The conflict that took place in and around boston, massachusetts prior to the declaration of independence. Tonight, we are delighted to have derek back presenting the war of independence, 17 751776. Easily set a passion for military history which inspired him to start a career in the air force. In served as an officer and 2005, he earned a science degree from m. I. T. Where he fell in love with bostons revolutionary past. He later transitioned to the air force reserve and still remains quite active, presently holding the rank of major. His book received an Honorable Mention here in april. Wassecond book, the sequel released in may. I would now like to welcome derek to the lectern. [applause] thank you all for coming. Its an honor to be here come a very Historic Site and its cool to give a historic lecture at a i have twote stop books that tell the story of the entire boston campaign. The first covers from the start of the war, which i describe as the start of the action at the Boston Tea Party and then the first shots are fired and it ends with the siege of boston just beginning. And books are standalone can be read independently, but the two together tell the entire boston campaign. About who i amre and the reason behind this. Details i is an air force base and started working on short films on the weekend and took some courses at the new york film academy. I wanted to focus on writing and storytelling so i had material to shoot. I became interested in revolutionary history and at that would make a great movie. I started a film script about the start of the war. Thats the outline that became these books. I was discovering a lot of details that could not be covered in the film and i was going through some of the source material and there was a lot of underrepresentation on the british side and i was trying to tell the story from both sides, so i felt i had to turn it into a book which became two books. Why history . Question i hear a lot. History is boring and i think thats wrong. I think if you think its boring, you are not reading the right looks because history is exciting. There in thebson there arethe fact is people shooting at each other and if you could see these events, your heart would be racing. These should not be boring. Its like an action event. It happened in the past but it should be a very exciting thing and that was my approach. Wayproach it in a cinematic and i want to capture that excitement. Academic reasons why study history is so that you understand your culture, where you came from, that the Cultural Roots of everything we do in this society. The other reason is hopefully we learn from the past. A lot of times we dont learn from the past but hopefully we can take something from the past and not make those same mistakes. Approaches tont make that happen and you can read them there, but one of the on realgs is oka singh people. It makes them real. George washington was the hero of the revolution, but hes not a superhero. He has flaws. If you get to read his letters and see his perspective, he was doubting his perspective quite a bit. Seeing the american side and the a real valuegives and relatable understanding to the british. A roboticot merely enemy. They have logic behind their decisionmaking. Im in the air force and work with british officers today and they seem to be good chaps. Why is that i would learn that they were the bad guys and the americans were the good guys . Thats the other approach. I avoid the word patriot. Patriot means lover of ones country. The british were fighting for their empire and their country. They were patriots in their eyes. Sometimes the good guys look like the bad guys and sometimes the bad guys look like the good guys. I portrayed as if you are a journalist following along, you can decide who is the good guys and who is the bad guys. I dont make that decision for you. This one is a little different most history books are bogged down with details. In informationap so we have to theorize about these events. Thehave to explain perspective and that bogs down the story. Theoryth my prevailing based on the evidence and i defend it in the back. All of those things you need as a historian, my and notes are beefed up and i have more appendices in my books and theres this historic information that historians love but the body of the book reads like a narrative. They compare it to reading and action novel. I want you to enjoy the action and the events and all of the stuff that slows down most history books does not need to be in the body. Book, and im going to recap the first book to catch you up. It starts with the Boston Tea Party and the ultimate result is the british tried to force austin to pay back the tea and to pay back boston the tfa pass a series of laws. That closes down the port, putting a ton of people out of localnd creating a economic depression. The second is the massachusetts Government Act that restricts freedom of assembly and Something Like this event right now, getting together and talking about things the government hasnt sanctioned was not allowed. The royalke away was governor that was a civilian and american war and is now replaced with general thomas age of the first royal governor thats a military governor from massachusetts. Ofs the commanderinchief all British Forces in north america. End of party is the 1773. The british call them coercive act. In america, we call them the intolerable act. They sent troops to boston and previously, the renault troops since the boston massacre. The result was that they kick the troops out and now they have come back and turns out one out soldierin boston is a or officer. You have a lot of people who are ticked off and they have nothing to do. If you go to boston now, its hard to tell because it was a peninsula than and they filled in the mud flats and created boston as it is. Trapped, out of work and a lot of time on your hands. You have soldiers reminding you every day that you are in this predicament because of overbearing parliamentary decisions. Theres a lot of brawls that happen and escalation occurs within and outside boston, so the new royal governor and british general weapons outside of boston and concorde. He will take a preventive action to seize those weapons to prevent the americans from uprising against his forces in boston. The leader of the revolution at this point is dr. Joseph warned. He is a known today and that is too bad. He is my focus character for the first part of this book and into the second book. He is the guy that should be remembered. , know names we now these men that you know from boston, there outside of boston. They are not in boston. Dr. Joseph warrren is in boston and he is controlling the protests, not quite a revolution, but the reaction to british oppression in boston. After the first shots, hancock and the two atoms go to philadelphia for the Continental Congress and worn as the guy warren of the guy left in charge. Warren is the guy that sends these two men, when he sees the british mustering at boston comments preparing to go to concorde to seize these weapons, at first he to syndication throughout the time that this may be happening. Left to the man on the go to lexington and worn hancock. Later there are indications that warren sees the troops mustering on boston commons and he sends the man on the right and an urgent ride to lexington and that man is famous, is the famous actor jack black. [laughter] i think he looks the same. Paul revere. Paul revere rides out and meets up and they ride to concorde going house to house yelling, we all know he says, the americans are coming. It is that the americans are coming. Youre confused. If i can to your house in the middle of the night, not on your door and said the americans were coming and you give me disabled. If you a grab it and aim it at me. Same with paul revere. He did not go to those houses and to the british are coming because they are all british. They are all british americans and the big issue, the big reason why there is this issue with american colonies and britain is because the american colonies want to be treated more like british. They feel like they are secondclass citizens. It is not about taxation. The whole taxation with representation focused on the representation parts. They are secondclass citizens and they dont have any representation and they see how they are treated in many different ways, the way that George Washington complained that he cannot have any sort of position in the government of virginia because he was americanborn. The lots of indications that people were fed up. They wanted to be treated like british in person. There were not and i was a major complaint here they were proud to british, they were happy to french andd be they wanted to be recognized as british. If you wouldve come up to any house at that time and said the british are coming, he would have looked at you very confused. It makes no sense. Like,ker said something he leads three versions of the deposition. He does us exactly what he said. He may have said, probably said Something Like the regulars are coming referring to the regular army versus the militia. Or the redcoats are coming. Or the regulars are turning out. Something like that. Definitely did not say the british are coming. The british to come. I have to use the terms because it is a modern audience. The british market and on their way to concorde which is over here, they meet up with the lexington militia on a green park. The lexington much was dating in protest not looking for a skirmish. A shot rings out, the first shot. We dont not be shot first. Theres indications they came from a spectator, and American Spectator on the sidelines. At the end of the day, it did not matter. The first shot rang out and the americans used it for the propaganda. Shot first is important. Just like in star wars. [laughter] seat. Ind of hard to han solo should take about a hunter in 1977. He shoots in cold blood this Bounty Hunter. Lucas remakes the star wars movies and changes it, digitally altered the scene so that the Bounty Hunter shoots and fires second consulate does. Thats a big deal because george lucas but that han solo needed moral authority and did the same case for the americans. They felt like whoever shot first is vitally important that the british were seen as the ones that started the war. Because of the moral authority. The americans had to be the victims to win the hearts and minds in person as well as potential allies as would be the case with the french. After the first shot in lexington, the british make their way to concorde. The are shorts part at concorde. The british admit fault in this case. The militia, thanks to paul , have and other riders come to concorde and basically harassed the british all the way back. There is ambushed upon him all the way to lexington. The original Expeditionary Forces nearly destroyed. Until they get to lexington and the relief of the reinforcement of british soldiers. British reinforcement enveloped the original expedition or force and takes them back towards boston and the worst fighting his house to house in this town called monogamy, now does called arlington. It is called arlington. The result of this daylong battle is that the british on besieged. In boston any of theseind weapons and concorde because they were all hidden ahead of the british arrival. For the next two months, the british are stuck in boston, they get new officers and new soldiers arriving almost daily and then two of these gentlemen are William Howell and his deputy. Howell is going to lead an attempt to bust the siege and that is what leads to a plan where the british are going to go south. This of the peninsula boston. These are the americans surrounded them and theres a peninsula to the south called dorchester. Now does part of boston. There is a no mans land. The british will centrist by boat and circle around and take the american headquarters in cambridge. That is the plan. Theres also no mans land in charleston. Are on one side and the americans are on the other, the inhabitants realize they are stuck between two armies and they abandon the town. 1775, charlestown is a no mans land. However, the american Intelligence Network is pretty good and instead of waiting for the british to attack dorchester and circle cambridge, they decide i did 16th that they will theypreemptive maneuver decide on june 16 that they would a preemptive maneuver and use earthworks on a hill in charleston. They put them can in their which the hell can rain down on boston and put the british at risk. Boston can rain down on and put the british at risk. Theyre going to meet the battle ofin the first the war. Meanwhile, it takes the british and long time to cross the river by boat in the americans continue to fortify. There is a square, basically four footfive foot hill of dirt that they created and extended out in one line and told some other fortifications and here there is a fence in the fence is basically one fence they reinforced with another fence and stuffed with pay. Hay. Mericans the americans think they are ready. General howell will lead the fight. He is dismayed to see that this fence, his intended path, he will try to circle around and surround these americans on the hill. He is dismayed to see that the rail fence was put up as he was transitioning across the river for his happy to see his secret away, yet undiscovered by the americans. This huge path along the beach. The beach is about 810 people of the battlefield. The americans cant see it. ,t is about fourfeet wide rocky and there are no americans there. Thebritish plan is to move lightest troops, they carry very little Light Weapons and light baggage up that beach in the plan is to get around the americans and break this rail fence and everyone will surround them. Hopefully the americans will disperse because the british are the greatest army in the world supposedly. That is the plan. Ndsever, New Hampshire semd some militia troops over there and what colonel determined that beach is open and so he decides to put a couple dozen, that is all, americans down there and they put together a little dense with a couple rocks, no more than kneehigh and they just wait. The british are nearly 330 troops. The british have bandits and americans have no bandits. Heres what is happening. I will read from the book. The New Hampshire man is colonel stark. In a triple rubbed offenders, held their fire as the elegant column of light infantry marched up the beach towards them with the bandits with them. Slowly they approached that stake in the ground. Fusilier noticed it as he marched by. The british column was determined to plow through starks with bayonet alone. They were nearly close enough to begin their charge. Then the doll barrels before them studied to a level went to new england twang give the order. They five. The, fence defenders instantly disappeared with smokers likely only have fired first. The others fight next as the first reloaded. Their muska balls formed a wall of light that flung toward the help was british. Ripping into them and estimating their front rows. The body tumbled onto the beach and into the river. The next rosa british scattered as they struggle to maneuver over the carnage that had been their brothers in arms. The New Hampshire man kept in almost incessant fire on them knowing them down for any time ranked by rank come officers and privates alike. The blood mingling with the small title pulls that i collected on the beach. The officer shouted and try to push the men off but british discipline failed. Without orders, some we british climate fired their muskets towards the white smoke that had replaced the kabul fence defenders. Making a mistake. By awkwardly slowing the farther musket instead of charging the head, the redcoats lingered within the lethal range of the american musketry which only allow the yankees to slaughter more of them. Causing british bodies to pile up as hurdles of carnage for those behind. All of this cause the column to compress on itself, the front ranks driven to a halt while the men in the back continued forward. The british officer somehow managed to drive them forward in a people charge. But but momentum and initiative were lost. The unforgiving american musketry continued to wipe out the lead british soldiers until the column at last gave way and began to fall back. Meanwhile as they are doing this, the other forces are moving but are stalling. Bombardssh mile navy and start ablaze. The light infantry does not do what is expected but the fight on the beach does not go as expected and then they retreat. Now the generals stuck. He has a decision to make. This attack here is not meant to be an attack. They are just stalling would number the beach attack to do with job before they moved there. Now he has to make a decision. He decides that he is good to charge his troops on the battlefield at the americans. It is not a smart decision. It is probably one that he did because of honor. The fact is, just to mention this, the americans are behind 845 foot pile of dirt. They have muskets. Nobody has rifles at this point. To his with balls and them and if you can take one of these tips and put it on a tribe had an aim it at a target 50 feetd and aim it at away, a target, one bomb might be there or one might well be there, it is inaccurate. Their risk of getting shot by musket is very low. The way to do this in the reason they do this in march of mine is because if you get a bunch of guys together and they all should together, some of the shots will fit the target. Must of them will not. Fire, you hire and i have about 30 seconds it will take you to reload. Probably little slower because you are nervous because you have guys running at you with blades on the guns and you dont have any bandits. Bandits. Bayonets. The americans have come to a knife fight without a knife. The british have blades. Every one of them sticks on their muskets and these muskets are long in the bayonets along. Are long. The americans dont have any of that. Theres a theory that if the british simply continue forward once the musket balls start shooting out and certainly can fire beyond 50 feet and maybe hit something, but they are inaccurate, if the british keep their lines and what they get within the lethal range charge towards the americans, the americans will have no choice but to retreat. But that is not what happens. They move forward in the american start shooting in the british make the fatal mistake and they stop and shoot back. The americans are behind four or five foot tall pi