{"id":5861,"date":"2016-07-08T07:18:40","date_gmt":"2016-07-08T11:18:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=5861"},"modified":"2016-07-20T06:32:02","modified_gmt":"2016-07-20T10:32:02","slug":"igniting-the-american-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=5861","title":{"rendered":"Igniting the American Revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Washington_Crossing_the_Delaware_by_Emanuel_Leutze\"

Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze<\/p><\/div>\n

The David Library of the American Revolution<\/a> is a history gem, just up the road from Washington Crossing (yes, THAT Washington Crossing) Historic Park in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. As a preamble to July 4, last Saturday historian Derek W. Beck<\/a> gave a lively talk about \u201cthe war before the war\u201d\u2014the goings-on in Massachusetts before the Declaration of Independence, before the formation of the Continental Army, and in the earliest days of George Washington\u2019s command.<\/p>\n

\"Paul

photo: Kathy, creative commons license<\/p><\/div>\n

Beck tries to present both sides of the conflict and in his efforts exposes certain myths that arise when historians wear partisan blinders. Would Paul Revere have ridden through the countryside hollering, \u201cThe British are coming, the British are coming!\u201d? Not likely, Beck says. If he did, he\u2019d be greeted by puzzled looks and scratching heads, because practically everyone considered themselves to be<\/em> British. They didn\u2019t necessarily want independence from England (yet); they just wanted to be treated like any other British citizen. But in our mythologized history, with the clarity of hindsight, we know who the enemy was, and we name him.<\/p>\n

Another example is \u201cthe shot heard round the world\u201d\u2014the first gunshot of the Revolution, traditionally fired at Lexington, Massachusetts. Who fired it? In the verse by Ralph Waldo Emerson,<\/p>\n

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
\nTheir flag to April\u2019s breeze unfurled,
\nHere once the embattled farmers stood,
\nAnd fired the shot heard round the world.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It was to the Americans\u2019 advantage to be the aggrieved parties, the victims, so preferred the view that the British fired first. However, Beck says, forensic evidence suggests that the very first shot wasn\u2019t fired by either an American militia member or a British soldier, but a bystander outside a pub. (Figures.)<\/p>\n

Beck considers it a plus that his two books (Igniting the American Revolution<\/em> and The War Before Independence<\/em>) are said to \u201cread like action novels,\u201d and he consigns the documentation that ordinarily fills history books to a thorough set of notes at the end. Such details are of vital interest to historians but make books much less interesting to those of us who merely want to gain a better understanding of our country\u2019s past and establish a stronger connection to it.<\/p>\n

\"Noble

The Noble Train of Artillery<\/p><\/div>\n

Another myth he debunked was the one in which poor General Henry Knox struggled through heavy snows with the cannon from Fort Ticonderoga (\u201cthe noble train of artillery\u201d). Histories (and many artworks) commemorating this episode depict them being pulled by oxen. Indeed, that was Knox\u2019s plan. However, the farmer who owned the oxen so inflated their price, that at the last minute, he used horses instead, and he wrote about the change in his diary at the time.<\/p>\n

Beck\u2019s insights were informative, entertaining, and memorable, just as history ought to be!<\/p>\n