In the American colonies of the 1770s, people were fed up with British laws. Local farmers and tradesmen secretly formed a militia. In 1775, when the British marched into Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, the Americans were ready. From that first battle to the final showdown at Yorktown, the Americans fought against tremendous odds. The British army was bigger and better trained. Food and guns were scarce. But George Washington’s ragged army fought for–and won–the freedom and independence we cherish to this day.Illustrated with black-and-white photographs, the tale of our country's fight for independence is brought to life in fast-moving, dramatic detail.

From one of our most acclaimed and original colonial historians, a groundbreaking book tracing the critical "long year" of 1774 and the revolutionary change that took place from the Boston Tea Party and the First Continental Congress to the Battles of Lexington and Concord. A WALL STREET JOURNAL BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR In this masterly work of history, the culmination of more than four decades of research and thought, Mary Beth Norton looks at the sixteen months leading up to the clashes at Lexington and Concord in mid-April 1775. This was the critical, and often overlooked, period when colonists traditionally loyal to King George III began their discordant “discussions” that led them to their acceptance of the inevitability of war against the British Empire. Drawing extensively on pamphlets, newspapers, and personal correspondence, Norton reconstructs colonial political discourse as it took place throughout 1774. Late in the year, conservatives mounted a vigorous campaign criticizing the First Continental Congress. But by then it was too late. In early 1775, colonial governors informed officials in London that they were unable to thwart the increasing power of local committees and their allied provincial congresses. Although the Declaration of Independence would not be formally adopted until July 1776, Americans had in effect “declared independence ” even before the outbreak of war in April 1775 by obeying the decrees of the provincial governments they had elected rather than colonial officials appointed by the king. Norton captures the tension and drama of this pivotal year and foundational moment in American history and brings it to life as no other historian has done before.

Depicts the outbreak of the American Revolution at Lexington in 1775 through stories and illustrations.

This startling new history of the Revolutionary War, told for the first time from the perspective of both the colonists and the colonizers, demonstrates that for the Americans, it was a war of rebellion, for the British, it became their Vietnam.

A narrative analysis of the complex evolution of the Continental Army, with the lineages of the 177 individual units that comprised the Army, and fourteen charts depicting regimental organization.

Political History of Americas Wars is the first reference work to explore the legislative, social, and policy aspects of Americas major wars, rebellions, and insurrections. This new volume weaves together important primary source documents, informative biographies, and in-depth essays to provide coverage of the political antecedents, events, and consequences of Americas wars, from the American Revolution to Operation Iraqi Freedom. This user-friendly online resource features: chronological chapters on each of Americas approximately fifty wars, rebellions, and insurrections; in-depth essays discussing Americas colonial period and the Indian Wars, the imperialist era of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the modern era of America as global policeman, and more; primary source documents and materials on relevant legislation and congressional resolutions, executive orders, proclamations, court cases, and constitutional amendments; and vital coverage of war-time events and trends including elections and political parties, public opinion, propaganda, media coverage, foreign relations, diplomacy, and treaties and alliances.

Seymour Reit re-creates the true story of Will Knox, a nineteen-year-old boy who undertook the daring and dangerous task of transporting 183 cannons from New York's Fort Ticonderoga to Boston--in the dead of winter--to help George Washington win an important battle.