Why Was the Liberty Bell Rung?
According to Philadelphian history, the bell was rung to announce several important events leading up to the Revolutionary War. The bell was first rung to announce the opening of the First Continental Congress in 1774, and again to announce the Battle of Lexington and Concord in 1775. The latter marks the beginning of the Revolutionary War. After Washington lost the important Battle of Brandywine in 1777, Philadelphia believed that the British was going to invade the city. The government ordered that all of the bells be removed from the city, because it was afraid that the British would melt the bells down to cast into cannons. Over seven hundred wagons and two hundred cavalry transported the bells from Philadelphia to Bethlehem Pennsylvania. When the British left the city in 1778, the bells were brought back into the city, and the Liberty Bell was again hung in the State House.
