On April 19, 1775, thirteen of Great Britain's North American colonies were fed up with "Taxation Without Representation" and so began the fight for American independence.

The colonists were sick and tired of being taxed by their mother country, Great Britain, without being allowed to have any say in the matter or "Taxation Without Representation". The 13 colonies had been ruled by Great Britain since the early 1600's and by 1775, the colonists organized, and decided to take action by launching ground forces against the British, and the American Revolutionary War began. The following are some of the important roles that Connecticut played in America's fight for independence.

THE PROVISION STATE - MAY 7, 1776

For the first year of the war, a constant issue was supplying the early colonial militias, and eventually, the Continental Army with clothing and supplies. Connecticut was the state that played the major role in providing the resources necessary to win and defend its independence from England, which earned it the title of, "The Provision State." Source material from the Hartford Courant.

US Declaration
Declaration of Independence - Getty Images
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BRITISH ATTACK DANBURY - APRIL 21, 1777

On April 21, 1777, British forces landed at the mouth of the Saugatuck River with plans to eventually invade Danbury. British Major General William Tryon, the royal governor of New York marched his 1,800 troops and violently attacked Danbury destroying everything in sight. Because the Patriot forces were caught by surprise, they offered little opposition. For about 7 days, the British set fire to anything that would burn, including more than 1,500 tents. The British continued marching through Ridgefield and all points south to reach their ships anchored in Long Island Sound. Source material taken from history.com 

16 YEAR OLD HELPS TO SAVE RIDGEFIELD - APRIL 26, 1777

Col. Henry and Abigail Ludington, who lived in Fredericksburg, NY (now called Ludingtonville) were getting ready for bed along with their children, when there came a loud knock on their door. The Colonel, who was the commander of the area militia answered to find a messenger from Danbury standing in the doorway. He had come to ask for aid from the militia because the Brits were destroying Danbury. Because the Colonel had to organize his troops, his 16-year-old daughter, Sybil, volunteered to make the 16-mile ride on horseback in the pouring rain, going farm to farm to alert all the other militia men. Her heroism was credited for preventing the same kind of attack on Ridgefield that devastated Danbury. Source material comes from danburymuseum.org

Ben Franklin
Creators of the Declaration of Independence Including CT's own Roger Sherman - Getty Images
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