As an isolated island outpost, Martha's Vineyard faced some unique challenges during the American Revolution. Neutrality was maintained at the start of the war due to the impact of the British regulations on the fishing and whaling industries. While political expediency may have dominated the day, Vineyard Patriots protected their homeland against the Royal Navy and contributed to the revolutionary effort against marauding British redcoats. In 1778,...

The American Revolution was not inevitable, nor was it a unanimous cause. It pitted neighbors against one another, as loyalists and colonial rebels faced off for their lives and futures. Through the remarkable lives of the first Americans, this book reveals the contentious arguments that turned friends into foes and the land into a war zone. From the riots over a child's murder that led to the Boston Massacre, to the Continental Army's first victory...