The first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired in the towns of Lexington and Concord just west of Boston in April 1775. What started as a British victory as they looked for munitions stored by local militia turned into a British rout as American militia from all of New England converged on the area and drove the British back into Boston. Working all night on March 4 and into March 5, 1776 American forces moved the guns onto Dorchester heights that overlooked Boston. It gave the Colonials a commanding position that the British could not counter. British General William Howe then gathered some of his force of 11,000 troops onto ships to cross Boston harbor and attack the gun placements before they could be firmly established. Just as the troops had been loaded into the ships a huge storm hit and caused them to turn back. It gave the Americans time to firm up the guns and their advantage was established. The weather turned the tide. The British soon abandoned Boston, never to return during the rest of the Revolution. They evacuated on March 17, 1776, a day still celebrated in Boston.

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