"This rich quarry of historic wealth is now, in completed state, accessible to every American . . . Certainly no work is so well calculated to lure the minds of the young through different stages of the great drama of our independence." -New York Times In this second book in a three-volume set, author and historian Benson J. Lossing continues his journey across America and his research of the Revolution. This volume begins with the unfurling of the first United States flag and focuses on the war in Boston and the life and legend of Benedict Arnold. Lossing includes sections on Rhode Island and how the war affected the people there, and he describes the events leading up to the meetings of the Second Continental Congress, giving details down to John Hancock's mahogany chair. He discusses the effect of Thomas Paine's Common Sense on the colonies, which were torn between loyalty and liberty. He includes Thomas Jefferson's first draft of the Declaration of Independence and explains why he was chosen by the Continental Congress to write it. From the first ringing of the Liberty Bell to the assistance of French officer La Fayette, this second volume is as stunning as the first and a must-have for everyone interested in United States history. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Benson J. Lossing was born in 1813 and worked as editor of the Poughkeepsie Telegraph in New York. Lossing was disappointed that few people knew the history of the American Revolution outside of their own regions. This prompted him to begin a journey across the United States, recording the testimonies of the veterans of the Revolution. A skilled wood engraver, he made several sketches of the people he met and the places he visited on this journey. Lossing died in his home in 1891.