Posted on 04/18/2012 5:42:57 AM PDT by Hemingway's Ghost
I, William Munroe, of Lexington, on oath do testify, that I acted as orderly sergeant in the company commanded by Capt. John Parker, on the 19th of April, 1775; that, early in the evening of the 18th of the same April, I was informed by Solomon Brown, who had just returned from Boston, that he had seen nine British officers on the road, travelling leisurely, sometimes before and sometimes behind him; that he had discovered, by the occasional blowing aside of their top coats, that they were armed.
On learning this, I supposed they had some design upon [John] Hancock and [Samuel] Adams, who were then at the house of the Rev. Mr. [Jonas] Clark, and immediately assembled a guard of eight men, with their arms, to guard the house.
About midnight, Col. Paul Revere rode up and requested admittance. I told him the family had just retired, and had requested, that they might not be disturbed by any noise about the house. “Noise!” said he, “you’ll have noise enough before long. The regulars are coming out.” We then permitted him to pass.
Soon after, Mr. Lincoln came. These gentlemen came different routes. Revere came over the ferry to Charlestown, and Lincoln over the neck through Roxbury; and both brought letters from Dr. [Joseph] Warren in Boston to Hancock and Adams, stating, that a large body of British troops had left Boston, and were on their march to Lexington. On this, it was thought advisable, that Hancock and Adams should withdraw to some distant part of the town.
God save the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the United States of America.
Thanks for the post. I got a chill when I read it, for some reason.
Check out what this guy did on April 19, 1775:
At Menotomy, the 2d inst. [i.e., this month] Capt. SAMUEL WHITTEMORE, Æt. 99. The manly and moral virtues, in all the various relations of brother, husband, father and friend, were invariably exhibited in this gentleman. He was not more remarkable for his longevity, and his numerous descendants, (his progeny being 185; one of which is the fifth generation) than for his patriotism.——
When the British troops marched to Lexington, he was 81 years of age, and one of the first on the parade [i.e., for militia duty]; he was armed with a gun and horse pistol; after an animated exhortation to the collected militia, to the exercise of bravery and courage, he exclaimed; “If I can only be the instrument of killing one of my country's foes, I shall die in peace,”
The prayer of this venerable old man was heard—for on the return of the troops, he lay behind a stone wall, and discharging his gun, a soldier immediately fell; he then discharged his pistol, and killed another—at which instant, a ball struck his face, and shot away part of his cheek-bone; on which a number of the soldiers ran up to the wall, and gorged their malice on his wounded head: they were heard to exclaim, “We have killed the old rebel.”
About four hours after, he was found in a mangled situation; his head was covered with blood, from the wounds of the bayonet, which were six or eight; but providentially none penetrated so far as to destroy him; his hat and cloaths were shot through in many places, yet he survived to see the complete overthrow of his enemies, and his country enjoy all the blessings of peace and independence.
What has happened to the patriots who once inhabited this Commonwealth?
We're still here. And sooner or later we're going to rise up again and rid the Commonwealth of socialists for good.
Nah. He ate a LOT of cheese yesterday.
Thanks for posting.
What is interesting is that the first shots of the war were actually 5 months earlier in New Castle , NH where the colonials raided the British Fort William & Mary to steal the munitions. A British soldier was killed in the raid.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_William_and_Mary
The fort is now known as Fort Constitution.
!!! The regular is staying IN.
We are here. We see what is happening and what road our nation is on. We prepare. We lie in wait. We will be heard. "You’ll have noise enough before long".
Thank you, Mr. Whittemore . . your sentiment lives !
Things were getting pretty belligerent before the 19th of April.
You had the Powderhouse Alarm in Somerville. You had the Salem Alarm in, well, Salem (or was it near Danvers?). You had the Gaspee Affair. You had the Fort William and Mary Alarm (as you mentioned).
To say nothing of the Boston Massacre and the Tea Party.
Lots of animosity building up to this fateful day in 1775.
But I expect to participate nonetheless in the war to liberate her from domestic tyranny. I can hold a rifle and shoot straight. That is enough.
There's a line in Hiller Zobel's "The Boston Massacre," I believe, that has always given me the chills. He talks of an alarm system in Boston consisting of a barrel of turpentine, or other like flammable liquid, atop the tallest hill in Boston proper (maybe Beacon Hill?). In any event, upon lighting that barrel of turpentine and sounding the alarm, the radicals could count on "30,000 men from the countryside" to come to their aid.
I feel the same way about the suburbs today. There's an anti-socialist stirring among the middle class, and it's growing stronger.
We are here, and we are all doing our part, in some small way. I may be an aging woman, but I raised a patriot and I am married to a patriot. Future daughter-in-law is a patriot now that she knows what a gift we have in this country (son is teaching her well). I am also a student of history, and I won’t let that history die.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
We're long overdue.
'Paul Revere's Ride' is among my favorite books.
One of mine as well. Fischer is a treasure. I wish I had gone to Brandeis, majored in history, and had a chance to take a few classes with him.
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