The battles in the Northern Colonies didn’t win the revolution, but they helped set the stage for victory. The defeat of the British at Saratoga convinced the French to send troops to assist the colonists. Washington, primarily because he kept his army together through difficult times with little help from Congress, was finally acclaimed the rightful leader of the army and the fledgling nation. And finally, the British in the Northern Colonies were confined to New York City only.

This is a Salisbury READS event in connection with the community READ of Revolution Song by Russell Shorto. To learn more and see the whole calendar of events, please visit Salisbury READS.

Presented in partnership with the Salisbury Association Historical Society. Registration is required. Please use the button below to register.

This talk will take us from the early battles of Ticonderoga (led by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold, both from Connecticut) and Quebec (led by General Montgomery and Arnold) to the final battle in the Northern Colonies at Monmouth Court House. The battle, though actually a draw, showed that the Colonials could stand up to British regulars.

 We will discuss how Washington was badly beaten at Brandywine Creek while his chief rival for command, Horatio Gates, was winning at Saratoga. We’ll also recall how the British army surrendered and was marched from Boston to Virginia, passing through Salisbury and camping at our own Stiles Meadow.

We’ll ask key questions about strategy, class, religion and commitments: Why did the Thirteen Colonies fail to get the Canadian colonies to rebel? Was a class divide maintained despite the declaration that “all men are created equal”? And why did General Arnold betray the Colonies? Was it money, his Tory wife, the mob, the belief the British would win, hurt feelings, or something else?

After graduating with a BS Engineering from Univ. of Tennessee, Thomas Key spent four years on active duty as a Flight Officer, US Navy, and seventeen years in the Naval Air Reserves, retiring as a Commander, USNR. His professional career was with an international engineering firm, designing and constructing steel mills, nuclear and fossil power plants, and chemical plants, etc.. He also served as CEO of two subsidiary engineering firms. Thomas Key has a secondary career as a landscape painter and has exhibited in over thirty galleries and invitational/juried shows from Delaware to Maine.