Review of "Day of Glory: The Guns at Lexington and Concord," by Philip Spencer

Review of

Day of Glory: The Guns at Lexington and Concord, by Philip Spencer

Five out of five stars

The day a nation was born

 I first read this book when I was in elementary school and re-read it several times. It is a work of historical fiction with great drama. It is an hour-by-hour chronicle of the day when American Minutemen faced off against British soldiers. As seems to happen so often, when the two sides faced off, both were uncertain as to what to do. When the men on both sides at Lexington were facing each other a shot was fired. No one knows what happened, it is very possible that it was an accident.

 Whatever the reason, volleys were then fired by both sides and the professional soldiers of the British were far more accurate, leaving some of the Minutemen dead and wounded. As is chronicled here, the situation rapidly escalated with men from miles away running to engage the British. Suffering significant casualties and demoralized, the British went on a looting and burning rampage, further cementing the growing bitterness.

 Although the dialog is generally fiction, this is a great book for the late elementary school student. It sets forward what was almost certainly the most significant day in American history. For on that day, what was a political opposition was transformed into an armed one. On that day, what is known as the American Revolutionary War began.