Loyalty Timeline

May 10, 1773 – The Tea Act  

British Parliament passes the Tea Act to aid the struggling British East India Company. The act allows them to undercut their Dutch competitor’s prices and effectively creates a monopoly in the colonies. Colonists see this move as yet another governmental overreach, stripping them of freedom of choice and subjecting them to more taxation. Tensions continue to rise. 

December 16, 1773 – The Boston Tea Party  

A group of men, predominantly comprised of members of the Sons of Liberty, dump 342 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor in protest of British Parliament’s levying of taxes in the colonies, despite growing protest from colonists. Parliament retaliates with the Intolerable Acts, which are designed to make an example out of Massachusetts ’ colonists by further restricting their freedoms.  

April 18, 1776 – Revere and Dawes Ride at Midnight  

More famously known as Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride, Paul Revere and William Dawes rode out on the night of April 18th, after discovering that the British military planned to capture leaders of the revolutionary cause.  They rode out to Lexington and Concord, the night before the official start of the Revolutionary War, to alert the militia ahead of the British troops. 
 

April 19, 1775 – Battle of Lexington and Concord 

British troops march into Massachusetts, intending to seize weapons and supplies and suppress insurrectionists. Colonists are forewarned, and the expected skirmish turns into the first battle of the Revolutionary War. 
 

June 17, 1775 – Battle of Bunker Hill 

Colonists in Massachusetts are joined by militia from all over New England to defend their position in Charlestown. Although the battle is lost by the Revolutionary forces, the British Army sustains heavy losses in men and morale. Despite actually taking place on Breed’s Hill, the battle is commonly referred to as taking place on the nearby Bunker Hill.