Lexington Militia and the Battles of Lexington and Concord

Overview

Lexington, Massachusetts, was one of the towns that mobilized its militia forces in response to the Alarm on April 18–19, 1775. Led by Captain John Parker, the Lexington men assembled on the Common, where they were attacked by British forces during the Battle of Lexington — the first battle of the American Revolutionary War.

This account of the Lexington Militia and its involvement in the Battles of Lexington and Concord is taken from History of the Town of Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, written by Charles Hudson and published in 1913.

Hudson’s lengthy account covers the events leading up to the fateful day and then tells the story of the Midnight Ride, the Battle of Lexington, the Battle of Concord, Parker’s Revenge, and the Battle of Menotomy. It also includes information about the atrocities committed by the British in Lexington and the embarrassment they suffered, due in part to the Lexington Militia.

To present this, we have removed sections and heavily edited the text. However, we have not changed the Hudson’s meaning or intent. These changes have been made to help readers, particularly younger ones, understand the text. We have also added spacing and section headings to help readers scan the text and added notes for context.

Essential Facts

• Location: Lexington is 14-17 miles northwest of Boston, Massachusetts.
• Commanding Officers: Captain John Parker.
• Entered the Battle: The Lexington Militia entered the battle in Lexington, on the Common.
• Lexington Alarm: Paul Revere arrived with the news of the British Expedition just after midnight.

History

Gage Takes Action

The spring of 1775 opened with every indication that the crisis was rapidly approaching and that General Thomas Gage had resolved to make some decisive demonstration in the field. 

The Earl of Dartmouth had suggested to General Gage the propriety of disarming the colonists; and though General Gage had in November, 1774, intimated that true wisdom would require the employment of 20,000 troops, yet in January, 1775, he had written to his lordship that matters looked more favorable, and that it was the general opinion that “if a respectable force is seen in the field, the most obnoxious of the leaders are seized, and a pardon proclaimed for I all others, the Government will come off victorious.”

Gage was aware that there was a growing dissatisfaction in London with the course he was pursuing. His policy was deemed inefficient, and his inactivity was complained of. He also knew that additional troops would be sent to Boston, including General William Howe, General Henry Clinton, and General John Burgoyne — one of whom would supersede him if he failed. Such facts and considerations would naturally prompt him to action. He was probably further encouraged by demonstrations in favor of the Royal cause made at Marshfield and several other places.

Salem Raid and Leslie’s Retreat

Knowing that some cannon and other military stores had been collected at Salem, he sent, on February 25, a detachment of his troops to seize or destroy them. But the people, anticipating his design, raised the drawbridge leading to the part of the town where they were deposited and so prevented their falling into his hands. This incident is known as “Leslie’s Retreat.”

Gage’s Spies

Meditating the destruction of the military stores which the Committees of Safety and Supplies had been collecting at Worcester and Concord, General Gage sent officers in disguise to sketch the topography of the country and ascertain the feelings and preparation of the people. 

On February 22, Captain William Brown, of the 52nd Regiment, and Ensign Henry De Berniere, of the 10th, were directed to make this reconnoissance, with instructions not only to note the roads, distances, heights, passes, rivers, and the like, but to “notice the situation of the towns and villages, their churches and churchyards, whether they are advantageous spots to take post in, and capable of being rendered defensible.” 

These officers in disguise visited Worcester by way of Sudbury, Framingham, and Marlborough, and subsequently, on March 20, visited Concord by way of Sudbury and returned through Lexington; on their return, they reported the result of their exploration to General Gage.

Aggressive Behavior of the British Troops in Boston

In the meantime, there were many indications that the British officers stationed at Boston were becoming weary of those “piping times of peace” and were desirous of bringing on a collision with the people. 

• March 6, 1775 — On the anniversary of the Boston Massacre, Joseph Warren delivered the Oration at the Old South Church, and Samuel Adams presided. A large number of British officers were present and attempted to break up the meeting with cries of fire, hissing, and other disorderly conduct. The author notes, “The red-coated gentry behaved with tolerable decency till after the Doctor had finished; when, taking exception at the words of the vote that was put for the appointment of an orator for the next year, one of them cried out, “fieI fieI” This exclamation was seconded by two or three others; and the people thinking it was the cry of fire, great confusion was occasioned…much mischief would have ensued had not the gentlemen in the desk very strenuously exerted themselves to restore quiet.”
• March 8, 1775 — Thomas Ditson, Jr., a citizen of Billerica, being in Boston, was seized by a party of the King’s troops, on the vain pretence of having urged one of their soldiers to desert; and without any trial or examination was taken to their guard-house and kept a prisoner till the next day, when he was stripped, tarred and feathered, placed upon a truck, and drawn through some of the principal streets, attended by 40 or 50 soldiers of the 47th Regiment with arms and fixed bayonets, led on by Colonel Nesbit of that regiment, the music at the same time playing “Yankee Doodle” by way of derision.
• March 16, 1775 — This day was observed as a day of fasting and prayer in obedience to the recommendation of the Provincial Congress. Several congregations in Boston were annoyed by a party of the 4th Regiment. They pitched their tents near one of the churches and, during the service, greatly disturbed the worshippers with their drums, fifes, and other noises. Colonel Madison was present with them a part of the time.
• March 17, 1775 — In the evening. John Hancock’s house, near the Common, was attacked by a party of British officers, who cut and hacked the fence in front of the house and otherwise behaved very abusively, breaking windows and insulting almost every person they met.
• March 18, 1775 — The guard at the Neck seized 13,425 musket cartridges with balls and about 300 pounds of musket balls, the property of private persons, which the General refused to give up to the owners. They also abused the teamster, pricking him with their bayonets, and assaulted the Providence stage, breaking the windows and insulting the passengers.
• March 19, 1775 — A party of officers and soldiers again insulted Colonel Hancock, entering upon his premises and refusing to retire, boasting that his house, stable, and other property would soon be theirs, and they would use it as they pleased.

Though these aggressions were of a private character and related to the rights of individuals, they served to irritate the people and showed, at the same time, a haughtiness on the part of the British officers that would naturally lead to a collision with the inhabitants.

• AHC Note — See March 1775 for more key events that took place in the month leading up to the Battle of Lexington.

Organization of the New England Army

While Gage was preparing excursions into the country to destroy the military stores collected by the Provincials, the patriotic inhabitants were not inactive. 

• The Second Massachusetts Provincial Congress, which held its first session at Cambridge, had adjourned on February 16 to meet at Concord on March 22. 
• On March 22, Congress adopted the most efficient means in their power to meet the crisis, which they knew could not be far distant.

Congress adopted Rules and Articles for the regulation of the army of the Province, elected committees from the several counties to see that the recommendations of the Congress were fully carried out, and renewed their recommendation for exercising and drilling the militia. 

• AHC Note — This is the origin of the New England Army of Observation.

Having received intelligence that large reinforcements were on their way to Boston, they sent delegates to New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island to apprise them of the common danger and, if possible, to enlist them in the common cause. They assured their sister Colonies “that we are determined to take effectual measures for our security and defence by raising an army,” and requested them “to cooperate with us by furnishing their respective quotas for the general defence.” 

They also voted to raise six companies of artillery, to be organized, disciplined, and in “constant readiness to enter the service of the Colony” whenever it should become necessary. And as they appealed to Heaven for the justice of their cause and trusted in the God of battles to carry them successfully through the contest which they feared was approaching, they appointed a day of fasting and prayer. 

On April 15, they adjourned to meet again on May 10 — unless called together sooner on an emergency by a committee which they had designated for that purpose.

Committees of Safey and Supplies

In the meantime, the Committee of Safety and the Committee of Supplies, which generally met together, were in session almost daily, using the most efficient means in their power to put the Province in a proper state of defense. On March 14, they met in Cambridge. 

• Anticipating movement on the part of Gage, they voted “that watches be kept constantly at places where the Provincial magazines are kept.”
• They also requested the Committees of Charlestown, Cambridge, and Roxbury “to procure at least two men for a watch every night, to be placed in each of these towns, and that the said members be in readiness to send couriers forward to the towns where the magazines are placed, when sallies are made from the army by night.” 

Pursuant to this request, on the day following the Committees directed Colonel James Barrett, of Concord, “to engage a sufficient number of faithful men to guard the colony magazines in that town, and to keep a suitable number of teams in constant readiness by day and by night, on the shortest notice to remove the stores; and also to provide couriers to alarm the neighboring towns, on receiving any information of any movement of the King’s troops.”

The Committees were in session at Concord on April 17 and adjourned to meet at Wetherby’s Tavern in Menotomy the next day, April 18.

Percy’s March

In preparation to send troops to Worcester or Concord to destroy the milita stores, Gage sent out detachments of his troops into the neighboring towns, probably with the design of exercising his men and of habituating the inhabitants to these excursions, so that no apprehension might be felt in case the troops should be seen leaving Boston. 

On March 30, the First Brigade, under General Hugh Percy, marched out to Jamaica Plain, in Roxbury. They were closely watched by the people, who collected in large numbers. However, as Percy’s troops were without artillery or baggage, it was inferred that their excursion was but a short one. Further, as they did not interfere with the inhabitants, they were permitted to pass without molestation. 

They did, however, commit depredations upon private property by throwing down a considerable quantity of stone wall. Whether this was done as wanton mischief or whether they thought that these walls would afford a rampart for the militia in case they should attempt an expedition in that direction, it is impossible to say.

Sentiments of the People with War on the Horizon

The day of debate had now passed, and the day of action — open, efficient action — had come. Active efforts were now making in all parts of the Province. Not only were the Committees of Safety and of Supplies adopting efficient measures, but almost every town was resounding with “awful notes of preparation.”

The towns were furnishing arms and munitions of war to the utmost extent of their ability. The minute-men and the alarm-lists, as they were called, the latter being composed of the aged and the young, were out almost daily for exercise and drill. 

The people felt the awful responsibility that rested upon them. They knew that to resist the King’s troops would be treason, which they might be called upon to expiate upon the gallows, but to submit to the arbitrary and unjust requisitions of Great Britain would be courting a chain and entailing slavery upon themselves and their children. 

The feeling that pervaded the community was one of the purest patriotism, sanctified and hallowed on the altar of religion. Their sense of justice — and of right — their regard for the welfare of their children, their love for their country, and their devotion to their God prompted them to action and inspired them with confidence in their ultimate success.

Role of the Clergy

No class in the community contributed more to produce this state of feeling and to animate and sustain the people as the danger approached than the pious and patriotic clergy of New England.

Their appeals were ardent and touching. They recurred to the causes which had brought us to this country and recounted the instances in which our fathers had been brought out of a wilderness of dangers and through scenes of blood. They pointed to that Canaan of rest which awaited us if we would put our trust in the Lord and rely upon his outstretched arm. They taught their people that the Gospel was a self-sacrificing system, that patriotism was a Christian duty, and that he who refused to suffer for his country in such a holy cause was false to Him who died that we might live. 

Reverend Jonas Clarke

And among those who animated and encouraged the people and thus kindled the fires of patriotism upon the altars of religion, none was more active or successful than the distinguished and pious priest who ministered to the people of Lexington — Jonas Clarke.

Clarke’s intimacy with Adams and Hancock made him minutely acquainted with the affairs of the Colony, his clear and far-reaching perception enabled him to judge with great accuracy, and his noble and manly independence gave him a controlling influence over the minds of men. 

“Mr. Clarke was a man of high rank in his profession — a man of practical piety — a learned theologian — a person of wide general reading — a writer perspicuous, correct, and pointed beyond the standard of the day — and a most intelligent, resolute, and ardent champion of the popular cause. He was connected by marriage with the family of John Hancock. To this circumstance, no doubt, may properly be ascribed some portion of his interest in the political movements of the day — while on the mind of Hancock, an intimacy with Mr. Clarke was calculated to have a strong and salutary influence.”

— Edward Everett, An Address Delivered at Lexington (1835)

Clarke took a broad and enlightened view of the duties and obligations of the citizen. With him, patriotism was a virtue of religious growth. In his estimation, love to God involved a love of country, and devotion to religion implied devotion to the state. 

Describing the true patriot, he says, “Inspired with the principles of piety, governed by the laws of God, encouraged and supported with motives of religion, such men in the court or in the field, in peace and in war, in private and in public stations, look with a generous contempt, a sacred abhorrence upon every advantage they might make to themselves at the expense of their virtue. No self-interest, no venal motive can countervail with them the public good, the safety and happiness of society — of mankind. The frowns of the great and the flatteries of the vulgar are equally despised; the greatest trials are cheerfully endured, the most self-denying services are with pleasure engaged in, in the cause of God. In honor to God they wait upon the Eang, in devotion to him they serve their country, and for the glory of his name stand ready cheerfully to submit to every hardship, firmly to face every danger, and for the support of his cause, and the defence of the liberties and lives of his people, freely to make their own a sacrifice, and shed their dearest blood.”

• AHC Note — This quote from Clarke is from his “Artillery Election Sermon,” which he gave on June 6, 168. In it, Clarke laid out reasons for maintaining the Province’s military skills during peace time.

Such were the sentiments of Mr. Clarke, uttered seven years before hostilities commenced, and they had become more deeply seated and had taken a more active form as the crisis approached. 

Such sentiments and feelings had extended in a good degree throughout all the Colonies — though in Massachusetts, they had well-nigh ripened into action. The town of Lexington took a deep and lively interest in the controversy between the parent country and the Colonies and had made every effort to prepare her sons for any emergency that might arise.

In 1774, Lexington “voted to increase the town’s stock of ammunition…to encourage military discipline, and to put themselves in a posture of defence against their enemies,” and voted to supply the “training soldiers” with bayonets and had distributed, at the expense of the town, arms and ammunition to the “training-band” and “alarm-list” of her citizens. Such was the liberality of the town to her patriotic sons, who in the day of trial stood firmly by the cause of freedom and nobly “showed that they were worth their breeding.”

• Author Note — At a meeting of the people of the Alarm List of the third Company in Danvers, held in Danvers, on March, 6, 1775, to officers for said Alarm List Company, Reverend Benjamin Balch, Chairman; said people unanimously made choice of Deacon Edmund Putnam for Captain; Reverend Benjamin Balch for Lieutenant, and Mr. Tarrant Putnam for Ensign. The said gentlemen, being present, declared their acceptance.

Adams and Hancock in Lexington

The Second Provincial Congress, of which John Hancock was President and Samuel Adams one of its most distinguished members, having closed its session at Concord on April 15, these champions of freedom, instead of returning to Boston, had taken up their abode with Reverend Jonas Clarke at Lexington.

AHC Note — In the original text, Hudson argues that General Gage intended to capture Hancock and Adams on April 19. However, he did not explicitly directly Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith to do to. Some of the key points are:

• It was well known that Governor Thomas Hutchinson wanted to have Adams arrested and sent to England to be tried for treason.
• In a proclamation issued in November 1774, General Gage announced the Massachusetts Provincial Congress was “an unlawful assembly, tending utterly to subvert” government, and to lead directly “to sedition, treason, and rebellion,” and had held up “the pains and penalties of the law,” to prevent their reassembling or their measures from being carried into effect.
• On January 18, Gage wrote a letter to Lord Dartmouth, suggesting “the most obnoxious leaders” should be seized.

British Reinforcements

Everything indicated that the crisis was at hand, and a fearful one it was for Massachusetts. General Gage had received reinforcements, boosting his total to about 4,000 men, well armed and equipped, and under the most perfect discipline, they could be brought into the field at any moment. Large reinforcements were on their way from Europe, and Boston was their destination. 

Disorganization in Massachusetts

Massachusetts had no organized army — not a single company in the field to oppose the march of the King’s troops. The whole Province was in a state of comparative disorder. 

By dissolving the Legislature, Gage left Massachusetts without any lawful government. The Provincial Congress, a body almost self-constituted, assumed to act as a sort of legislature, and the Committees of Safety and of Supplies were exercising a kind of executive power.

And though these bodies, under all the circumstances of the case, acted with great wisdom and efficiency, they had no power to enforce their measures and no adequate means in their hands to procure the necessary troops or munitions of war.

The Provincial Congress had, as early as October 1774, recommended the purchase of arms and ammunition to the amount of £20,800. The Treasurer, on April 25, 1775, reported that only about £5,000 had come into his hands.

The poverty of the people and the dearth of military stores within the Province are manifest from the journals of those committees. Most of the arms in the hands of the people were their old hunting guns, without bayonets — hence votes were passed by Congress earnestly recommending the purchase and manufacture of bayonets, that essential appendage of the musket.

The manufacture of saltpetre was also urged upon the people, that they might be able to supply the great demand for powder. The towns were earnestly called upon to furnish, as far as possible, a certain quantity of bayonets, powder, and “firelocks.”

• AHC Note — Saltpetre is a key component in gunpowder.

The records show the great difficulties under which the Committee of Supplies labored. Many of their votes indicate the straits to which they were driven. They were directed to “endeavor to procure” such and such articles. 

The supply of military stores and of provisions indicated their destitution in both the implements and the sinews of war. The Committee of Supplies were directed to acquire 200 spades, 150 iron shovels, 150 pickaxes, 1,000 six-quart iron pots, 200 bill-hooks, 1,000 wooden mess-bowls, one tenon-saw, 200 axes, 50 wheelbarrows, and a suitable supply of wooden spoons; also 355 barrels of pork, 700 barrels of flour, 300 bushels of beans, and 20 tierces of rice. 

Limited as were these amounts and active as were the endeavors of the Committee, these supplies could not be fully obtained. 

They also secured as many field pieces as they could, but so limited was the supply that certain officers were directed, if possible, to borrow from those who possessed them that the men might be instructed in their use.

Bravery of Massachusetts

With such comparative destitution, and with a population of only about 3,000, without any organized government, and almost without money or credit, Massachusetts dared with a small number of undisciplined and half-armed militia to withstand the mighty energy of Great Britain, lately victorious on both continents over the most powerful nations of the earth. 

As great as the disparity was, the patriots stood firm. Animated by the justice of their cause and sustained by a lively faith in an overruling Providence, they were determined to do their duty and trust the issue to Him “who bringeth the princes to nothing,” and “taketh up the isles as a very little thing.”

Gage Prepares the Expedition to Concord

Gage, having obtained all the needed information relative to the topography of the country, planned a secret expedition to Concord to destroy the military stores deposited there.

• On April 15, on the pretence of teaching the grenadiers and light infantry some new discipline or evolutions, he detached about 800 of them from the main body and marched them to another part of the town.
• At night, the boats of the transport ships, which had been hauled up for repairs, were launched and moored under the sterns of the men-of-war lying in the river.

Revere’s First Ride to Lexington

But the object of this movement was suspected by the watchful patriots. Joseph Warren, ever on the alert, immediately caused information to be communicated to his friends in the neighboring towns, and a messenger was sent to Hancock and Adams at Lexington. 

• AHC Note — The messenger was Paul Revere. On the return trip to Boston, Revere stopped in Charlestown and met with Richard Devens, a member of the Committee of Safety. The two devised the signal system, using lanterns in the steeple of the Old North Church.

Supplies Moved Out of Concord

This timely notice enabled the Committee of Safety to adopt the precautionary measure, on the 17th and 18th, of having a portion of the cannon and stores at Concord removed to Sudbury, Stow, and Groton, and another portion was hidden at different places within the town.

• AHC Note — Hancock was the chairman of the Committee of Safety..

The British Patrol

On Tuesday, April 18, Gage sent some of his officers out of town with instructions to post themselves on the roads leading from Boston to Concord. This was to prevent, if possible, all knowledge of the expedition from reaching the country. To avoid suspicion, some of the officers left Boston in the morning and dined that day in Cambridge. Late in the afternoon, they proceeded leisurely on horseback toward Lexington and Concord. 

The Committees of Safety and Supplies were in session that day at Wetherby’s Tavern in Menotomy, and as they had not completed their business, they had adjourned with plans to meet at 9:00 the next morning. Three of the members, Elbridge Gerry, Colonel Azor Orne, and Colonel Jeremiah Lee, remained at Wetherby’s for the night. 

• Richard Devens and Abraham Watson took a chaise and started back to Charlestown but encountered some of the British officers on horseback. They returned to Wetherby’s to inform their friends at the tavern. Devens and Waston remained there until the British officers passed and then left again for Charlestown.
• Gerry sent a message to Hancock and Adams that said “eight or nine officers were out, suspected of some evil design.” The messenger took a by-path and safely reached Lexington.

Solomon Brown

By this time, Solomon Brown had already delivered the warning to the people of Lexington.

• Brown, who was from Lexington, had been to market at Boston on the 18th.
• He was returning late in the afternoon when he saw nine British officers, dressed in blue greatcoats, passing leisurely on the road.
• Brown and the officers passed each other several times.
• At some point, the wind blew some of the officers’ coats, revealing their firearms, which Brown saw.
• When he saw the weapons, he rushed to Munroe’s Tavern in Lexington, where he informed Colonel William Munro, the orderly sergeant of the militia company.

Munroe, suspecting the British officers intended to seize Hancock and Adams, set a guard of eight men, well armed and equipped, and placed them, himself at their head, at the house of Reverend Clarke, which was about a quarter of a mile from the main road leading to Concod.

• That spring, small parties of British officers had been seen making excursions into the country early in the day and returning before evening. 
• However, the unusually late hour of this group being on the road excited the attention of the people in Lexington, and about 30 members of the militia gathered.

After some discussion, three men — Solomon Brown, Jonathan Loring, and Elijah Sanderson — were sent toward Concord to scout the British officers and gather information on their movements. However, all three were taken as prisoners by the British officers near Lincoln.

The Signal Lanterns

After Richard Devens returned to Charlestown, he learned the British troops in Boston were in motion and were preparing to leave the town on some secret expedition. This was due to the signal he had agreed on with Revere: 

• If the British marched out of Boston via Boston Neck, one lantern was to be hung out from the steeple of the Old North Church (one of by land).
• If the British crossed the harbor in boats and landed on the mainland, two lanterns were to be hung from the steeple (two if by sea).

Devens kept his eye on the church. Soon enough, the lanterns conveyed the message that the troops were leaving Boston by crossing the river. Believing Concord was their destination and fearing for the safety of his friends at Menotomy and Lexington, he immediately sent messengers with the news.

Gage’s Plan Discovered

General Gage believed his operation was known only to himself and the few officers to whom he had told. 

• Around 9:00 that night, he sent for General Hugh Percy and told him about the plans for the expedition. Gage also congratulated himself on his success in keeping it hidden from the Patriots. 
• After Percy left, he was crossing Boston Common where he saw a group of people were gathered. He mingled with them and discovered they were talking about Gage’s expedition. 
• Percy quickly returned to Gage and told him what he had heard.

Mortified, Gage immediately issued orders that no one should be permitted to leave Boston.

The Midnight Ride to Lexington

However, it was too late. The intelligence had gone forth from the Old North Church with the rapidity of light, and Joseph Warren had already sent Paul Revere and William Dawes into the country to raise the Alarm. 

• A little before 11:00 p.m., Revere crossed the river in his own boat, close to the Somerset man-of-war, unobserved, and landed at Charlestown.
• He met with Devens, who informed him that ten British officers, well armed and mounted, were upon the road. 
• A fleet horse was obtained from Deacon Larkin, and Revere started on his mission. 

Soon after passing Charlestown Neck, Revere fell in with two British officers who attempted to arrest him. However, turning his horse back towards Charlestown, he took the Medford Road, and, owing to the fleetness of his horse, he escaped his pursuers, one of whom, in attempting to cut him off, rode into a clay-pit.

Revere passed through Medford to Menotomy, alarming the people by the way, and arrived safely at Lexington, where he found Reverend Clarke’s house guarded by Sergeant Munroe and eight men. This was a little past midnight. 

He requested to be admitted to Clarke’s house. However, Sergeant Munroe told him the family had just retired and had requested that they might not be disturbed by any noise about the house. “Noise!” exclaimed Revere, “you’ll have noise enough before long. The regulars are coming out.” With this, he was allowed to pass. 

Hearing knocking at the door, Reverend Clarke opened a window and asked who was there. Revere, without answering the question, said he wished to see Mr. Hancock. Clarke, ever deliberate and watchful, was intimating that he did not like to admit strangers to his house at that time of night without knowing who they were and the character of their business. When Hancock, who had retired to rest but not to sleep, recognizing Revere’s voice, cried out, “Come in, Revere, we are not afraid of you.”

Soon after, Dawes, who came through Roxbury, arrived. They both brought the intelligence that “a large body of troops, supposed to be a brigade of 1,200 or 1,500 men, were embarked in boats at Boston, and gone over to Lechmere’s Point in Cambridge; and it was suspected that they were ordered to seize and destroy the stores belonging to the Colony at Concord.”

• Author Note — According to Frank Warren Coburn, the distance covered by Revere in coming to Lexington was about 13 miles, and that covered by Dawes was about 17 miles.

Prescott Joins Revere and Dawes

After refreshing themselves, Revere and Dawes, not knowing the fate of the three men who had been sent up the road from Lexington, set off for Concord to alarm the people. Soon after, they were overtaken by Samuel Prescott, a young gentleman from Concord, who had spent the evening in Lexington. Being an ardent Whig, Prescott entered heartily into their design, and they proceeded towards Concord, alarming the people on the road. 

• Author Note — Prescott was visiting a lady in Lexington whom he afterwards married. One of Revere’s accounts refers to him as a “high Son of Liberty.”

Revere Captured, Dawes and Prescott Escape

Before reaching Brooks Tavern at the Concord line, they were surprised by a party of British officers, armed and mounted, who immediately surrounded and captured Revere, who was in advance of his companions. Prescott, being a little in the rear, eluded them, and leaping a stone wall, made his escape and arrived safely in Concord, where he gave the alarm.

• AHC Note — Dawes also escaped but fell from his horse, which ran off.

Revere Questioned

These were the same officers who had already taken Sanderson, Brown, and Loring of Lexington and had them in custody. The prisoners were all subjected to a rigid examination. Presenting their pistols, the officers threatened to blow out the brains of their captives if they did not give true answers to their questions. They interrogated the Lexington men relative to Hancock and Adams and inquired where they could be found. 

They also questioned Revere, who at first gave them rather evasive answers, but finding himself in their keeping and seeing no way of escape, he said to them firmly, “Gentlemen, you have missed your aim.”

One of the officers said, “What aim?” Revere replied, “I came out from Boston an hour after your troops left, and if I had not known that messengers had been sent out to give information to the country, and have had time enough to carry it fifty miles, I would have ventured one shot from you before I would have suffered you to stop me.” 

Startled at this, the British officers pushed their inquiries further when, on hearing the sound of a distant bell, one of the Lexington prisoners said to them, “The bell’s ringing — the town’s alarmed — and you are all dead men.” 

These declarations frightened the British officers. After a brief discussion on the side, they started on their return towards Lexington. They kept possession of their prisoners until they came within about 100 rods of the meeting house. 

Then, taking Revere’s horse from him and cutting the girths and bridles of the other horses, the officers rode off at full speed towards Boston. This was about 3:00 in the morning of the 19th.

The Lexington Minutemen Assemble

Meanwhile, the alarm spread rapidly throughout Lexington, and the minute-men were summoned to assemble at their usual place of parade on the Common. 

At 2:00 on the morning of the 19th, Captain John Parker had the roll of his company read by Daniel Harrington and ordered every man to load his gun with powder and ball. After remaining for some time on parade, one of the messengers who had been sent towards Boston returned and reported that he could hear nothing of the Regulars.

• Author Note — About 130 men answered to their names, including exempts, armed and equipped; so Daniel Harrington, clerk of the company, stated to Parson Gordon.

This created concerns that the movement of the troops at Boston was a distraction on the part of Gage to call off public attention from an expedition he had sent in some other direction. 

The night being cool, Parker’s company was dismissed, with orders to assemble again at the beat of the drum. Some who resided in the immediate neighborhood returned to their own homes, but the greater part of them went to Buckman’s Tavern.

Description of Lexington

It may aid the reader in understanding what is to follow to give a brief description of the village and of the localities where the principal events occurred.

• Lexington is about 14-17 miles northwest of Boston and six miles southeast of Concord. At that time, the village did not have more than eight or ten houses.
• The road leading from Boston divides near the center of Lexington. The road to Concord goes to the left of the meeting house, and the road to Bedford goes to the right.
• The roads form a triangular green or common.
• The meeting house was on the south corner, facing directly down the road leading to Boston. The road was perfectly straight for about one hundred rods below the meeting house and nearly level. 
• The common is a pleasant level green, containing about two acres, surrounded by trees, having on the left a gently rising knoll.
• On the right of the meeting house was Buckman’s Tavern.
• On the north side of the Green, in the rear of the meeting house, at about 20 rods, were two houses. These houses, with their outbuildings and one or two shops, formed the northerly boundary of the Common. 
• North of this was a belt of low swampy ground, extending, without interruption for a considerable distance, from the northeast to the southwest.
• The present Bedford Road not then having been constructed, the travel to Bedford passed by the house of the Reverend Clarke, on what is now known as Hancock Street.
• There were also houses on the Concord Road south of the Common. One was occupied by Marrett Munroe.

Hancock and Adams Escape from Lexington

Concerns for the safety of Hancock and Adams increased due to reports from Sanderson, Revere, and others who returned to Lexington. The was very little doubt in the minds of the people of Lexington that one object of the expedition was to seize them. 

• Adams and Hancock were advised to leave Lexington and move to a place of greater safety. 
• At first, they objected. Hancock declared that “it should never be said of him that he turned his back upon the British.”
• However, they were told that their preservation was of the utmost importance to the Colony and to the great cause of freedom; and as they were unarmed, they could do but little towards opposing the King’s troops. 

Eventually, they reluctantly agreed to leave Lexington. It was decided they should go to Burlington. However, they were unwilling to retire at once to a distant place, where they would be beyond the reach of the earliest intelligence, and having a strong desire to witness with their own senses whatever might occur, they at first retired to the hill southeast of Reverend Clarke’s house, which was then covered with wood. 

They stayed hidden there until after the British marched to Concord, when they repaired to the house of a Mr. Reed, in the borders of Burlington. They remained there for a short time when they were induced to retire further from the scene of danger. They were taken to the house of Madam Jones, widow of Reverend Thomas Jones, and of Reverend Marrett, in Burlington.

• Author Note — While they were at Reverend Marrett’s, an alarm was given that the British were upon them. Whereupon Mr. Marrett conducted them along a cartway to Amos Wyman’s house, in a comer of Billerica. Marrett’s diary states that the salmon they were eating was left untasted and that all Mrs. Wyman could give them was cold pork and potatoes. Family tradition has it that in later days, Hancock gave Mrs. Wyman a cow.

Dorothy Quincy, true to the instincts of patriotism and her attachment to Hancock, to whom she was engaged and whom she married in September of that year, accompanied him on this perilous occasion. 

It was at the place, in the wood near Reverend Clarke’s house, that Adams, on hearing the firing of the British troops, made that memorable exclamation, “What a glorious morning for America is this!”

• Author Note — This sentence could not have been spoken at the time of the battle. According to Revere’s testimony, Adams must have been at some distance from Lexington at the time of the arrival of the British.

The British Expedition

While the officers in the British Patrol were playing their part on the road toward Concord, the British Expedition continued its march. Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith, at the head of about 800 grenadiers, infantry, and marines, embarked about 10:00 in the evening of April 18 in the boats of the ships-of-war.

• They landed at Phipps’s Farm in Cambridge just as the moon was rising. 
• To prevent discovery took an unfrequented path across the marshes to the old road leading from Charlestown to Menotomy. 
• This subjected them to considerable delay and inconvenience as the path was untrodden, and they were forced to wade through water. 
• Being on a secret expedition, their advance was noiseless. 

The British Search Wetherby’s

Gerry, Orne, and Lee, having been apprised of the approach of the British, rose from their beds to witness the stealthy midnight march. The front of the column passed the house without annoying anyone, but as they proceeded, a guard was detached to search the house. 

Considering themselves in immediate danger, Gerry, Orne, and Lee escaped, partly dressed, from the house to a neighboring field, where they remained until the Britsh left. The soldiers searched the house and entered the chambers where they had been sleeping but found their intended victims had departed.

• Author Note — Gerry nearly opened the front door of the tavern, but the landlord cried out to him, “For God’s sake, don’t open that door!” and led them to the back part of the house whence they escaped into the cornfield, before the officer had posted his guards about the doors. There was nothing to conceal them from view in the broad field but the corn-stubble which had been left the previous fall a foot or two high, and that was but little protection in the bright moonlight. Gerry stumbled and fell and called out to his friend, “Stop, Ome; stop for me, ‘till I can get up; I have hurt myself!” This suggested the idea, and they all threw themselves flat on the ground and, concealed by the stubble, remained there, half-clothed as they left their chamber, until the troops passed on. Colonel Lee never recovered from the effects of that midnight exposure, and he died in less than a month from that night.
• AHC Note — Wetherby’s Tavern was also known as the Black Horse Tavern and Newell’s Tavern.

Smith Sends an Advance Party and Asks for Reinforcements

Lieutenant Colonel Smith found that the country was alarmed. The lights from the Old North Church in Boston had drawn forth a chime from the bells of the country churches, and the firing of alarm guns in every direction showed that the Express Riders, sent out by the Patriots, had performed their duty. If they had not prepared his way before him, they had prepared the people to give him a warm if not cordial reception. 

• Fearing that the country was rising to oppose him, Smith detached six companies of light infantry, under the command of Major John Pitcairn, with orders to press forward and secure the bridges at Concord. 
• At the same time, Smith sent a messenger to Boston to ask General Gage for reinforcements.

Soon after, the officers in the British Patrol met Pitcairn and his men on the road. They told him there were 500 men assembled at Lexington, and they were continually coming in from every quarter.

• This alarmed Pitcairn. 
• As he approached Lexington, he stopped his march, allowing the grenadiers at the front of Smith’s column to come into sight.
• Pitcairn knew that if they were close enough, he would have support in case he was attacked by an overwhelming force.

Americans Taken as Prisoners

The British had taken everyone they met with on the road as a prisoner until they had arrived within a mile and a half of Lexington meeting house. To do this:

• They sent two soldiers ahead of the main body.
• They hid themselves, one on each side of the road.
• When someone approached, they would allow him to pass them to get between them and the troops.
• Then they would rise and seize him. 

In this way, they had taken a number of men who had been sent out from Lexington and Concord to get information of their approach.

Thaddeus Bowman

Thaddeus Bowman was one of the last scouts sent out. He was riding rapidly down the road and had proceeded about a mile and a half when his horse became suddenly frightened, stopped, and refused to go forward. In a moment, he discovered the cause. 

• Two British soldiers were perceived just ahead, sitting on opposite sides of the way, close to the fence. By this time, it was daylight.
• Bowman did not realize their purpose, but the horse refused to move forward, even though he used his whip and spurs.
• Then Bowman saw the main body of the British Expedition, about 20 rods away.

Bowman instantly turned his horse and rode with all possible speed to the meeting house in Lexington, where he gave Captain Parker the first certain intelligence of the approach of the King’s troops.

Benjamin Wellington

Meanwhile, a British flanking party made a prisoner of Benjamin Wellington, who was within about ten rods of the main road. Wellington was on his way to join the militia at the meeting house.

• They took his arms from him, and on his promise to return home, he was released. 
• Wellington, however, took a cross route to the meeting house and reached there soon after Bowman.

The Lexington Militia Assembles on the Common

It was now about 4:30 in the morning. Captain Parker ordered the alarm guns to be fired and the drum to beat to arms. Sergeant William Munroe was directed to form the company, which he did, in two ranks, a few rods north of the meeting house. Fifty or 60 of the militia had formed, or rather were forming, while there were some 30 spectators nearby, a few of whom had arms.

• Sylvanus Wood of Woburn testified there were 38 men: “I left my place, and went from one end of the company to the other, and counted every man who was paraded, and the whole number was thirty-eight and no more.”
• Theodore Parker said, “In all seventy men appeared, were formed into platoons, and marched on to the Common (Force, American Archives, 4th Series, Vol. II).”

This discrepancy is explained in Wood’s deposition. He states that Parker said, “Every one of you who is equipped, follow me; and those of you who are not equipped, go into the meeting-house and furnish yourselves from the magazines and immediately join the company.”

Wood counted the single line gathered at the northerly end of the Common, but as others came running in, Sergeant Munroe attempted to form a second line, and by his testimony and that of John Munroe, Ebenezer Munroe, William Tidd, and Lieutenant Gould, of the British forces, about 60 or 70 faced the British when the they wheeled into line.

The Dilemma of Captain Parker and His Company

But what was to be done! What could this little devoted band do in the face of what they then believed to be twelve or fifteen hundred veteran troops? 

• To attack them would, in a military point of view, be the height of madness; 
• to stand their ground in case they were attacked by such overwhelming numbers would be exposing themselves to certain destruction without any justifiable motive. 

Captain Parker and his men knew their danger and the great responsibility that rested upon them. They stood there not merely as soldiers but as citizens, nay, almost as statesmen, having the destiny of the country in their hands. Their conduct on that occasion might affect, for weal or for woe, thousands that were to come after them. 

• The Patriots in the other Colonies had expressed a fear that the people of Massachusetts, goaded on by oppression, might indiscreetly commit some overt act and so involve the country prematurely in a civil war.
• The First Continental Congress had recommended to the people of the Colony to avoid a collision with the King’s troops and, in all cases, to act only on the defensive.
• Hancock and Adams had recommended prudent measures, and though they foresaw that a conflict of arms was approaching, they were extremely anxious that when war should come, we could say with truth that the colonists were not the aggressors.

Captain Parker, in his intercourse with Reverend Clarke, had learned that patriotism was consistent with prudence and that his duty to his country and to his God required him to act only on the defensive. 

To have been the assailant under such circumstances would have been unworthy of him as a military commander and as a patriotic citizen and would justly have exposed him to the censure of a court-martial and the displeasure of every intelligent friend of the popular cause. Knowing his duty as a soldier and feeling the full weight of his responsibility as a citizen, Captain Parker ordered his men “not to fire unless they were fired upon.”

• Author Note — That Captain Parker gave this command rests upon the testimony of his grandson, Theodore Parker, and of Colonel William Munroe and others present at the battle. For a description of the sham battle (reenactment) in 1822, at which Colonel William Munroe, impersonating Captain Parker, used this command, and then said, “Them is the very words Captain Parker spoke,” see Proc. Lex. Hist. Soc, Vol. I, p. 30. Revere’s version of this command, as given in his Narrative, is, “Let the troops pass by and don’t molest them without they begin first.”

The Battle on Lexington Common

At a short distance from the Common, Major Pitcairn, hearing the beat of the American drum and regarding it as a challenge, ordered his column to halt, prime, and load their weapons. Then, the British moved forward in double-quick time directly upon the Americans as they were forming. 

Some of Captain Parker’s men, who were unused to such trying scenes and knowing their inability to resist successfully, faltered for a moment. Parker commanded every man to stand his ground until he ordered them to leave it — and added that he would have the first man shot down who tried to leave.

At this moment, the British rushed forward with a shout. Major Pitcairn exclaimed, “Disperse, ye rebels; lay down your arms and disperse!” 

• The Americans did not obey.
• Pitcairn repeated the command and cursed at them.
• Then he rushed forward, discharged his pistol, and commanded his men to fire. 

A few British guns were discharged, but no harm was done. The Americans, supposing the British had only fired at them with powder, stood their ground but did not return fire. 

Pitcairn repeated his command to fire, and a general discharge from the front rank followed — this time with a fatal effect. 

• The Americans, seeing some of their numbers killed and wounded, hesitated no longer as to their right to resist, and several of them immediately returned fire. 
• Jonas Parker, John Munroe, and Ebenezer Munroe Jr., and some others, fired before leaving the line. 

Captain Parker, seeing several of his men fall and the British rushing in from both sides of the meeting house as if to surround the militia, ordered the men to disperse. They did, and as they retreated, the British continued firing on them. At this time, several of the Americans returned fire after leaving the field.

The First Shots Were Pitcairn’s Responsibility

The firing on the part of the Americans, and also on the part of the British, after the first two rounds, was scattered and irregular. Regardless, the firing of the first shots of the war rests on Major Pitcairn.

• It is not probable that Lieutenant Colonel Smith was upon the ground until after or at the moment of the fatal volley. 
• Most of the accounts, and especially the British, which are the best authority on the question as to who was then in command, ascribe it to Pitcairn.

Smith sent the light infantry forward in advance of the grenadiers, and as the grenadiers under Smith did not join the column of infantry until the delay of the latter near the Common, the sole direction of the firing must have devolved upon Pitcairn in the first instance. 

• It is probable that Smith, who was not far from the Common, hearing the first discharge, rode forward and arrived about the time the fatal volley was fired at Pitcairn’s command. 
• Smith may have been upon the Common before the scattering fire ceased but was not at the commencement of the firing.

Heroism of Parker’s Company

The depositions taken in 1775 and subsequently during the lifetime of those who were actors in the scenes of that day have preserved many interesting facts relative to the firmness, heroism, and noble daring of individuals on that occasion. 

Jedediah Munroe — Munroe was wounded in the morning. Instead of quitting the field, he marched with his company toward Concord to meet the enemy and was killed in the afternoon — a victim of his patriotism and bravery. Munroe was armed that day not only with a musket but with a long sword, or claymore, probably brought over by his ancestors from the Highlands of Scotland in the times of Oliver Cromwell.

Ebenezer Munroe Jr. — On the first fire of the British in the morning, John Munroe, seeing no one fall, said coolly to his relative, Ebenezer Munroe Jr., that they had fired nothing but powder. On the second discharge, Ebenezer replied, “They have fired something besides powder now, for I am wounded in the arm.” He then discharged his gun at the British, receiving two balls from them in return — one of which grazed his cheek, the other passing between his arm and his body, leaving its mark in his garment.

John Munroe — After firing in the line, he retreated a few rods, when he turned around, loaded his gun with two balls, and discharged it at his pursuers, the strength of the charge carrying away about a foot of the muzzle of his gun.

William Tidd — Tidd was second-in-command and was pursued by an oflficer on horseback, supposed to be Pitcairn, up the Bedford Road some 30 or 40 rods, with repeated cries of “Stop, or you are a dead man.” Tidd turned from the road into the lot, where he made a stand and discharged his gun at his pursuer, who sought safety in flight.

John Tidd — Remained upon the field so long that as he was leaving the Common, a British officer upon horseback rushed upon him and struck him down with his cutlass. While he remained senseless from the effects of the blow upon the head, his gun, cartridge box, and powder horn were stolen. This furnishes strong proof that he did not run on the first approach of the enemy.

Joshua Simonds, Caleb Harrington, Joseph Comee — These three had, on the approach of the British, gone into the church to obtain a supply of powder. They carried two quarter-casks from the upper loft into the gallery when the British reached the meeting house. 

• Harrington and Comee tried to escape from the house and join the company. Harrington was killed in the attempt at the west end of the meeting house. 
• Comee was cut off from the company and ran under heavy fire and was struck in the arm. He made it to the Munroe house, passed through, and made his escape at the back door.
• Simonds hid in the church. He loaded and cocked his gun, and lying down, placed the muzzle upon the open cask of powder, determined to blow up the British, should they enter and find him, choosing to destroy his own life rather than be killed by them or taken as a prisoner.

Jonas Parker — Parker was the next-door neighbor of Reverend Clarke and had evidently imbibed a double portion of his lofty spirit. Parker was often heard to say that be the consequences what they might, and let others do what they pleased, he would never run from the enemy. He was as good as his word — and better. Having loaded his musket, he placed his hat, containing his ammunition, on the ground between his feet, in readiness for a second charge. When the British fired the second time, he was wounded, sank to his knees, and returned fire. While trying to load his gun again — and striving in the agonies of death to redeem his pledge, he was pierced by a bayonet — and died on the spot where he first stood and fell.

Isaac Muzzy — He was killed on or near the Common, where the company was paraded.

Robert Munroe — Munroe, who thus fell a sacrifice to the lawless oppression of Great Britain, had, on a former occasion, perilled his life in her defence — having served in the French war and been standard-bearer at the capture of Louisburg in 1758.

Jonathan Harrington — Harrington’s was a cruel fate. He fell in front of his own house, on the north of the Common. His wife at the window saw him fall and then start up, the blood gushing from his breast. He stretched out his hands towards her, as if for assistance, and fell again. Rising once more on his hands and knees, he crawled across the road towards his dwelling. She ran to meet him at the door, but it was to see him expire at her feet.

Samuel Hadley and John Brown — These men were killed after they left the Common.

Caleb Harrington — He was killed attempting to escape from the meeting house. 

Asahel Porter — Porter was from Woburn and was unarmed. He had been captured on the road by the British that morning on their approach to Lexington. He tried his escape about the time the battle started and was shot down a few rods from the Common.

American Casualties

The number killed that morning was eight.

• Jonas Parker, Robert Munroe, Isaac Muzzy, Jonathan Harrington, Caleb Harrington, Samuel Hadley, and John Brown were from Lexington.
• Asahel Porter was from Woburn.

Three other Lexington men, Jedediah Munroe, John Raymond, and Nathaniel Wyman, were killed in the afternoon.

Nine men were wounded in the morning: Ebenezer Munroe Jr., John Tidd, John Robbins, Solomon Pierce, Joseph Comee, Thomas Winship, Nathaniel Farmer, Jedediah Munroe, and a black man called Prince. 

Francis Brown was wounded in the afternoon.

Author Notes

• Jedediah Munroe was wounded in the morning and killed in the afternoon.
• Nathaniel Farmer received a ball in his right arm, which fractured the bone and disabled him for a long time. Several pieces of bone were taken from his arm months afterwards. The Legislature made him a grant of £15 15s for loss of labor and for surgical attendance. 
• Joseph Comee was wounded in the left arm and received a grant of £12 7s. 
• John Tidd, of whose wound in the head we have already spoken, was rewarded for his bravery and suffering by a grant of £4 l0s. 
• Ebenezer Munroe Jr. was wounded in the arm and received a grant of £4. 
• Francis Brown, who was wounded in the afternoon, received a ball in his cheek that lodged in his neck. It was removed in 1776. He received £12 9s. from the Legislature. Despite this severe wound, he lived 15 or 20 years, and in 1776, he commanded the Lexington Company. 
• Nor must we forget the black man, Prince. He joined the Continental Army and served under Captain Edmund Munroe in Colonel Bigelow’s regiment.

Of Captain Parker’s gallant company, seven were killed and nine wounded on or near the Common, being 25% of the whole number assembled. This furnishes the most striking proof of their bravery and the firmness with which they withstood the British fire.

• AHC Note — The man called “Prince” was Prince Estabrook. He was one of 35 known black men who joined the American forces and fought the British during the Battles of Lexington and Concord. According to various accounts, another black man, Eli Burdoo, was on the Common. Others indicate that yet another, Silas Burdoo, was also there.

Praise for the Lexington Minutemen

Brave and patriotic band! How shall we do justice to your names and your memories! When a dark cloud overshadowed our country and many a stout heart shrank back in dismay, you boldly stood forth in defence of our rights and offered yourselves a living sacrifice on the altar of freedom. 

Your firmness inspired the patriots throughout the Colonies — your blood cemented the union of the States. To you we are indebted, in no small degree, for the manifold blessings we now enjoy. A grateful country remembers your deeds of noble daring and will transmit your names to the latest posterity.

British Casualties

The British suffered but little from the fire of the Americans. One man of the 10th Regiment was wounded in the leg and another in the hand. Major Pitcairn’s horse was struck in two places. When Munroe and others fired from the line, the British were so enveloped in smoke by the volley they had just fired as to make them invisible to the Americans. This is undoubtedly one reason why more of their shots did not take effect. 

Aftermath of the Battle

Some of the militia retreated up the Bedford Road, but most of them crossed the swamp to the rising ground northwest of the Common.

• As soon as the Lexington company had dispersed and the firing had ceased, the British troops drew up on the Common, fired a volley, and gave three cheers in token of their victory! 
• They then took up their line of march for Concord, the next village, about six miles distant, where they arrived without further opposition. 
• The tarry of the British at Lexington was short, the whole period occupying not more than 20-25 minutes.

British Troops Taken as Prisoners

Most of Captain Parker’s company returned to the Common immediately after the British had left for Concord and made prisoners of six Regulars who were in the rear of the detachment. 

It was supposed that they had wandered from the main body for the purposes of plunder or had gone into some of the houses on the road to obtain some refreshment and were thus left behind. These prisoners were disarmed, put under guard, and taken to Woburn Precinct and then to Chelmsford. There was another prisoner taken shortly after on the road near the old Viles Tavern, not far from the Lincoln line. These were the first prisoners made in the Revolution.

• AHC Note — It is widely held that Sylvanus Wood, a member of the Woburn Militia, took the first prisoner of the war when he captured a British soldier just outside of Lexington. Historians indicate Wood captured Samuel Leem, who was deaf or hard of hearing, enabling Wood to sneak up on him. This is likely the prisoner that was captured near the Viles Tavern, and probably happened before Parker and his men returned to the Common.

The Alarm Spreads

The report of the bloody transaction at Lexington spread as on the wings of the wind, and the fact that the Regulars had fired upon and killed several citizens was known not only in the neighboring towns but to the distance of 40 or 50 miles, in the course of the forenoon.

• AHC Note — An Express Rider reached Worcester just before noon, shouting “To arms! to arms! The war has begun!”

The Battle of Concord

AHC Note — Hudson goes on to discuss the events that took place in and around Concord, including the Concord Fight at the North Bridge. We have omitted these sections here because the Lexington Militia was not involved. Following the short battle, American forces withdrew to the hills around Concord, while the British returned to Concord and prepared to return to Boston. Here, we resume Hudson’s narrative as the British start their march back to Lexington.

British Forces Assemble in Concord

British forces fell back to the village and joined the expedition. They remained there for nearly two hours. This delay is not easily accounted for unless Lieutenant Colonel Smith was in expectation of reinforcements —  a delay which nearly cost him the loss of his whole detachment. 

The Lexington Alarm Spreads

In the meantime, the country was alarmed, and the militia and minute-men were pressing to the scene of action. The farmer left his plough in the furrow, the mechanic threw down his tools, and neither returned to his house, save to seize his musket and his powder horn, that he might be prepared to defend his own and his country’s rights. The intelligence which went forth from Lexington in the morning had like an electric fire spread rapidly in every direction, and produced a shock of righteous indignation which brought men from every quarter and prepared them for vigorous action; and the scenes which had occurred at the North Bridge at Concord strengthened their hands and their hearts and rendered them desperate.

The Battle Road Begins

About noon, the British started their retreat. They left Concord in the same order in which they entered it — the main body in the road and a strong flanking party upon the hill to protect their left. 

• For the first mile, they were unmolested.
• When they arrived at Merriam’s Corner, they encountered minute-men from Reading, under Major Brooks and Colonel William Thompson, with a body of militia from Billerica.
• The Provincials on the high grounds near the North Bridge, seeing the British leaving the village, went across the “great field,” so called, to the Bedford Road and arrived in time to support the troops brought up by Brooks and Thompson.

A little above, near Hardy’s Hill (Brooks Hill), the Sudbury company, led by Captain Nathaniel Cudworth, came up and attacked the British. There was also a severe skirmish below Brooks’s Tavern on the old road north of the schoolhouse.

From the bridge below Brooks Hill, the woody defiles extended a considerable distance, in passing which the British suffered severely. The terrain of the countryside obstructed the British flanking parties, and the entire column was outflanked by the Americans. Militia from Woburn, led by Major Loammi Baldwin, joined the battle at this location.

Lexington Joins the Pursuit — Parker’s Revenge

In Lincoln, Captain Parker, who had collected most of his men, came up with his company and, taking a position in the fields, poured into the retreating enemy a galling and destructive fire as they passed.

• Author Note — Jedediah Munroe was killed, and Francis Brown was wounded.
• AHC Note — This attack by Parker and his men is known as “Parker’s Revenge.”

Nor ceased the efforts of this gallant band with a single discharge. They joined in the pursuit, determined to avenge the outrage of the morning, and their loss in the afternoon in killed and wounded is conclusive evidence that they did not shun the post of danger.

In no part of the retreat were the British more sorely pressed than in passing through Lincoln. Their loss was severe. Eight of their slain were buried in Lincoln Graveyard. 

The loss of the Americans was comparatively light, though Captain Jonathan Wilson (Bedford), Nathaniel Wyman (Billerica), and Daniel Thompson (Woburn) fell in this part of the field.

The Battle Road Continues

Here, the retreat became a rout. The British put up little resistance other than what could be made in their rapid flight. 

• As they entered the town of Lexington, however, they made one more desperate effort to check the pursuers and restore order in their broken ranks. 
• Near the old Viles Tavern, on the border of the town, they threw a detachment upon a high bluff on the north side of the road to hold the Americans in check.
• The Americans vigorously attacked the detachment on the bluff and drove the British from the position.

In the meantime, Lieutenant Colonel Smith was attempting to rally his men on Fiske Hill, or at least to restore order among his men. The British officers placed themselves in front of the column and threatened every man with instant death if they left the line. This partly succeeded, and many of the troops formed ranks under fire. 

An officer mounted on a horse with sword in his hand was seen actively engaged in rallying the British, directing their movements, and attempting to restore order. 

• AHC Note — This officer is often identified as Major John Pitcairn.
• Author Note — The horse captured at Fiske Hill was with his trappings taken to Concord and sold at public auction. Captain Nathan Barrett bought the pistols and afterwards offered them to General Washington, but he not accepting them they were given to General Israel Putnam. They are now at the Hancock-Clarke House of the Lexington Historical Society.

A group of Americans, having passed through the woods, concealed themselves behind a pile of rails near where the British were attempting to form and poured into their half-formed ranks a deadly volley. 

• The officer was knocked from his horse, and his affrighted animal, leaping the wall, ran directly to those who had relieved him of his rider and was taken by them.
• Lieutenant Colonel Smith was severely wounded in the leg. 

This unexpected attack upon their flank, the flight of the detachment driven from the bluff, and the hot pursuit of the Provincials destroyed the last hope of the King’s troops, who fled in the utmost confusion.

The British Return to Lexington

The Americans attacked the British again in a wood near the old poor house in Lexington. 

• The British were running low on ammunition, and they were so oppressed with thirst and fatigue as to be almost unfit for service. 
• Their flight was so rapid that their killed were left where they fell.
• Their wounded, whom they attempted to take with them, created great embarrassment, and many were left behind.
• The troops broke, and, disregarding all order, each one looked out for himself.

This was the condition of the British when they passed Lexington Common, on which they had shown such a haughty demeanor and so much martial pride some eight or nine hours before. They were fatigued, dispirited, and almost exhausted, and nothing but the timely arrival of General Hugh Percy with a reinforcement saved the detachment from utter ruin.

British accounts admit that the condition of Lieutenant Colonel Smith was perilous when Percy joined him. All accounts agree that the day was unusually warm for that season of the year, and so hotly were the British troops pressed on their retreat that they were exhausted. One British historian, who as with Percy, said, “the British were driven before the Americans like sheep…They were obliged to lie down upon the ground, their tongues hanging out of their mouths, like those of dogs after a chase.”

• Gage sent Percy with three regiments of infantry, two divisions of marines, and two field pieces.
• Percy marched out through Roxbury, and his musicians played “Yankee Doodle.”

Women and Children in Lexington

There must have been many cases of extreme bravery, of wise caution, of great exertion, and of cruel suffering that day. Nor is glory due to the men alone. The women and children performed and endured their full share of labor and suffering. 

We would joyfully give some instances of rare courage or personal foresight; but the moment you go beyond the record you have such floods of traditionary lore, some probable and some improbable, that you cannot distinguish fact from fiction; and we would rather omit some incidents tolerably well authenticated than to falsify history by inserting the extravagant accounts of some credulous persons, who, to magnify the worth of a family or the honor of the town, would swell mole-hills into mountains.

We will state, however, what is true in general, that after the British had passed on to Concord there was great apprehension for the safety of families; and many who resided on the line of the great road left their houses in dismay and fled to distant neighbors, or in some cases to the woods, taking with them some valuables from their houses — and what is still more trying, in some cases mothers with their babes but a few days old, and the sick and infirm who had been confined to their beds, were hurried away to places of safety.

Betty Clarke recalled: “How many Descendants can I count from the venerable Hancock dowm to this day, which is sixty six years since the war began on the Common, which I now can see from this window as here I sit writing, and can see, in my mind, just as plain, all the British Troops marching off the Common to Concord, and the whole scene, how Aunt Hancock and Miss Dolly Quinsy, with their cloaks and bonnets on. Aunt crying and ringing her hands and helping Mother dress the children, Dolly going round with Father, to hide the money, watches and anything down in the potatoes and up Garrett, and then Grandfather Clarke sent down men with carts, took your Mother and all the children but Jonas and me and Sally a babe six months old.”

British Atrocities in Lexington

The British were enabled to rest themselves, and, by entering the houses in the immediate neighborhood and seizing whatever they could lay their hands upon, to obtain some refreshment. But after pillaging the houses, not only of what their hunger and thirst required, but of such articles of clothing, etc., as they could comfortably carry away, they wantonly destroyed the furniture and other property in and about the buildings; and to complete their works of vandalism, they set fire to several buildings, which were entirely consumed.

• Joseph Loring had his house and barn, valued at £350, laid in ashes, and other property to the amount of £370 was wantonly destroyed. 
• Lydia Mulliken had her house and shop, valued at £128, and other property to the amount of £303, destroyed. 
• Joshua Bond lost his dwelling-house and shop and other property valued at £189 16s 7d. 
• William Munroe lost in household furniture, goods in his shop, etc., destroyed, £203 11s 9d.

The conduct of the King’s troops after they were met by Percy was marked by a vandalism totally unworthy of the character of a soldier. This is described in a report made by the Lexington selectmen:

“A short Recital & an Imperfect one of the wanton Cruelty and Barbarity of the British Troops in the Town of Lexington on the 19 of April 1775 as Follows (viz) The Second Brigade under the Command of Lord Percy meeting the first Brigade upon their return from Concord aboute half a mile Below the Meeting house in Said Town near the mansion house Dea: Joseph Loring where theay made a halt and fireing their field peices in order to Clear of the Inhabitants of ye Severel Towns Collected to Together to prevent their Destroying all before them Even when none of the Melitia was near them theay Began to Burn first the house & Barn & other out Buildings of Dea: Joseph Loring also the house & Barn & shop of Mrs. Lidia Mulliken at the house & Shopp of Mr. Joshua Bond The preceding of the British Troops in Said Town on Said day Appeared to the Distressed Inhabitants to be Attended with wanton Cruelty & Barbarity after burning the Several Buildings above mentioned as Said Troops Marcht Through the remaining Part of Said Town they Continued plundering the houses of many of their valuable Effect, Breaking of windows, & Doors and all kinds of Mischeif they had time Accomplish till theay passed the Town.

John Chandler, Benjamin Estabrook, Francis Brown, William Munro

{ Selectmen of Lexington”

In addition to a wanton destruction of property, they practiced a system of personal insult, treachery, and murder, which reflects disgrace and infamy upon the commanders and the men. 

A party entered the Munroe Tavern, and helping themselves, or rather compelling the inmates of the house to help them to whatever they wanted, they treacherously and with ruthlessness shot down John Raymond, an infirm man residing in the family, only because he, becoming alarmed at their roughness and brutal conduct, was about leaving the house to seek a place of greater safety. The brutality here commenced was continued throughout the remainder of their retreat.

• AHC Note — In his report, General Percy said, “His Majesty’s Troops during the whole affair behaved with their usual intrepidity & spirit. Nor were they a little exasperated at the cruelty and barbarity of the Rebels, who scalped & cut off the ears of some of the wounded men who fell into their hands.” This was refuted by the testimony of Zachariah Brown and Thomas Davis Jr. in Deposition #21.

Percy Assumes Command

Percy assumed the command of the British Expedition. He had about 1,800 well-disciplined troops and two pieces of artillery — a force four times as large as that of the Americans. However, he showed no intention of attacking the “rebels,” as he called them, or to drive back the militia who hung upon his rear and flanked him at every convenient point. 

• Author Note — It is difficult to estimate the actual number of Provincials who were engaged in the day’s fighting. Men from all over eastern Massachusetts were pouring in to join the fight, and each took such part as he might choose, regardless of leaders or commands.

William Heath Takes Command

Up to this time, there had been no general officer who assumed command of the Americans. At this point, General William Heath arrived, along with Joseph Warren.

• Heath was at the Committee of Safety meeting in the morning.
• He went back to Watertown, where he gathered some militia, which he sent to Cambridge to remove the planks from the bridge.
• Without the planks, the British would have to return to Boston through Roxbury and over Boston Neck.

Heath arrived at Lexington just before Percy resumed his march. He collected the scattered Provincials, organized them, and pressed closely upon Percy’s rear. 

The American Pursuit Resumes

Percy commenced his retreat around 3:00 p.m. His field pieces, which at first kept the Provincials at a distance, soon lost their terror; and the same undisciplined force which had proved such a scourge to Smith and Pitcairn, hung upon his rear, and assailed him on his right and left from the trees, rocks, and fences, and rendered his movement rather a flight than a retreat.

The Battle of Menotomy Begins

For the first two miles, nothing of special moment occurred, but on descending from the high ground to the “foot of the rocks” upon the plain in West Cambridge, the fire became brisk. 

• Author Note — “Foot of the Rocks” is a very ancient term and designates a break in the rim of that Boston Basin which, in comparatively recent geological times, was completely submerged.

The topography of the country, the locality of the population in other towns, and the direction of the roads would naturally bring together a considerable accession to the Provincial force at this point.

The Americans were joined by militia from Cambridge, Roxbury, Dorchester, Brookline, Needham, Watertown, and Dedham. They also came in freely from Medford, Charlestown, and Lynn. Thus strengthened, the Americans made a more formidable resistance here than at any point below Lexington.

• AHC Note — At the time of the battle, West Cambridge was called “Menotomy.”

Joseph Warren, by word and deed and by active effort in places of the greatest danger, rallied and inspired the men. As at Bunker Hill in June following, so here, he seemed to rise with the occasion and take new courage as obstacles presented and as dangers pressed. He was seen everywhere, animating the men and directing their movement.

• Author Note — The conduct of Warren on this occasion was a subject of general commendation and probably secured to him the appointment of Major General, which he soon afterwards received.

During the battle,  Warren had his temple grazed by a musket ball, which carried away a pin from his earlock.

British Atrocities in Menotomy

Up to the time of the arrival of Percy with his reinforcement, the British troops had, in the main, abstained from pillage and had confined themselves mostly to the destruction of military stores. But we have already seen that before leaving Lexington, they commenced a system, not merely of plunder but of barbarity — wantonly destroying private property and butchering the aged and defenseless. If this was not actually ordered, it was permitted by Percy. And this policy, commenced at Lexington, was continued through the remainder of the day.

• AHC Note — See Arlington Militia for details on the atrocities committed by the British during the Battle of Menotomy.

The Americans Drive the British out of Menotomy

The loss to the Americans and the British within the limits of West Cambridge was considerable. One British officer was left wounded at a house near the present railroad station. The approaching night and the constant accessions to the Provincials admonished Percy to hasten his retreat.

• AHC Note — The British took the road that winds around Prospect Hill, where they were attacked by the Brookline Militia.

Somerville and Prospect Hill

When they entered this part of Charlestown, their situation became nearly as critical as was Smith’s when he arrived at Lexington and took shelter under the protection of Percy’s brigade.

• The British were running low on ammunition.
• The large number of wounded was slowing down their progress.
• More Provincials were moving in from Roxbury, Dorchester, and Milton.
• Colonel Timothy Pickering and the Essex Militia — 700 men — threatened to cut off the escape route.

Near Prospect Hill, the fire intensified, and the British used their field pieces. James Miller (Charlestown) was killed here. Along its base, Percy received the hottest fire he had during his retreat. 

General Gage, about sunset, might have beheld his harassed troops almost on the run, coming down the old Cambridge road to Charlestown Neck, anxious to get under the protection of the guns of the British warships. 

The minute-men closely followed, but when they reached the Charlestown Common, General Heath ordered them to end the pursuit.

• Author Note — In the American Revolution, Part 1, Arthur Trevelyan says, “For had they not arrived in Charlestown, under cover of their ships, half an hour before a powerful body of men from Marblehead and Salem was at their heels, and must, if they had happened to be up one hour sooner, inevitably have intercepted their retreat to Charlestown. That was the conclusion at which Washington arrived; and his view, then or since, has never been disputed.” See Washington’s Letter to George William Fairfax for his criticism of Colonel Timothy Pickering.

The British Arrive at Charlestown

On arriving at Charlestown, the British troops offered no indignities to the inhabitants. The town had been the scene of great excitement through the day, and on the approach of the retreating army at sunset, the inhabitants were naturally filled with apprehension, and many had left the place. But the officers assured them that if they returned to their houses, they would not be molested. 

The main body of Percy’s troops occupied Bunker Hill, and some additional troops were sent over from Boston. Sentinels were placed about the town, and the night passed off quietly.

The Battle Ends and the Siege of Boston Begins

Thus ended a day of great anxiety and peril to His Majesty’s troops. They had left Boston with high hopes and expectations — regarding the expedition as a sort of pleasure excursion. But the day had proved one of fatigue, toil, and danger. Twice during their adventure, they had been in a perilous situation. 

• Colonel Smith’s command had barely escaped destruction in their march from Concord by taking refuge under the guns of Percy’s brigade, whose timely arrival alone saved them. 
• Nearly the same was true of Percy’s command on arriving at Charlestown. If he had been but a trifle later, he would inevitably have been cut off by the Essex Militia and the troops from Dorchester, Milton, and other places. 

Author Notes

• Percy wrote, “We retired for 15 miles under an incessant fire all around us, till we arrived at Charlestown, between 7 & 8 in the even, very much fatigued with a march of above 30 miles, & having expended almost all our ammunition.”
• According to Frank Warren Coburn, Percy’s men covered 26 miles in marching from Boston back to the Charles River in Charlestown.
• Coburn also estimated that “the three companies of the main body who went to the home of Colonel Barrett made a total march during the day of nearly forty miles.”

AHC Notes

• American forces remained in the area.
• General Heath organized them as best he could to keep the British trapped in Boston.
• This started the Siege of Boston, which lasted until March 1776.

Embarrassment of the British Troops

The sufferings of the King’s troops, especially those under Smith, which left Boston on the evening of the 18th, must have been very severe. 

To march 40 miles in half that number of hours is of itself no ordinary trial of human endurance for soldiers laden with their arms and such other appendages as are necessary for troops, even when reduced to light marching order. 

But this severe march was performed under the most embarrassing circumstances — a portion of it in the night, across lots and marshes, and other portions of it under a galling fire in flank and rear — now pressing through a narrow gorge, and now thrown out as a flank guard to clear the woods and drive the Provincials from their hiding-places behind trees, rocks, and fences. 

Nor were the ordinary trappings of war their only encumbrance. To bear off their wounded comrades must have greatly increased their burden and impeded their march. 

The heat of the day, the haste which attended some portion of the movement, the loss of sleep and rest, the great difficulty of satisfying their hunger or slaking their thirst — these, and embarrassments such as these, must have rendered their march exhausting and made their sufferings extreme.

But to the officers in command, and to all filled with that lordly pride which characterized the haughty Britons at that period, the flight of their troops must have been peculiarly humiliating. They had boasted of their ability to put whole regiments of Yankees to flight with a handful of British troops and of marching in triumph through the country with a single regiment. 

To such men, the shameless flight of British regulars, well disciplined and completely armed, before one-half their number of the Provincials, without discipline or organization and poorly armed, must have been mortifying — especially to General Percy and the officers in immediate command; and to General Gage and his advisers the result of this expedition must have cast “ominous conjectures o’er the whole success” of subduing the rebellious Province. Had not the British Ministry been fated to be blind, they would have seen in this day’s adventure the result of a contest with such a people, determined to be free.

Casaulties

The actual loss to the British in this expedition was 73 killed, 174 wounded, and 26 missing — the greater part of whom were taken prisoners. Of the whole loss, 18 were commissioned officers and 250 non-commissioned officers and men. 

• Lieutenant Hall, wounded at the North Bridge, was taken prisoner on the retreat and died the next day. His remains were delivered to General Gage. 
• Lieutenant Gould, also wounded at the bridge, was subsequently taken prisoner and was exchanged on May 28 for Josiah Breed of Lynn.

The prisoners taken by the Americans were treated with great humanity, and General Gage was notified that his own surgeons, if he desired it, might attend the wounded.

The loss of the Americans was 49 killed, 39 wounded, and five missing.

Captain Parker’s Company

AHC Note — This list of men enlisted in Captain John Parker’s Company on April 19, 1775, is drawn from several sources. However, not all of them were on the Common when the British arrived. Those who were present are marked with an asterisk (*). According to The Lexington Minute Men, more than 80 men assembled on the Common, including Sylvanus Wood and Robert Douglass from Woburn.

Officers

• John Parker, Captain (*)
• William Tidd, Lieutenant (*)
• Robert Munroe, Ensign (*)
• Joseph Simonds, Ensign (*)
• David Harrington, Clerk (*)
• William Munroe, Orderly Sergeant (*)
• Francis Brown, Sergeant (*)
• Ebenezer White, Sergeant
• Nathaniel Farmer, Sergeant  (*)
• Samuel Winship, Sergeant 
• Joel Viles, Corporal (*)
• Samuel Sanderson, Corporal (*)
• John Munroe, Corporal (*)
• Ebenezer Parker, Corporal (*)
• John Winship, Corporal (*)
• Joseph Robinson, Corporal
• Francis Bowman, Corporal
• Joseph Smith, Corporal

Musicians

• William Diamond, Drummer (*)

Enlisted Men

• Jacob Bacon (*)
• Isaac Blodgett
• Timothy Blodgett (*)
• Ebenezer Bowman (*)
• Thaddeus Bowman (*)
• John Bridge Jr. (*)
• Joseph Bridge
• James Brown (*)
• John Brown
• Solomon Brown (*)
• John Buckman
• Eli Burdoo
• John Chandler (*)
• John Chandler Jr. (*)
• Abijah Child
• Joseph Comee (*)
• Thomas Cutler
• Robert Douglass Jr. (Woburn) (*)
• Isaac Preston Durant (*)
• Joseph Estabrook (*)
• Prince Estabrook (*)
• Nathan Fessenden
• Thomas Fessenden
• Dr. Joseph Fiske
• Isaac Green (*)
• William Grimes (*)
• Benjamin Hadley
• Ebenezer Hadley
• Samuel Hadley Jr. (*)
• Thomas Hadley (*)
• Micah Hagar  (*)
• Caleb Harrington (*)
• Ebenezer Harrington
• Jeremiah Harrington
• Jonathan Harrington (*)
• Jonathan Harrington Jr. (*)
• Jonathan Harrington 3rd
• Moses Harrington (*)
• Moses Harrington Jr. (*)
• Moses Harrington 3rd (*)
• Thaddeus Harrington (*)
• Thomas Harrington (*)
• William Harrington
• Isaac Hastings (*)
• Samuel Hastings Sr. (*)
• Samuel Hastings Jr. (*)
• John Hosmer (*)
• Amos Locke (*)
• Benjamin Locke (*)
• Ebenezer Locke (*)
• Reuben Locke (*)
• Jonathan Loring
• Joseph Loring
• Amos Marrett
• Daniel Mason
• Joseph Mason
• Abner Mead (*)
• Benjamin Merriam
• William Merriam
• Nathaniel Mulliken (*)
• Asa Munroe
• Ebenezer Munroe
• Ebenezer Munroe Jr. (*)
• Edmund Munroe Jr. (*)
• George Munroe
• Jedidiah Munroe (*)
• John Munroe Jr.
• Nathan Munroe (*)
• Philemon Munroe
• Stephen Munroe (*)
• William Munroe Jr.
• Nathaniel Mulliken
• Amos Muzzy
• Isaac Muzzy (*)
• Isaac Muzzy Jr.
• John Muzzy
• Thaddeus Muzzy
• Jonas Parker Sr. (*)
• Jonas Parker Jr. (*)
• Thaddeus Parker
• John Parkhurst
• Nathaniel Parkhurst (*)
• Solomon Pierce (*)
• Asahel Porter (Woburn) (*)
• Israel Porter
• John Raymond
• Hammond Reed
• Josiah Reed
• Joshua Reed Sr. (*)
• Joshua Reed Jr. (*)
• Nathan Reed (*)
• Robert Reed
• Thaddeus Reed
• William Reed
• John Robbins (*)
• Joseph Robbins
• Thomas Robbins
• Philip Russell (*)
• Benjamin Sampson (*)
• Elijah Sanderson (*)
• Ebenezer Simonds
• Joshua Simonds (*)
• Abraham Smith
• David Smith
• Ebenezer Smith
• John Smith (*)
• Josiah Smith
• Phineas Smith (*)
• Samuel Smith
• Thaddeus Smith
• William Smith
• Simeon Snow (*)
• Asahel Stearns
• Phineas Stearns (*)
• Jonas Stone Jr. (*)
• Benjamin Tidd
• John Tidd (*)
• Samuel Tidd (*)
• Joseph Underwood (*)
• Benjamin Wellington III (*)
• Enoch Wellington (*)
• Timothy Wellington Jr. (*)
• John Williams
• Thomas Winship (*)
• Sylvanus Wood (Woburn) (*)
• James Wyman (*)
• Nathan Wyman (*)

Significance

The events that took place on April 18–19, 1775, include some of the most historic — and legendary — moments in American History. Many of the details about these events are found in the letters and depositions written at the time and have been used by many historians as the basis for articles and books about the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

However, interesting details that can be found in the histories of the towns that responded to the Midnight Riders and the Lexington Alarm, including Lexington, are often overlooked. Militia and Minuteman companies from approximately 27 towns fought the British from Lexington to Concord and then from Concord back to Boston. Many of those men remained there and participated in the Siege of Boston and the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Although these local histories are sometimes embellished and border on folklore, they still provide valuable insight into the pride towns felt over standing up against the British forces who fired on the King’s subjects at Lexington and Concord.
This entry about the role of the Lexington Militia is part of “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World,” a collection of entries, images, and objects covering the events of April 18–19, 1775.