REVOLUTION!
An Uncommon Chronicle of the American War for Independence
1774 -1783
by Kenneth Samcoe
Copyright 2013 Kenneth Samcoe,
All rights reserved.
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-1302-0
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a 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
