Former New York Times foreign correspondent Christopher S. Wren’s new book, Those Turbulent Sons Of Freedom: Ethan Allen’s Green Mountain Boys And The American Revolution, tells the story of “the most active and rebellious race” of 18th century Vermonters who waged a “double insurgency” in creating the first Republic of Vermont (1777-1791), first against the wealthy “Yorkers” who sought to control the Hampshire Grant lands, and then against the British Empire during the 1776 American Revolution. Wren focuses on “a strapping trio of Green Mountain Boys with outlaw bounties on their heads:” Ethan Allen, Ethan’s second cousin Seth Warner, and their companion Justus Sherwood, a Loyalist who fought against the Yorkers but then revealed himself to be a master spy for the British.

“Insubordination flowed through the blood of these Green Mountain Boys and their kin. Driven by self-interest more than patriotism, they waged their own wars for independence,” writes Wren. “Their disrespect for authority became a signature American trait that continues to manifest itself today…and the skirmish they started in this insignificant corner of the world, from London’s perspective, would become a thread to unravel the tapestry of the ascendent British Empire.”

Wren’s book uncovers the mystique that surrounds the Green Mountain Boys and the mythological founding of the independent Republic of Vermont, illuminating the interpersonal relationships and political tensions that shaped the Green Mountain Boys’ struggle for independence. Wren gives the legendary Ethan Allen particular scrutiny, revealing Allen’s own inconsistencies, paradoxes and principles – his strategic military gaffes, his geopolitical flirtation with the British, and his public fallout with his brother Levi (ironically, the black sheep of the Allen brothers) over Levi’s acquisition of a slave after Vermont’s 1777 Constitution, planned in Westminster and unveiled in Windsor, specifically outlawed slavery – the first western constitution to do so. Even veterans of Vermont history will find much to enjoy in Wren’s new book, which is well written, well sourced, and an engaging read. Champions of a 2nd Vermont Republic will glean much from its pages, as well. Bless our 2VR, and long live the Untied States!