George Quintal Jr. is a Battle Road guide and the author of two books, Patriots of Color at Battle Road and Patriots of Color at Bunker Hill. To order, please contact the author.

Emancipation: Abridged excerpt from Patriots of Color at Battle Road

September 15, 2022

George Quintal Jr.

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How could an enslaved man or woman ever find a path out of bondage? The Emancipation Proclamation, issued in 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln and formally signed and put into effect on January 1, 1863, is well-known throughout the country. Much less well-known are the thousands of emancipations that occurred in New England long prior to 1862, many happening one at a time.

The Summer Issue is Here!

As our nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, this issue explores the people, ideas, and stories that continue to shape its legacy. Inside, Professor Robert A. Gross offers fresh perspective in “A Referendum on Independence,” while a special foldout guide, “Following in Thoreau’s Footsteps,” invites you to explore the landscapes that inspired him. Discover an unexpected connection in “A Tale of Two Authors,” revisit the moving story of “A Hawthorne Homecoming,” and enjoy summer events, arts, and ways to experience Concord firsthand.

A Referendum on Independence

The road to American independence took time to complete, and Massachusetts, despite its reputation as a vanguard state, was not always in the lead. In 1775, even after the battles of Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill, most Patriot leaders were still seeking restoration of colonial rights within the British empire. Thomas Paine broke the logjam with the publication of Common Sense early the next year. The instant best-seller argued the case for separation by appealing to economic and political self-interest, emotional resentment of a brutal and oppressive king, and a utopian vision of America as “an asylum for mankind.”

A Hawthorne Homecoming

Two white horses pulled the hearse into Concord’s Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, a top-hatted driver at the reins. A band of mourners followed on foot as they made their way toward Authors’ Ridge.Except for the bright sunshine, this scene wouldn’t seem out of place in a story by Nathaniel Hawthorne. But it happened a mere twenty years ago, on June 26, 2006. That was the day Hawthorne and his wife and daughter were reunited after his death separated them 142 years earlier.

George Quintal Jr.

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Emancipation: Abridged excerpt from Patriots of Color at Battle Road