IMPERIALISM AND INDEPENDENCE 91of rebels had taken up positions along the North
Bridge. This map—among the earliest records of the
Revolutionary War—depicts a British perspective on
the fighting that ensued. The Americans are shown
camped behind walls and rocks, firing on the British
from three sides. Describing the “Bridge where the
attack began,” the map implies that the Americans
ambushed the British regulars. Smith and his men
were forced to retreat, dogged by rebel sniper fire
that drove the men—along with Lieutenant General
Hugh Percy’s troops—back to the safety of Boston.
Just weeks later, the colonists reconvened at the
Second Continental Congress, authorizing an army
to fight the British and naming General George
Washington as its commander. The skirmishes at
Lexington and Concord became the “shot heard
round the world,” drawing reinforcements on both
sides. British warships surrounded Boston, while
newly formed American armies camped along the
Mystic and Charles rivers. Though unrecorded on the
map, the Siege of Boston coincided with an outbreak
of smallpox that ravaged those trapped in the city.
The outbreak continued until 1782, killing more
Americans than died in the Revolutionary War itself.
Given Washington’s heroic service in the French
and Indian War (page 84), it must have been
particularly poignant for the British to learn that
he would command the “Provincial Army” shown
here. Both sides raced to hold the high ground of
Dorchester and Charlestown, which led to the Battle
of Bunker Hill in June. This map was published
immediately after that battle, before anyone could
have known the war would ultimately end British
control over the colonies.