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The Provincial Congress in Massachusetts orders 13,600 American soldiers to be mobilized. Colonial volunteers from all over New England assemble and head for Boston, then establish camps around the city and begin a year long siege of British-held Boston.
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- General Gage orders 700 British soldiers to Concord to destroy the colonists' weapons depot.
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Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" is published in Philadelphia. The 50 page pamphlet is highly critical of King George III and attacks allegiance to Monarchy in principle while providing strong arguments for American independence. It becomes an instant best-seller in America. "We have it in our power to begin the world anew...American shall make a stand, not for herself alone, but for the world," Paine states.
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The North Carolina assembly is the first to empower its delegates in the Continental Congress to vote for independence from Britain.
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In South Carolina, American forces at Fort Moultrie successfully defend Charleston against a British naval attack and inflict heavy damage on the fleet.
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At Cambridge, Massachusetts, George Washington takes command of the Continental Army which now has about 17,000 men.
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Declaration signed
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An American Post Office is established with Ben Franklin as Postmaster General
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Caught spying
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Battle at Trenton
