between two hills, that command it entirely. There is a river runs
through it, with two bridges over it. In summer it is pretty dry. The
town is large, and contains a church, jail, and court-house; but the
houses are not close together, but in little groups." The road from
Lexington entered Concord from the southeast along the side of a hill,
which commences on the right of it about a mile below the village, rises
abruptly from thirty to fifty feet above the road, and terminates at the
northeasterly part of the square. The top forms a plain, which commands
a view of the town. Here was the liberty-pole. The court-house stood
near the present county-house. The main branch of the Concord River
flows sluggishly, in a serpentine direction, on the westerly and
northerly side of the village, about half a mile from its centre. This
river was crossed by two bridges--one called the Old South bridge--the
other, by the Rev. William Emerson's, called the Old North bridge. The
road beyond the North bridge led to Colonel James Barrett's, about two
miles from the centre of the town.
Dr. Samuel Prescott, whose escape has been related, gave the alarm in
Lincoln and Concord. It was between one and two o'clock in the morning
when the quiet community of Concord were aroused from their slumbers by
the sounds of the church-bell. The committee of safety, the military
officers, and prominent citizens assembled for consultation. Messengers
were despatched toward Lexington for information; the militia and
minute-men were formed on the customary parade-ground near the
meeting-house; and the inhabitants, with a portion of the militia, under
the able superintendence of Colonel Barrett, zealously labored in
removing the military stores into the woods and by-places for safety.
These scenes were novel and distressing; and among others, Rev. William
Emerson, the patriotic clergyman, mingled with the people, and gave
counsel and comfort to the terrified women and children.
Reuben Brown, one of the messengers sent to obtain information, returned
with the startling intelligence that the British regulars had fired upon
his countrymen at Lexington, and were on their march for Concord. It was
determined to go out to meet them. A part of the military of
Lincoln--the minute-men, under Captain William Smith, and the militia,
under Captain Samuel Farrar--had joined the Concord people; and after
parading on the Common, some of the companies marched down the
Lexington road until they saw the British two miles from the centre of
the town. Captain Minot, with the alarm company, remained in town, and
took possession of the hill near the liberty-pole. He had no sooner
gained it, however, than the companies that had gone down the road
returned with the information that the number of the British was treble
that of the Americans. The whole then fell back to an eminence about
eighty rods distance, back of the town, where they formed in two
battalions. Colonel Barrett, the commander, joined them here, having
previously been engaged in removing the stores. They had scarcely formed
when the British troops appeared in sight at the distance of a quarter
of a mile, and advancing with great celerity--their arms glittering in
the splendor of early sunshine. But little time remained for
deliberation. Some were in favor of resisting the further approach of
the troops; while others, more prudent, advised a retreat and a delay
until further reenforcements should arrive. Colonel Barrett ordered the
militia to retire over the North bridge to a commanding eminence about a
mile from the centre of the town.
The British troops then marched into Concord in two divisions--one by
the main road, and the other on the hill north of it, from which the
Americans had just retired. They were posted in the following manner:
The grenadiers and light infantry, under the immediate command of
Colonel Smith, remained in the centre of the town. Captain Parsons, with
six light companies, about two hundred men, was detached to secure the
North bridge and to destroy stores, who stationed three companies, under
Captain Laurie, at the bridge, and proceeded with the other three
companies to the residence of Colonel Barrett, about two miles distant,
to destroy the magazines deposited there. Captain Pole, with a party,
was sent, for a similar purpose, to the South bridge. The British met
with but partial success in the work of destruction, in consequence of
the diligent concealment of the stores. In the centre of the town they
broke open about sixty barrels of flour, nearly half of which was
subsequently saved; knocked off the trunnions of three iron
twenty-four-pound cannon, and burned sixteen new carriage-wheels and a
few barrels of wooden trenchers and spoons. They cut down the
liberty-pole, and set the court-house on fire, which was put out,
however, by the exertions of Mrs. Moulton. The parties at the South
bridge and at Colonel Barrett's met with poor success. While engaged in
this manner the report of guns at the North bridge put a stop to their
proceedings.
The British troops had been in Concord about two hours. During this time
the minute-men from the neighboring towns had been constantly arriving
on the high grounds, a short distance from the North bridge, until they
numbered about four hundred fifty. They were formed in line by Joseph
Hosmer, who acted as adjutant. It is difficult, if not impossible, to
ascertain certainly what companies were present thus early in the day.
They came from Carlisle, from Chelmsford, from Westford, from Littleton,
and from Acton. The minute-men of Acton were commanded by Captain Isaac
Davis, a brave and energetic man. Most of the operations of the British
troops were visible from this place of rendezvous, and several fires
were seen in the middle of the town. Anxious apprehensions were then
felt for its fate. A consultation of officers and of prominent citizens
was held. It was probably during this conference that Captain William
Smith, of Lincoln, volunteered, with his company, to dislodge the
British guard at the North bridge. Captain Isaac Davis, as he returned
from it to his ranks, also remarked, "I haven't a man that's afraid to
go." The result of this council was that it was expedient to dislodge
the guard at the North bridge. Colonel Barrett accordingly ordered the
militia to march to it, and to pass it, but not to fire on the King's
troops unless they were fired upon. He designated Major John Buttrick to
lead the companies to effect this object. Lieutenant-Colonel Robinson
volunteered to accompany him. On the march Major Buttrick requested
Colonel Robinson to act as his superior, but he generously declined.
It was nearly ten o'clock in the morning when the Provincials, about
three hundred in number, arrived near the river. The company from Acton
was in front, and Major Buttrick, Colonel Robinson, and Captain Davis
were at their head. Captains David Brown, Charles Miles, Nathan Barrett,
and William Smith, with their companies, and also other companies, fell
into the line. Their positions, however, are not precisely known. They
marched in double file, and with trailed arms. The British guard, under
Captain Laurie, about one hundred in number, were then on the west side
of the river, but on seeing the Provincials approach they retired over
the bridge to the east side of the river, formed as if for a fight, and
began to take up the planks of the bridge. Major Buttrick remonstrated
against this and ordered his men to hasten their march.
When they had arrived within a few rods of the bridge the British began
to fire upon them. The first guns, few in number, did no execution;
others followed with deadly effect. Luther Blanchard, a fifer in the
Acton company, was first wounded; and afterward Captain Isaac Davis and
Abner Hosmer, of the same company, were killed. On seeing the fire take
effect Major Buttrick exclaimed, "Fire, fellow-soldiers! for God's sake,
fire!" The Provincials then fired, and killed one and wounded several of
the enemy. The fire lasted but a few minutes. The British immediately
retreated in great confusion toward the main body--a detachment from
which was soon on its way to meet them. The Provincials pursued them
over the bridge, when one of the wounded of the British was cruelly
killed by a hatchet.
Part of the Provincials soon turned to the left, and ascended the hill
on the east of the main road, while another portion returned to the high
grounds, carrying with them the remains of the gallant Davis and Hosmer.
Military order was broken, and many who had been on duty all the morning
and were hungry and fatigued improved the time to take refreshment.
Meantime the party under Captain Parsons--who was piloted by Ensign
Berniere--returned from Captain Barrett's house, repassed the bridge
where the skirmish took place, and saw the bodies of their companions,
one of which was mangled. It would have been easy for the Provincials to
have cut them off. But war had not been declared; and it is evident that
it had not been fully resolved to attack the British troops. Hence this
party of about one hundred were allowed, unmolested, to join the main
body. Colonel Smith concentrated his force, obtained conveyances for the
wounded, and occupied about two hours in making preparations to return
to Boston--a delay that nearly proved fatal to the whole detachment.
While these great events were occurring at Lexington and Concord, the
intelligence of the hostile march of the British troops was spreading
rapidly through the country; and hundreds of local communities, animated
by the same determined and patriotic spirit, were sending out their
representatives to the battle-field. The minute-men, organized and ready
for action, promptly obeyed the summons to parade. They might wait in
some instances to receive a parting blessing from their minister, or to
take leave of weeping friends; but in all the roads leading to Concord,
they were hurrying to the scene of action. They carried the firelock
that had fought the Indian, and the drum that beat at Louisburg; and
they were led by men who had served under Wolfe at Quebec. As they drew
near the places of bloodshed and massacre they learned that in both
cases the regulars had been the aggressors--"had fired the first"--and
they were deeply touched by the slaughter of their brethren. Now the
British had fairly passed the Rubicon. If any still counselled
forbearance, moderation, peace, the words were thrown away. The
assembling bands felt that the hour had come in which to hurl back the
insulting charges on their courage that had been repeated for years, and
to make good the solemn words of their public bodies. And they
determined to attack on their return the invaders of their native soil.
Colonel Smith, about twelve o'clock, commenced his march for Boston. His
left was covered by a strong flank-guard that kept the height of land
that borders the Lexington road, leading to Merriam's Corner; his right
was protected by a brook; the main body marched in the road. The British
soon saw how thoroughly the country had been alarmed. It seemed, one of
them writes, that "men had dropped from the clouds," so full were the
hills and roads of the minute-men. The Provincials left the high grounds
near the North bridge and went across the pastures known as "the Great
Fields," to Bedford road. Here the Reading minute-men, under Major
Brooks, afterward Governor Brooks, joined them; and a few minutes after,
Colonel William Thompson, with a body of militia from Billerica and
vicinity, came up. It is certain, from the diaries and petitions of this
period, that minute-men from other towns also came up in season to fire
upon the British while leaving Concord.
The Reverend Foster, who was with the Reading company, relates the
beginning of the afternoon contest in the following manner: "A little
before we came to Merriam's hill we discovered the enemy's flank-guard,
of about eighty or one hundred men, who, on their retreat from Concord,
kept that height of land, the main body in the road. The British troops
and the Americans at that time were equally distant from Merriam's
Corner. About twenty rods short of that place the Americans made a halt.
The British marched down the hill, with very slow but steady step,
without music, or a word being spoken that could be heard. Silence
reigned on both sides. As soon as the British had gained the main road,
and passed a small bridge near that corner, they faced about suddenly
and fired a volley of musketry upon us. They overshot; and no one, to my
knowledge, was injured by the fire. The fire was immediately returned by
the Americans, and two British soldiers fell dead, at a little distance
from each other, in the road, near the brook."
The battle now began in earnest, and as the British troops retreated a
severe fire was poured in upon them from every favorable position. Near
Hardy's hill, the Sudbury company, led by Captain Nathaniel Cudworth,
attacked them, and there was a severe skirmish below Brooks' Tavern on
the old road north of the school-house. The woods lined both sides of
the road which the British had to pass, and it was filled with the
minute-men. "The enemy," says Mr. Foster, "was now completely between
two fires, renewed and briskly kept up. They ordered out a flank-guard
on the left to dislodge the Americans from their posts behind large
trees, but they only became a better mark to be shot at." A short and
sharp battle ensued. And for three or four miles along these woody
defiles the British suffered terribly. Woburn had "turned out
extraordinary"; it sent out a force one hundred eighty strong, "well
armed and resolved in defence of the common cause." Major Loammi
Baldwin, afterward Colonel Baldwin, was with this body. At Tanner brook,
at Lincoln bridge, they concluded to scatter, make use of the trees and
walls as defences, and thus attack the British. And in this way they
kept on pursuing and flanking them. In Lincoln, also, Captain Parker's
brave Lexington company again appeared in the field, and did efficient
service. "The enemy," says Colonel Baldwin, "marched very fast, and left
many dead and wounded and a few tired." Eight were buried in Lincoln
graveyard. It was at this time that Captain Jonathan Wilson, of Bedford,
Nathaniel Wyman, of Billerica, and Daniel Thompson, of Woburn, were
killed.
In Lexington, at Fiske's hill, an officer on a fine horse, with a drawn
sword in his hand, was actively engaged in directing the troops, when a
number of the pursuers, from behind a pile of rails, fired at him with
effect. The officer fell, and the horse, in affright, leaped the wall,
and ran toward those who had fired. It was here that Lieutenant-Colonel
Smith was severely wounded in the leg. At the foot of this hill a
personal contest between James Hayward, of Acton, and a British soldier
took place. The Briton drew up his gun, remarking, "You are a dead man!"
"And so are you!" answered Hayward. The former was killed. Hayward was
mortally wounded and died the next day.
The British troops, when they arrived within a short distance of
Lexington Meeting-house, again suffered severely from the close pursuit
and the sharp fire of the Provincials. Their ammunition began to fail,
while their light companies were so fatigued as to be almost unfitted
for service. The large number of wounded created confusion, and many of
the troops rather ran than marched in order. For some time the officers
in vain tried to restore discipline. They saw the confusion increase
under their efforts, until, at last, they placed themselves in front,
and threatened the men with death if they advanced. This desperate
exertion, made under a heavy fire, partially restored order. The
detachment, however, must have soon surrendered had it not in its
extreme peril found shelter in the hollow square of a reenforcement sent
to their relief.
General Gage received, early in the morning, a request from Colonel
Smith for a reenforcement. About nine o'clock he detached three
regiments of infantry and two divisions of marines, with two
field-pieces, under Lord Percy, to support the grenadiers and light
infantry. Lord Percy marched through Roxbury, to the tune of _Yankee
Doodle_ to the great alarm of the country. To prevent or to impede his
march, the select-men of Cambridge had the planks of the Old bridge,
over which he was obliged to pass, taken up; but instead of being
removed, they were piled on the causeway on the Cambridge side of the
river. Hence Lord Percy found no difficulty in replacing them so as to
admit his troops to cross. But a convoy of provisions was detained until
it was out of the protection of the main body. This was captured at West
Cambridge. According to Gordon, Rev. Dr. Payson led this party. David
Lamson, a half-Indian, distinguished himself in the affair. Percy's
brigade met the harassed and retreating troops about two o'clock, within
half a mile of Lexington Meeting-house. "They were so much exhausted
with fatigue," the British historian Stedman writes, "that they were
obliged to lie down for rest on the ground, their tongues hanging out of
their mouths like those of dogs after a chase." The field-pieces from
the high ground below Monroe's Tavern played on the Provincials, and for
a short period there was, save the discharge of cannon, a cessation of
battle. From this time, however, the troops committed the most wanton
destruction. Three houses, two shops, and a barn were laid in ashes in
Lexington; buildings on the route were defaced and plundered, and
individuals were grossly abused.
At this time, Dr. Warren and General Heath were active in the field,
directing and encouraging the militia. General Heath was one of the
generals who were authorized to take the command when the minute-men
should be called out. On his way to the scene of action he ordered the
militia of Cambridge to make a barricade of the planks of the bridge,
take post there, and oppose the retreat of the British in that direction
from Boston. At Lexington, when the minute-men were somewhat checked and
scattered by Percy's field-pieces, he labored to form them into military
order. Dr. Warren, about ten o'clock, rode on horseback through
Charlestown. He had received by express intelligence of the events of
the morning, and told the citizens of Charlestown that the news of the
firing was true. Among others he met Dr. Welsh, who said, "Well, they
are gone out." "Yes," replied the doctor, "and we'll be up with them
before night."
Lord Percy had now under his command about eighteen hundred troops of
undoubted bravery and of veteran discipline. He evinced no disposition,
however, to turn upon his assailants and make good the insulting boasts
of his associates. After a short interval of rest and refreshment the
British recommenced their retreat. Then the Provincials renewed their
attack. In West Cambridge the skirmishing again became sharp and bloody
and the troops increased their atrocities. Jason Russell, an invalid and
a noncombatant, was barbarously butchered in his own house. In this town
a mother was killed while nursing her child. Others were driven from
their dwellings, and their dwellings were pillaged. Here the Danvers
company, which marched in advance of the Essex regiment, met the enemy.
Some took post in a walled enclosure, and made a breastwork of bundles
of shingles; others planted themselves behind trees on the side of the
hill west of the meeting-house. The British came along in solid column
on their right, while a large flank guard came up on their left. The
Danvers men were surrounded, and many were killed and wounded. Here
Samuel Whittemore was shot and bayoneted, and left for dead. Here Dr.
Eliphalet Downer, in single combat with a soldier, killed him with a
bayonet. Here a musket-ball struck a pin out of the hair of Dr. Warren's
earlock.
The wanton destruction of life and property that marked the course of
the invaders added revenge to the natural bravery of the minute-men.
"Indignation and outraged humanity struggled on the one hand; veteran
discipline and desperation on the other." The British had many struck in
West Cambridge, and left an officer wounded in the house still standing
at the rail-road depot. The British troops took the road that winds
round Prospect hill. When they entered this part of Charlestown their
situation was critical. The large numbers of the wounded proved a
distressing obstruction to their progress, while they had but few rounds
of ammunition left. Their field-pieces had lost their terror. The main
body of the Provincials hung closely on their rear; a strong force was
advancing upon them from Roxbury, Dorchester, and Milton; while Colonel
Pickering, with the Essex militia, seven hundred strong, threatened to
cut off their retreat to Charlestown.
Near Prospect hill the fire again became sharp and the British again had
recourse to their field-pieces. James Miller, of Charlestown, was killed
here. Along its base, Lord Percy, it is stated, 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 ships-of-war. The minute-men closely followed, but,
when they reached the Charlestown Common, General Heath ordered them to
stop the pursuit.
Charlestown, throughout the day, presented a scene of intense excitement
and great confusion. It was known early in the morning that the regulars
were out. Rumors soon arrived of the events that had occurred at
Lexington. The schools were dismissed, and citizens gathered in groups
in the streets. After Dr. Warren rode through the town, and gave the
certain intelligence of the slaughter at Lexington, a large number went
out to the field, and the greater part who remained were women and
children. Hon. James Russell received, in the afternoon, a note from
General Gage to the effect that he had been informed that citizens had
gone out armed to oppose his majesty's troops, and that if a single man
more went out armed the most disagreeable consequences might be
expected. It was next reported, and correctly, that Cambridge bridge had
been taken up, and that hence the regulars would be obliged to return to
Boston through the town. Many then prepared to leave, and every vehicle
was employed to carry away their most valuable effects. Others, however,
still believing the troops would return the way they went out,
determined to remain, and in either event to abide the worst. Just
before sunset the noise of distant firing was heard, and soon the
British troops were seen in the Cambridge road.
The inhabitants then rushed toward the neck. Some crossed Mystic River,
at Penny Ferry. Some ran along the marsh, toward Medford. The troops,
however, soon approached the town, firing as they came along. A lad,
Edward Barber, was killed on the neck. The inhabitants then turned back
into the town panic-stricken.
Word ran through the crowd that "the British were massacring the women
and children!" Some remained in the streets, speechless with terror;
some ran to the clay-pits, back of Breed's Hill, where they passed the
night. The troops, however, offered no injury to the inhabitants. Their
officers directed the women and children, half-distracted with fright,
to go into their houses, and they would be safe, but requested them to
hand out drink to the troops. The main body occupied Bunker Hill, and
formed a line opposite the neck. Additional troops also were sent over
from Boston. The officers flocked to the tavern in the square, where the
cry was for drink. Guards were stationed in various parts of the town.
One was placed at the neck, with orders to permit no one to go out.
Everything, during the night, was quiet. Some of the wounded were
carried over immediately, in the boats of the Somerset, to Boston.
General Pigot had the command in Charlestown the next day, when the
troops all returned to their quarters.
The Americans lost forty-nine killed, thirty-nine wounded, and five
missing. A committee of the Provincial Congress estimated the value of
the property destroyed by the ravages of the troops to be: In Lexington,
L1761 15s. 5d.; in Concord, L274 16s. 7d.; in Cambridge, L1202 8s. 7d.
Many petitions of persons who engaged the enemy on this day are on file.
They lost guns or horses or suffered other damage. The General Court
indemnified such losses.