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 understood 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 authentic a portrait as possible based on the extensive research I have conducted of both sides. America’s Founding Fathers were not all superheroes. 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 continued 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 quotation 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.