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From Liberty! The American Revolution

Thomas Fleming 1997 Viking Press

Americans of 1776 had the West's highest living standard and the lowest taxes. Colonial farmers, lawyers and businessmen made today's $500,000 a year. England wanting their share tried to tax the colonists. Two Boston Tea Parties, Dec 16, 1773 and March 7, 1774, cost England $3 million in today's money.

Lexington Militia Capt John Parker didn't say "If they want war let it begin here." As British soldiers approached Parker ordered his men to disperse. The British fired on them without provocation, starting the Revolutionary War.

In 1775, disgusted with British arrogance and appalled at Lexington and Concord bloodshed, Ben Franklin wrote the first Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson, enthusiastic, noted that many other Continental Congress delegates disapproved. It took another year of bitter conflict to persuade Congress to vote for Jefferson's version, with Franklin's editorial suggestions.

Nathan Hale was hanged for spying and for trying to burn New York Sept 20, 1776. American soldiers, some of them from Hale's regiment, filtered into British-held New York City, stashing resin-soaked logs in numerous buildings. Hale was caught the next day after 1/4 of NYC, England's army's winter quarters, was destroyed.

History's first submarine attack was in New York Harbor Sept 6, 1776. Connecticut inventor David Bushnell's submarine Turtle, resembling 2 large tortoise shells, had a watertight hull made of 6" thick tarred oak timbers. The Turtle tried to secure a cask of gunpowder to the hull of the HMS Eagle and sneak away before it exploded. The Turtle got tangled with the Eagle's rudder bar, lost ballast and surfaced before the cask could be planted.

Benedict Arnold was the Continental Army's best general, without whom during the war's first 3 years we would have lost. In 1775 Arnold came close to conquering Canada. In 1776 he built a fleet, fighting a bigger British fleet to a standstill on Lake Champlain. At Saratoga in 1777 his brilliant battlefield leadership forced the British army to surrender, persuading France to join the war on America's side. Arnold disapproving of French alliance switched sides in 1780.

By 1779 1/7 of Washington's army was African-American. Washington enlisted them after hearing how well they fought at Bunker Hill. The all-black First Rhode Island Regiment of 33 freedmen and 92 slaves were promised freedom if they served the whole war distinguished itself in the Battle of Newport. Later they were all but wiped out in a British attack.

The Continental Army included women. A few saw combat. Best known was Mary Ludwig Hays, Molly Pitcher, replacing her wounded husband at his cannon during 1778's Battle of Monmouth. Another artilleryman's wife, Margaret Corbin, was badly wounded serving in her husband's gun crew in the 1776 Battle of Harlem Heights. Thousands of other women were cooks or nurses.

George Washington, America's best spymaster, ran dozens of rings in British-held New York and Philadelphia. George who never told a lie was a master disinformer, constantly befuddling the British by leaking through double agents inflated reports on his army's strentgh.

By 1779 more Americans fought with England than with Washington, 21 regiments of 6500 - 8000 loyalists vs Washignton's 3500. 1/3 of Americans opposed the Revolution.

At Yorktown, the victory that won the war, Washington's 11,000 men and 29,000 French soldiers and sailors along with 37 French ships-of-the-line played a crucial role in trapping the British and winning the engagement.

King George III almost abdicated when England lost. After Yorktown George vowed to keep fighting. When Parliament demurred George wrote a letter of abdication and then withdrew it, trying to console himself thinking Washington would become a dictator and make Americans long for Royal rule. Hearing Washington's plans to resign his commission George said, "If he does he'll be the world's greatest man."

Only John Hancock and Charles Thomson signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4. Most of the rest signed August 2. The last signature came 5 years later.

Before the American Revolution each of the 13 British colonies had its own flag. Jan 2, 1776 George Washington raised the first United States flag in Cambridge MA.

History analyzed from different perspectives of who fired the first shot ~~

* BRITISH PERSPECTIVE:
I ordered my troops to move forward but only fire when ordered. Arriving at the end of the village I saw on the green 200 rebels. When I came within 100 yards of them they filed off towards stone walls to our right. Light infantry chased them. I ordered my soldiers not to fire but to surround and disarm them. After several times ordering the men not to fire, some of the rebels jumping over the wall fired at the soldiers, wounding a man of the 10th. My horse was twice wounded. Shots were fired from a meetinghouse on our left. Without order or regularity the Light Infantry scattered fire despite repeated orders. It's needless to mention what happened after.
Your most obedient, humble servant John Pitcairn

* AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE:
15 minutes after we entered the tavern a man at the door said the British were within 112 miles. Officer Captain Parker had his drummer beat Arms. I paraded with Lexington Company between meetinghouse and tavern, then marched to the common near the Bedford road. We were ordered to load our guns. Some of the company said there's so few of us it's folly to stand. Capt Parker replied, "the first man who runs will be shot." Lexington Company broke off on the left wing and soon disappeared. No American was killed or wounded in that first British fire, unless maybe Captain Parker. None of Capt Parker's company fired on the British that morning or I'd have known it. I knew but 2 men of the company and I never heard anyone say Americans fired on British that morning at Lexington.
Robert Douglas