tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post6967081963842876272..comments2024-03-28T04:26:30.557-05:00Comments on Boston 1775: The Real Samuel Adams and Real LifeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-5626488019487989012008-05-18T21:18:00.000-05:002008-05-18T21:18:00.000-05:00Thanks for your praise! And yes, Paul Revere’s Rid...Thanks for your praise! And yes, <I>Paul Revere’s Ride</I> does a very convincing job at portraying that day. It’s a good book to reread!J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-10844454401813009742008-05-18T15:29:00.000-05:002008-05-18T15:29:00.000-05:00Just another note of thanks for the exceptional qu...Just another note of thanks for the exceptional quality of your posts. I hope they will find their way into a book or a series of (print) articles.<BR/><BR/>Most of my understanding of the morning of the 19th comes from multiple readings of Fischer's "Paul Revere's Ride." I think one of the things he succeeds in conveying (and even discusses as an historiographic principle) is the overwhelmingly contingent nature of the chain of events during those few hours, and the psychological pressure everyone was operating under. Parker guessed that the Regulars were headed for the stores at Concord, but knowing that he couldn't realistically block them, he formed his men not in the way, but off to the side (the road to Concord bears to the left; his men were off the road to the British right). The British vanguard had to make a snap judgement without orders from the rear about whether to turn left or right; Parker had to make a snap judgement when commanded to disperse; no one was sure what orders the other side had; and everyone's heart was racing. The British could already see they were in a very dangerous spot, with the whole country alarmed and assembling around them. And the very fact that the Regulars lost all discipline after the first shot shows that they were on the breaking point already.Robert J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12937384579138400443noreply@blogger.com