March 13th, 2026: Vincent Dixon: THE MASSACHUSETTS 250th ANNIVERSARY AND CELEBRATIONS: Gunnery Expert Henry Knox – And – Achieving Evacuation Day

On March 13th, Wilson Forum Historian Vincent Dixon will speak about the 250th Anniversary – The Semiquincentennial – of the birthing of The United States which began in Massachusetts, observing events that led to July 4, 1776. The Massachusetts Independence Twelve is the listing of sequential events stretching over a period of years that we will review on the way to the Great Evacuation Day of 2026. The 250th Anniversary thereof, March 17, 2026, completes the cycle of primarily Massachusetts based events, Massachusetts 250, and then we are on the road to the major U.S. America 250 events, going forward.

This presentation explores aspects of the great success of local Boston bookseller Henry Knox in bringing the British cannon, which had been seized at Fort Ticonderoga, to Boston, to Dorchester Heights, leading to the Evacuation of Boston by the British. Knox was largely self-taught, yet brilliant. This unambiguous success before the United States Declaration of Independence was accomplished by a Massachusetts government that viewed itself as independent and makes clearly possible the decisions culminating in the July 4, 1776 Declaration.

While this Presentation is largely about the success of the original Evacuation Day and some exploration of the Evacuation Day Holiday, we will conclude with a bit of a flourish regarding the commemorations in July of 2026. Sail Boston, will bring ships in great number to Boston Harbor, and there will be a lot more… The Dorchester Heights Memorial, and Dorchester Heights itself, are interesting. The website known as Boston Central: 100+ Things to Do in Boston, MA | Boston Central…provides an ongoing calendar of various local community events, and will prove to be particularly valuable this year in listing fireworks, parades, and a lot more.

Vincent Lawrence Dixon has been President and Senior Guide of Cambridge Advantage Tours. His education includes being home-schooled K-12 by his parents; Harvard Extension School, A.A., A.B., (Cum Laude); Harvard Graduate School of Education, Ed.M.; and additional graduate work at Harvard Law School, Radcliffe Institute. A regular presenter, as Historian of the Wilson Science & Technology Forum, a Civics Expert, and a Newspaper Columnist, he has been published in the Cambridge Chronicle, Winchester Star, Winchester News, and other publications. He also presents regularly at Sanborn House of the Winchester Historical Society, Trolley Tours on Winchester Town Day, and has spoken extensively on legislation, and other similar matters. In February 2026, he began producing for broadcast The Vince Dixon Show, oriented to History and Civics and is initially being shown on Local Access Channels in Winchester, Stoneham, and Melrose.