Roger Davis, Loyalist

The shot heard round the world claims Roger's father at Lexington Green, and everything changes. In Cambridge, Massachusetts, fourteen-year-old Roger Davis watches his world collapse. His father lies dead, killed by American militiamen, and Roger must now navigate a town turning against anyone who whispers loyalty to the Crown. His mother meets grief with iron composure, but Roger feels the pressure from all sides: neighbors becoming enemies, the constant threat of violence, and the unbearable question of what loyalty even means when your father died for a king who seems very far away. This late 19th-century novel asks something remarkable of its readers: feel sympathy for the Loyalist. In revolutionary America, neutrality is impossible, and choosing a side means risking everything. Roger must decide whether to protect his family by speaking the right words, or honor his father's memory by holding his tongue. Baird writes with quiet Victorian restraint about the human cost of war, letting a boy's moral crisis carry the weight of history.