Siege of Boston 1775
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate. Wikidata lists more than one location for this battle; the first is shown.
Key facts
| Date | 19 April 1775 – 17 March 1776 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1775 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | United States | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | American Revolutionary War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 42.3583, -71.0625 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The siege of Boston (April 19, 1775 – March 17, 1776) was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War. In the siege, American patriot militia led by newly-installed Continental Army commander George Washington prevented the British Army, which was garrisoned in Boston, from moving by land. Both sides faced resource, supply, and personnel challenges during the siege. British resupply and reinforcement were limited to sea access, which was impeded by American vessels. The British ultimately abandoned Boston after eleven months, moving their troops and equipment north to Nova Scotia.
The siege began on April 19 after the Revolutionary War's first battles at Lexington and Concord, when Massachusetts militias blocked land access to Boston. The Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, formed the Continental Army from the militias involved in the fighting and appointed George Washington as commander in chief. In June 1775, the British seized Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill, two Continental Army positions overlooking Boston; their casualties proved heavy, roughly 1160 British and 469 Americans, and their gains were insufficient to break the Continental Army's encirclement.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Boston (revision 1378866839), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Bunker Hill 1775 · 2 km
- Fortification of Dorchester Heights 1776 · 3 km
- Battle of Chelsea Creek 1775 · 4 km
- Battle of Menotomy 1775 · 10 km
- Battles of Lexington and Concord 1775 · 17 km
- Battles of Lexington and Concord 1775 · 17 km
Other battles of the American Revolutionary War
- Battle of Bunker Hill 1775
- Battle of Chelsea Creek 1775
- Battle of Gloucester (1775) 1775
- Battle of Great Bridge 1775
- Battle of Great Cane Brake 1775
- Battle of Kemp's Landing 1775
- Battle of Longue-Pointe 1775
- Battle of Machias 1775
- Battle of Quebec (1775) 1775
- Battle off Fairhaven 1775
All 190 battles of the American Revolutionary War →
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