Greenwalt Phillip S. - A single blow: the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the beginning of the American Revolution

T HE B ATTLES OF L EXINGTON AND C ONCORD AND THE B EGINNING OF THE A MERICAN R EVOLUTION

A PRIL 19, 1775

by Phillip S. Greenwalt and Robert Orrison

H. R. Gordon, series editor

Phillip S. Greenwalt and Robert Orrison,

Emerging Revolutionary War Series co-founders

The Emerging Revolutionary War Series

offers compelling, easy-to-read overviews of some of the Revolutionary Wars most important battles and stories.

Other titles in the Emerging Revolutionary War Series include:

Victory or Death: The Battles of Trenton and Princeton, December 25, 1776-January 3, 1777

by Mark Maloy

For a complete list of titles in the Emerging Revolutionary War Series, visit www.emergingrevolutionarywar.org

Also by Phillip S. Greenwalt and Robert Orrison, Emerging Revolutionary War co-founders, include:

Calamity in Carolina: The Battles of Averasboro and Bentonville, March 1865

by Daniel T. Davis and Phillip S. Greenwalt

Bloody Autumn: The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864

by Daniel T. Davis and Phillip S. Greenwalt

Hurricane From the Heavens: The Battle of Cold Harbor, May 26-June 5, 1864

by Daniel T. Davis and Phillip S. Greenwalt

A Want of Vigilance: The Bristoe Station Campaign, October 9-19, 1863

by Bill Backus and Robert Orrison

Last Road North: A Guide to the Gettysburg Campaign, 1863

by Robert Orrison and Daniel Welch

T HE B ATTLES OF L EXINGTON AND C ONCORD AND THE B EGINNING OF THE A MERICAN R EVOLUTION

A PRIL 19, 1775

by Phillip S. Greenwalt and Robert Orrison

Savas Beatie

California

2018 by Phillip S. Greenwalt and Robert Orrison

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.

First edition, first printing

ISBN-13 (paperback): 978-1-61121-379-9

ISBN-13 (ebook): 978-1-61121-380-5

ISBN-13 (mobi): 978-1-61121-380-5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Greenwalt, Phillip S., author. | Orrison, Robert, author.

Title: A Single Blow : the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Beginning of the American Revolution / by Phillip S. Greenwalt and Robert Orrison.

Description: First edition. | El Dorado Hills, California : Savas Beatie, 2017. | Series: Emerging Revolutionary War series

Identifiers: LCCN 2017017071| ISBN 9781611213799 (pbk) | ISBN 9781611213805 (ebk.)

Subjects: LCSH: Lexington, Battle of, Lexington, Mass., 1775. | Concord, Battle of, Concord, Mass., 1775.

Classification: LCC E241.L6 G74 2017 | DDC 973.3/311--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017017071

Published by

Savas Beatie LLC

989 Governor Drive, Suite 102

El Dorado Hills, California 95762

Phone: 916-941-6896

Email:

Web: www.savasbeatie.com

Savas Beatie titles are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the United States by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more details, please contact Special Sales, P.O. Box 4527, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762, or you may e-mail us at for additional information.

Dedicated to the memory of the men and women who forever changed America on April 19, 1775.

Maps by Hal Jespersen

Driving Tour

Boston 1775

Battle of Lexington

Battle of Concord

Retreat from Concord

We would first like to thank Chris Mackowski and Kris White for supporting our venture into the American Revolution and expanding the Emerging universe. They have been supportive and provided a lot of guidance throughout the process. Ted Savas and his staff at Savas Beatie are excellent and have lent their support of this project from its inception. When we decided to branch out into the American Revolution we all agreed that we needed Hal Jespersen to do the maps. Hal provides wonderful maps and is always the consummate professional. Hannah Gordon, serving as editor of the Emerging Revolutionary War Series did a wonderful job, and we look forward to continuing working with her on future projects.

When we decided that the first book of the series should be also the first event of the American Revolution, we knew we had to make connections in the Boston area to assist us. Though we had visited Boston before and walked Lexington and Concord, we were now approaching it from a different angle. We knew we had the interest and love for the topic, but we wanted to make sure we let the local organizations and experts know that this project was not just another history of the events in April 1775. Our intent was to get people to the sites, museums, parks and promote preservation.

Several people in Massachusetts made this book a pleasure to work on. Rich Gillespie, who grew up in the area of Lexington, has been a friend on our Civil War ventures but proved invaluable in the writing on Lexington and Concord. Rich was our gateway to meet some exceptional people. Jayne Gordon was amazing in showing us around Concord and introducing me to some wonderful people and places. She gave up a lot of her time to assist us and was a wonderful host. Jayne introduced us to Bob Morris, the president of the Friends of Minute Man National Historical Park. Bob took the time to show us all the great work the park and the Friends collaborated on with the Parkers Revenge site and how the group supports the parks mission and preservation projects. We are also very indebted to historian and author J. L. Bell. His blog Boston 1775 is one of the most extensive history blogs available. Very few know more about Boston and the events leading up to Lexington and Concord. We appreciate his support and assistance with our project.

We also got great help from our friends. Bert Dunkerly provided insight into how to approach writing about the 18th century and a great appendix. Marika Solhan provided not just photos but also great accommodations on various research trips to Boston and served as a good tour guide of Fenway. Kate Bitely took time out of her schedule to read the rough draft of our manuscript and made the editing process a lot easier.

For anyone we may have left out, please know it was not on purpose and we appreciate the support of all our colleagues, family, and friends.

From Phill:

At three years old, my interest in American history was stoked, and that spark is a continued credit to my mother and father. They were the ones who took me to the historical sites and whetted my appetite to discover more. Thank you both and I look forward to tromping around more battlefields and historic sites in the future. To the family and friends who understand my intense interest in American history and willingly indulge me in conversations or are there with a helping suggestion or the bending of an ear; thank you and you have helped me immeasurably.