Borneman - American Spring: Lexington, Concord, and the Road to Revolution

The Admirals: Nimitz, Halsey, Leahy, and KingThe Five-Star Admirals Who Won the War at Sea

Iron Horses: Americas Race to Bring the Railroads West

Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America

The French and Indian War: Deciding the Fate of North America

14,000 Feet: A Celebration of Colorados Highest Mountains (with Todd Caudle)

1812: The War That Forged a Nation

Alaska: Saga of a Bold Land

A Climbing Guide to Colorados Fourteeners (with Lyndon J. Lampert)

Chapter 1. British North America, 1775,

Chapter 1. Boston and Vicinity, 1775,

Chapter 5. Salem and the Route of Colonel Leslies Raid,

Chapter 9. Routes to Concord,

Chapter 10. Lexington Green,

Chapter 11. Concord and North Bridge,

Chapter 13. Battle Road,

Chapter 18. Attack on Fort Ticonderoga,

Chapter 20. Battles of Grape and Noddles Islands,

Chapter 23. Battle of Bunker Hill,

P resent! Red-coated British regulars in precise formation level their muskets across the expanse of green grass. Fifty yards to their front, colonials in dark homespun wait with a mixture of trepidation and resolve. How has it come to this? Several late arrivals, muskets in hand, run, panting, to join the ragged line of locals. As they do so, a shrill command fills the morning air from behind the Redcoat ranks. Fire! A thundering retort rings out. The line of leveled muskets disappears in a cloud of white smoke, and the smell of gunpowder quickly wafts across the field.

Among the local militia, several men are down, blood oozing from their garments. Others are moving toward the shelter of adjacent buildings and a nearby stand of trees. But most of the militiamen stand their ground and dare to return firea cacophony of sporadic shots that crisscross the field in front of them. Into this void, the British regulars move forward at the quickstep with glistening bayonets fixed. In seconds, they will sweep the militiamen before them.

Then, from the crowd of spectators gathered around, come the sounds of cameras clicking and a chorus of oohs and aahs. And it is over. The regulars halt their advance, and a cheer goes up from both sides. The wounded effortlessly rise to their feet. Hats and caps are doffed on both sides, and handshakes all around are the order of the day.

O N THE THIRD M ONDAY OF every April, the people of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts celebrate. Around the towns of Lexington and Concord and in between, along what is called Battle Road, the sounds of fifes and drums and the rattle of reenactors muskets fill the spring air. Individuals in period costumes tell stories, march in military formations, and pose for photographs. Tour buses line the routes to Lexington Green and Concords North Bridge, and parking spots of any size are highly prized for miles in every direction. Down the road in Boston, the annual marathon is under way. The Patriots are a football team, Samuel Adams is a beer, and John Hancock is an insurance company.

The celebration is Patriots Day, and who now would not be a patriot? The outcome of what began in earnest that long-ago morning on Lexington Green seems preordained and inevitable. But in the spring of 1775, the central issueblind obedience to Great Britain, no matter how oppressive its rule, versus independence and the freedom to form a more representative governmentwas very much in doubt and the opposing sides not yet irrevocably defined. Who were the rebels? Who were the loyalists? Who were those caught in the middle? Liberty and independence were noble concepts, but how far across the populace would their bounty be spread?