<a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_War_of_Independence" id="mwbg" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="American War of Independence">American War of Independence</a>: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Army" id="mwbw" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="British Army">British general</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Gage" id="mwcA" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Thomas Gage">Thomas Gage</a> declares <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_law" id="mwcQ" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Martial law">martial law</a> in <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_Colony" id="mwcg" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Massachusetts Colony">Massachusetts</a>. The British offer a pardon to all colonists who lay down their arms. There would be only two exceptions to the amnesty: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Adams" id="mwcw" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Samuel Adams">Samuel Adams</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hancock" id="mwdA" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="John Hancock">John Hancock</a>, if captured, were to be hanged.