Lexington and Concord — Eyewitness Depositions

Essential Facts

• The Battles of Lexington and Concord happened on April 19, 1775.
• In the aftermath, Joseph Warren of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress wanted eyewitnesses interviewed as soon as possible.
• He wanted to send the depositions to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, and Benjamin Franklin in London.
• Franklin was the Agent for Massachusetts and acted as its representative in London. 
• Warren wanted Franklin to have eyewitness accounts that could be used to help gain sympathy for the Patriot Cause.
• The notary public who certified most of the depositions was Nathaniel Gorham, who went on to serve as the 8th President of the Continental Congress (June 6, 1786–February 2, 1787).
• 23 depositions were recorded.
• Three British soldiers were interviewed — John Bateman, James Marr, and Edward Thoroton Gould.
• These depositions were followed by the official report of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, which was issued on May 22, 1775.

Significance

The eyewitness depositions recorded about the Battles of Lexington and Concord are important to United States History because they are firsthand accounts of the events that initiated the American Revolutionary War. It is evident in reading the depositions that Americans were upset over the bloodshed — many of them said the British fired first at Lexington — but were also cautious to say too much, for fear of reprisal.

Depositions Taken in April 1775

Deposition #1 — Solomon Brown, Jonathan Loring, Elijah Sanderson

The first deposition was given by Solomon Brown, Jonathan Loring, and Elijah Sanderson, who were sent to scout for the British Expedition rumored to be approaching Lexington.

• Brown, Loring, and Sanderson were held by the British, along with Paul Revere.
• According to Sanderson, British soldiers were the only ones who fired shots during the Battle of Lexington.
• Sanderson says he barely escaped with his life.

Deposition #2 — Thomas Price Willard

Thomas Price Willard testified he was visiting Lexington and witnessed the Battle of Lexington.

• Thomas Price Willard was at the home of Daniel Harrington when the Battle of Lexington took place.
• Willard witnessed the British column marching into Lexington.
• The Lexington Militia dispersed but took their weapons with them.
• According to Willard, no shots were fired until after the Lexington Militia dispersed.

Deposition #3 — Simon Winship

Simon Winship testified the British fired first at the Battle of Lexington.

• Around 4:00 a.m. on April 19, Simon Winship was about 2 and a half miles east of Lexington
• He was apprehended by British troops, and forced to dismount from his horse and march with the column.
• The British asked if he had been out warning the Minute Men.
• He said he had not been raising the alarm and was simply returning to his father’s house.
• The British column stopped about a quarter mile from the Meeting House, where the commanding officer ordered his men to load their weapons.
• Winship said the Lexington Militia was assembled, and the British officer brandished his sword and ordered his men to fire.

Deposition #4 — John Parker

Captain John Parker led the Lexington Militia during the Battle of Lexington. Parker testified the British fired “without receiving any Provocation therefor from us.” 

• Parker and his men first assembled around 1:00 a.m. on April 19.
• Express riders informed the people in Lexington that British soldiers were patroling the reads and an expedition was on its way to Concord.
• Parker ordered his men not to fire unless “they should insult or molest us.”
• He told his men to disperse when the British approached them.
• The British rushed them and fired first.

Deposition #5 — John Robins

John Robins testified the British fired first at the Battle of Lexington.

• John Robins was a member of the Lexington Militia and was one of the men assembled on Lexington Green, under the command of Captain John Parker, when the British marched into Lexington.
• Robins believed there were around 1,000 British troops, with three officers at the front of the column.
• The British stopped within 60-70 of the Lexington Militia and one of the officers ordered the Lexington Militia to disperse.
• As the Lexington Militia dispersed, the officer closest to them ordered the British to fire.
• Robins was wounded and fell to the ground.

Deposition #6 — John Benjamin Tidd and Joseph Abbot

Benjamin Tidd and Joseph Abbot of Lincoln testified the British fired first at the Battle of Lexington.

• Benjamin Tidd lived in Lexington.
• Joseph Abbot lived in Lincoln.
• Around 5:00 a.m. on April 19, Tidd and Abbot were on horses when they saw the British troops marching into Lexington.
• Tidd and Abbot saw the Lexington Militia disperse.
• Tidd and Abbot said the British officers fired their pistols first.

Deposition #7 — Nathaniel Mullikin, Philip Russell, et al

Nathaniel Mullikin, Philip Russell, and others testified the British fired first at the Battle of Lexington.

• The witnesses in this deposition were members of Captain John Parker’s Lexington Militia.
• Around 5:00 a.m., they heard the drumbeat and returned to Lexington Green.
• When they arrived, they saw the British column approaching them.
• The Lexington Militia started to disperse, but when their backs were turned the British fired on them.

Deposition #8 — Nathanael Parkhurst, et al

Nathanael Parkhurst and others testified the British fired first at the Battle of Lexington.

• The witnesses in this deposition were members of the Lexington Militia.
• Around 5:00 a.m., they heard the drumbeat and returned to Lexington Green.
• The British marched toward the Lexington Militia.
• When the Lexington Militia started to disperse, the British fired.
• Some of the Lexington Militia had their backs turned to the British when the shots were fired.

Deposition #9 — Timothy Smith

Timothy Smith testified that the British fired first at the Battle of Lexington.

• Timothy Smith lived in Lexington.
• Smith was a spectator to the Battle of Lexington.
• He testified that the Lexington Militia dispersed and the British fired on them.
• After the first shots were fired, Smith ran away and the British fired at him.

Deposition #10 — Levi Mead and Levi Harrington

Levi Mead and Levi Harrington testified the British fired first at the Battle of Lexington.

• Levi Mead and Levi Harrington both lived in Lexington.
• Mead and Harrington were eyewitnesses to the Battle of Lexington.
• They said they saw British officers fire their pistols at the Lexington Militia, which was dispersing from Lexington Green.
• After the pistols were fired, the British Regulars opened fire on the militia.

Deposition #11 — William Draper

William Draper testified the British fired first at the Battle of Lexington.

• William Draper was a resident of Colrain and was in Lexington on April 19.
• Draper said the Lexington Militia was dispersing when the commanding officer of the British troops ordered his men to fire.
• Draper indicates the militia returned fire.
• Draper believed he was between 50 and 65 feet from the British troops.

Deposition #12 — Thomas Fessenden

Thomas Fessenden testified the British fired first at the Battle of Lexington.

• Thomas Fessenden was in a pasture near the Lexington Meetinghouse on the morning of April 19.
• Fessenden said it was about 30 minutes before sunrise when the British troops marched past him.
• He saw three officers on horseback move to the front of the column.
• One of the officers told the Lexington Militia to disperse and raised his sword.
• The Lexington Militia started to disperse.
• Another officer fired his pistol at the militia.
• The officer with the sword pointed it at the militia and the British troops fired.
• When shots were fired, Fessenden ran from the scene.

Deposition #13 — John Bateman

John Bateman, a British soldier, testified the British fired first at the Battle of Lexington.

• John Bateman was a member of the 52nd Regiment.
• Bateman said he heard one of the officers order the men to fire, and they did.
• Further, he said that none of the inhabitants of Lexington fired on the British troops.

Deposition #14 — John Hoar, et al

John Hoar and others testified the British fired first at the Battle of Concord.

• John Hoar and the other witnesses assembled in Concord and heard about the Battle of Lexington.
• The witnesses withdrew to a hill overlooking the town as the British column approached Concord.
• 200 British troops moved toward the North Bridge. 
• Roughly 100 crossed the bridge and went to Colonel James Barrett’s farm.
• They saw buildings in the town were on fire, so they marched down to the bridge.
• The British troops were guarding the bridge and started to remove the planks.
• The American troops sped up and crossed the bridge.
• The British fired on them.
• The Americans returned fire, but only after the order was given for them to do so.
• The British retreated and burned buildings between Lexington and Charlestown.

Deposition #15 — Nathan Barret, et al

Captain Nathan Barrett and others testified the British fired first at the Battle of Concord.

• The witnesses in this deposition were members of the Concord Militia.
• The witnesses assembled on a hill near the Concord Meetinghouse about an hour after sunrise.
• About an hour later, the British column appeared on the road.
• The Concord Militia fell back to another hill.
• The British occupied the first hill, near the Meetinghouse.
• 200 British troops were deployed to the North Bridge and 100 of them went to search Colonel James Barrett’s farm.
• The militia saw fires in the town and marched to the North Bridge.
• The British forces guarding the bridge started removing the planks.
• As the militia hurried to cross the bridge, the British fired at them.
• The Americans were given orders to return fire, which they did.
• The British retreated and burned houses and buildings between Lexington and Charlestown.

Deposition #16 — Timothy Minot Jr.

Timothy Minot Jr. testified the British fired first at the Battle of Concord.

• Timothy Minot Jr. was a resident of Concord.
• When Minot heard about the Battle of Lexington, he took his family away from Concord for safety.
• Minot returned to the town and witnessed the fight at the North Bridge.
• He testified the British were on the Concord side of the bridge, and fired on the militia.
• The militia returned fire from the other side of the bridge.

Deposition #17 — James Barrett

Colonel James Barrett testified the British fired first at the Battle of Concord.

• Colonel James Barrett was a resident of Concord and leader of the Concord Militia.
• Barrett was notified the British were marching to Concord to seize the military supplies.
• Barrett took command of the assembled militia forces and ordered them to the North Bridge.
• Barrett ordered his men not to fire their guns, unless the British fired first.
• When the Americans neared the bridge, the British fired.
• Barrett’s men returned fire.

Deposition #18 — Bradbury Robinson, et al

Bradbury Robinson and others testified the British fired first at the Battle of Concord.

• The witnesses who gave this deposition were from Concord and Lexington and were with the assembled militia forces.
• Around 10:00 a.m., they saw the British cross the North Bridge.
• Soon after, about 300 Americans advanced toward the North Bridge.
• The British forces fired on the militia, and the militia returned fire.

Deposition #19 — James Marr

James Marr, a British soldier, testified the British fired first at the Battle of Concord.

• James Marr was a British soldier.
• On the night of April 18, he received orders from his commanding officer, George Hutchinson, to prepare to march out of Boston.
• He was one of the troops ordered to guard the North Bridge at Concord.
• Marr said a “number of people” prepared to cross the bridge and the British troops fired at them.

Deposition #20 — Edward Thoroton Gould

Edward Thoroton Gould, a British soldier, testified the British fired first at the Battle of Concord

• Edward Thoroton Gould was a British soldier.
• Under orders of General Gage, he was part of the expedition that landed at Cambridge and then marched to Lexington.
• Gould said there were 60-70 men on Lexington Green as the British approached.
• Gould did not know who fired first at the Battle of Lexington but said the British kept firing until the Lexington Militia was gone.
• The British marched to Concord where Gould said they saw militia forces gathered on a hill.
• Gould was with the troops sent to guard the Concord side of the North Bridge.
• He testified the British fired first at the North Bridge.
• Gould was wounded in the skirmish at the North Bridge.
• He was taken to Medford where he received medical care from the residents.

Deposition #21 — Zachariah Brown and Thomas Davis Jr.

Zachariah Brown and Thomas Davis Jr. disputed rumors of atrocities committed by Americans against British troops at the Battle of Concord.

• In the aftermath of the day’s events, there were rumors that British soldiers had been mutilated near the North Bridge in Concord.
• Brown and Davis testified they buried the bodies of the British troops killed near the North Bridge and that the bodies were not mutilated.

Deposition #22 — Hannah Adams

Hannah Adams testified that British troops threatened her during the Battle of Menotomy.

• Hannah Adams was the wife of Deacon John Adams. They lived in Menotomy.
• During the Battle of Menotomy, British troops broke into their home.
• Adams had recently given birth and was in her bedroom when a British soldier threatened her with a bayonet.
• The troops let her take the baby and leave the house and then set it on fire — with her other five children inside.
• The fire was put out before the house was destroyed.

Deposition #23 — Benjamin Cooper and Rachel Cooper

Benjamin Cooper and Rachel Cooper testified about British atrocities committed during the Battle of Menotomy.

• Benjamin and Rachel Cooper were tavern owners in Menotomy.
• They said the British troops fired more than 100 bullets into their home.
• The Coopers were in the building, along with two older men.
• The British troops entered the building.
• The Coopers took shelter in the cellar and the British killed the two men.