Interested in learning some more of the real history behind the novel? Check out the information and links below.
Table of contents
Boston
In the years following the French and Indian War (also known as the Seven Years War) and leading up to the American Revolution, Boston was the place to be – if you were protesting the new Acts passed by Parliament and arguing for colonial rights, anyway. Too much happened in those twelve years to cover here, so check out some of the highlights in the links below, but two things happened that shaped Whitley greatly: mobs and the Boston Massacre Orations.
Boston, like the rest of the colonies, was a city divided between loyalty to the King and Parliament and a growing push for the colonies to have the same rights as those who lived in England. As tensions increased between these groups, violence often broke out, and mobs were a common occurrence. In response to the Stamp Act, Bostonians destroyed the home of Governor Thomas Hutchinson, and mobs were seen again in response to merchants breaking the non-importation agreement (like the one that led to Christopher Seider’s death), on the night of the Boston Massacre, in response to the Tea Act, and in the tarring and feathering of John Malcolm in January 1774.
Every year on the anniversary of the Boston Massacre, from 1771-1783, a speech was given to commemorate the event, keeping the outrage at what had happened alive in the minds of the people. After each oration was publicly given, the speeches were printed in local newspapers and distributed far and wide. On the first anniversary of the massacre, Paul Revere displayed drawings of Kit Seider’s ghost, the soldiers who had fired the shots, and “a woman symbolizing America who was pointing to the tragedy” (Founding Martyr by Christian Di Spigna, p. 113). Aside from Dr. Warren, who gave two of the first five orations, other speakers included Dr. Benjamin Church (who later spied for the British) and John Hancock. Dr. Warren’s 1775 oration was given in Old South Meeting House and was attended not only by Bostonians but also some British officers.
Dr. Warren gave his speech dramatically dressed in a toga. As he finished speaking, shouts of “fie” (which sounded like “fire”) and the return of a British regiment, which had been out on a brief march, sent panic through the gathered listeners. Many of the Patriot leaders thought they were about to be arrested. Order was restored, but it highlighted just how high tensions were in Boston. It was only a little over a month later that the first shots of the war were fired on Lexington Green.
The last Boston Massacre Oration was given in 1783. After the end of the American Revolution, this commemoration was replaced with July 4th celebrations.
For more on Dr. Warren, I highly recommend you read Founding Martyr by Christian Di Spigna and check out the link below for Dr. Warren’s full 1775 Massacre Oration. In the links below, if you look into the Stamp Act, I recommend you use the “topic list” on the Massachusetts Historical Society’s website for more of the acts and other happenings in Boston.
The First Shots
The opening day of the American Revolution was chaotic, to say the least. Beginning with Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Dr. Samuel Prescott warning the countryside on April 18 and ending with Patriot militias surrounding Boston, these 24 hours changed the course of history.
April 18, 1775
- 8:00 pm: After suspicious movements by British soldiers all day, Dr. Warren sends William Dawes across Boston Neck to sound the alarm.
- 10:30 pm: Paul Revere leaves Boston over the Charles River. A little before Revere leaves, Robert Newman hangs two lanterns in Old North Church to alert riders in Charlestown to start spreading the word.
- 11:00 pm: The British begin to cross the Charles River into Charlestown.
April 19, 1775
- 12:30 am: Revere and Dawes arrive in Lexington about the same time to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock to flee.
- 1:00 am: Revere is captured by a British patrol.
- 1:30 am: Dr. Samuel Prescott arrives in Concord, sounding the alarm.
- 2:00 am: British troops leave Charlestown and begin marching toward Concord.
- 2:30 am: Revere is released and walks back to Lexington.
- 4:30 am: Just before the first shots are fired, Revere reaches Lexington only to find Hancock and Adams haven’t left yet because Hancock is determined to fight. Adams and Revere finally convince Hancock to leave. Word reaches Lexington that the British are approaching, and the militia gathers on Lexington Green.
- 5:00 am: The first shots of the war are fired.
- 7:00 am: The British arrive in Concord where militias have been gathering for hours.
- 8:00 am: Dr. Warren slips out of Boston (accompanied by my fictional character Whitley) headed for Lexington
- 9:30 am: Battle at the North Bridge, Concord
- 12:00 pm: The British start back toward Lexington, harassed by American militia as they march.
- 1:45 pm: Parker’s Revenge
- 3:00 pm: General William Heath and Dr. Warren (and Whitley) reach Lexington. British reinforcements arrive in Lexington lead by Earl Percy.
- 4:30 pm: The British reach Menotomy (present day Arlington), where the bloodiest fighting of the day takes place.
- 7:30 pm: The British cross the neck into Charlestown, where the cannons from their ships can protect them.
Bunker Hill
When word reached the Patriot forces besieging Boston that the British were going to take Dorchester Heights and Bunker Hill on June 18, they quickly took action.
On the night of June 16, some 1,200 men, under the command of Colonel William Prescott, set out from Cambridge for Charlestown. They were accompanied by an engineer, Lt. Colonel Richard Gridley, and General Israel Putnam. The Committee of Safety had instructed them to fortify Bunker Hill, which already had the beginnings of a fortification on it, courtesy of the British, but instead they proceeded to Breed’s Hill – much closer to Boston and the British ships guarding the city – and built their fortification there. Although the battle the following day would be fought on Breed’s Hill, it would be forever known as the Battle of Bunker Hill.
When morning broke, the British ships began to fire on the American position. Few American reinforcements arrived, the most notable of which were Colonel John Stark and Dr. Joseph Warren. In the afternoon, British forces landed in Charlestown, burned the town to deprive the American sharpshooters of cover and began their advance. Disorganized and unprepared for battle as the American forces were, they forced the British to fall back twice before their positions were overrun and they were forced to retreat, the deadliest part of the day for the American forces.
In the course of the fighting, British General William Howe lost every member of his staff to death or injury, British Major Pitcairn was killed, and the British suffered 1,054 casualties to death or wounds. The American only suffered 115 dead and 305 wounded. During the retreat, Dr. Warren, who had been commissioned a major general only days before and had been fighting under Colonel Prescott as a volunteer, was killed by a shot just under his left eye.
If you are interested in a more detailed look at Bunker Hill – and the years leading up to it – I highly recommend reading Nathaniel Philbrick’s Bunker Hill: A City, A Siege, A Revolution.
Fort Ticonderoga
During the French and Indian War, Fort Ticonderoga was a French stronghold, then called Fort Carillon. It was believed to be the “key to the continent” – whoever could hold the fort, could control the North American continent. In 1758, British and colonial forces attacked the fort, but failed to take it as the French were too well entrenched. George Howe, the older brother of Richard and William Howe, who would become the leading admiral and general, respectively, in the early years of the American Revolution, died during this attack. The following year, the French abandoned Fort Carillon, but not before blowing up the eastern half of the fort. The British took possession and renamed it Fort Ticonderoga.
©Tyler Makela 2024
By the time of the American Revolution, the fort had fallen into great disrepair and was manned by less than 50 British soldiers, many of whom were old or ill. Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold easily took the fort, with only one British soldier injured. Both men claimed credit, putting out completing versions of the capture. Later that same month (May 1775), Allen ceded control of the fort to Arnold. Control then passed to Colonel Hinman and finally Generals Schuyler and Montgomery.
A garrison was left behind at the fort when the campaign to take Quebec began, and in the fall of 1775, Henry Knox arrived to take the cannons from Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point down to Cambridge to help drive the British out of Boston.
The Quebec Campaign
©Tyler Makela 2024
Looking back now, the campaign to take Quebec (which to the people of the day would have been synonymous with Canada) seems to have been folly. So, why invade Canada in the first place? Simply put, it was hoped the inhabitants of Canada, who had been under French rule just a decade before and many of whom were Catholic French Canadians, would join the Americans in riding themselves of British rule. However, the Canadians had been treated quite well after the French and Indian War, allowed to live life more or less as they had under French rule. The Americans also hoped to close off Canada as an invasion route for the British, and until the Battle of Saratoga, much of the time and energy of the Continental Army (and the British Army) were focused on this northern invasion route. However, the Americans did not treat the Canadians well as they pushed toward Quebec and couldn’t pay with anything other than worthless Continental script, which alienated much of the population and support they might have had. The American army was also poorly supplied, poorly equipped, and undermanned, not to mention beset by diseases. By the time the Congressional Commissioners arrived in Montreal in the spring of 1776, it was too late to salvage the campaign.
Not seen through Whitley’s eyes is the trek that Arnold and his army made north through the wilderness of Maine. The map Arnold had of the Kennebec River was inaccurate – made so purposely so as to mislead anyone who tried to use that route – turning what he thought would be a quick march into a slog through uncharted, inhospitable territory. The boats that had been commissioned were made from green wood, which meant the seams split and the boats warped. On top of that, the boats were far too heavy for easy portaging – and the boats had to be carried often because the river was low. In a canoe, Arnold often paddled up and down the river, encouraging his exhausted, ill, and starving troops to continue on. Many kept journals on the march, and the links to the journals of Dr. Senter, John Joseph Henry, and Henry Dearborn can be found below.
After the failed attack on Quebec at the end of December 1775, which resulted in the death of General Montgomery, the ill American army continued to besiege the city until British reinforcements arrived in May 1776, forcing the Americans to retreat with what they could carry, leaving much of their baggage and the sick and wounded behind. By June 1776, the Americans had fully retreated from Canada and moved south to build of the defenses of Fort Ticonderoga to hold off a British attack.