Revolution An Uncommon Chronicle of the American War for Independence: 1774-1783

review.

Preface

Several years ago I ran into writer’s block while working on a historical novel centered at the life of the 18th century revolutionary, Thomas Paine. When curbed like this in the past I would peruse a rather extensive collection of notes until a certain character or event I happened upon shoved the block aside and moved me forward. This didn’t happen, though, and I found myself parked at a wall with my writing machine stuck in neutral.

Before I filed those notes away I looked at them again and began to see the beginning of a chronicle. I remembered friends who had read portions of the unfinished novel wishing aloud that they knew more about our revolution than what they came away with from school, and I decided to attempt a short history of our revolution for them and others like them.

Our local newspaper happened to be close by and I thought, why not write this story in the present tense, as a series of news events including occasional interviews or conversations with major and minor players.

Revolution! was brought into fruition through the guidance of those scholars of our revolutionary period listed in the selected bibliography near the end of this book. The authors and editors of these well worn books on my shelves have educated and enlightened me for many years. I owe them much and I hope my efforts in writing this book will somehow honor theirs.

Introduction

Revolution! is a chronicle of a remarkable contest fought between the largest, most powerful professional army on earth and a motley collection of men and boys, extremely ill equipped and inexperienced in the arts of warfare. Thirty-three narratives describe the battles, while over half the remaining articles reveal how the radical revolutionaries, revered today as our founding fathers, sometimes barely succeed and more often miserably fail to keep a healthy Continental Army and a somewhat pusillanimous Continental Congress together.

Revolution! is also the story of a civil conflict fought in a divided country where the words liberty and independence are equally cheered, cursed and ignored.

Revolution! is written in the present tense, describing the war as it may have been reported and read while it was happening, much like the news was read and understood during our wars that followed. I believe this format works because, though there was a certain overlapping of campaigns in the northern and middle colonies, no significant battles were ever decided on the same day or even month. And most of the major battles in the south were fought toward the end of the war when there were no critical actions north of Virginia.

Revolution! is a short history, in fact a painfully short history for its author, who in order to keep it that way, excluded a few fascinating players and events that surely made the papers in those days. The naval battles of John Paul Jones and the exploits of Light Horse Harry Lee, the father of Robert E. Lee, aren’t mentioned, for instance, nor are the campaigns in our western frontiers. Though these and other events were exciting chapters in our revolution their results didn’t significantly alter the final outcome of the war.

The short section entitled The Players Afterward came about because I’ve often wondered what happened to these men and women after the war, and I thought the reader might wonder also.

The fictional character, Mr. Anonymous, is included in conversations as a source of background and commentary. His observations should fill in certain voids and perhaps answer questions the reader might have after reading a report. The remarks of historical figures were gleaned from their writings or their biographers.

Illustrations in Revolution! were created either through a camera lens aimed at toy figures or by scanning copyright free sketches and processing both through Adobe Photoshop.

The maps in Revolution! are sketches meant only to show approximate locations of cities and battlegrounds.

We are not bound to adhere to the doctrines held by the signers of the Declaration of Independence; we are as free as they were to make and unmake governments ... but (the Declaration) was drawn by men who thought, and it obliges those who receive its benefits to think likewise.

Woodrow Wilson

28th President of the United States

1775

BRITISH TROOPS ATTACK LEXINGTON!

March to Concord, Leaving Eight Dead, Several Wounded

When I reflect ... that the fight was between those whose parents but a few months ago were brothers, I shudder at the thought, and there’s no knowing where our calamities will end.

John Adams

April 19, 1775

Boston, Massachusetts: Apr. 19, 1775. Murder and mayhem descended on the town of Lexington, Massachusetts early this morning when a British brigade of 500 light infantry marched into the village common and opened fire on 36 local militiamen performing drill near the south wall.

Major John Pitcairn, the officer in charge of the brigade, rode up to the militiamen, drew his sword and shouted, Lay down your arms! When the men refused and began to disperse words were shouted, a musket went off and Pitcairn ordered his men to fire.

Two of the militia were shot and killed and another bayoneted to death inside the Common. Five others were mortally wounded as they attempted to escape. Two British infantry were wounded in the action.

The brigade was an advanced guard of 1,000 British troops, who crept off the Boston peninsula shortly after midnight to launch early morning raids on militia armories. Apparently, the British stopped at Lexington because their intelligence learned that two rebel leaders, Samuel Adams and John Hancock, were spotted in the area. Hancock and Adams had fled Boston in March, under threat of imprisonment by British authorities. The rebel leaders were not found. A second brigade of grenadiers, with light cannon, marched past Lexington toward Concord, seven miles north.

The element of surprise was lost to the British when rebel minutemen observed them cross the Charles River. The minutemen alerted militia in the towns of Cambridge, Lexington and Concord. One of the minutemen, Paul Revere, a silversmith with a shop in Boston, was captured outside of Lexington and later released.

MORE DEATHS AT CONCORD

British Troops Withdraw in Face of Growing Militia

Concord, Massachusetts: Apr. 19, 1775. Hostilities between British occupational forces quartered in Boston and rebel militia on the Massachusetts mainland exploded early this morning when British troops slipped off the Boston peninsula under cover of darkness and marched 16 miles northeast to the town of Lexington where they attacked a small group of local militiamen, killing eight and wounding several others.

The British then marched six miles north and invaded the town of Concord where local militia had reportedly hidden a large cache of arms and gunpowder.

Militiamen from the towns of Acton, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Westfield and Littleton, led by a full band of fife and drummers, advanced on the British just outside of Concord. They halted out of British musket range, wheeled around and taunted the invaders back through Concord to the tune of Yankee Doodle Dandy.

The rebels crossed North Bridge and formed ranks on Punkatasset Hill, as British troops ransacked the nearly deserted town and searched surrounding areas for weapons.

The first skirmish took place when a group of militia advanced on six light infantry companies attempting to destroy the North Bridge. British infantry fired into the militiamen, killing two Acton men and badly wounding the Acton fifer. Militia returned fire, killing three British and wounding seven others, including four officers.

Three pieces of cannon, several gun carriages and 100 barrels of flour were hauled to the Concord green and put to flames by the grenadiers. Apparently, the fire spread to the Concord meeting house. Mrs. Martha Moulton, a 71-year-old widow, was seen pleading with British officers to save the structure which was close to her own small house. Major Pitcairn ordered a bucket brigade and the fire was extinguished. One thousand additional British troops were seen marching out of Boston to reinforce the grenadiers and light infantry who are now receiving heavy gunfire from rebel militia. Estimates of the number of rebels vary between several hundred and several thousand.

In related news, it was learned a flotilla of troopships, with 3,000 British regulars, embarked from England for the colonies earlier this month. The troops will reinforce the 4,000 troops in Boston, under Commanding General Thomas Gage. It is rumored that Major Generals William Howe, Henry Clinton and John Burgoyne are to accompany the British troops.

The barbarous murders committed on our innocent brethren ... have made it absolutely necessary that we immediately raise an army to defend our wives and children from the butchering hands of an inhuman soldiery who, incensed at the obstacles they met with their bloody progress, and enraged at being repulsed from the field of slaughter will, without a doubt, take the first opportunity in their power to ravage this devoted country with fire and sword.

Massachusetts Committee of Safety at Cambridge

To Surrounding Towns

April 28, 1775

BRITISH ON THE RUN!

Militia Give Chase, Surround Boston

Thus for a few trifling stores, the Grenadiers and light Infantry had a march of about 50 miles ... through an enemy’s country, and in all probability must every man have been cut off if the Brigade had not fortunately come to their assistance; for when the Brigade joined us there were very few men had any ammunition left, and so fatigued that we could not keep flanking parties out, so that we must soon have laid down our arms or been picked off by the rebels at their pleasure.

Lt. John Parker, British Officer

April 19, 1775

Boston, Massachusetts: Apr. 20, 1775. An estimated 4,000 armed but disorganized militia routed four British brigades returning to Boston after an abortive raid on a rebel armory near Concord yesterday morning. Early reports indicate the British suffered over 300 casualties as they retreated to their barricades in Charlestown, four miles northwest of the Boston peninsula.

Hampered by fatigue and 85-degree temperatures, the outnumbered British raiding party was an easy target for local militia who set up several ambushes along the 16-mile march. Rebel tactics of firing at the British rear and retreating into wooded areas before the brigades could return fire were branded as cowardly behavior by some British officers.

Other British officers who had fought with the rebels in the French and Indian wars are privately criticizing their superiors for underestimating the militia. Lord Percy, who commanded the infantry and grenadiers who rescued the retreating brigades, was quoted as saying, Whoever looks upon (the rebels) as an irregular mob will be much mistaken. They have men amongst them who know very well what they are about.

Many in the rebel camp voiced displeasure with their command, or lack of it. Of the estimated 75,000 rounds of ammunition fired at British troops, less than 300 hit their mark. Several militiamen contend that the British raiding party was out of ammunition when they retreated back from Concord and could have been destroyed. But no militia officer would give an order to advance on the town. Lord Percy’s brigades marching from Boston arrived in time to relieve their beleaguered comrades.

The rebels suffered less than 100 casualties. Local rebels have been joined by militia from all of Massachusetts and from towns in Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. Rebel troops, estimated at 9,000, have virtually cut off British occupational troops in Boston from the Massachusetts mainland.

A CONVERSATION WITH A REBEL LEADER

Samuel Adams

New Jersey: Apr. 1775. Samuel Adams, a short, stocky, plain dressed (when not in Congress, Mr. Adams wears homespun clothing) gentleman in his mid-fifties, who until a short time ago practiced law in Boston, is credited with organizing the Sons of Liberty, a loose-knit association of radicals claiming thousands of members throughout the colonies.

A Harvard graduate and Massachusetts delegate to the rebel Continental Congress, Mr. Adams is considered a fugitive by English Parliament. He recently evaded capture when British troops invaded Lexington where he and John Hancock, another fugitive, were in hiding.

In the course of our conversation, when a subject came up that particularly excited Mr. Adams, his head would move back and forth and his hands seemingly trembled out of control. His general countenance and the calming tone of his voice, however, allayed any suspicion that Mr. Adams was not entirely in control of his faculties.

Mr. Adams, we’ve learned that General Gage is considering a pardon to all Americans taking part in the recent events at Lexington and Concord. You and John Hancock are specifically named as exceptions. Why do you think he excepted you and Hancock?

It seems to me, Thomas Gage considers us a threat because we’ve been more vocal in denouncing his acts. What he refuses to believe is that Mr. Hancock and I represent the outrage of most of the citizens of Massachusetts.

What acts of General Gage outraged you besides Lexington and Concord?

When Parliament named that man Governor of Massachusetts, they gave him absolute power over us. And he acknowledges Parliament by turning our city of Boston into an armed fortress. His ships have closed our port and he has provided himself with one professional killer for every five of Boston’s citizens; some have been forced to quarter his killers in their homes. I ask you, after what his people accomplished at Lexington and Concord, shouldn’t we be alarmed at the thought of what he might do next?

It’s been estimated that over 15,000 militiamen are surrounding Boston at this time. Is that an accurate count?

I believe the figure is around 15,000, at least.

Fifteen thousand armed men give the militia a three-to-one advantage over General Gage’s troops. Do you intend to attack Boston?

I’m not involved in military decisions. I have no idea what General Ward and his officers are planning at Cambridge.

Were you surprised at the turnout of men from the other colonies?

Gage’s men fired on colonial citizens and raided a colonial armory. That murderous act infringed on the rights of citizens in all 13 colonies. I asked a young friend from Woodburn why he ran to Lexington. He said, Gage has no right to the cannon, they were made in New England foundries. Next, they’ll be taking my musket.

Then you anticipate support from every colony?

As I said, sir, this is not a New England affair. Parliament is imposing its will on every colony.

When you say Parliament imposes its will on you, isn’t England simply presenting a bill for services rendered? That is, the cost in helping you rid yourselves of the French in the last war?

I believe just the opposite is true. England was in a war with France and Spain. The colonies happened to be one of the battlefields. Our militia rose to the occasion and fought side by side with the British. We suffered loss of life and property during those times and who, may I ask, is paying us? Still we might accept a reasonable share of England’s cost. We simply insist on the liberty of putting it to a vote among ourselves.

It’s been rumored that the Congress will vote to unite all militia under one Continental Army. Is this one of your proposals?

No, the delegate from Braintree proposed it. He feels a single army under one command is necessary in the event of an all out war.

And that delegate from Braintree would be your cousin, John Adams?

Yes.

Do you agree with him?

If Parliament is foolhardy enough to engage us in a full scale war, I would have to agree with him. It seems to me, the more serious issue is determining who should take command of our army. I am suspicious of that much power in the hands of one person.

Are you concerned about Loyalist sympathizers?

I believe there are families here who have been given privileges by the Crown and Parliament. Those who have sided with Thomas Gage in this conflict should be considered the enemies of liberty.

Do you expect any support in England now that blood has spilled between yourselves?

We’ve never been without the support of liberty loving citizens in England. The city of London petitioned Parliament against the Intolerable Act two years ago. And again in February of this year they protested the Fisheries Acts. The Mayor of London has said Parliament’s attempts to establish arbitrary power over us affects their liberties as well.

Yet there are many in England who condemn your rebellion.

This is not a rebellion, sir. English subjects are being oppressed with unjust laws imposed by a tyrannical Parliament that they have no representation in. This is a revolution.

Then you expect a war with England?

None of us wants a war. We’d much prefer our liberties without