Semiquincentennial

On the road to independence the last chapter was about the efforts of Paul Revere, William Dawes and Samuel Prescott to warn patriots of British troops who had crossed over water from Boston and were preparing to advance on the countryside. Today's episode is about the events that unfolded the following day. 

The battle of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 marked that moment in history when tensions between Britain and their colonial subjects erupted into open conflict; marking the first military engagement of the American Revolutionary War. 

Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith led the British expedition to seize rebel supplies and arms stored at Concord, Massachusetts and to arrest Patriot leaders - notably Samuel Adams and John Hancock.  Colonial militia - the Minutemen - had been organizing and stockpiling arms in anticipation of such actions.  Second in command was Major John Pitcairn who led the advance of British regulars - namely light infantry and royal marines.  It was Pitcairn in command of the soldiers who confronted colonial militia on Lexington Green.

Buckman Tavern

John Buckman, a member of Captain John Parker's colonial militia operated a tavern in Lexington.  Overnight, April 18-19, Minutemen assembled at this location to await word of advancing British troops.  Around 4:30 AM about 70 militiamen under the command of Captain John Parker gathered on Lexington Green after mustering at Buckman Tavern.  According to multiple accounts Parker went to great lengths to restrain his men from initiating hostilities.  In a sworn deposition taken on April 25, 1775 Parker had this to say:

“I … ordered our Militia to meet on the common in said Lexington … to consult what to do, and concluded not to be discovered, nor meddle or make with said Regular Troops … unless they should insult us; and upon their sudden approach, I immediately ordered our Militia to disperse and not to fire.”

About 5 AM an advance detachment of Pitcairn's troops arrive in the gathering light.

Confronting the assembled militiamen Pitcairn commands them to disperse.  A shot is fired - no one knows who fired first - the British respond with a massed volley killing 8 colonists outright and wounding an additional 10.  The minutemen scatter and the British commence their march on Concord.

Communal grave of Lexington dead

It is important to note that history mentions a shot heard 'round the world on this day. What is not known for certain which shot it was.  Was it at Lexington?  Later at Concord?  The running battle later that day? 

Arriving at Concord the British regulars begin busting down doors, rousting and abusing  the townspeople in their search for hidden weapons and supplies rumored to be there.  Naturally, the colonists had been forewarned and the troops found only a few wooden gun carriages.  The cannon had been removed and buried in a freshly-plowed field on the edge of town.    

Minutemen gathered on this overlook

The troopers decide to set fire to the carriages and some additional contraband.  The fire accidentally spreads to a nearby building and before it is extinguished Minutemen assembling on a hillside outside of town spot the thick smoke and assume that the British troops were setting Concord itself to the torch.  Thoroughly enraged, an angry militia - now numbering about 400 strong -  march upon the North Bridge to confront 96 British troops guarding it.

Facing-off, both sides fire upon one another.  Outnumbered, the British regulars guarding the bridge are routed in a disorderly withdrawal.  Regrouping at Concord, Smith and Pitcairn commence a long, bloody retreat back to Boston. 

In a running ambush, stretching from Concord all the way to the outskirts of Boston, the retreating British are assaulted by colonial militiamen now numbering in the thousands who fire-upon the redcoats from behind trees, stone walls and houses.  Attempts to outflank the Minutemen are futile.  Of an initial force numbering roughly 700; British losses are more than 270 dead, wounded or missing while militia losses are about 90 men.  Surviving British troops eventually reach the relative safety of Boston while colonial militia surround the city.  The Siege of Boston begins.

These engagements mark the beginning of the American Revolution and it proved that colonial militia could stand up to professional British soldiers.