The Road to Concord

J. L.

Bell's The Road to Concord explores how the theft, concealment, and pursuit of four brass field pieces in 1774–75 shaped the political and military lead-up to the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

Focusing on local actors, militia traditions, and the tug-of-war over artillery, Bell reconstructs how grassroots actions across Massachusetts prepared communities for armed resistance.

The book situates the cannon story within larger events such as the Coercive Acts, the Powder Alarm, and General Thomas Gage's efforts to seize colonial arms.

Bell uses a microhistorical lens to argue that these small events reveal broader dynamics about popular organization, militia readiness, and individual motivations that helped ignite the Revolutionary War. The narrative highlights how both planned and spontaneous community actions contributed to the escalation from protest to war.