Tag Samuel West

Samuel West went to the American army after Bunker Hill, or so the familiar story goes. But a newly examined manuscript, an eyewitness letter from Roxbury, and West’s own words to George Washington reveal a more complicated story about what he was actually doing in the camps during the summer of 1775.

Every research project has an origin story. Mine began with a simple Google search for a Revolutionary-era sermon. I expected to find confirmation for what I already believed. Instead, Samuel West challenged me to rethink not only the American Revolution, but the way I read history itself.

Two hundred and fifty years ago, a New England minister preached a sermon that helped shape the American Revolution. Today, almost no one knows his name. This is the beginning of a journey to recover the life, writings, and forgotten voice of the Rev. Dr. Samuel West—and to discover why his ideas still matter.