who was the first person killed in the american revolution
Crispus Attucks Crispus Attucks (c.1723 – March 5, 1770) was an American stevedore and whaler, widely regarded as the first person killed in the Boston massacre and thus the first American killed in the American Revolution.
Bacon's Rebellion Despite recent historians' views of the conflict, many in the early United States, including Thomas Jefferson, saw Bacon as a patriot and believed that Bacon's Rebellion was a prelude to the later American Revolution against English colonial rule.[30][31] This understanding of the conflict was reflected in twentieth-century commemorations, including a memorial window in Colonial Williamsburg, and a prominent tablet in the Virginia House of Delegates chamber of the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, which recalls Bacon as "A great Patriot Leader of the Virginia People who died while defending their rights October 26, 1676."[30][31][32]
Boston Massacre There was a pause of uncertain length (eyewitness estimates ranged from several seconds to two minutes), after which the soldiers fired into the crowd. Rather than a disciplined volley (Preston gave no orders to fire), a ragged series of shots was fired, which hit eleven men.[28] Three Americans—ropemaker Samuel Gray, mariner James Caldwell, and Attucks—died instantly.[29] Samuel Maverick, an apprentice ivory turner of seventeen,[30] was struck by a ricocheting musket ball at the back of the crowd, and died a few hours later, in the early morning of the next day. An Irish immigrant, Patrick Carr, died two weeks later.[29] Christopher Monk, another apprentice, was one of those seriously wounded in the attack.[31] Although he recovered to some extent, he was crippled and eventually died in 1780, purportedly due to the injuries he had sustained in the attack a decade earlier.[32][33]
American Revolutionary War British attempts to disarm the Massachusetts militia at Concord in April 1775 led to open combat. Militia forces then besieged Boston, forcing a British evacuation in March 1776, and Congress appointed George Washington to command the Continental Army. Concurrently, an American attempt to invade Quebec and raise rebellion against the British failed decisively. On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress voted for independence, issuing its declaration on JulyÂ 4. Sir William Howe launched a British counter-offensive, capturing New York City and leaving American morale at a low ebb. However, victories at Trenton and Princeton restored American confidence. In 1777, the British launched an invasion from Quebec under John Burgoyne, intending to isolate the New England Colonies. Instead of assisting this effort, Howe took his army on a separate campaign against Philadelphia, and Burgoyne was decisively defeated at Saratoga in October 1777.