Celebrate America250: Day 53

June 10, 1775. John Adams proposed to the Continental Congress that the colonial troops besieging the British regulars in Boston should be considered a Continental Army.

After the Massachusetts militia had driven the British regulars back into Boston on April 19, 1775, and inflicted heavy casualties, they proceeded to take over the British works around the city and extend them. Under the command of General Artemas Ward, the colonials seized the only land exits from Boston, the Boston Neck and the Charlestown Neck. More militia troops from surrounding towns and provinces joined them, leading Gen. Thomas Gage to write, "The rebels are not the despicable rabble too many have supposed them to be." The British suffered from a lack of supplies since they were dependent on their control of the harbor and on importing supplies from Nova Scotia.

Colonel Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen captured Fort Ticonderoga on May 10, and Col. Henry Knox transported 180 cannon and other weapons and supplies to strengthen the siege. The British in the city were forced to go on short rations, so on May 25 the British began planning to break out of the city by seizing Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill and fortifying Dorchester Heights. By the 10th of June, it was clear that the colonials had formed an army, thus, John Adams proposed to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia that it should recognize the forces around Boston as the army of the united provinces.