regiments. They send Continentals under Col. James Moore, along with patriot militia to prevent the loyalists from reaching the coast and joining with the regulars. The parties meet at Moore's Creek Bridge. The loyalists attack, but fail and flee. The patriots capture most of the militia and disperse any loyalists. When Clinton and Cornwallis arrive in North Carolina, they find nothing but hostile patriot regiments to oppose them. They give up on North Carolina move on to South Carolina. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thomas Paine arrived in America in 1774 with a head full of radical ideas: abolition, women's rights, republicanism, and independence. This British immigrant was more radical than most Americans. His publication of Common Sense in January 1776 is widely credited with pushing public opinion in favor of independence. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

General Washington appoints Henry Knox Commander of Artillery. His first mission is to find some artillery to command. Knox hauls 59 artillery pieces from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston. These will prove instrumental in ending the Siege of Boston. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

General Montgomery and Colonel Arnold make a desperate attempt to take Quebec City before their soldiers' enlistments expire at the end of 1775. Despite a brave attack, the attack fails, leaving the Continental Army in Canada in tatters. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

General Arnold demands the surrender of Quebec, but the last minute arrival of local defenders gives them the courage to hold out. Arnold pulls back and links up with General Montgomery so that the combined force can assault the city together. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Virginia Governor Lord Dunmore proclaims that slaves who abandon their rebel masters and join the British army can earn their freedom. Dunmore attempts to recruit a loyalist army of both black and white Virginians. He fights a pitched battle at Kemp's Landing and Great Bridge. Unable to hold land, his forces retreat to ships offshore. At the end of 1775, the British also burn and abandon Norfolk. In South Carolina, patriots attack and scatter loyalist militia around Ninty-Six i the western interior. They also fight with naval forces supporting Royal Governor Campbell in Charleston Harbor. Patriots succeed in forcing the navy to leave the colony as well. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Benedict Arnold leads a force across the New England wilderness to attack Quebec from an unexpected direction. More than half of his force does not make it through the deadly march. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress accepts that it is in for a long term fight. It creates a Navy and Marine Corps and a southern army. It explores diplomacy with France and sends a diplomat to work with the Iroquois. It also recommends that the colonies create forms of government based on the will of the people. To pay for all this, it prints lots more paper money. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The British in Boston suffer through a miserable winter. The Continental Army keeps them stuck in the city. New England privateers make it extremely difficult to receive food and supplies from the sea. Hundreds die of disease as everyone suffers greatly. The British navy does little to provide assistance. Its destruction of the village of Falmouth only enrages the Americans. Britain recalls General Gage and Admiral Graves putting General Howe and Admiral Shuldham in charge. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

General Washington gets frustrated by the lack of a plan to attack Boston. He also squelches his first mutiny. He sends Col. Benedict Arnold to Quebec and Col. Henry Knox to Fort Ticonderoga. He uncovers a British spy among one of the most trusted patriot leaders. Most of all he struggles with how to keep the army from going home over the winter. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Generals Schuyler and Montgomery launch an attack from Fort Ticonderoga into British controlled Canada. They lay siege Fort St. Jean. After several months they capture the fort and take prisoner nearly all British regulars in Canada. Afterwards, the Americans capture Montreal without a fight. British Commander Guy Carleton dons a disguise and escapes back to Quebec. He prepares to defend the city against the American forces. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the winter of 1775-76, the Ministry in Britain decides to use overwhelming force to put an end to colonial resistance. The King refuses to receive the Olive Branch Petition and makes clear that he supports Parliament in this fight and calls for the use of force to suppress colonial treason. He also starts recruiting German speaking mercenaries to supplement the British Army. The ministry also dumps General Gage and Secretary Dartmouth, replacing them with General Howe and Secretary Germain. The ministry also implements a blockade of North America. Meanwhile France begins to pay attention to the rebellion. It sends its first unofficial envoy to Philadelphia to see if it makes sense to provide some covert assistance. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Active patriot groups shut down all royal control of all colonies and arrest or expel their royal governors. The colonies also conduct a raid on Bermuda to acquire more gunpowder for the cause. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the summer of 1775, the southern colonies throw out their royal governments and take control. Virginians fight off a British raid on Hampton. Carolinians capture forts and munitions. The Mecklenburg Resolves declare independence. Georgia patriots fight loyalists for control of the colony. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the summer of 1775, after creating a the Continental Army and making Washington its commander, Congress makes one final effort for peace, sending the King the Olive Branch Petition. After that, Congress focuses on the war at hand, drafting a Declaration on the Necessity of Taking up Arms. It organizes committees to run military affairs and creates a new Post Office. Congress also rejects Parliament's Conciliatory Proposition before it adjourns for the rest of the summer. Visit https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Newly appointed General George Washington arrives in Cambridge to take command of what is now the Continental Army. He is shocked by the lack of discipline and the fact that his army has almost no ammunition. He quietly attempts to rebuild his army and collect more arms and ammunition. His hopes of a quick and successful offensive against the regulars on Boston are quickly dashed. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After ferrying thousands of regulars across Boston Harbor, General William Howe begins his attack on Bunker and Breed's Hills late afternoon on the afternoon of June 17, 1775. The regulars launch three bloody assaults to dislodge the provincial troops before the British break the American lines. The provincials retreat only after running out of ammunition. They lose nearly 450 soldiers, including General Joseph Warren. The British take more than twice that number in casualties, far more than they ever thought the militia could inflict on them. It is the bloodiest day of the war for the British army. The carnage prevents the British from taking any further major offensive operations from Boston. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the Provincials get word that the British plan to occupy the no man's land at Bunker Hill and Dorchester Heights, they send Massachusetts and Connecticut militia to build defenses on Bunker Hill. The soldiers instead build the defenses on Breed's Hill, a smaller hill just next to Bunker Hill. The British take most of the following day moving regulars across Boston Harbor to attack the defenses with overwhelming force. The provincials use the extra time to reinforce and extend their defenses, but get no significant reinforcements all day. A cannon duel over the day accomplishes little except to show how amateurish and incompetent the provincial artillery really is. By late afternoon, British General William Howe is prepared to take the hill with overwhelming force. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In May 1775, the Second Continental Congress begins after the war has already started. Delegates must play catchup. They have to decide whether they will support the war and what their goals are. Delegates agree to send one more petition to the King in hopes of pulling out a peace deal. Most delegates though, realize this is pointless. Congress supports the war. The only debate is whether victory means full independence, or simply a better guarantee of colonial rights. Congress creates a Continental Army and selects Virginia Delegate George Washington to lead it. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the British army sitting in Boston, the navy needs to provide supplies and prevent supplies from reaching the Provincials. An attempt to capture a ship at Buzzard's Bay fails as locals overtake the small British task force and take them prisoner. Similarly, when the British send a ship to protect two merchant vessels providing firewood for Boston, locals again capure the ships. They kill several of the British and take the rest prisoner. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even before word of Lexington and Concord reached London, the Ministry decided they would need to up their game in the colonies. They did not send Gen. Gage all of the reinforcements he wanted, but they did send some soldiers and marines for the start of the 1775 fighting season. Along with them, the Ministry sent three new Major Generals to support Gage, traveling together aboard the HMS Cerberus. All three men, William Howe, Henry Clinton, and John Burgoyne would go on to play larger roles in the War. General Haldimand received orders at the same time and pack his bags to go home. Because he was senior to all three Major Generals, London did not want this foreign born general to assume command should something happen to General Gage. The Cerberus also carried news that Admiral Graves received a promotion and would have expanded duties in the colonies. With the arrival of these new soldiers, London expected more aggressive enforcement of its policies. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the first weeks of the Siege of Boston in 1775, the Provincial Army appears to be more of a disorganized mob than an army. Men do not obey officers. Units from one colony would not obey orders from another. No real chain of command exists. Further, the lack of uniforms, supplies, ammunition, and other logistical problems created their own problems. Soldiers on both sides begin to die from disease. The only real fighting at this time is over islands in Boston Harbor that contain food and hay. The Provincials attempt to remove or destroy items of value on Hog and Noddle Islands. When the British navy tries to stop them, a small battle leads to several casualties. The British navy ship Diana gets stuck in the mud during the fight. Overnight, the Provincials force the crew to abandon ship. The colonials loot and burn the ship in their first small victory over the navy. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Following Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen's capture of Fort Ticonderoga, Arnold seizes several ships and attacks Fort St. Jean in Quebec. With the captured ships, he forms his own navy on Lake Champlain. The British nearly capture Allen as he attempts to follow Arnold's raid and secure the fort. As word of the men's exploits get back to officials in New England and Philadelphia, more moderate politicians replace both officers out of fear that their actions will prevent politicians from negotiating a settlement with London. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Benedict Arnold develops a plan to capture Fort Ticonderoga in New York in order to get cannon for Boston. Before leaving for Massachusetts, he tells several men in his home colony of Connecticut about his plan. These Connecticut men organize a force with Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys, who live only a few miles from the fort. Arnold, unaware of this plan, gets approval from the Massachusetts army to raise a force in Western Massachusetts to attack the fort. Upon learning that Allen is assembling an attack, Arnold, by himself, rushes to meet Allen's forces and demands to lead them. They refuse, but allow him to come along. The British do not have the fort guarded well, and do not have a large garrison. The Green Mountain Boys easily enter the fort at dawn and capture the garrison without any deaths. Allen and Arnold then fight over command and who deserves credit for the victory. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For most of the colonial period, slavery is surprisingly uncontroversial. As the American Revolution begins, colonists start to question the institution of slavery In the north, broad acceptance of slavery evaporates quickly after patriots demand that all men are born basic rights to liberty. Even in the north, slavery would not end for many more years though. In the south, where slave are much more critical to the economy, colonists prove unwilling to bend on the issue. Many in the deep south support the Patriot movement out of concern that Parliament might someday try to emancipate slaves in the British colonies. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the Siege of Boston opens in 1775, this episode takes a look at the command structure and life as a British Regular, and compares that to the Provincial army of militiamen around Boston. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Siege of Boston begins as soon as the regulars retreat back to Boston following the battles at Lexington and Concord. The New England Provincial army springs up overnight from minutemen and militia units throughout New England. In the days that follow, Patriots and regulars record their accounts of the battles. The Patriots rush their accounts across the continent and over to London, spreading their version of events first. Word of the fighting encourages Patriots across the continent that it was time to take up arms and go to war. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By the afternoon of April 19, 1775, having completed his search and destroy mission to Concord. Lt. Col. Smith finds himself facing a twenty mile gauntlet back to Boston. Thousands of angry militia stand ready to attack. His men are exhausted and running low on ammunition. His column barely makes it back to Lexington, where Lord Percy's relief column saves them from surrender. The combined force then faces its own running battle before finally returning to the safety of Charlestown. The regulars are impressed by the colonial militia's ability to stand up to them. Gen. Gage can no longer deploy soldiers from Boston. His only access in or out is by sea. The Provincial army grows into the tens of thousands as they lay siege to Boston. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the evening of April 18, 1775, Lt. Col. Smith leaves Boston via Charlestown. His goal is to seize and destroy munitions in Concord. Delays prevent his force from leaving Charlestown before Paul Revere and other riders alert the countryside. At around dawn on April 19, the regulars confront a group of militia on Lexington Green. The regulars at Lexington are an advance company led by a young Lieutenant. They fire on the militia before the main column arrives. When Col. Smith arrives, he stops the shooting and restores order. By then, many lay dead and wounded on the Green. Smith reassembles his column which marches on to Concord. In Concord, the militia get word of the attack at Lexington and pull back out of town to North bridge. The British arrive and search for munitions. Smith sends a force of light infantry across North bridge to Barrett's mill in search at munitions. While three companies hold North bridge, the militia strike, killing several regulars and retaking the bridge. The British at Barrett's mill are cut off, but manage to cross the bridge anyway, right past the militia, and rejoin the main force in Concord. Smith is now faced with having to march back to Boston through a gauntlet of hostile militia bent on payback. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Gen. Gage prepares to deploy a brigade of regulars to Concord, the Patriots activate their warning system. Joseph Warren deploys William Dawes and Paul Revere to alert countryside. The riders alert the militia and reach Lexington, while avoiding British patrols. They warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock at Lexington before continuing their ride. On the road to Concord, a British patrol captures Revere. Dawes gets thrown from his horse during his escape. But a third rider, Samuel Prescott, completes the mission to warn Concord. The British detain Revere for a while. They release him near Lexington after hearing gunfire. Revere returns to Lexington on foot where he helps a dawdling Hancock and Adams get out of town. Once they are gone, Revere returns again to Lexington where he attempts to secure some of Hancock's secret papers. While doing so, the British arrive at Lexington Green. Revere at a distance, hears the first shots of the American Revolution. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In February 1775, Gage attempts to grab a cache of Patriot cannon in Salem. Col. Alexander Leslie leads a regiment of regulars on what is supposed to be a surprise sail up the coast and a fast dash to Salem to grab the guns. Alert patriots run ahead of the soldiers and remove the weapons before the regulars arrive. After a brief standoff, the regulars return to Boston empty handed. A few weeks later, Boston commemorates the 5th anniversary of the Boston Massacre. Interaction with soldiers leads to panic and fear of arrest. As spring approaches, everyone awaits the beginning of the fighting season. On the eve of war, a majority of the colonies have begun governing themselves under illegal Provincial Congresses. The separation from Britain widens as London prepares to intervene. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By the end of 1774 Britain had banned all munitions imports to the colonies. After fearing that the British Navy might seize munitions at Fort William and Mary in New Hampshire. Paul Revere rides from Boston to alert the local militia. The militia attack the fort the following day. There is an exchange of gunfire, but no one is killed. The militia quickly capture the small garrison, remove the gunpowder, and then release their prisoners to take control of the fort again. The following day, more militia arrive and decide to take the fort a second time, this time to remove cannon. The garrison surrenders, under an agreement to release colonial property only. Once they take the fort, the militia take the cannon and just about anything else of military value that they can carry. Although the royal goverment knows the who led the attack on the King's fort, they are unable to make any arrests. Patriots have effectively taken control of the colony. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In late 1774, Prime Minister North calls for early elections. This results in a solid majority in favor of getting tough on the colonies. In reaction to the First Continental Congress' call for economic boycotts, Parliament bans all colonial trade with any country other the Britain. It also passes the "Conciliatory Proposition," allowing colonies to raise taxes in whatever form they like, as long as they come up with as much money as Parliament wants. The Ministry informs Gen. Gage that he is not getting reinforcements. He has nearly 4000 regulars, which should be plenty to handle civilian mobs. He needs to go on the offensive and begin taking decisive action against protestors engaged in treasonous activity. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gen. Gage retreats with his regulars into Boston in the summer of 1774. Patriots take control of all of the rest of Massachusetts. They form their own government, independent of royal authority. The Provincial Congress organizes a militia army, develops minutemen as a rapid reaction force, and names generals, led by Artemas Ward, for its independent army. The Congress also organizes logistics and creates a civilian Committee of Safety to run its military. One of the Committee members, Benjamin Church turns out to be a spy for General Gage, giving Gage an open window into all the Patriot planning and preparation for war. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Parliament closed the Port of Boston following the Boston Tea Party. In response, colonial leaders met in Philadelphia in a "Grand Congress." Tories supported the Congress as a way of putting off local talk of boycotts. They hoped emotions would cool after a few months. The Patriots hoped to use the Congress to enact a continent-wide boycott and present a united front in opposition to Parliament. The summer of 1774, brought news of more of London's Coercive Acts. When Congress convened in September, public opinion favored the radicals. Congress issued the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, petitioned the King for repeal of the Coercive Acts, and agreed to a boycott of almost all trade until London met colonial demands. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gov. Gage decides he does not have a large enough army to control the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The armed colonists who confronted his regulars in the summer of 1774 are too numerous. Gage barricades his army in Boston and sends frantic letters to London calling for reinforcements. With that, royal authority over the colony is limited to Boston itself. Patriots control everything else. The Suffolk Meeting under Joseph Warren produces a series of resolves on how to handle the current crisis. The Resolves essentially announce that the Patriots have taken control of the colony and would only return control to London after repeal of the Coercive Acts. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On September 1, 1774, Gen. Gage sends a regiment to secure gunpowder stored at a powder house several miles from Boston. The regulars also seize several cannons, returning to Boston with the guns and ammunition. Rumors spread that the regulars had shot and killed several colonists during the raid. By the following day, thousands of armed militiamen have gathered outside Boston demanding answers. The militia eventually go home after learning that no one was killed. But the event reinforces Gen. Gage's belief that the colonists are ready to start a war at a moment's notice. The colonists learn they needed a better early warning system to get militia into the field faster. Both sides continue efforts to secure more arms and ammunition for the coming fight. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Governor Gage moves the colonial government to Salem and begins enforcing his policy of firmness, ignoring colonial protests and implementing the Coercive Acts. When the colonists refuse to obey, he attempts to use regulars to shut down a town meeting Salem. He arrests several leaders who held an illegal town meeting anyway. When the militia takes up arms to release those arrested, Gage realizes his soldiers could be overwhelmed by the shear numbers of armed militia. He is shocked by the colonists' refusal to back down in the face of armed regulars. Gage decides he cannot enforce the law unless London sends him a larger army. He retreats to Boston and begins writing letters calling for reinforcements. Meanwhile, patriots shut down the courts and force government officials to resign. Royal authority in Massachusetts is limited to the isolated town of Boston. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In late 1774 Governor of Virginia, Lord Dunmore leads militia into Western Virginia. He hopes to stop local tribes who are attacking colonists. Tribes are upset that colonists are moving into their lands in violation of the King's Proclamation of 1763. After the Battle of Point Pleasant, Gov. Dunmore forces Chief Cornstalk to sign the Treaty of Camp Charlotte, giving up all claims to land east of the Ohio River. Visit my site, https://blog.amrevpodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gen. Gage travels to Boston to replace Hutchinson as the new Governor of Massachusetts. The tough talking Gage had assured officials in London he could use firmness to enforce colonial compliance with the Coercive Acts, most of which were still under debate when he left London. Gage soon discovers that the threat of force only goads the heavily armed colonsits to threaten force of their own. Gage soon finds himself behind barricades in Boston, having lost control of the rest of the colony. The Port of Boston is closed, but other changes mandated by London cannot be enforced outside of Boston. Over the summer and fall of 1774, Massachusetts and the other colonies only hear more news of intolerable acts passed in London. Calls for cutting off all trade with England entirely leads to the call for a Continental Congress to discuss colonial options in developing a united response. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In response to the Boston Tea Party, Parliament gets tough by passing several acts designed to punish Massachusetts. The Boston Port Act closes Boston Harbor until the city compensates everyone for damages related to the destruction of tea. The Government Act gives power to the Crown appointed Governor to fill most government positions and bans town meetings to discuss issues. The Administration of Justice Acts takes away the colony's right to try soldiers or other officials for murder. The Quartering Act permits soldiers to take over colonial buildings for their use. Parliament also passes the Quebec Act, giving Canada control over all disputed lands in the Ohio Valley. Parliament hopes these laws will show the colonists that they cannot get away with flouting the authority of the King and Parliament. Colonists must accept Parliament's control or suffer serious economic and political consequences. Visit my site at https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Despite the open destruction of private property, the colonies generally seem to approve of Boston's reaction to the tea ships. When another tea ship arrives a few months later, locals dump its chests in Boston Harbor as well. Other towns up and down the coast destroy or force the removal of tea. Soon, even drinking untaxed tea becomes unacceptable. Colonists hold tea burnings and refuse to allow anyone to sell or possess tea. The immediate reaction in London is that this is completely unacceptable. It requires more than a criminal investigation. Rather, the entire colony needs to be punished. In a stroke of bad timing, London learns of Franklin's release of private letters to Boston radicals months earlier. The Privy Council summons him and attacks him relentlessly for hours, destroying his reputation in England. Visit my site at AmRevPodcast.Blogspot.com for more text, pictures, maps, and sources on this topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Parliament tries to win the fight over tariffs by greatly reducing the cost of tea, and maintaining only a nominal three pence per pound tax on tea. Officials hope the lower prices will end the tea boycott. Radical colonial leaders see this, correctly, as London's attempt to establish that tariffs on imports to raise revenue are legal. Patriots are caught off guard as the tea arrives only weeks after they learn about the terms. Officials think they have beaten the protesters. Once the ships enter the harbor, the tax must be paid. Otherwise, customs can seize the tea 20 days. On Dec. 16, 1773, the day before the tax is due, colonists dressed as Indians storm the three ships, break open the crates, and dump the tea into the harbor. A crowd of thousands, along with the British army and navy, stand by and watch. For more text, pictures, maps, and sources, please visit my site at AmRevPodcast.Blogspot.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After several years of calm in the colonies, Parliament changes the way tea is distributed and taxed throughout the Empire. Mostly, this is an attempt to bail out the East India Company which had too much tea and not enough cash. The Tea Act of 1773 reduced or eliminated almost all taxes on tea, and also allowed the East India Company to sell tea directly to the colonies, rather than having to go through expensive middlemen. The result would be a massive drop in the price of tea. With all duties eliminated accept for a small 3 pence per pound tarriff, tea in the colonies would be much cheaper than ever before. But the Sons of Liberty feared this was an effort to break the back of the already failing non-importation agreements. Once colonies accepted this tiny tariff, the precedent would be set to tax the colonies whenever Parliament wanted. In late 1773, seven ships loaded with tea headed for Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston. The colonist had barely learned about hte new system before the tea would arrive. This left everyone guessing what their next step would be. For more text, pictures, maps, and sources, please visit my site at AmRevPodcast.Blogspot.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After New Hampshire issues thousands of land grants in a disputed region, New York gets the King to declare the land part of the New York colony. New York then declares all the property owners living on land grants from New Hampshire to be illegal squatters who need to buy their land again or leave. After legal and political efforts lead nowhere, the land owners with New Hampshire grants form a militia that becomes the Green Mountain Boys. Ethan Allen becomes the best known leader of the group, using violence and intimidation to force out New York claimants. Several New York Governors attempt to resolve the problem, but let their own greed in land speculation prevent any fair resolution. New York attempts to crush the resistance, but events leading to the outbreak of war between England and the colonies prevents any final showdown. The fight moves into the war itself. For more text, pictures, maps, and sources, please visit my site at AmRevPodcast.Blogspot.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices