November 18, 2018
Over the winter of 1775-76, the Ministry in Britain decides to use overwhelming force to put an end to colonial resistance. The King refuses to receive the Olive Branch Petition makes clear that he supports Parliament in this fight and calls for the use of force to suppress colonial treason. He also starts recruiting German speaking mercenaries to supplement the British Army. The ministry also dumps General Gage and Secretary Dartmouth, replacing them with General Howe and Secretary Germain. The ministry also implements a blockade of North America.
Meanwhile France begins to pay attention to the rebellion. It sends its first unofficial envoy to Philadelphia to see if it makes sense to provide some covert assistance.
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November 11, 2018
Active patriot groups shut down all royal control of all colonies and arrest or expel their royal governors. The colonies also conduct a raid on Bermuda to acquire more gunpowder for the cause.
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November 4, 2018
Over the summer of 1775, the southern colonies throw out their royal governments and take control. Virginians fight off a British raid on Hampton. Carolinians capture forts and munitions. The Mecklenburg Resolves declare independence. Georgia patriots fight loyalists for control of the colony.
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October 28, 2018
In the summer of 1775, after creating a the Continental Army and making Washington its commander, Congress makes one final effort for peace, sending the King the Olive Branch Petition. After that, Congress focuses on the war at hand, drafting a Declaration on the Necessity of Taking up Arms. It organizes committees to run military affairs and creates a new Post Office. Congress also rejects Parliament's Conciliatory Proposition before it adjourns for the rest of the summer.
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October 21, 2018
Newly appointed General George Washington arrives in Cambridge to take command of what is now the Continental Army. He is shocked by the lack of discipline and the fact that his army has almost no ammunition. He quietly attempts to rebuild his army and collect more arms and ammunition. His hopes of a quick and successful offensive against the regulars on Boston are quickly dashed.
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October 7, 2018
When the Provincials get word that the British plan to occupy the no man's land at Bunker Hill and Dorchester Heights, they send Massachusetts and Connecticut militia to build defenses on Bunker Hill. The soldiers instead build the defenses on Breed's Hill, a smaller hill just next to Bunker Hill.
The British take most of the following day moving regulars across Boston Harbor to attack the defenses with overwhelming force. The provincials use the extra time to reinforce and extend their defenses, but get no significant reinforcements all day.
A cannon duel over the day accomplishes little except to show how amateurish and incompetent the provincial artillery really is. By late afternoon, British General William Howe is prepared to take the hill with overwhelming force.
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September 30, 2018
In May 1775, the Second Continental Congress begins after the war has already started. Delegates must play catchup. They have to decide whether they will support the war and what their goals are.
Delegates agree to send one more petition to the King in hopes of pulling out a peace deal. Most delegates though, realize this is pointless.
Congress supports the war. The only debate is whether victory means full independence, or simply a better guarantee of colonial rights. Congress creates a Continental Army and selects Virginia Delegate George Washington to lead it.
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September 23, 2018
With the British army sitting in Boston, the navy needs to provide supplies and prevent supplies from reaching the Provincials. An attempt to capture a ship at Buzzard's Bay fails as locals overtake the small British task force and take them prisoner. Similarly, when the British send a ship to protect two merchant vessels providing firewood for Boston, locals again capure the ships. They kill several of the British and take the rest prisoner.
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September 16, 2018
Even before word of Lexington and Concord reached London, the Ministry decided they would need to up their game in the colonies. They did not send Gen. Gage all of the reinforcements he wanted, but they did send some soldiers and marines for the start of the 1775 fighting season. Along with them, the Ministry sent three new Major Generals to support Gage, traveling together aboard the HMS Cerberus. All three men, William Howe, Henry Clinton, and John Burgoyne would go on to play larger roles in the War.
General Haldimand received orders at the same time and pack his bags to go home. Because he was senior to all three Major Generals, London did not want this foreign born general to assume command should something happen to General Gage. The Cerberus also carried news that Admiral Graves received a promotion and would have expanded duties in the colonies.
With the arrival of these new soldiers, London expected more aggressive enforcement of its policies.
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