Colonial America during the Revolution was a mostly rural place. More than 85 percent of all citizens lived in the country, farming the land to support themselves. There were some towns and villages scattered throughout the countryside, but these were very small, none home to more than two or three thousand inhabitants.

Although rural people were isolated from larger cities such as Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, they were well aware of events that led to the American Revolution. Beginning with the Stamp Act in 1765, heated political discussions over taxes, loyalties, and impending war occupied the farmers, craftsmen, and merchants who lived in rural areas. News traveled very slowly, however, so the demands of King George and the colonial protesters were largely distant rumblings for most farm families, who labored from sunup to sundown to ensure their survival.

The Rural Scene

In the...