Boston campaign

The Boston campaign was part of the American Revolutionary War. It included the Battles of Lexington and Concord, which marked the beginning of military activities in the conflict, the Siege of Boston, and the Battle of Bunker Hill. It ended with the withdrawal of British forces from Boston on Evacuation Day on March 17, 1776.

Background

In 1767 the British Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, which imposed import duties on a variety of common items imported into the American colonies. The Sons of Liberty responded by organizing boycotts of those goods, and harassing and threatening the customs personnel (many of whom were either corrupt or related to Provincial leaders) tasked with collecting the duties. Francis Bernard, then Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, requested military forces to protect the King's personnel. In October 1768, British troops arrived in the city of Boston and occupied the city.Fischer, p. 22] Tensions led to the Boston Massacre on March 5 1770, and the Boston Tea Party on December 16 1773.Fischer, pp. 23-26]

In response to the Tea Party, Parliament enacted the Intolerable Acts to punish the colonies. With the Massachusetts Government Act of 1774 it effectively abolished the provincial government of Massachusetts. 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.Fischer pp. 38-42] 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.

War begins

On September 1 1774, British soldiers confiscated gunpowder and other military supplies in a surprise raid on a powder magazine near Boston. This expedition alarmed the countryside, and thousands of American Patriots sprang into action, amid rumors that war was at hand.Brooks, pp. 16-18] 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. The colonists carried off military supplies from several forts in New England and distributed them among the local militias.Fischer pp. 52-64]

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 about 75 minutemen formed up on the village common. Shots were exchanged, the outnumbered colonial militia dispersed, 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 before reaching Charlestown.See Fischer for a comprehensive treatment of Lexington and Concord.] With the Battle of Lexington and Concord—the "shot heard 'round the world"—the war had begun.

iege of Boston

In the aftermath of the failed Concord expedition, thousands of militiamen converged on Boston, bottling up the British in the city.

Need for supplies

While the British were able to resupply the city by sea, supplies in Boston were short. Troops were sent out to some of the islands in Boston Harbor to raid farmers for supplies. In response, the colonials began clearing those islands of supplies useful to the British. One of these actions was contested by the British, resulting in the loss of a British ship.Brooks, p. 108]

The colonial army also had issues with supply, and with command. Its diverse militias need to be organized, fed, clothed, and armed, and command needed to be coordinated, as each militia leader was responsible to his province's congress.Brooks, pp. 104-106]

Bunker Hill

Late in May, General 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, which was finalized on June 12. Reports of these plans made their way to the commanders of the besieging forces,Brooks, p. 119] , who decided that additional defensive steps were necessary.

On the night of June 16-17 1775, a detachment of the colonial army stealthily marched onto the Charlestown peninsula, which the British had abandoned, and fortified Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill.Brooks, pp. 122-125] On June 17, British forces under General Howe attacked and seized the Charlestown peninsula at the Battle of Bunker Hill. The battle was technically a British victory, but losses (about 1/2 the attacking forces killed or wounded, including a significant fraction of the entire British officer corps in all of North America) were so heavy that the attack was not followed up.Brooks, pp. 183-184] The siege was not broken, and General Gage was soon replaced by General Howe as the British commander-in-chief.

talemate

Following the Battle of Bunker Hill, the siege was effectively stalemated, as neither side had either a clearly dominant position, or the will and materiel to significantly alter its position. When Washington arrived in Cambridge in July, he determined that the army's size had reduced from 20,000 to about 13,000 men fit for duty. He also determined that the battle had severely depleted the army's powder stock, which was eventually alleviated by powder shipments from Philadelphia.Brooks, pp. 194-195] The British were also busy bring in reinforcements; by the time of Washington's arrival the British had more than 10,000 men.

Throughout the summer and fall of 1775, both sides dug in, with occasional skirmishes, but neither side chose to take any significant action.

The Continental Congress, seeking to take some sort of initiative, authorized an invasion of Canada, after several letters to the inhabitants of Canada were rejected by the French-speaking and British colonists there. Benedict Arnold led 750 troops from the army assembled outside Boston as part this effort, which ended disastrously for the Americans.

Washington also faced a personnel crisis, as most of the troops in the army had enlistments that expired at the end of 1775. He introduced a number of recruitment incentives and was able to keep the army sufficiently large to maintain the siege, although it was by then smaller than the besieged forces.Brooks, pp. 208-209]

iege ends

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.Brooks pp. 211-214] When the guns were placed on Dorchester Heights in the course of one day, overlooking the British positions, Howe's situation became untenable. While he planned an attack to reclaim the high ground, a snowstorm prevented its execution.Brooks, pp. 230-231] The British, after threatening to burn the city if their departure was hindered, 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.

ee Also

*Invasion of Canada (1775) for military actions north of the Thirteen Colonies

Notes

References

*cite book|last=Brooks|first=Victor|title=The Boston Campaign|publisher=Combined Publishing|year=1999|isbn=1580970079|ref=Brooks
*cite book|last=Chidsey|first=Donald Barr|title=The Siege of Boston: An on-the-scene Account of the Beginning of the American Revolution|city=New York|publisher=Crown|year=1966|ref=Chidsey
*cite book|last=Fischer|first=David Hackett|title=Paul Revere's Ride|city=New York|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1994|isbn=0-19-508847-6|ref=Fischer
*cite book|last=Raphael|first=Ray|title=The First American Revolution: Before Lexington and Concord|city=New York|publisher=The New Press|year=2002|ref=Raphael