The First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in 1774 and some of the famous attendees were: John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Jay, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry and George Washington. The delegates voted to boycott British goods amid formed militias - groups of citizen soldiers. Certain groups of militias were known as "minutemen" because they could be ready to fight in a minute's notice. By April 1775, British general Sir Thomas Gage had several 1,000 soldiers under his command in and around Boston with many more on the way. On May 10, 1775, the Second Continental Congress assembled for the first time, but declaring independence was a long way off. The delegates to the Second Continental Congress included some of the greatest leaders in America. In addition to some of the distinguished delegates to the First Continental Congress, several new delegates (including John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin) joined the Second Continental Congress. The Second Continental Congress began to govern the colonies, authorize the printing of money, set up a post office and most important, created the Continental Army.