On New Year's Day, 1776, to distinguish it from the green-starred flag of the Colonies, the first red and white striped flag with thirteen horizontal bars was raised over the Continental army headquarters.
It symbolized the Thirteen Colonies united in their fight for rights and freedom.
However, at this time, the upper left corner of the flag still bore the British Union Jack.
It wasn't until half a year later, after the Declaration of Independence was signed, announcing the establishment of the United States of America, that the Union Jack was removed and replaced with a five-pointed star.
Another year passed before the upper left corner was changed to a blue background with thirteen white stars arranged in a circle, which was the prototype of the later United States flag.
By this time, the siege of Boston had lasted for a very long time.
Washington, sizing up the situation, presented a battle plan to the Continental Congress Military Committee on February 16.
He emphasized that the Continental army had nine thousand men ready for battle, with an additional fifteen hundred in reserve.
He argued that the frozen surface of the water, which prevented enemy warships from moving, presented the best opportunity to attack the British occupying forces.
After careful consideration, the Continental Congress Military Committee agreed in principle with Washington's plan, with some adjustments: they believed the objective of this battle should be to seize Dorchester Heights, south of Boston.
This high ground was located in the middle of the range of fire of both armies.
Occupying it would allow them to control Boston and its harbor with artillery fire, forcing the British army to withdraw from Boston or risk fighting outside the city, achieving twice the result with half the effort.
Washington adopted these reasonable suggestions and actively prepared for the campaign.
On March 2, Washington convened an emergency meeting and decided that on the night of March 4, General Thomas would lead two thousand elite troops to capture the high ground; General Putnam would dispatch four thousand soldiers to attack key Boston transportation routes to pin down the main British army forces.
That night, the Continental army's artillery began firing on the British army inside the city.
The British army, unsure of the intention, was terrified and hastily responded, returning fire with three times the firepower.
The long-silent battlefield suddenly erupted with a deafening barrage of gunfire and cannons, turning into a sea of fire.
The artillery battle continued for two nights, with the British army completely unaware of the Continental army's intentions, only caring to fire more shells to bolster its courage.
On the third night, following Washington's orders, General Thomas led eight hundred elite soldiers to clear the way, followed by a contingent of twelve hundred engineers.
Using the smoke and roar of the artillery battle as cover, three hundred wagons formed a long snake-like line, loaded with large quantities of gabions, hay bales, and construction tools, moving at the fastest possible speed towards Dorchester Heights.
The hay bales were placed on the side nearest the enemy as cover, protecting them from enemy fire.
Starting at 8 PM, all the soldiers, with astonishing perseverance, wielded shovels and picks to clear eighteen inches of frozen earth, rushing to build bunkers and fortifications.
As Commander-in-Chief, Washington had no need to personally direct operations on site, but he went, reminding the soldiers that tomorrow, March 5, 1776, was the sixth anniversary of the Boston Massacre.
He called upon everyone to avenge their compatriots who had been brutally murdered by the British army.
The soldiers' morale surged, and they raced against time to dig earth and lay bricks.
Overnight, two bunkers suddenly stood tall on the summit of the high ground.
By dawn on March 5, the British army generals discovered this great human miracle, and each was stunned.
General William Howe, who had taken over as Boston's commander, sighed with emotion, "The rebels did more work in one night than our entire army did in a month."
The British army was very clear that losing Dorchester Heights meant losing the advantage on the Boston battlefield.
The British army positions and naval fleet were completely exposed to the Continental army's artillery range, and shells could fall from the sky at any moment.
They had no choice: either retake Dorchester Heights at all costs, or abandon Boston!
That night, the British army indeed launched a counterattack while the American army had not yet fully established itself, concentrating all their firepower to fiercely bombard the high ground.
At the same time, multiple forces were dispatched, advancing both by land and sea directly towards Dorchester.
Strangely, a sudden gale arose, and torrential rain poured down, halting the British army's night assault midway.
The troop transport ships were unable to dock at their designated locations and retreated without success that night.
The heavy rain continued the next day, but the Continental army, from its elevated position, intermittently shelled the British army positions, preventing them from gathering forces to launch an attack.
The Continental army had already used the lull in fighting to strengthen its positions and redeploy its forces, and the British army had lost its chance for a counterattack.
The British Navy Commander warned General Howe that if Dorchester Heights could not be retaken, his warships could not remain in the harbor for long, otherwise they would be in danger of being sunk.
General Howe finally had no choice but to make a decision: all British army forces would withdraw from Boston!
There was a small but not insignificant interlude.
The British army, fearing bombardment from the Continental army while evacuating and boarding ships, spread rumors that if the opposing side fired, General Howe would set Boston ablaze.
The city's gentry and existing administrative officials were greatly alarmed and sought to negotiate with General Howe through intermediaries.
As a result, the intermediaries drafted a document, asking the Continental army not to fire cannons to avoid terrible disaster in Boston.
When the document arrived, Washington saw that it had no heading, no signature at the end, and no signature from General Howe.
Was the document reliable?
Washington still told the envoy: the document arrived, but a formal reply could not be sent.
The Continental army ceased fire but did not stop strengthening its positions.
Boston was already in chaos, and its residents were in a state of panic.
By March 16, Washington continued to increase pressure, pushing forward his positions and building a breastwork overnight.
He also sent people to create false intelligence, stating that the Continental army intended to launch a general offensive.
In fact, the British army had long wanted to leave, but unfavorable winds repeatedly postponed their boarding date.
Now they dared not delay any longer, and at four o'clock the next morning, the withdrawal began in chaos.
Washington ordered all units to heighten their vigilance and closely monitor the British army's movements.
Around 10 AM, people observed six thousand British army soldiers and a group of staunch "royalists" beginning to withdraw from the city towards the harbor docks.
Two-wheeled carts, four-horse carriages, and handcarts moved continuously like ants relocating, finally swarming onto ships, rushing to leave Boston Harbor.
According to eyewitnesses, there were a total of seventy-eight vessels, including warships and transport ships.
Those royalists, who had always believed in the invincible power of Great Britain and had once been more arrogant than the regular British army, committing many harmful acts against their fellow countrymen, now felt as if it were the end of the world and fled by sea.
The Continental army watched the British army's hasty retreat without firing a single shot or cannon.
General Howe was also prepared to set fires; at the sound of a cannon, he would immediately set Boston ablaze!
The siege of Boston, which began in July 1775, had lasted for nine months.
Now Boston, like a ripe apple, finally fell into the hands of the Continental army.
The next day, Washington led the Continental army in a parade into Boston.
The entire city rejoiced, welcoming their army along the streets as if celebrating a grand festival.
Charles returned to Philadelphia amidst cheers and celebrations along the way.
As soon as he arrived in Philadelphia, he shouted to the soldiers guarding the door:
"Hooray! Soldiers, the Continental army has driven out the British, we have liberated Boston!"
"Woo-hoo..."
"Bang bang..."
The soldiers were very cooperative, cheering loudly as they threw their hats into the air, then raised their muskets and fired celebratory shots into the sky.
Charles rode his horse forward, and whenever he saw a crowd, he loudly announced the news of the front-line victory.
As a result, everywhere he went, cheers and gunshots erupted, with hats strewn about and gunpowder smoke filling the air.
And there were also many disbelieving people who followed him to the State House, wanting to confirm the news.
Charles, for the second time, burst into the ongoing Continental Congress meeting, and along with a messenger, delivered the official written news to the Continental Congress.
Afterward, he and other Continental Congress Representatives went to the entrance of the State House and formally posted the victory proclamation outside, in front of the already gathered public.
"Hoo-hoo... Bang bang..."
Upon seeing the official document, there was naturally another round of cheers and gunshots, and the entire State House was enveloped in thick gunpowder smoke.
Charles, as an outsider, truly experienced for the first time the American people's yearning for victory.
Just then, those wealthy Philadelphians who had gone to Pittsburgh to survey land and explore for minerals also returned in the following days.
After some discussion, taking advantage of the low land prices, they collectively purchased a large amount of land in Pittsburgh from the Pennsylvania Assembly, totaling over five hundred thousand acres.
Adding the one hundred thousand acres Charles had recently bought, and excluding the portions designated as unsellable in the city plan, they had almost completely bought up all the remaining developable land within dozens of kilometers around the Pittsburgh fortress, with the total area alone exceeding roughly one-third of the Pittsburgh city area in the 21st century.
Charles then immediately used his identity as a Pennsylvania Assembly member and Continental Congress Representative to formally petition the Pennsylvania Assembly for the construction of an artificial canal from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, to develop the Midwest.
At the same time, as an elected representative for Pittsburgh, Charles also requested the Pennsylvania Assembly to allocate a portion of the revenue from the sale of Pittsburgh land back to Pittsburgh, to compensate her for her land losses and for infrastructure development.
As soon as the proposal was put forward, the immediate consequence was that land prices in Pittsburgh doubled when listed for sale, yet there was a market with no sellers, as almost no one was willing to sell their land.
At this time, the news was still circulating among the upper echelons, and only a few scattered plots of land were sold, by people from the lower strata of society who were unaware of the market conditions and tempted by immediate profits, though the quantity was only a few hundred acres.
These two proposals also stirred up huge waves in the Pennsylvania Assembly, even involving the Continental Congress.
Building a canal would involve a large amount of manpower and resources, and at a time when they were at war with the British army, it could not be easily started.
But more importantly, it was because of the five hundred thousand acres of land sold, and the money from that land sale.