In 1774, the representatives of twelve colonies met for the first time in Philadelphia at the First Continental Congress and appealed directly to the King, but their appeal was ignored. The first shots of the War of Independence were fired at Lexington, Massachusetts in 1775. The representatives of twelve colonies(all except Georgia) met again in Philadelphia in May 1776(the Second Continental Congress). On July 4, 1776, the Congress drafted their Declaration of Independence, and appointed George Washington as leader of the American army to fight the British.