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Dawning of the Revolution
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DAWNING OF THE REVOLUTION
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Revolutionary Battle Flag, "Resistance to Tyrants is Obedience to God," 1776
Library of Congress
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Fiery young Patrick Henry, in his “If this be treason” speech to the House of Burgesses, asserts that only Virginia has the right to tax Virginians.
Washington begins moving toward leadership of a movement demanding self-government.
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“Patsy” Custis dies of epilepsy. Washington is devastated.
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Washington and fellow burgess George Mason protest British actions in Massachusetts—labeled “Intolerable Acts”—which had been passed in retaliation for the Boston Tea Party of 1773.
The Washington-Mason resolutions urge a boycott of British goods and call for creating what becomes the First Continental Congress, which meets in Philadelphia.
When Patrick Henry is asked to name the greatest man at the Continental Congress, he says. “If you speak of solid information and sound judgment, Colonel Washington is unquestionably the greatest man on that floor.”
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British troops fire on Americans at Lexington and Concord. Men shouldering muskets arrive in Massachusetts from Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and New York. They have no supplies and little ammunition.
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