Redcoats and Rebels: NH and the American Revolution

BERLIN — The third presentation in the Great North Woods Winter/Spring Series: Notable NH: 250 Years in the Making, "Redcoats and Rebels: NH and the American Revolution" presented by Mary Adams of the NH Historical Society will take place on Wednesday, April 1 at 6 p.m.

New Hampshire often gets overlooked in the narrative of the American Revolution, overshadowed by its noisy neighbor to the south. Nowadays, few people know about Paul Revere’s first ride, which was to Portsmouth in December 1774 to warn the patriots that the British were coming to reinforce Fort William and Mary, five months before the Redcoats marched on Concord and Lexington. Nor do they know that two-thirds of the troops at the Battle of Bunker Hill were from New Hampshire. Most people are also unaware that New Hampshire’s Provincial Congress adopted the first state constitution in January 1776, making no mention of royal authority and essentially declaring independence from Great Britain six months before anyone else. And this is just the beginning of New Hampshire’s revolutionary story.