Salem: The Birthplace Of The American Revolution

We all know about the "shot heard 'round the world" and where the American Revolution started. It was Lexington and Concord, where Colonists first clashed with British troops and where the first blood was spilled that ignited the war of independence.

But one history professor argues that a largely forgotten peaceful protest — and an ensuing dramatic British retreat from Salem — also helped spark the Revolution. It occurred on Feb. 26, 1775 — 239 years ago tomorrow. And he makes a case for a new holiday to mark that event.

Peter Charles Hoffer, professor of history at the University of Georgia and the author of, "Prelude to Revolution: The Salem Gunpowder Raid of 1775."