Read The True Story

This site presents the research behind Common Men, the explosive shot-by-shot reconstruction of the opening fight of the American Revolution between British and American forces on 19 April, 1775 in Lexington, Massachusetts.

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A Story That Matters

What started as a family history project (the fight included four Tidd cousins) became something approaching a crusade to rescue a pivotal moment in American history at risk of disappearing into the sands of time. The atrophy was severe. Most books about the Revolution’s opening day present a laundry list of what might have happened on Lexington Common. The rest skip the first shots entirely, leaving a void for wild theories based on cherry-picked sources. Even respected journals publish pieces that favor some eyewitness statements over others.

It does not need to be this way. Eyewitness statements combine into a clear sequence of events that identify the man behind each smoking musket.

Who shot first? That age-old question has a clear answer.

What To Read Next:

Why New Research Can Answer Old Questions

How to Reconcile Every Eyewitness Account

The Best-Fit Version of the First Shots

Or start with the punchline:

So, Who Shot First?

Thank you!

The folks at the Lexington Historical Society, Lexington Minutemen, and other New England history organizations, plus the many Tidd relatives I have dragged into this world, have been enormously supportive.

Thank you!