In our book, Bullet Strikes From the First Day of the American Revolution, we invite you to join Douglas Scott and I on a tour down Battle Road to discover the history of the fighting behind the “Shot Heard ’Round the World.” Using forensic techniques straight out of CSI alongside historical and archaeological research, we have located each of the violent scars of conflict left behind on that fateful day when British regulars marched to Concord to destroy warlike stores stockpiled there.

To better understand how these events unfolded, we conducted controlled scientific experiments, firing custom-built reproduction colonial and British firearms to shoot at replicated house sections and objects. The data we generated allowed us to validate the battle damage along Battle Road, leading to insightful new interpretations of surviving architectural elements and witness objects. Each chapter provides detailed explanations of these bullet-struck artifacts and structures. Including the Elisha Jones House, James Hayward’s powder horn, the Marrett Munroe house, Buckman and Munroe Taverns, and the Jason Russell House, we share the stories of the people who lived within those walls or carried those objects into the chaos of battle on April 19, 1775.

As British forces left Concord, they were attacked the entire route back to Boston. Through engaging imagery, 180 color photos and illustrations, and original first-person accounts, this 8x10 book illustrates the powerful stories these artifacts tell. The fighting grew more fierce as the afternoon went on, and we’re excited to share this thrilling history with you and help you better understand the ferocity of the fighting that fateful day.