In the aftermath of the battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775
and the start of the Revolutionary War, it was not clear whether the
colonies outside of New England would participate militarily in the
conflict. Troops from the four New England colonies surrounded Boston
immediately after the fighting at Lexington and Concord, and two months
into the standoff the Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia,
assumed authority over the New England army, but the middle and southern
colonies had yet to see armed conflict or bloodshed with British
forces.
In United for Independence: The American Revolution in the Middle
Colonies, 1775-1776, historian Michael Cecere examines how the
inhabitants of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and
Maryland reacted to the outbreak of war in Massachusetts. Leaders in
these middle colonies, influenced by strong Loyalist sentiment within
their borders and, in some cases, among themselves, fiercely debated
whether to support the war in New England. Congress's decision in the
summer to establish the Continental Army, and its authorization for an
invasion of Canada, both of which involved troops from the middle
colonies, set the stage for their full-scale involvement in the
Revolutionary War.
Using primary source extracts and proceeding chronologically from the
spring of 1775 to the fall of 1776, the author presents the key events
in each of these colonies, from the political struggles between Whigs
and Tories, through the failed Canadian expedition, to the loss of Long
Island and New York City. Designed for readers to understand the
sequence of events that transformed a resistance movement into a war for
independence, United for Independence provides an important overview
of events in the middle colonies at the start of the Revolutionary War
that complements other works that focus on specific military clashes and
campaigns.
