David Price is the author of five books about the Revolutionary War and a frequent contributor to the Journal of the American Revolution, as well as a historical interpreter at Washington Crossing Historic Park (PA) and Princeton Battlefield State Park (NJ). More information about David and his work, including his new book, Winning the Ten Crucial Days, can be found at dpauthor.com.

The Letter That Started a War

April 25, 2025

David Price

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Perhaps one of the most underrated events of 1775 in Revolutionary America was the transmission of secret orders from William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth (1731-1801) and His Majesty’s Secretary of State for the American Department, to Gen. Thomas Gage, military governor of Massachusetts and commander of the British army in North America, to end the colonial insurgency by force if necessary.

The Fall Issue is Here!

The fall issue is here! Dive in and discover five definitive battles of the American Revolution that took place in the fall of 1775, how Concord's minutemen of 1861 responded to the Civil War, "Henry David Thoreau and the Crackbrained Troublemaker," where to find the best cider donuts, and so much more.

Concord’s Minutemen of 1861: Captain George L. Prescott and the Concord Artillery

In the early morning of April 19, 1861, Daniel Lawrence rode into the town of Concord on horseback, rousing the town militia with orders to report to Boston in response to President Lincoln’s call for militia volunteers. The method and timing of this call were no accident.

Relations be Hanged: Frayed Loyalties to King and Family

Stand in the middle of Concord’s North Bridge with the Minute Man statue on your right and the British soldiers’ grave on your left. Place your hands on the rough wooden handrail in front of you; slightly to the left, you will see The Old Manse through the trees. Peer down into the Concord River that Ralph Waldo called “the dark stream which seaward creeps” and brace yourself: this tale is about to get rough.

David Price

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The Letter That Started a War