February 4, 2022

Bernie Weisz, Historian,

As the title of this amazing book implies, "When Thirteen Became One" is a fascinating account of the early period of a largely forgotten part of American history, how the original English-established thirteen colonies became the United States. The original colonies were Virginia, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. While the entire Revolutionary War is not covered, its antecedents and first year are incisively delved into with little before known facts intensively researched by Jack Head. And there are good reasons why Mr. Head knows about revolutions. He participated in a deadly and domestically highly controversial war in South Vietnam as a member of the 11th Light Infantry Brigade, Americal Division. Through mortal combat, Mr. Head saw first hand the Asian revolution that pitted the Communistic North Vietnamese wage a ruthless civil war against the U.S.-backed democratic South Vietnamese Government. Head also authored an eloquent and heart-wrenching book about his travails in the Vietnam War entitled "Selected Memories of Vietnam 1969-1970" as a combatant. #Selected Memories of Vietnam 1969-1970

 "When Thirteen Became One" reflects Mr. Head's ordeal in Vietnam by his dedication: "To all men and women who fought for and have preserved our freedoms and liberties." Nevertheless, this book imparts facts rarely mentioned in scholastic history books. Detailed are poignant vignettes of Americans critical to a successful breakaway from English Yoke. Paul Revere, John Sullivan, John Adams, et al., including British General Thomas Gage's failed attempt to thwart the early patriot's plight to break the English imposition of their will to maintain their hold on the Americas. There is also a fascinating account of Dr. Benjamin Church, the first Surgeon General of the U.S. Army. Head elucidates how Church, by outspending his income, dove deeply into debt and collaborated covertly with the British despite his purported sworn allegiance to the rebel's cause.

 Before the American Revolution, the thirteen colonies were under the rule of King George III of Britain. Each colony had a separate local government, all under the British Parliament. Due to the great distance separating the colonies from England, King George III faced challenges in governing the colonists, which caused discontent and later the American Revolutionary War. As a result of the costly French-Indian War, which lasted from 1754 to 1763, the British Parliament taxed the thirteen colonies in North America. By 1764, the British government began to impose taxes under the following laws: The Sugar Act, Currency Act, Quartering Act, and Stamp Act. Angered by the new tariffs and the "Murder Act," the colonists argued that they should not be levied with taxes since they do not have representations in the Parliament. Their motto became “ No Taxation Without Representation.” By 1765, the Sons of Liberty, an anti-colonialist group, was formed in Boston, Massachusetts, and spread in other parts of the thirteen colonies. After the Boston Tea Party and issuing the new Intolerable Acts, the colonies became more united, fighting against the British government by providing supplies to Boston during the blockade. As a direct response to the Intolerable Act, the First Continental Congress was held and attended by representatives from twelve out of thirteen colonies. Congress sent an appeal to King George III to repeal the acts but received no response. As a result, the colonists boycotted British goods.

 On April 19, 1775, the American Revolutionary War broke out during Lexington and Concord. It ended on September 3, 1783, under the Treaty of Paris. A year after the war broke out, the Continental Congress declared its independence from the British government in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Most history buffs know that in the summer of 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed. But amazingly, this book reveals other facts about America's forming. In England and Europe, land ownership was non-existent. Yet, in North America, a man could achieve this very dream and practice religion. This is discussed as the author's genealogy emanates from Mayflower descendants. The reader will also surprisingly discover how vital the Codfish was to the development of America, being this nation's first and significant economic export. Jack Head is originally from Stow, Massachusetts. His family participated in a reenactment of the reactivated Stow Minutemen Company march in 1965 before his deployment to Vietnam. #Selected Memories of Vietnam 1969-1970 This fascinated him with Revolutionary history, culminating in this amazing book! The reader will learn and enjoy this fascinating account written very eloquently by a proud warrior! I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Review of When Thirteen Became One, Jack Head, Holon Publishing by W. Crow Johnson

Quite a book. Start with the 433 endnotes, which are interesting in themselves. Mr. Head has done a ton of research. What’s really interesting right away are the accounts of active resistance against the British military before the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775:  the Boston Tea Party in 1773, the 1774 boycott of British goods, the Worcester Revolution of 1774, and the 1774 raid on Fort William and Mary and the capture of its gunpowder store. These are things most of us have little knowledge of. And then we get to the core of the book, the engaging descriptions of the events of April 19, 1775, at Lexington and Concord, including the disastrous British retreat to Boston. Worth the price of the book for that alone.

Focused exclusively on Massachusetts, not only because that was where the action was against General Gage and his Boston-based army in 1773 and 1774, this book encompasses not only descriptions of pre-revolution American civil and armed resistance against British oppression, but the formation and training of militias, including the Minutemen.

Included as Part 2 of the book are genealogies and pedigree charts for key Massachusetts players in the struggle, worthy of perusing in their own right.

Check it out. Could have used an index, and some battle diagram. The book deserves the five-star review because of its scope and the enthusiasm of its author, whose own family roots include members of the pre-revolutionary Massachusetts militia.

W. Crow Johnson

Dave Sparks review of When Thirteen Became One

Jack Head comes from a family and a tiny Massachusetts town rich in the history of the Revolutionary War. Yet, the detail he injects into his book “When Thirteen Became One” is still astounding. He knows every cowpath and stonewall in eastern Massachusetts and the names of the Minutemen treading upon and hiding behind same in April 1775. His command of who went where and why makes his account read like an adventure story.

After he tells the “action” part of the story, Mr. Head writes detailed biographies and family trees of many of the key actors in the conflict. If that doesn’t convince the reader of how accurately he tells his story, the sixteen pages of footnotes should seal the deal.

This book is a serious, scholarly work that is a joy to read for anyone interested in this pivotal period in the formation of our country.

David Sparks