Independence Dawn

When the first shots ring out at Lexington and Concord, a colonial rebellion becomes an all-out revolution. As men like John Adams and John Hancock form a shadow government, and eventually convene the Second Continental Congress, farmers, blacksmiths, and everyday people take up arms as minutemen and eventually Continental Army soldiers. Accounts plucked from American Revolutionary War pension files tell of a young William French who has never seen battle. Under the leadership of a stoic George Washington, he signs up for duty marches upon Bunker Hill, Boston, Long Island, Trenton, and New York. French’s compatriots leave behind women like Deborah Brownell, who struggles to support her young family in her husband’s absence and amid meagre soldier earnings. British looting ignites public sentiment. Susannah Chandler hides her children as her homestead is set ablaze. As George Washington scrambles to make ends meet, the Continental Army nets a number of surprising victories. The words of Thomas Paine, the Declaration of Independence, and a brazen river crossing stoke confidence in the cause.

In dire need of reinforcements, the Second Congressional Committee rethinks enlistment. Just as the British dangle freedom to the American enslaved, Continental soldiers like Prince Griswold fight in the stead of their slaveowners to one day walk free. Battling at Brandywine and Saratoga before suffering a winter at Valley Forge, troops face starvation and smallpox. At Monmouth, Americans are routed and a brave Molly Pitcher mans the blazing cannons. The Southern Strategy shifts British focus into the southern colonies. Igniting conflict in a region built on slavery, volunteer militias with men like James Potter Collins continue to resist. At King’s Mountain and the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, these same rebels turn the tides. With the help of the French Navy, Washington blocks a Cornwallis escape from Yorktown. It is here that the long-suffering John Boudy fights alongside Alexander Hamilton to commandeer British cannons. After the British surrender, the British government collapses, prompting peace negotiations. But, in the colonies, those in uniform remain on duty. Deborah Sampson must hide her injuries to shield her identity. Even after the Treaty of Paris, the freedoms afforded to citizens in the new republic remain imperfect. Although America’s revolutionary declaration inspires other uprisings, American slaves, women, and the disenfranchised continue to fight for their own perfect liberty.