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The Young Continentals at Lexington

Chapter 2: Introduction
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About This Book

The story follows four adolescent friends whose local adventures become entwined with the political crisis preceding armed conflict, as commercial restrictions and military presence heighten tensions. Their reconnaissance, quarrels, and loyalties bring them into contact with prominent leaders, secret councils, and night rides, and they witness the mobilization of volunteer militia and the skirmishes on the roads to Lexington and Concord. Scenes alternate between personal trials and broader historical events, tracing how youthful courage and civic debate converge into collective action.

COPYRIGHT
1909 BY
THE PENN
PUBLISHING
COMPANY

Introduction

The Young Continentals at Lexington” begins with that vital period of our country’s history when the great forces that made the Revolution were slowly coming together.

The port of Boston was closed; an army under Gage occupied the city; Massachusetts Bay was thronged with troop-ships and frigates, and the colonies were writhing under a series of unjust and oppressive laws.

It was at this time that the four boys who play the leading parts in the story began their experiences. Historical events that led up to the war for independence are met with in every chapter; the great personages of the time figure upon almost every page. From the meeting of the first Congress at Carpenter’s Hall to the stand of the minutemen at Lexington and Concord Bridge, every important step in the movement for national life is touched on.

The second book of the series, “The Young Continentals at Bunker Hill,” takes up the thread of history where this book leaves it. It will show the siege of Boston, and the glorious defeat on the Hill. It will tell how Washington was given command of the army; how he sent word to Ethan Allen; how the heavy guns he captured at Ticonderoga were hauled through the winter wilderness upon sledges to Boston; also how Washington mounted them upon Dorchester Heights and finally drove the army of Gage from the city.