Boston 1775

For one last posting on the label “Breed’s Hill,” I’ll share some thoughts on whether that label matters. These days, it’s mostly useful ...

David Hsiung is the Dr. Charles R. and Shirley A. Knox Professor of History at Juniata College in Pennsylvania. For several years he’s bee...

Having shared his version of the Battle of Lexington and Concord , as quoted over the last two days , the new Cambridge postmaster Jona...

On Thursday, 29 January, I’ll contribute to the discourse about Col. Henry Knox ’s artillery trek with the talk on “‘A Fine Train of Artil...

As described in The Road to Concord , Boston’s South Writing School shared a fenced-in yard with the militia train’s newer gunhouse. In ...

On 20–21 November the Springfield Armory will co-host the 2025 Fall Conference of the Firearms Research Center , on the topic of “Sparking t...

The Battle of Lake George on 8 Sept 1755 probably involved fewer than 3,500 men, a little more on the British side than the French . Each c...

Just above its report on the Royal Navy store ship that caught fire in Boston harbor on 29 May 1773 ( quoted yesterday ), Richard Draper ’s...

While looking at the diary of Thomas Newell this spring, I was struck by this dramatic entry for 29 May 1773, 252 years ago today: King’s s...

The Journal of the American Revolution just published Tim Abbott’s article about Lt. Col. Thomas Williams, Jr. (1746–1776), of Stockbridge ...

Yesterday I quoted a description of the Rev. Jonathan Homer of Newton late in life, by the poet and doctor Oliver Wendell Holmes. Homer...

As we reach the cusp of the Sestercentennial year of 2025, I’m highlighting some articles I’ve written for the Journal of the American Rev...

As evening fell on 14 Dec 1774, New Hampshire militiamen finished their (first) raid on Fort William and Mary. They loaded over a hundre...

In 1770, New Hampshire governor John Wentworth appointed John Cochran (1730–1807) the official commander of Fort William and Mary in Port...

Before departing from the “Powder Alarm” entirely, I’ll draw on guest blogger Charles Bahne to address a pertinent question: Where was the ...

In August 1774, Gen. Thomas Gage asked William Brattle , general overseeing the Middlesex County militia , for an inventory of the gunpowd...

I’m participating in a series of free events at the start of September to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the “Powder Alarm” and the ...

On 2 Sept 1774, Gov. Nicholas Cooke reported that the Rhode Island government had finally acquiesced to Gen. George Washington ’s wish fo...

On 11 Aug 1775, Elisha Porter returned to Gen. George Washington ’s headquarters with a letter from Rhode Island governor Nicholas Cooke ,...