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Previously unknown, a map drawn by Lord Percy, the British commander at Lexington, sheds new light on the perilous retreat to Boston 250 years ago this month.

What began as a civil war within the British Empire continued until it became a wider conflict affecting peoples and countries across Europe and North America.

Overshadowed in memory by Lexington and Concord, the Massachusetts town of Menotomy saw the most violent and deadly fighting on April 19, 1775.

This special issue looks at the dramatic and momentous events that occurred 250 years ago this month.

“Now the war has begun and no one knows when it will end,” said one minuteman after the fight.

Classic Essays from Our Archives

The Hawthornes In Paradise | December 1958, Vol 10, No 1

By Malcolm Cowley

Nathaniel was poor and sunk in his solitude; Sophia seemed a hopeless invalid, but a late-flower love gave them at last “a perfect Eden.”

Hawthorne Peabody

Finding the Real Jamestown | Winter 2008, Vol 70, No 3

By William M. Kelso

The archaeologist who discovered the real Jamestown debunks myths, and answers age-old mysteries about North America's first successful English colony.

jamestown

Growing Up Colored | Summer 2012, Vol 70, No 3

By Henry Louis Gates Jr.

The noted writer and educator tells of his boyhood in the West Virginia town of Piedmont, where African Americans were second-class citizens, but family pride ran deep.

Henry Louis Gates and family

Range Practice | Februrary 1968, Vol 19, No 2

By Dean Acheson

Our former Secretary of State recalls his service fifty years ago in the Connecticut National Guard—asthmatic horses, a ubiquitous major, and a memorable

horse-drawn artillery

America: Experiment or Destiny? | June 1977, Vol 70, No 3

By Arthur Schlesinger Jr.

We can take pride in our nation, not as we pretend to a commission from God and a sacred destiny, but as we struggle to fulfill our deepest values in an inscrutable world.

american destiny

"The Sparck of Rebellion" | Winter 2010, Vol 59, No 4

By Douglas Brinkley

Badly disguised as Indians, a rowdy group of patriotic vandals kicked a revolution into motion.

boston tea party

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