Boston campaign
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The Boston campaign was part of the American Revolutionary War. It included the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the Siege of Boston, and the Battle of Bunker Hill. It ended with Evacuation Day on March 17, 1776.
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[edit] Background
The military occupation of Boston began in October, 1768. Tensions led to the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770, and the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773.
[edit] War begins
With the Massachusetts Government Act of 1774, the British parliament effectively abolished the provincial government of Massachusetts. Lieutenant General Thomas Gage, already the commander-in-chief of British troops in North America, was also appointed governor of Massachusetts and was instructed by King George's government to enforce royal authority in the troublesome colony. However, popular resistance compelled the newly appointed royal officials in Massachusetts to resign or to seek refuge in Boston. Gage commanded four regiments of British regulars (about 4,000 men) from his headquarters in Boston, but the countryside was in the hands of the Revolutionaries.
On September 1, 1774, British soldiers confiscated gunpowder and other military supplies in a surprise raid near Boston. This expedition alarmed the countryside, and American Patriots sprang into action, fearing that war was at hand. Although it proved to be a false alarm, this event—known as the Powder Alarm—caused all concerned to proceed more carefully in the days ahead, and essentially provided a "dress rehearsal" for events seven months later.
On the night of April 18, 1775, General Gage sent 700 men to seize munitions stored by the colonial militia at Concord. Several riders—including Paul Revere—alerted the countryside, and when the British troops entered Lexington on the morning of April 19, they found 75 minutemen formed up on the village common. Shots were exchanged, and the British moved on to Concord where there was more fighting. By the time the "redcoats" (as the British soldiers were called) began the return march, several thousand militiamen had gathered along the road. A running fight ensued, and the British detachment suffered heavily. With the Battle of Lexington and Concord—the "shot heard 'round the world"—the war had begun.
[edit] Siege of Boston
Afterwards, thousands of militiamen converged on Boston, bottling up the British in the city. Late in May, Gage received by sea about 4,500 reinforcements and a trio of generals who would play a vital role in the war: William Howe, John Burgoyne, and Henry Clinton. They formulated a plan to break out of the city.
[edit] British soldiers in Boston
The British regular soldier in Boston was often hated equally by the local civilians and by their own commanders. The winter of 1774-75 had been long and hard, and shortages of food led General Thomas Gage to put his men on salt rations. Some of their supplies of fresh water went bad that winter and stank. Many died of diseases, most likely typhus and diphtheria. The one cheap commodity in Boston that winter was rum. Several regulars suffered alcohol-related deaths. Several more sold their muskets for rum, under the penalty of 500 lashes if caught. Desertion was fairly common, but much less common than might be expected considering the hardships endured by these men. Gage doubled the guards around the city, more to keep his own men in than to prevent the movements of Whigs. Whig leaders promised 300 acres (1.2 km²) in New Hampshire to any deserting soldier, but nearly all the regulars remained loyal to their fellow comrades-in-arms while hating both their commanders and the Bostonians.
[edit] Bunker Hill
On June 17, 1775, British forces under General Howe seized the Charlestown peninsula at the Battle of Bunker Hill. The battle was technically a British victory, but losses were so heavy that the attack was not followed up. Thus the siege was not broken, and General Gage was soon replaced by General Howe as the British commander-in-chief.
[edit] Siege ends
In July 1775, newly appointed General George Washington arrived outside Boston to take charge of the colonial forces. The standoff continued throughout the fall and winter. In early March 1776, heavy cannons that had been captured by the Revolutionaries at Fort Ticonderoga were moved to Boston, a difficult feat engineered by Henry Knox. When the guns were placed on Dorchester Heights, overlooking the British positions, Howe's situation became untenable. The British evacuated the city on March 17, 1776 and sailed for temporary refuge in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The local militia dispersed and, in April, Washington took most of the Continental Army to fortify New York City and the start of the New York and New Jersey campaign.
[edit] References
- Chidsey, Donald Barr. The Siege of Boston: An on-the-scene Account of the Beginning of the American Revolution. New York: Crown, 1966.
- Fischer, David Hackett. Paul Revere's Ride. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. ISBN 0-19-508847-6.
- Raphael, Ray. The First American Revolution: Before Lexington and Concord. New York: The New Press, 2002.
