The Real Story of the American Revolution 

Battles during 1775

1775 April 19:  Lexington and Concord (MA)   -- "the shot heard round the world" -- occurred when British troops raided towns near Boston seeking to collect or to destroy the towns' stocks of military supplies. This was the first conflict in which British troops and colonial militiamen shot at each other and suffered casualties. April 19 was celebrated as "Patriots' Day" in Massachusetts and Maine until 1968, when the holiday was moved to the third Monday in April. Since 1897 the Boston Marathon has been held as a tribute to the militia that responded from all over New England to the Concord alarm. The route starts in Hopkinton and ends 24.8 miles later at the Irvington Oval in Boston. (Casualties: U.S. militia 100, British 250) Lex. and Con. staff ride [Worcestor Tech's Dept. of Military Science] describes the terrain, discuses the military situation, lists the senior officers (with links to career summaries), and lists the U.S. military units and their officers. The RSAR map page provides a link to a high-resolution map in the U.S. Military Academy's map collection. The origin of the Minuteman image -- Bob O'Hara (MASSAR) wrote this essay for his students at Cornelia Strong College. Lexington and Concord [The SAR Magazine, Spring 1997] Who Hung Lanterns in Old North Church? [The SAR Magazine] Concord Museum A Delaware Society speaker described this battle. Public Service Audio 2006 Re-enactment #1 [2.5-minute video on YouTube] 2006 Re-enactment #2 [2.5-minute video on YouTube] 2007 Re-enactment [2.5-minute video on YouTube] 1775 May 05:  Martha's Vinyard (MA) action cited by Limric 1775 May 10:  Ticonderoga (NY) -- American ranger troops surprised and captured a major British fort. During the next winter ('75-'76), when the rivers were frozen enough to support the weight of the fort's cannon, they were hauled to Boston and used to threaten the British position there. Fort Ticonderoga's timeline page has information on the construction and use of the fort. The section on American Revolution is about halfway down the page. Public Service Audio The capture of Fort Ticonderoga NY in May 1775. Ethan Allen confronts Captain de la Place. Copy of engraving after Alonzo Chappel [U.S. National Archives] 1775 May 12:  Crown Point (NY) action cited by Limric 1775 May14:  St. John Fort (Canada) action cited by Limric 1775 May 21:  Grape Island (MA) action cited by Limric 1775 May 27:  Noddle's Island (MA) action cited by Limric 1775 May 28:  Hogg Island (MA) action cited by Limric 1775 June 12:  Machias Bay, Massachusetts (now Maine). In the first naval battle of the Revolution Jeremiah O'Brien led forty men -- armed with guns, swords, axes, and pitchforks -- on the sloop Unity and twenty men led by Benjamin Foster on a small schooner in pursuit of the British armed schooner Margaretta with"four 3-pounders and fourteen swivel guns". Near Round Island on Machias Bay the patriots boarded and captured the Margaretta. 1775 June 17:  Breed's Hill (Boston MA)   -- While this is often called the battle of Bunker Hill. there was no fighting on Bunker Hill -- this hill is adjacent to (behind) Breed's Hill. Two British attacks against entrenched rebel militia positions on Breed's Hill were beaten back by concentrated musket fire. The third British attack succeeded only because the American militia ran out of ammunition. The militiamen were driven out of the fortifications closest to Boston, but they sustained only half as many casualties as the British, they remained in a dominating position, and Boston now came under siege. Also on this day George Washington was named Commander-in-Chief by the Continental Congerss, and on July 2 he arrived in the Boston area to relieve Gen. Artemas Ward, who had been serving as Commander-in-Chief and directing the efforts of militia regiments from many nearby states. (Casualties: U.S. militia 450, British 1,050) Bunker Hill staff ride [Worcestor Tech's Dept. of Military Science] describes the terrain, discusses the military situation, and lists the senior officers (with links to career summaries). For a high-resolution map see the RSAR map page link to the USMA map index. lesson plan [U.S. National Park Service] The orders of battle [regiments involved] for all the combatants involved at Breed's Hill (Great Britain and militias from the four states in the Yankee alliance) are given on pages 51-53 of The Battle of Bunker’s Hill, by John R. Elting (Philip Freneau Press, Monmouth Beach NJ, 1975). Bunker Hill - click for larger image from "Soldiers of the American Revolution", by H. Charles McBarron [U.S. Army Center for Military History] 1775 July 08:  Roxbury (MA) action cited by Limric 1775 Aug 13:  Gloucester (MA) action cited by Limric 1775 Aug 29:  New York City (NY) action cited by Limric 1775 Sep 14:  Johnson Fort (SC) action cited by Limric 1775 Sep 18:  St. John's (Canada) action cited by Limric 1775 Sep 25:  Montreal (Canada) action cited by Limric 1775 Sep 30:  Stonington (CT) action cited by Limric 1775 Oct 07:  Bristol (RI) action cited by Limric 1775 Oct 18:  Falmouth (MA, now ME) action cited by Limric 1775 Oct 19:  Chambly (Canada) action cited by Limric 1775 Oct 26:  Hampton (VA) action cited by Limric 1775 Nov 03:  St. John's (Canada) action cited by Limric 1775 Nov 09:  Phipp's Farm in Sherborn (MA) action cited by Limric 1775 Nov 13  Montreal (Canada) -- An invasion force of U.S. troops captured this city and moved on toward the city of Quebec. Quebec Expedition, by James Frassett [Lock Stock and Barrel Living History Newsletter; posted by the Sons of Liberty Chapter, SAR] Map of routes taken by the U.S. forces [Perry-Castañeda Library (Univ. Texas) Map Collection] For a high-resolution map see the RSAR map page link to the USMA map index. Montreal - click for larger image from "Soldiers of the American Revolution", by H. Charles McBarron [U.S. Army Center for Military History] 1775 Nov 14:  Kemp's Landing (VA) action cited by Limric 1775 Nov 19-21:  Ninety-six (SC) action cited by Limric 1775 Dec 09  Great Bridge (VA, nine miles south of Norfolk) Virginia militia Col. William Woodford with 700 men from the Second Virginia Regiment and elements of the Culpepper Minutemen sought to dislodge about 100 British and Loyalist soldiers from a fort (wth two cannon) guarding the bridge over the Elizabeth River at Great Bridge. Gov. Dunmore sent a relief force of 160 regulars, 230 Loyalists, and two cannon to secure the bridge linking the fort to Norfolk. The effort failed, with great loss to the regulars (17 killed, 44 wounded or captured vs 1 wounded American), the British fort was abandoned, and soon thereafter Dunmore and his troops evacuated Norfolk to live aboard British naval vessels in the Chesapeake Bay. The Humiliation of Lord Dunmore in the Second Bunker Hill Affair (Great Bridge) [2007 SCAR 4#1-2-3, pp 41-55] by David K. Wilson 1775 Dec 22  Cane Break (SC) on the south side of the creek to Reedy River (near Simpsonville SC) a force of patriot South Carolinians under Col. William Thompson routed a band of Tories under Patrick Cunningham. photo-report of 2007 commemoration [North Carolina SAR] 1775 Dec 08-31  Quebec (Canada) -- The U.S. invasion force besieged and finally attacked the city of Quebec on New Year's Eve, but failed to take it. (Casualties: U.S. troops 100, British 20)

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