XV. THE EVACUATION 415 ILLUSTRATIONS OLD STATE HOUSE _Frontispiece_ PAGE THE HUTCHINSON HOUSE 35 FANEUIL HALL _facing_ 58 SAMUEL ADAMS _facing_ 69 THE INVESTMENT OF BOSTON _facing_ 127 REVERE'S PICTURE OF BOSTON IN 1768 175 THE OLD NORTH CHURCH _facing_ 181 THE BATTLE OF LEXINGTON _facing_ 193 PLAN OF THE SIEGE 235 THE MINUTE MAN _facing_ 303 THE OLD NORTH BRIDGE _facing_ 303 WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS _facing_ 374 DORCHESTER TOWER 407 GOLD MEDAL COMMEMORATING WASHINGTON'S VICTORY 434 THE SIEGE OF BOSTON CHAPTER I BEGINNINGS AND CONDITIONS The Siege of Boston was the culmination of a series of events which will always be of importance in the history of America. From the beginning of the reign of George the Third, the people of the English colonies in the new world found themselves at variance with their monarch, and nowhere more so than in Massachusetts. Since the New England people were fitted by their temperament and history to take the lead in the struggle, at their chief town naturally took place the more important incidents. These, which were often dramatic, had nevertheless a political cause and significance which link them in a rising series that ended in a violent outbreak and the eleven months' leaguer. As to the siege itself, it varies an old situation, for Boston was beset by its own neighbors in defence of the common rights. Previously the king's troops, though regarded as invaders, had been but half-hearted oppressors; it was the people themselves who persistently provoked difficulties. The siege proper is of striking military interest, for its hostilities begin by the repulse of an armed expedition into a community of farmers, continue with a pitched battle between regular troops and a militia, produce a general of commanding abilities, and end with a strategic move of great skill and daring. It is the first campaign of a great war, and precedes the birth of a nation. Politically, the cause of the struggle is of enduring consequence to mankind. Socially, the siege and its preliminaries bring to view people of all kinds, some weak, some base, some picturesque, some entirely admirable. The period shows the breaking up of an old society and the formation of a new. A study of the siege is therefore of value.