Military

Northern Vermont played a pivotal role in the American Revolution. While the larger campaigns such as the Taking of Fort Ticonderoga, the Quebec Invasion of 1775 and The Battle of Valcour Island have received appropriate historical attention, there were other vital actions in the area as well.

Benedict Arnold and Benjamin Franklin spent significant time in the Champlain Valley. George Washington kept a keen eye on events in the region as raiding parties descended upon numerous Vermont communities. The isolated waters of Missisquoi Bay were as vital as any waterway in America, and the Lake Champlain islands were some of the most strategic territory in the thirteen colonies.

Author and local historian Jason Barney exposes the details and explores how small towns were impacted by invading British armies from Quebec.

As an isolated island outpost, Martha's Vineyard faced some unique challenges during the American Revolution. Neutrality was maintained at the start of the war due to the impact of the British regulations on the fishing and whaling industries. While political expediency may have dominated the day, Vineyard Patriots protected their homeland against the Royal Navy and contributed to the revolutionary effort against marauding British redcoats. In 1778, two key events--one involving three young women and the second an armada of forty naval ships--crystalized the opinion of Vineyarders that they should no longer remain neutral to British incursions on the Island and, more broadly, on American soil. Join local author Tom Dresser as he reveals the unheralded contributions of islanders to the fight for freedom.

The Revolutionary War is filled with stories of bravery, but many of its heroes have remained unknown. Major Philip Ulmer, captain of the gunboat Spitfire," is one of those heroes. He first enlisted as a sergeant in the Massachusetts militia in 1775 and rose through the ranks through his exemplary leadership, courage and devotion to duty. He was involved in almost every major event in the North, including the Battle of Bunker Hill, the Siege of Boston, the Battle of Lake Champlain, the Penobscot Expedition and the battles at Trenton, Princeton and Saratoga. He served under the command of many well-known generals, including Washington, Lafayette, Arnold, Gates and Knox. After the war, Ulmer forged a business partnership with Knox in Lincolnville, Maine, and was an original founder of that town. He answered the call of duty again during the War of 1812 as an intelligence officer with the local militia defending Penobscot Bay. Discover this remarkable history of a long-overshadowed American hero."

On the night of April 18, 1775, Paul Revere arrived at the parsonage of Reverend Jonas Clarke to deliver a warning to its occupants, including Samuel Adams and John Hancock. The following morning brought the first shots of the American Revolution to a community Clarke inspired to face such a harsh reality. He called on his parish to oppose imperial legislation for years leading up to the war. And as Lexington's minister for half a century, he was central to political, civic and social life there until his death in 1805. Historian Richard P. Kollen reveals the often overlooked story of the man who helped shape the spirit of the American Revolution.

Charlotte was a hotbed of Revolutionary activity well before the fervency of revolt reached its boiling point in New England. Considered a wild frontier region at the time, Mecklenburg County welcomed the Reverend Alexander Craighead with ready hands for battle. Craighead's fiery rhetoric inspired the people of the region to action. What resulted was the creation of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, the first such document in the nation, and although the county had less than 3 percent of the colony's population, its Patriots accounted for over one-quarter of North Carolina's Revolutionary troops. Join author Richard P. Plumer as he reveals how the Queen City played an integral role in the formation of a proud and free America.

Espionage played a vital role during the American Revolution in Rhode Island. The British and Americans each employed spies to discover the secrets, plans and positions of their enemy. Continental navy lieutenant John Trevett dressed as an ordinary sailor, grew out his beard and went from tavern to tavern in Newport gathering intelligence. Metcalf Bowler became a traitor on the order of Benedict Arnold, as he spied for the British while serving as a Patriot leader in Providence. Disguised as a peddler, Ann Bates spied for the British during the Rhode Island Campaign. When caught, one spy paid with his life, while others suffered in jail. Author Christian M. McBurney, for the first time, unravels the world of spies and covert operations in Rhode Island during the Revolutionary War.

A gripping account of General Nicholas Herkimer's valiant defeat of British forces in the heart of New York's Mohawk Valley--and a striking account of the days before and after that fateful day in August 1777.

During the critical Battle of Oriskany in August 1777, Continental forces led by General Nicholas Herkimer defeated the British army under St. Leger in the heart of New York's Mohawk Valley. It was a hard-won victory, but he and his brave troops prevented the British from splitting the colonies in two. Although they did not succeed in relieving the British siege of Fort Stanwix, Herkimer's citizen-soldiers turned back the British and protected Washington's northern flank from attack. The Continental army survived to fight the decisive Battle of Saratoga the next month. Herkimer was mortally wounded, but his heroism and leadership firmly placed him in the pantheon of Revolutionary War heroes. Paul Boehlert presents a gripping account of the events before, during and after this critical battle.

This book chronicles the history of the HMS Gaspee, a sloop in the British Royal Navy that was sent to patrol the waters of Narragansett Bay in 1772.

The Gaspee cracked down on smugglers and enforced British customs regulation, particularly the Stamp Act. The ship and her captain, William Duddington, were quickly hated by colonists for their campaign of brutality, harassment, and arbitrary enforcement. When the Gaspee ran around in shallow waters, while in pursuit of a colonist merchant ship, they took immediate action. The colonists, led by John Brown and other local notables, burned Gaspee and wounded her captain. This act of revolt preceded the Boston Tea Party by 18 months.