May Revolutionary Calendar

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May Revolutionary Calendar

May 4, 1776
Independence is declared...in Rhode Island.
On this day, two months before the Continental Congress, Rhode Island declares itself independent from Great Britain. 

May 10, 1775
The Capture of Fort Ticonderoga
Patriot forces under the command of Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold carry out a successful surprise attack against the fort and seize the cannons within. The cannon captured at Ticonderoga, and those captured the next day at Crown Point, would be used by the new Continental Army under General George Washington to liberate Boston the following spring.

May 10, 1775
The 2nd Continental Congress assembles in Philadelphia.

May 12, 1780
Charleston falls to the British
In the worst defeat of the war Major General Benjamin Lincoln unconditionally surrenders to British Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton. The British captured more than 3,000 Patriots and large amounts of munitions and equipment.

May 14, 1787
Delegates to the Constitutional Convention begin to assemble.

May 17, 1769
George Washington speaks out against "Taxation without representation."
Washington brought the Non-Importation Resolutions drafted by George Mason before the Virginia House of Burgesses. In response, Virginia's Royal Governor disbanded the House of Burgesses.

May 23, 1777
Attack at Sag Harbor
Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Meigs leads patriot troops in a bayonet attack that succeeds in the capture and burning of several British vessels and supplies.

May 24, 1775
John Hancock becomes president of the 2nd Continental Congress.

May 25, 1787
Constitutional Convention convenes.
The Convention that was assembled to strengthen the Articles of Confederation and will result in the writing of a new United States Constitution begins in Philadelphia.

May 28, 1754
George Washington starts the Seven Years' War.
At only 22 years old, Lieutenant Colonel George Washington leads an attack on a group of French and Indian scouts in contested British territories.  Teetering on the edge of war already, the attack and the events that follow mark the start of combat that will rage around the globe and involve Prussia, Electorate Brunswick-Lüneburg, Great Britain, Austria, France, Russia, Sweden, Saxony, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands.

May 29, 1780
The Patriots experience "Tarleton's Quarter."
In military terms to "give quarter" meant to show mercy, usually to enemy troops that surrender. At what the British call the Battle of Waxhaw Creek, British Colonel Banatre Tarelton and his Loyalist troops brutally attacked and killed patriots that had already surrendered. From that time on, this behavior was sarcastically labeled "Tarleton's Quarter" and became a rallying cry for the patriots.