Independence Dawn

On the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, forgotten patriots of the American Revolutionary War tell their stories for the first time. Drawing from military pension files, voices of ordinary men, women, slaves, and youth describe how they fought, suffered, and persevered through a harrowing conflict to forge a new republic.

Inspired by the words of founding fathers and  standing arm-in-arm with the audacious George Washington, these unsung patriots breathe life into American lore. Why does 22 year-old minuteman William French take up arms after the first shots at Lexington and Concord? At battles like Bunker Hill, Brandywine, Long Island, and Yorktown, men like James Potter Collins describe the chaos. Slaves like Prince Griswold put their lives on the line for a different kind of freedom. At home, women like Susannah Chandler struggle to protect their families; on the front, women like Deborah Sampson take up arms in disguise. From long-suffering men like John Boudy whose service spans the whole conflict, to the rebel armies of the south who push the British out of the continent.

In the aftermath of great victory, the values of the famous declaration spread like wildfire. But among those who fought, the freedoms they are granted are far from perfect.