WAR APPROACHING! 

SEDITIOUS PRINTER AND FELLOW REBBEL
MAKES WAY TO LEXINGTON GREEN

BOSTON, April 19, 1775

After safely sending his press off to Worcester, late into the night of April 16th, Isaiah Thomas remained in or near the  Boston area and was “one of those who on the night of April 18 rode … to alarm the countryside” as did William Dawes Jr. and Paul Revere. 

The following morning on April 19th, before dawn, Thomas and fellow revolutionary Dr. Joseph Warren crossed the Charles River to Charles Town then “hastened to Lexington where, according to one of his friends, he joined the militia at day break”.

Soon after in Worcester, when Thomas set up The Massachusetts Spy printing office, on May 3rd he wrote his account of the battle of Lexington - making him the nation’s  first  war correspondent.

Isaiah Thomas’s historical and fiery article read as follows: 

"AMERICANS! Forever bear in mind the BATTLE OF LEXINGTON - where British Troops, unmolested and unprovoked, wantonly, in a most inhuman manner fired upon and killed a number of our countrymen, then robbed them of their provisions, ransacked, plundered and burnt their houses! Nor could the tears of defenseless women, some of whom were in the pains of childbirth and cries of helpless babes, nor the prayers of old age, confined to beds of sickness, appease their thirst for blood! - or divert them from their DESIGN of MURDER and ROBBERY!"

So ended the turbulent Boston episode of Isaiah Thomas’s life.       

The Massachusetts Spy was published through 1904 making it one of the most important and longest running newspapers in America.        

Isaiah Thomas as well as publishing the Spy, published many books, and became the nation’s leading printer and publisher.

Designing the Painting.

The scene would be Isaiah Thomas and Dr. Joseph Warren as they row a boat to Charlestown from Boston.

I started with watercolors and sketches. 

At first I saw the painting as being with four people rowing, who included Isaiah Thomas and Dr. Warren and two others, but I decided to just have Thomas and Dr. Warren alone rowing since I saw no evidence that there were others with them.  Before beginning the painting or sketches, I first researched the British military map of 1775 to get an idea of how to place the view.

Following are the sketches prior to starting the painting.

After ideas in the sketches were explored, I started the painting and further explored the composition and view.

Details

The following images are details form the painting:

View of the British Warships parked in the Charles River. The Somerset is seen on the left.
View detailing Copp’s Hill; showing the battery and the cannons that would soon be bombarding Charlestown.  Further in the distance is Copp’s Hill windmill, which was built in 1632.  The North End Burial ground is now in its place.
Isaiah Thomas (standing) and Dr. Warren as they row to Charlestown.  From there they made their way to Concord.  Earlier in the night, Paul Revere rowed from Boston to Charlestown past the Somerset and saw the lantern signals from the Old North Church: “One if by Land, Two if by Sea”.  Behind them is Gree’s Ship yard.
View looking across Mill Pond showing Union street leading up to Faneuil Hall in the distance.