Standard 8.25 Lesson
American Rev. (Ft.
Ticonderoga to Bunker Hill)
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Chapter 1. Standard 8.25 Lesson American Rev. (Ft. Ticonderoga to Bunker Hill)
C HAPTER
1
Standard 8.25 Lesson
American Rev. (Ft. Ticonderoga to
Bunker Hill)
8.25 Identify and explain the significance of the major battles, leaders, and events of the American Revolution,
including: (C, E, H, P, TN)
• Capture of Fort Ticonderoga
• Battle of Bunker Hill (Breed’s Hill)
FIGURE 1.1
The Battle of Bunker Hill (Breed’s Hill)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHkQCfu2cwc
Introduction:
The Americans and British have fought at the Battle of Lexington and Conord. The British army retreated from
Concord, Massachusetts back to the city of Boston.
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http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/battle-of-bunker-hill
Siege of Boston
FIGURE 1.2
Meanwhile, American militia and the British army were fighting for control of Boston. Across from the city of
Boston was the peninsula of Charlestown. On June 16, 1775,
Colonel William Prescott led 1,200 minutemen up Bunker Hill, but then ordered his men to change to Breed’s Hill
because it gave them a better defensive position. From this hill, the rebels could bombard the city of Boston and
British ships in Boston Harbor. When the The American militia began to build fortifications on Breeds Hill, the
British became nervous.
The next morning, the British were stunned to see Americans threatening them. In the 18th century, British military
custom demanded that the British attack the Americans, even though the Americans were in a superior position
militarily (the Americans had soldiers and cannon pointing down on the British).
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Chapter 1. Standard 8.25 Lesson American Rev. (Ft. Ticonderoga to Bunker Hill)
( Pictured Above: William Howe was the commander in chief of the British army at the Battle of Bunker Hill.)
Major General William Howe, leading the British forces, could have easily surrounded the Americans with his ships
at sea, but instead chose to march his troops uphill. Howe might have believed that the Americans would retreat in
the face of a smashing, head-on attack.
His Majesty’s ships opened fire on the Americans. Early in the afternoon, 2,400 British soldiers crossed the Charles
River and stormed Breeds hill. The Americans waited until the British were within 15 paces, and then unleashed a
bloody hail of bullets. Scores of British troops were killed or wounded; the rest retreated down the hill.
Again, the British rushed the hill in a second wave. And again they retreated, suffering a great number of casualties.
By the time the third wave of British charged the hill, the Americans were running low on ammunition and hand-tohand fighting ensued. The British eventually took the hill, but at a great cost. Of the 2,400 British soldiers who had
gone through the ordeal, over 1,000 were either killed or wounded. The American suffered about 400 casualties.
From www.ducksters.co m, read and answer questions about the Battle of Bunker Hill
http://www.ducksters.com/history/battle_of_bunker_hill.php
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The Continental Army
FIGURE 1.3
At the very same day Fort Ticonderoga was surrendering, the American Continental Army was being formed. The
American colonists attempted to keep peace between the colonies and Britain with the Olive Branch Petition.
On July, 2, 1775, George Washington rode into Cambridge, Massachusetts, to take command of the new American
army. He had a formidable task ahead of him. He needed to establish a chain of command and determine a course
of action for a war.
http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/american-revolution-history/videos
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Chapter 1. Standard 8.25 Lesson American Rev. (Ft. Ticonderoga to Bunker Hill)
Why Washington?
FIGURE 1.4
John Adams Nominates George Washington as the Commander in Chief
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrGEQvAZQtA
Washington was one of the few Americans of the era to have military experience. He had served with distinction
in the French and Indian War. Washington was also a southerner. Politicians from the north (such as John Adams)
recognized that, for the Americans to have any shot at defeating the British, all regions of the country would have to
be involved. The uprising had to be more than just New England agitation.
In London, the news of Bunker Hill convinced the king that the situation in the Colonies had escalated into an
organized uprising and must be treated as a foreign war. Accordingly, he issued a Proclamation of Rebellion.
http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/george-washington
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This Means War
Almost 11 months after the shots at Bunker Hill were fired, Howe departed Boston and moved north to Nova Scotia
to wait and plan. He did win decisive victories later, but his assumption that the Loyalists would rally behind him
was simply wrong.
Rebels take Ticonderoga
The Capture of Fort Ticonderoga
http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/capture-of-fort-ticonderoga
In June of 1775, British soldiers were sieged in Boston after the Battles of Lexington and Concord. American militia
wanted to remove the British army with cannon fire to drive them completely out of Boston. First, they would need
to attack a fort in the north called, “Fort Ticonderoga, located at the southern tip of Lake Champlain, New York. Fort
Ticonderoga had a large supply of cannons, artillery, and powder the Americans could use in Boston. Ethan Allen, a
Vermont Blacksmith, and Benedict Arnold led a group of militia known as, “ Green Mountain Boys ,” to attack Fort
Ticonderoga. May 10, 1775, Ethan Allen and the Green Mountains Boys surprised the fort and its general at night
time causing the British general to surrender the entire fort. Using oxens and man power, the Green Mountain boys
slowly dragged all the captured artillery to Boston.
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Chapter 1. Standard 8.25 Lesson American Rev. (Ft. Ticonderoga to Bunker Hill)
From www.ducksters.com, read about The Capture of Fort Ticonderoga and review the questions.
http://www.ducksters.com/history/american_revolution/fort_ticonderoga.php
and...
http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/george-washington
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