REVOLUTIONARY WAR IN AMERICA 4986 REVOLUTIONARY WAR IN AMERICA 



And beneath, from the pebbles, In passing, a 



spark 



Struck out by a steed flying: fearless and fleet ; 

 That was all ! And yet, through the gloom and 



the light, 



The fate of a nation was riding that night ; 

 And the spark struck out by that steed, in his 



flight. 

 Kindled a land into flame with its heat." 



On the morning of April 19 the British regu- 

 lars faced seventy men under Captain John 

 Parker at Lexington. "Don't fire first," Parker 

 said, "but if they want war let it begin here." 

 In the ensuing volley seven Americans were 

 killed. Pitcairn withdrew, and, hurrying on to 

 Concord, destroyed all the stores he could find. 

 On his return to Boston the enraged farmers 

 gathered in such force as was possible and 

 harassed his troops the entire length of the 

 route. 



Proclamations. General Gage in Boston re- 

 ceived additional British troops under Bur- 

 goyne, Clinton and Howe, to cope with the 

 insurrection. In June, 1775, he issued a public 

 letter threatening death by hanging to all rebels 

 who continued to resist the king's officers. He 

 offered pardon to all who would "at once lay 

 down their arms, excepting only Samuel Adams 

 and John Hancock." 



On the fifteenth of the same month Congress 

 appointed George Washington commander-in- 

 chief "of all the Continental forces raised, or to 

 be raised, for the defense of American liberty." 



Events to July 4, 1776. Both sides prepared 

 hurriedly for such events as might be forced 

 upon them. While Congress was equipping the 

 American forces Gage decided to strengthen his 

 position by seizing Bunker Hill, a height near 

 Boston. The Americans were ahead of him, 

 and he was forced to give them battle. Lex- 

 ington, Concord and Bunker Hill convinced the 



Americans that war was inevitable, that alle- 

 giance to the king was no longer possible and 

 that independence must be achieved, if possible, 

 by force of arms. 



On July 4, 1776, Congress issued to the world 

 the reasons why "these united Colonies are, 



THE WASHINGTON ELM 



This tree is still standing in Cambridge, Mass. 

 On the tablet shown in the illustration are the 

 words : 



"Under this tree Washington 

 took the command of the 

 American Army, July 3, 1775." 



and of right ought to be, free and independent 

 states." This Declaration of Independence was 

 signed by fifty-six delegates from the thirteen 

 new states which the action of Congress thus 

 created. John Hancock was the first signer. 



Eight Years of War 



Three Periods. It is convenient to divide the 

 Revolutionary War into three periods. The 

 first ends with the Declaration of Independence. 

 From that day a new purpose actuated the 

 colonies, for they had announced their freedom 

 and knew they would have to unsheath the 

 sword to secure it. The troubled years through 

 which the colonies had just passed had wit- 

 nessed sincere efforts to avert a breach. Pat- 

 rick Henry summarized those years when he 

 said: 



We have done everything that could be done 

 to avert the storm which is now coming on. We 



have petitioned ; we have remonstrated ; we have 

 supplicated ; we have prostrated ourselves before 

 the throne, and have implored its intercession to 

 arrest the tyrannical hands of the Ministry and 

 Parliament. 



The days of uncertainty were ended; the 

 Continental Congress and the people faced the 

 future with stern resolution. George Washing- 

 ton had been summoned to the command of 

 the American forces a year before, as a pre- 

 cautionary measure, but the army was a motley 

 array which showed little strength. Washing- 

 ton and his aides never had a large army; it 



