Lexington and Concord

(The Battle Heard Round the World) By; George Daughan What I learned by reading this book was that most Americans at the time were satisfied to be a part of the English Empire. This changed when England started exacting income from the Colonies. The Stamp Tax had been repealed in 1765 but King George insisted that at least one tax should be in effect. This was the Tea Tax. The famous Tea Party incident occurred December 16, 1773 in Boston Harbor when a hundred well organized townsmen, thinly disguised as Mohawks, boarded the British cargo vessels Dartmouth, Beaver and Eleanor and dumped 92,000 pounds of Tea into the water to protest being taxed without consent. Thousands gathered at the wharf to watch. When news of this reached London, King George III was furious and resolved to punish the offenders. The Parliament agreed and an edict was approved to close down Boston Harbor until reparations had been paid. Not content with this, another Act was approved referred to as the Regulating Bill. It removed political power from the people, nullified the Massachusetts Charter of 1691 and gave the power to the King and Parliament. The thought was this would regain control by cowing the Americans. It did just the opposite feelings were stirred not only in New England but throughout the colonies creating a togetherness that had not existed before. A continental Congress was established meeting in Philadelphia of all of the colonies except Georgia to decide on a course of action. They wrote a letter to the King swearing allegiance but insisting on local government and no tax without consent. This was summarily rejected by the King. He resolved to force his will. The colonists responded by forming militias in every town and started training. The General in charge of Boston was General Gage. The King insisted he be aggressive but he controlled his troops until finally he was forced to take offensive action. He sent a force to destroy military stores known to exist in Concord. Knowing of this, militias gathered from all over New England. There were about 50 in Lexington as the British troops came near. The British troops opened fire killing and wounding a number of Americans. As they headed towards Concord the militias started firing at them. There were thousands. The British retreated towards Boston taking heavy casualties. From here there was no turning back, the American Revolution started shortly thereafter. Jack B. Walters August 25, 2018