The Drumbeat to Revolution

By John Osinski

The American Revolution didn’t happen overnight, nor was it originally about breaking away from English rule.  Its roots can be traced to the Seven Years War, fought in North America as the French and Indian War, and British efforts to make their Colonists bear some of the costs for fighting that war.

In what is now upstate New York, open warfare will not occur for more than two years after the shots were fired at Lexington Green in the Bay Colony, but the drumbeat for war started well before that fateful day.

On January 14, 1774, the FIRST reputed Liberty Flag was raised in the City of Schenectady.

In August 1774, the first meeting of the Tryon County Committee of Safety was held.

In October 1774, the first Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, enacted the Articles of Association.  This act called for a wide-reaching boycott of British goods and services, and was, essentially, a declaration of economic war.

April 19, 1775, shots are fired between Crown troops and Bay Colony Militia during a raid intended to confiscate munitions held by the local militias.

May 1775, a Liberty Pole is erected in Tryon County.

May 1775, Committees of Safety are formed in Albany County, in part to effectuate the provisions of the Articles of Association.

May 10, 1775 Fort Ticonderoga is captured by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold.

June 1775, The Battle of Bunker (Breeds) Hill results in a British victory, but with  unexpected losses imposed on the British forces.

December, 1775,  an undertaking now known as “Knox’s Noble Train of Artillery” begins the movement of 59 pieces of heavy artillery from Fort Ticonderoga more than 300 miles toward Boston.  After its arrival in early March, and placement at Dorchester Heights, overlooking Boston, the British will evacuate Boston on March 17, Evacuation Day! (The commemoration of this historic undertaking has been underway since mid-December, and has been well attended by the public.)

Following their formation in May of 1775, the Committees of Safety began the processes that would better prepare them for the war that was now inevitable.  Militia companies were formed and officers appointed to command them, officers such as Peter Vroman, who was a junior officer in the Provincial Army during the French and Indian War. Necessary supplies were acquired, and defensive watches began.

The Committees’ role in enforcing the Articles of Association will soon occupy much of their time as 1776 begins.  This will be the subject of my next installment.

John Osinski,   Revolutionary Schohary 250