In the turbulent history of colonial New England, more than two hundredpowder houses were built to store gunpowder, guns and armaments. Even the sparkfrom a metal shoe nail could ignite their contents, so they often sat in remotesections of town. These volatile storehouses played a vital role in earning andpreserving American independence. It was, after all, to a powder house inConcord, Massachusetts, that the British army marched in April 1775 to seizecolonists’ gunpowder. The British were thwarted, and the colonists’ defense ofthe powder house ignited the Revolutionary War. Add to this the duels, murders,public hangings and tragic explosions that checkered the history of thesestructures, and the reader will discover a fascinating and forgotten aspect ofour New England heritage. Using meticulous research, Matthew Thomas narratesthe colorful histories of New England’s powder houses as he resurrects theirhistorical significance in early American history.

Historic Powder Houses of New England: Arsenals of American Independence PDF

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