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A Glorious Cause

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Chapter 2: A Glorious Cause D uring the first months of 1775, the situation in Massachusetts grew ever more tense. The Massachusetts Provincial Congress met regularly in the town of Concord, about 17 miles west of Boston. It claimed to be the lawful government of the colony. Special patriot militia companies trained hard. They seemed to be preparing for a showdown with the British. They called themselves Minutemen. They said they could be ready for action at a minute’s notice.

(Above) Colonial minutemen fire on British troops at the North Bridge near Concord, Massa- chusetts, in April 1775. Fighting at Lexington and Concord marked the start of the American War for Independence.