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With the crack of gunfire, a lead ball exploded into a redcoat sentry’s head on Boston Neck the morning of June 16, 1775. The next day more than three thousand men risked their lives on Bunker Hill. So begins William E. Johnson’s sixth in a series of seven historical novels about British subjects discovering they had become Americans. It is another mug of colonial intrigue brimming with sex, scandal, spies, and soldiers. Men were certain the battle on Breed’s Hill would end the brittle stalemate between more than ten thousand colonists and four thousand British redcoats in Boston. Little did they know General George Washington had been dispatched by John Hancock and the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia to settle the contest. Meanwhile, scheming and conspiracies among spies and assassins create crisis and chaos throughout the American colonies.
Once again, the heart of this saga lies in the bosom of the common man—candlemakers, printers, sailors, soldiers, silversmiths, trollops, bartenders, ropemakers, merchants, doctors, and drunks. The British Crown persists in stoking the fires of rebellion with endless tyrannical decrees. The disastrous impact is personal for every American colonist. This is their story…and ours.
Travel back in time as you once again settle back near the hearth in the Snug Harbor Tavern taproom with a mug of hot buttered rum or dark ale. You now witness the first staged bloody battle for American independence in the pages of 1775: Crisis & Chaos.

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historical

Fiction

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Publié par	AuthorHouse
Date de parution	02 août 2022
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781665566087
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	2 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0200€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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1775
Crisis & Chaos

WILLIAM E. JOHNSON

AuthorHouse™
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.authorhouse.com
Phone: 833-262-8899

© 2022 William E. Johnson. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 08/01/2022

ISBN: 978-1-6655-6609-4 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6655-6607-0 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6655-6608-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022913601

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Certain characters in this work are historical figures, and certain events portrayed did take place. However, this is a work of fiction. All of the other characters, names, and events as well as all places, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
To Jeanne Johnson, who endures my endless wanderings into the eighteenth century.
I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge my orange tabby Spike who, regardless of my writing priorities, brought me back to reality whenever he felt like doing so.

“Associate yourself with men of good quality, if you esteem y our own reputation; for ’tis better to be alone than in bad com pany.”
— George Washin gton

Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1 Gage and Orders for Dorchester; Prescott and Orders for Bunker Hill
Chapter 2 Washington Plans for Boston; Bunker Hill or Breed’s Hill?
Chapter 3 Prescott on Breed’s Hill; Lively Opens Fire
Chapter 4 British Generals Argue; Graves Enjoys a Cannonade
Chapter 5 Howe Meets Graves; Longboats are Loaded
Chapter 6 Stark on The Mystic Shore; Warren on Breed’s Hill
Chapter 7 Death on The Mystic Shore; Howe Meets The Rail Fence
Chapter 8 Charlestown on Fire; Howe Retreats
Chapter 9 A Second Attack; Clinton Sets Off
Chapter 10 A Third Attack; Gunpowder; A Marine is Lost; A Patriot is Lost
Chapter 11 The Deadly Cost of Victory; Another Trip to Philadelphia
Chapter 12 Dr. Church in Cambridge; Washington Leaves Philadelphia
Chapter 13 John Hancock Learns About Bunker Hill; General Washington Arrives in Cambridge
Chapter 14 Washington’s New Army; The Olive Branch ; A Lack of Gunpowder
Chapter 15 Church Meets Revere; Ruggles is Called; Washington and Whaleboats
Chapter 16 A New Director of Healthcare; Church Gets a Cyphered Letter; Gage Makes Plans
Chapter 17 The King Learns of Bunker Hill; The Cyphered Letter; Church is Promoted
Chapter 18 Wenwood in Newport; The King Makes Changes; Ruggles Meets Briggs
Chapter 19 Amanda Visits Philadelphia; Trouble at The City Tavern
Chapter 20 A Farewell to Hancock; The Cypher in Newport; Thomas Paine Makes Plans
Chapter 21 Hancock Proposes; Hancock in Watertown; Briggs Takes Boston
Chapter 22 Colonial Agents Struggle in London; Washington Meets Benedict Arnold
Chapter 23 Margaret Departs; The Rebellion Proclamation; The Wedding
Chapter 24 Virginians Head for Philadelphia; Washington Plans a Navy; Dixie – the Spy
Chapter 25 Dr. Church Resigns; Gage and a Change in Plans
Chapter 26 The Interrogation; The Isolation; The Navy Debate
Chapter 27 A Bayonet for Briggs; Two Gold Coins
Chapter 28 The King Sends a Message; General Gage Departs
Prologue
The Snug Harbor Tavern Saga continues with this sixth novel in the series. The year is 1775 and once again I invite you to sit back with a tankard of hot buttered rum or a pint of dark ale. You can join the candlemakers, cobblers, bartenders, soldiers, strumpets, and spies, as they connive, conspire, and plot against the Royal Governor and his nefarious schemes. While John Hancock, Sam Adams and others debate in the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, the armed conflict in the colony of Massachusetts foments distrust and tenuous alliances. The patriot struggle for freedom against the tyranny of the British Crown has infected every home—rich or poor, loyalist or patriot, cultured or crude.
It has been fifty-eight days since the fighting began at Lexington and Concord. Apart from a few skirmishes with British redcoats and marines, the colonial militias find themselves wondering where to go and what to do. General Artemas Ward is in command of more than ten thousand men stagnating in camps of stench and squalor. Lack of heavy artillery has rendered his army inert. Ward doesn’t like it, but he is stuck.
Meanwhile, Lt. General Thomas Gage has command of four thousand British regulars, ostensibly trapped in Boston and unable to fight his way out. Most colonists would rather have a leper colony than his redcoats patrolling the streets. Gage doesn’t like it, but he too is stuck.
The military standoff is a volcano set to erupt. At last, the Provincial Congress has ordered General Ward to fortify Bunker Hill above Charlestown. The task is both a blessing and a curse. Taking the high ground is tactically clever but doing so could be disastrous. Both redcoats and patriots will ultimately rue the day.
It is 1775, a year of colonial crisis and chaos. This is their story…and ours.

Chapter 1
Gage and Orders for Dorchester; Prescott and Orders for Bunker Hill
Boston Neck, Massachusetts
10:50 AM – June 16, 1775
Redcoat Sergeant Matt Marsh wiped beads of sweat from his brow as he stepped from the guard shack on Boston Neck. “What in hell is this?” he shouted, finding his men half asleep on carriage boxes of the nearest cannon batteries. Placing his hand on a brass cannon barrel, he glared at his detail of ten sentries. “Wake up, damn you! The Crown pays you to keep an eye on those rebels, and by God, I’ll see you do it.”
South of the Neck, militia Sergeant Adam Crane, lying on his belly atop a grassy knoll, narrowed his gaze at the redcoat guards fifty yards away. He pressed his sweaty cheek firmly against the stock of his flintlock, taking deadly aim at one redcoat perched high on a carriage box. Inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly, he gently squeezed the trigger. With a blaring crack, a lead ball shrieked from the flaming muzzle.
Sgt. Marsh’s head snapped at the startling blast of musket fire. The rebel sergeant’s aim had been dead solid perfect, and redcoats flinched at the gory sight of blood splattering Marsh’s face. A second later Sgt. Crane’s entire twenty-man rebel squad fired a volley from the knoll, and every man swiftly crawled back through the grass in a hasty retreat.
“What the hell!” yelled Sgt. Marsh, wiping his bloody face with his sleeve. He craned his neck to peer southward at the colonial camp. A haze of white smoke told him where his enemy had fired. He glanced at his men now huddling behind cannon carriages. “Who got hit?”
As the redcoats rose from cover clutching their Brown Bess muskets, all eyes were riveted on one man crumpled on the ground. “I think Melvin has had it, Sergeant; he ain’t movin’ and his head is bleedin’ somethin’ awful.”
“Take cover and load your muskets,” commanded the sergeant, gazing southward. He knew reinforcements would soon arrive, responding to such gunfire.
Across the Neck, militia Brig. General John Thomas stood atop his palisade in Roxbury staring through a spyglass at both the British breastworks and his small patrol retreating for cover. “Perfectly executed!” he muttered. He had ordered his men to get no closer than fifty yards without being seen, fire one volley, and scurry back out of range before the redcoats could return fire.
“Do you think they hit anyone at that range, General?” asked an aide.
“At fifty yards, it’s possible, but it really makes no difference. Our mission is to make General Gage suspect we are attacking the Neck and invading Boston from the south.”
He didn’t bother to reveal the real intent of the feint. Gage was expected to reinforce his southern guard at the thirty-yard-wide spit of land leading to Boston. That would pull redcoats from the north of town and away from Charlestown.
General Ward’s briefing at Hastings House had been clear. “By tomorrow morning the redcoats will find Bunker Hill well-fortified. And we can only guess what Gage will do.”

10:55 AM – June 16, 1775
Zeke Teezle had halted his horse-drawn cart just short of the Neck at the sound of musket fire. His gut reaction was to head back home but he had orders—from Omega. Near the guardhouse, he stopped again when redcoat sentries instantly surrounded him, bayonets glistening in the sun. “Just where do you think you are going?” demanded Sgt. Marsh.
Zeke winced, saying nary a word, as he handed a small transit note. Marsh handed it back and waved. “Go on about your business; but I think you’re addled. You heard the rebel gunfire, didn’t you? You’ll be dead before you clear the Neck.”

The candlemaker shrugged. “I gotta do what I gotta do.”
He cleared the narrow strip of land with ease, but a squad of militiamen halted his advance just short of Roxbury. “Just where in hell do you…oh, it’s you, Zeke.” The man shook his head. “I don’t know how you do it. After all that musket fir