The Arms Race of 1774

This season’s public programs will begin with an exploration of the 1774 arms race between the Royal Army and colonial militia by AAS member J. L. Bell (elected 2011). Starting in September 1774, Massachusetts patriots and royal governor Thomas Gage raced for the province’s most powerful military resources—cannon and other artillery pieces. That competition cost the royal government control of most of Massachusetts, spread to neighboring colonies, and led to war the following spring. Bell’s AAS program, “The Arms Race of 1774,” is based upon his latest book, The Road to Concord: How Four Stolen Cannon Ignited the Revolutionary War.