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Open Anthology of The American Revolution: Address from Joseph Warren

Open Anthology of The American Revolution
Address from Joseph Warren
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table of contents
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Table Of Contents
  5. Introduction
  6. Questions to Guide Your Reading
  7. The Virginia Settlement
    1. Starving Time
    2. An Indentured Servant’s Letter Home
    3. Bacon’s Manifesto
  8. The Puritans of New England
    1. Early Education Laws
    2. Limits of Toleration
    3. Prologue to “The Tenth Muse”
    4. Connecticut’s “Blue Laws”
    5. Records of the Trial and Execution of Sarah Good
    6. Two Letters of Gov. William Phips
  9. The Old Colonial System
    1. Articles of Confederation of the United Colonies of New England
    2. The Navigation Act of 1660
    3. Commission of Sir Edmund Andros for the Dominion of New England
    4. Boston Revolt of 1689
    5. Bars Fight
    6. Albany Plan of Union
    7. The Way to Wealth
  10. The Revolution
    1. Second Treatise of Government
    2. Chart of Battles, Leaders, and Congresses During the Revolutionary War
    3. Petition from the Massachusetts House of Representatives to the House of Commons (in response to the Sugar Act)
    4. Patrick Henry’s Resolutions Against the Stamp Act
    5. Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, To the Inhabitants of the British Colonies
    6. After the Boston Tea Party: Cartoons
    7. Continental Congress’s Declaration of Rights and Grievances against Great Britain
    8. Articles of Association
    9. The Alternative of Williamsburg
    10. Petition of the New York Assembly to George III
    11. Address from Joseph Warren
    12. The Charlotte Town Resolves
    13. The Olive Branch Petition
    14. His Excellency General Washington
    15. Oath of Allegiance to the King George III
    16. Letter from George Washington to John Hancock
    17. Common Sense
    18. Resolve of the Continental Congress Regarding State Governments
    19. Richard Henry Lee Resolution for Independence
    20. Appointment of Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams to Draft the Declaration of Independence
    21. Adoption of the Lee Resolution
    22. The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America
    23. The American Crisis
    24. Draft Notice
    25. Treaty of Alliance with France
    26. Address of the Congress to the Inhabitants of the United States of America
    27. Establishment of the American Army
    28. Marquis de Lafayette’s Oath of Allegiance
    29. Letter of John Adams to the President of Congress
    30. Details from a Providence (RI) Town Meeting About Quartering of Troops
    31. Letter from Elizabeth Burgin to Reverend James Calville
    32. Letter from General George Washington to Congress Announcing the Victory at Yorktown, Virginia
    33. Benjamin Franklin’s Draft of Preliminary Articles of Peace
    34. Treaty of Paris
    35. Minutes of a Conference between George Washington and Guy Carleton
    36. Letter from Joseph Warren to Benjamin Franklin
    37. Articles of Confederation
    38. Northwest Ordinance
    39. Thomas Walke’s Account of Capturing his Runaway Slaves in New York City
    40. General Washington’s Instructions to Commissioners of Embarkation
    41. Letter from Embarkation Commissioners to General Washington
    42. An Address to the Negroes In the State of New-York
    43. Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery
    44. Testimony of Deborah Sampson Gannett
  11. Appendix 1: More Readings

27

Address from Joseph Warren

April 36, 1775

Joseph Warren

Background

Joseph Warren, President of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, gave this address to the provincial Congress regarding the hostilities of April 19, 1775 at Lexington and Concord.

Warren reported that “Hostilities are at length commenced….We determine to die or be free…”. This and other documents about the battles at Lexington and Concord are included in the Massachusetts State Papers from 1775 – 1787, in the Papers of the Continental Congress.

Read the Depositions to which Warren refers in Appendix 1.

Background Information: “Address from Joseph Warren” from The National Archives, Original License CC 4.0 BY NC SA

In provincial Congress, WaterTown April 26th 1775. 5
To the Inhabitants of Great Britain.
Friends & Fellow Subjects,
Hostilities are at length commenced in this Colony by the Troops under Command of General Gage, & It being of ye greatest Importance, that an early, true, & authentic account of this inhuman proceeding Should be known to you; the Congress of this Colony have transmitted ye Same, & from want of a Session of ye hona.[honorable] continental Con–gress think it proper to address you on ye alarming Occasion By the clearest Depositions relative to this Transaction It will appear, that on ye Night preceding ye nineteenth of April instant, a Body of ye Kings Troops under Command of Colo. Smith were secretly landed at Cam–bridge with an apparent Design to take or destroy ye military & other Stores provided for ye Defence of this Colony, & deposited at Concord – that Some Inhabitants of ye Colony on ye Night aforesaid, whilst travelling peaceably on ye Road between Boston & Concord were seized & greatly abused by armed Men, who ap-peared to be Officers of General Gage’s Army – that ye Townof Lexington by these Means was alarmed, & a Company of ye Inhabitants mustered on ye Occasion — that ye regular Troops on their Way to Concord marched into ye said Town of Lexington, & ye said Company on their approach began to disperse – that, notwithstanding this, ye Regulars rushed on with great Violence & first began Hostilities by firing on said Lexington Company, whereby they killed eight & wounded several others & that ye regular continued their Fire untill those of said Company, who were neither killed nor wounded, had made their Escape — that Colo[nel] Smith with ye Detachment then marched to Con–cord, where a Number of provincials were again fired on by ye Troops, two of them killed & Several Wounded, before ye provincials fired on them & that these hostile Measures of ye Troops produced an Engagement that lasted thro ye Day ; in which many of ye provincials & more of ye regular Troops were killed & wounded. — To give a particular account of ye Ravages of ye Troops as they retreated from Concord to Charlestown, would be very difficult, if not impracticable; let it suffice to say, that a great Number of ye Homes on ye Road were plundered & rendered unfit for use ; Several were burnt; Women in Child Bed were driven by ye Soldiery naked into ye Street; old Men peacably in their Houses were shot dead ; & such Scenes exhibited, as would disgrace ye Annals of ye most uncivilized Nation. There, Brethren, are Marks of ministerial Venge–ance against this Colony, for refusing with her Sister Colonies a Submission to Slavery ; but they have not yet detached us from our royal Sovereign: We profess to be his loyal & dutiful Subjects, & so hardly dealt with as We have been, are still ready with our Lives & Fortunes to defend his person, Family, Crown & Dignity. Nevertheless, to ye persecution & Tyranny of his cruel Ministry We will not tamely Submit appealing to Heaven for ye Justice of our Cause, We determine to die or be free. — We cannot think that ye Honour, Wisdom, & Valour of Britons will suffer them to be longer inactive Spectators of Measures, in which they themselves are so deeply interested — Measures pursued in Opposition to ye Solemn protests of many noble Lords, & express’d Some of conspicuous Commoners, whose Knowledge & Virtue have long [xxxx] characterized them as some of ye greatest men [xx] in ye Nation — Measures executing contrary to ye Interest, Petition & Resolves of many large respect–table & opulent Counties, Cities & Burroughs in Great Britain — Measures highly incompatible with Justice, but still pur–sued with a Specious pretence of curing the Nation of its Bur–thens. — Measures, which if successful, must end in ye ruin of Slavery of Britain as well as ye persecuted American Colonies — We sincerely hope that ye great Sovereign of ye Universe, who hath So often appeared for ye english Nation, will support you in every rational & manly exertion with these Colonies, for saving it from ruin, & that, in a constitutional Connection with ye Mother Country, We Shall soon be altogether a free & happy people —
Per Order Jos Warren


Copy of an Address to the Inhabitants of G Britain relative to the late hospitality between the houses under Gen Gage of the inhabitants of Massachusetts Bay – dated 26 April 1775 read before Congress 11 May[1]


  1. Accessed at https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/address-joseph-warren ↵

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