The British approach to its American colony in 1775 offers valuable lessons for historians and military professionals in the synthesis between the levels of wartime leadership and their effect on direct action at the tactical level. As such, it is worthwhile to reflect on the British experience in 1775, and how guidance from strategic and […]
Maj. John Pitcairn of the British marines became notorious among New Englanders after the Battle of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. The Massachusetts Provincial Congress published depositions from dozens of men declaring that he had ordered light infantrymen to fire on the peaceful Lexington militia company. (Modern historians discount those claims, agreeing that […]
At dawn on April 19, 1775, the British detachment of light infantry under Maj. Pitcairn reached Lexington, about two-thirds the way to Concord. There they found the local Lexington Militia Company under Capt. John Parker waiting for them, all armed and formed on the central Lexington Green. Considering it a challenge, the first and second […]
