government tried vainly to induce the colonists to buy their merchandise, but, failing, made one last effort by effecting an arrangement with the East India Company, by which a quantity of tea was shipped to America, to be sold at a price less than had been charged before the duties were imposed. Cargoes were sent to New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Charleston, S. C. The inhabitants of New York and Philadelphia sent them back to England; in Charleston the tea was stored in cellars, where it finally perished; in Boston men disguised as Indians boarded the ships and threw the tea overboard.
The consequence of this last rash action was the passing of the Port Bill, whereby the port of Boston was declared closed, and the charter of Massachusetts altered materially to abridge the liberties of the people. General Gage was sent with troops to occupy Boston, which was already fully garrisoned with English soldiers.
In 1774 delegates from eleven colonies met at Philadelphia and formed themselves into a Congress. A declaration of rights was agreed upon, and a repeal of the obnoxious measures resolved to be necessary to the restoration of harmony between Great Britain and America. An address was prepared and forwarded to the King and the people of Great Britain. Notwithstanding these open threats of war, the coercive measures continued. The colonies were making preparation
for defense, and an outbreak was imminent at any time. The occasion soon arrived. A quantity of military stores were housed at Concord, eighteen miles from Boston, and General Gage sent eight hundred British troops to destroy them. At Lexington they met with the first protest, in the form of seventy armed men, who were ordered to disperse. The order not being obeyed, the British fired, killing eight of the colonists and dispersing the rest. At Concord another stand was made, but the troops succeeded in performing their commission. All the country now sprang to arms. A small army appeared in the environs of Boston, further increased by troops from Connecticut. The forts, arsenals, and magazines throughout the colonies were seized by the Americans; Crown Point and Ticonderoga were taken by Ethan Allen, with about two hundred and fifty raw New Hampshire men, reinforced by Benedict Arnold and a small body of Connecticut militia. The battle of Bunker’s Hill followed.
The second Continental Congress, which met in Philadelphia May 10th, 1775, voted to raise and equip an army of twenty thousand men, and named George Washington as Commander-in-Chief. On the 2d of July General Washington arrived at Cambridge, and took command of the American forces. Two expeditions against the British in Canada were organized. One under General Montgomery captured Montreal, took a large number of prisoners, and secured considerable property. The other under Benedict Arnold marched through Maine and joined Montgomery before Quebec. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut each armed two vessels to operate against the enemy. Congress also resolved to equip an armament of thirteen vessels. Three ships from London, Glasgow, and Liverpool were captured, and their cargoes of military stores for the British were confiscated.