This is false. The Olive Branch Petition was offered in July of 1775 in an effort to resolve the concerns of the colonists but to also show their loyalty to the crown. Lexington and Concord, now considered the first battles of the Revolutionary War occurred in April of 1775 and Congress had been meeting since to determine their actions. The goal of the Olive Branch Petition was to avoid a full-scale war. George III refused to even view the petition and thus officially sending England against the colonist in war.
