8th Grade

Here are 6-1 Notes

Fighting Begins in the North
Chapter 6
Section 1
Peace or War?
 May 10th 1775 Second Continental Congress most wanted to avoid a break with Britain
 Fighting continued as meeting happened
 A Peace Petition
 Olive Branch Petition- declared their loyalty to King George III. Asked for a repeal of Intolerable Acts
 King was sure they wanted an independent empire
 Instead of accepting petition, he sent 20,000 troops
 Colonial leaders were sure war could not be avoided
 Rebels take Ticonderoga
 Ethan Allen led a group called the Green Mountain Boys in an attack on Fort Ticonderoga. Southern tip of Lake Champlain
 group seized all weapons and ammunition
 Gained control of a key route into Canada
 Setting up an Army
 Second Continental Congress agreed to and began organizing the Continental Army.
 George Washington would led this army
 Advantages of the Opposing Sides
 Patriots- favored war with Britain
 - Poorly organized
 - Few cannons
 - Little gunpowder
 - Unwillingness to enlist for a long time
 + most had their own rifle
 + good shot
 + “brilliant” commander
 + determined
 The British
 + Highly trained
 + best navy in the world
 + colonial support
 - 3000 miles away
 - news and supplies slow to replenish
- unknown territory
 Loyalists
 Loyalists- Colonists that remained loyal to Britain
 wealthy merchants and former officials
 Some farmers and artisans
 More loyalists in Middle and South than in New England
 Harassed by Patriots
 Many fled to England or Canada
 Lost homes, farms, and stores
 The Fight for Boston
 First year of fighting took place in and around Boston
 Battle of Bunker Hill
 June 16, 1775 Colonel Prescott leads 1200 minutemen up Bunker Hill
 Looked across and thought Breed’s Hill would be a better spot to fire on British. Moved
 General Howe and 2400 British troops advance on Prescott. Patriots held them off
Same for 2nd attack
 3rd attack, British repelled the Patriots
 Took both Bunker and Breed’s Hill
 1,000 redcoats and 400 Patriots dead
 Battle of Bunker Hill would be the first major battle of the Revolutionary War
 British Leave Boston
 16,000 troops waiting in Boston when Washington arrived
 Mistrust ran wild among the colonial troops
 No colonial troops wanted troops from another colony
 January 1776 Green Mountain Boys arrive with weapons from Ticonderoga.
 Placed cannons on Dorchester Heights overlooking the harbor
 Howe knew Boston was lost
 Headed for Halifax, Canada with about 1000 Loyalists
 King George ordered a blockade of all colonial ports
 German mercenaries (hired troops) arrive to fight along side British