After the battles of and on April 19, 1775, the colonial militia forces chased the British back to Boston and surrounded the city. The had begun but the provincial militia did not have the cannon and artillery needed to bombard the British and them out of Boston. It was well known throughout New England that there were cannon and artillery at the British forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and even before the first shot was fired at Lexington, plans had been set in motion by Connecticut to conduct an expedition to capture Ticonderoga. In those first days of the war, some of the colonies were still fighting with each other over land and even for the glory and spoils of war. Not long after Connecticut launched their expedition, with as its field commander, Massachusetts did the same. was in command of the Massachusetts expedition. Along the way, the two expeditions joined together. The British at Ticonderoga and Crown Point were not aware war had broken out and were not expecting an at