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Copyright © 2015 by Derek W. Beck
Cover and internal design © 2015 by Sourcebooks, Inc.
Cover designed by The Book Designers
Cover image © The Battle of Bunker’s Hill, 17th June 1775, c.1815–31 (oil on canvas),
Trumbull, John (1756–1843)/Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, USA/Gift
of Howland S. Warren/Bridgeman Images
Colonial America 1775 on page 2 © Rick Britton
Map illustrations on pages 155, 210 by Janie Javier
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Beck, Derek W.
Igniting the American Revolution : 1773–1775 / Derek W. Beck.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
(hardcover : alk. paper) 1. United States—History—Revolution, 1775–1783—Causes.
I. Title.
E210.B39 2015
973.3—dc23
2015016941
Printed and bound in the United States of America.
WOZ 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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To my dear wife Vicky
You have sacrificed much in supporting this book.
Thank you.
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Contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgments ix
Part 1: Ratcheting Tensions (1773 to 1774) 1
Chapter 1: Dawn of an Epoch 3
Chapter 2: Coercive Measures 18
Chapter 3: An Army from Across the Sea 33
Chapter 4: An Unstable Peace 50
Part 2: Taking Up Arms (January to Mid- May 1775) 71
Chapter 5: A Disquieting Thaw 73
Chapter 6: Many Preparations 98
Chapter 7: The Die Is Cast 110
Chapter 8: The Rending of an Empire 145
Chapter 9: A Countryside Unleashed 177
Chapter 10: An Emboldened People 217
Chapter 11: The Spreading Flames of Rebellion 247
Epilogue 271
Abbreviations 273
Appendixes 275
Notes 357
Bibliography 443
Index 464
About the Author 468
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Preface
This volume covers the crucial events between 1773 and 1775 that
set in motion what would ultimately become the American War for
Independence. In writing on this subject as an American, and one who
has served in the U.S. Air Force, I am predisposed like all American
historians toward a pro- American bias. Yet I have strived to paint the
events in this book with accuracy and objectivity, avoiding such bias to
the best of my ability. One consequence of this is that I have generally
avoided the word patriot, even though it is today a commonly used term
in other history books to describe the colonists.
While we can call the Americans patriots, can we not also call the
British patriots? For what is a patriot, in the true sense of the word, but
a lover of one’s country? The British believed they were fighting a civil
war, and were fighting to maintain— and for the love of— their empire.
The Americans were equally fighting for the love of a land they under-
stood and appreciated in a very different way than their British brethren
across the sea. Were they not all patriots in their own right?
The logical result of this attempt at an unbiased approach is that in
some cases throughout the book, the British may appear to be the “good
guys” and the Americans the “bad guys”. At other times, the British
may seem like “tyrants”, just as many American stories love to paint
them. Rather than attempting to steer readers one way or another, I
have worked to embrace these shades of gray and present as real and
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viii | i GNiTiNG THE AMERi CAN REvOLUTi ON
authentic a portrait as possible based on the extensive research I have
conducted of both sides. America’s Founding Fathers were not all super-
heroes. Nor were the British all murderous oppressors. They were all real
people, imperfect people— like the rest of us.
My intent and my hope is that this book provides an honest look at
the events that began the Revolution, warts and all. Some readers may
prefer to adhere to the perspective of older history books that paint the
Americans as superheroes. These readers may not like this more honest
perspective and may even call me an Anglophile. But I think my con-
tinued honorable service in the modern American military refutes any
such claims. Rather, I would prefer to be called a lover of truth. (Sadly,
I can find no word for this: veritophile?) Truth is where real history is
to be found.
Author’s Note: This volume employs “logical quotations”, meaning
the only punctuation appearing inside quotation marks is also in that
position in the original as well. So, a quotation ending with a comma
inside the quotation marks, such as “quotation,” indicates the comma
was there in the original, while one with the comma outside the quota-
tion marks, such as “quotation”, indicates the comma is not part of the
original. This style is observed for emphasis or scare quotes as well. See
the bibliography for more.
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Acknowledgments
First, thank you to two of my biggest supporters of this project, my
mother, Katherine Esber, and my father, (Maurice) Mo Beck, who have
both given years of encouragement—e ven after I quit a successful full-
time career in the Active Duty U.S. Air Force to pursue writing this.
I wish to express my sincere gratitude to my longtime friend Jonathan
Varoli for introducing me to his sibling literary agent and thus getting
this whole thing off the ground. I also wish to express equally sincere
gratitude to my literary agents, Doug Grad and Jacqueline Varoli Grace,
for becoming champions of the book and exhibiting great patience with
my many questions and concerns throughout the publication process.
And last but certainly not least, I am so very thankful to my editor,
Stephanie Bowen of Sourcebooks, for taking a chance on this first-t ime
author, and for her great passion for Revolutionary Boston, which has
made our partnership so refreshing and enjoyable. Thank you all sin-
cerely for believing in this book and making it a reality.
Just as important to the success of this book are my many friends
and colleagues who helped with the research along the way, and I thank
them all. In particular, my trusted colleague and avid supporter Dr.
Samuel A. Forman kindly read through my manuscript and offered
many useful suggestions, and has long been a source of encouragement
for the project. John L. Bell of the blog Boston 1775 has also been a
long time supporter. He patiently responded to all of my many queries
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x | i GNiTiNG THE AMERi CAN REvOLUTi ON
on various minutiae during the research process and even helped to
spread the word of my project on his popular blog. Todd Andrlik gave
me frequent encouragement as well. He pushed to have my agents con-
tact Sourcebooks and has also published several of my articles in his
Journal of the American Revolution. And Benjamin Smith and David
Paul Reuwer of the Patriots of the American Revolution magazine were
the first to ever publish any of my historical writings. Lora Innes also
was a source of encouragement and shared advice on branding and
all things social media. And Thomas Fleming read my manuscript at
two different stages, provided feedback and encouragement, and kindly
offered an endorsement.
Several friends also helped me in random ways. David and Sarah
Garner let me crash at their Boston home when I needed to research
there, and Christophe and Souri Gaillard let me crash at theirs when
I needed to research at the Clements Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Brian Raimondi shared his access to the University of California,
Los Angeles’s (UCLA) digital databases for my research. David Silver
donated a rare book on Ticonderoga to help aid my research (and it
now appears in the bibliography, by A. French). Sandro Catanzaro ran
out and bought me copies of the Boston Globe and shipped them to me
when they noted my research on Dr. Joseph Warren.
I am also much indebted to the many people at the 614th Air
Operations Center and 9th Space Operations Squadron at Vandenberg
Air Force Base, California (where I serve as an Air Force Reservist), as
well as the many folks at the American Flyers flight school in Santa
Monica (where I was a pilot instructor), all of whom allowed me tre-
mendous flexibility to write and research this book while at the same
time keeping me gainfully employed.
Authors and seamen Rif Winfield and John Harland shared many
email discussions with me on various naval matters. Judy Anderson
shared much information on Marblehead, Massachusetts. Peter Ansoff,
former president of the North American Vexillological Association
(NAVA), helped me decipher flags and their use. Sean Rich of Tortuga
Trading gave me advice on colonial- era weaponry. My friend and fellow
history enthusiast Joyce Kelly of the Watertown Historical Society has
long encouraged the project. William M. Welsch has corresponded
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