Rick Atkinson - The British Are Coming

To Jane, for forty years

The hour is fast approaching on which the honor and success of this army and the safety of our bleeding country depend. Remember, officers and soldiers, that you are freemen, fighting for the blessings of liberty.

—George Washington, General Orders, August 23, 1776

1. The British Empire, 1775

2. The North American Theater, April 1775–January 1777

3. Boston, Spring 1775

4. March to Concord, April 18–19, 1775

5. British Retreat from Concord, April 19, 1775

6. Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775

7. Invasion of Canada, September–November 1775

8. Great Bridge and the Burning of Norfolk, December 1775–January 1776

9. Disaster at Quebec, December 31, 1775

10. Siege of Boston, Winter 1775–1776

11. Skirmish at Moore’s Creek Bridge, February 27, 1776

12. Retreat from Canada, May–June 1776

13. Greater New York, Summer 1776

14. New York City, Summer 1776

15. Battle of Sullivan’s Island, June 28, 1776

16. Battle of Long Island, August 22–30, 1776

17. Battle of Kip’s Bay and Harlem Heights, September 15–16, 1776

18. Battle for Lake Champlain, October 1776

19. Battle for Westchester County, October 1776

20. Attacks on Fort Washington and Fort Lee, November 16–20, 1776

21. Franklin in France, December 1776

22. Retreat Across New Jersey, November–December 1776

23. First Battle of Trenton, December 25–26, 1776

24. Second Battle of Trenton and Battle of Princeton, January 2–3, 1777

1. Johan Joseph Zoffany, George III , oil on canvas, 1771. (Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2018)

2. John Clevely, George III Reviewing the Fleet at Spithead, 22 June 1773 , watercolor, 1773. (© National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London)

3. John Russell, Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford , oil on canvas, c. 1765-68. (Private collection/Bridgeman Images)

4. Nathaniel Hone I, William Legge (1731–1801), Second Earl of Dartmouth , oil on canvas, 1777. (Courtesy of Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College. Gift of Earle W. Newton, P.960.100)

5. Jan Josef Horemans II, Tea Time , oil on canvas, second half of eighteenth century.

6. John Collet, Scene in a London Street , oil on canvas, 1770. (Courtesy Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection)

7. Christian Schussele, Franklin before the Lords’ Council, Whitehall Chapel, London, 1774 , engraved by Robert Whitechurch, c. 1859. (Courtesy Library of Congress)

8. Rudolf Ackermann et al, House of Commons from Microcosm of London , 1808 – 10. (Courtesy British Library)

9. Johan Joseph Zoffany, George III, Queen Charlotte, and Their Six Eldest Children , oil on canvas, 1770. (Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2018)

10. Gold State Coach, gilded and painted wood, leather, 1762. (Photograph, Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2018)

11. Thomas Bowles, A View of St. James’s Palace Pall Mall , engraving, 1771. (Courtesy Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection)

12. John Singleton Copley, General Thomas Gage , oil on canvas, c. 1768. (Courtesy Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection)

13. John Singleton Copley, Mrs. Thomas Gage , oil on canvas, 1771. (Putnam Foundation, Timken Museum of Art)

14. John Trumbull, Benjamin Franklin , oil on wood, 1778. (Courtesy Yale University Art Gallery)

15. John Singleton Copley, Paul Revere , oil on canvas, 1768. (Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)

16. John Singleton Copley, Joseph Warren , (unfinished), oil on canvas, c. 1772. (Courtesy National Park Service, Adams National Historical Park)

17. Thomas Sully, after Charles Willson Peale. Major General Artemas Ward , oil on canvas, c. 1830-40. (Collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society)

18. Dominique C. Fabronius, Maj. Gen. Israel Putnam. “He dared to lead where any dared to follow ,” lithograph, c. 1864. (Courtesy Library of Congress)

19. John Stark , date unknown. (Courtesy Print Collection, New York Public Library)

20. Gilbert Stuart, Hugh Percy, Second Duke of Northumberland , oil on canvas, c. 1788. (Courtesy High Museum of Art, Atlanta)

21. Amos Doolittle, A View of the Town of Concord , plate II, engraving, Dec. 1775, reprint by Charles E. Goodspeed, 1903.

22. Henry A. Thomas, The Battle at Bunker’s Hill , lithograph, c. 1875. (Courtesy Library of Congress)

23. Charles Willson Peale, George Washington , oil on canvas, 1776. (Courtesy Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund)

24. Charles Peale Polk, copy after Charles Willson Peale, Henry Knox , oil on canvas, after 1783. (Courtesy National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution)

25. Washington’s Headquarters, Cambridge , date unknown. (Courtesy Print Collection, New York Public Library)

26. Nathaniel Hone, George Sackville Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville , oval portrait, 1760. (© National Portrait Gallery, London)

27. Joshua Reynolds, John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore , oil on canvas, 1765. (National Galleries Scotland)

28. H. B. Hall after John Trumbull, Benedict Arnold , engraving, published after 1879. (Courtesy National Archives, 532921)

29. Ph. Schuyler , date unknown. (Courtesy Print Collection, New York Public Library)

30. Alonzo Chappel, Richd. Montgomery , engraving by George R. Hall, 1881. (Courtesy Print Collection, New York Public Library)

31. Eyving H. de Dirkine Holmfield, Guy Carleton , oil on canvas, c. 1895 . (© Château Ramezay, Historic Site and Museum of Montréal)

32. Quebec in 1775 , date unknown. (Courtesy Print Collection, New York Public Library)

33. John Trumbull, The Death of General Montgomery in the Attack on Quebec, December 31, 1775 , oil on canvas, 1786. (Courtesy Yale University Art Gallery)

34. Château Ramezay , artist and date unknown. (© Château Ramezay, Historic Site and Museum of Montréal)

35. James Peale, Horatio Gates , oil on canvas, copy after Charles Willson Peale, 1782. (Courtesy National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution)

36. Gen. Sir William Howe , date unknown. (Courtesy Print Collection, New York Public Library)

37. John Burgoyne , date unknown. (Courtesy National Archives, 532920)

38. Michael Angelo Wageman, Genl. Howe Evacuating Boston , engraving by John Godfrey, 1861. (Courtesy Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection, Brown University Library)

39. John Singleton Copley, Admiral Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe , oil on canvas, 1794. (© National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Caird Collection)