Posted on 04/18/2007 11:22:01 PM PDT by NonValueAdded
On April 19, 1775, British and American soldiers exchanged fire in the Massachusetts towns of Lexington and Concord. On the night of April 18, the royal governor of Massachusetts, General Thomas Gage, commanded by King George III to suppress the rebellious Americans, had ordered 700 British soldiers, under Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith and Marine Major John Pitcairn, to seize the colonists' military stores in Concord, some 20 miles west of Boston.
A system of signals and word-of-mouth communication set up by the colonists was effective in forewarning American volunteer militia men of the approach of the British troops. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "Paul Revere's Ride" tells how a lantern was displayed in the steeple of Christ Church on the night of April 18, 1775 as a signal to Paul Revere and others.
One if by land, and two if by sea;At Lexington Green, the British were met by 77 American Minute Men led by John Parker. At the North Bridge in Concord, the British were confronted again, this time by 300 to 400 armed colonists, and were forced to march back to Boston with the Americans firing on them all the way. By the end of the day, the colonists were singing "Yankee Doodle" and the American Revolution had begun.
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex, village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm.
(Excerpt) Read more at memory.loc.gov ...
See also J. L. Bell's excellent Web site covering this period at blogspot: Boston 1775
By the way, there will be a quiz:
1) Hancock and Adams missed out on their planned salmon dinner that day. What did Hancock eventually pay for the meal he did receive?
2) Capt. Isaac Davis made the famous statement "No, I am not and I haven't a man that is!" in response to what question?
3) What was special about Davis' Acton Minutemen?
4) How many eventually responded to the alarm that day? Which group traveled the most distance?
5) Who was Mother Batherick and what did she do that day?
6) Who was the "White Horseman?"
7) Why would some think AlGore was present in Lexington & Concord on April 16th of this year?
8) In which Massachusetts town was the fighting the fiercest that day? (Extra credit for its name both then and now).
And double extra credit if you can source all of the answers within the confines of FreeRepublic.com
ping
follow up ping
People armed were vital to this nation gaining freedom. Now, it's vital to KEEPING it.
You should get some US Constitution History/Studies threads going also.
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Thanks for the post and ping, NonValueAdded.
Indeed, a great day to remember that those men who stood up that day did it for LIBERTY.
bttt!
8.Menotomy (Arlington)— gotta go to work, or I’d be pursuing 1-7 also. God Bless the memory of Jonathan Harrington.
By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.
The foe long since in silence slept;
Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.
On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set to-day a votive stone;
That memory may their deed redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.
Spirit, that made those heroes dare
To die, and leave their children free,
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to them and thee.
Good Patriots’ Day morning posters and thank you for visiting the thread. Just Lori, right you are! I have a special answer to your post but must save it until after the quiz is over.
It was unseasonably cold that day?
You are on the right track but your answer must evolve :)
7) Because the weather was unseasonably cold and awful. This made the water extra high at Lechmere's Point, so the lobsterbacks would be extra soaked as they started their forced march.
8) The Village of Menotomy, which is known today as Arlington. That's where Samuel Whittemore made his famous stand.
Click for much bigger image.
Molon Labe
The Powder House Alarm, seven months earlier, was an even more brazen gun grab. You almost never hear about that these days.
i will share this with my US History students... i teach in a homeschool co-op (my class consists of four boys)... we just finished studying the American Revolution last quarter... this quarter we are touching on The Bill of Rights...
Ronmey, Guiliani, and McCain - never met a gun control law that they didn't like.
No.
It was celebrated on Monday with a nice Red Sox win over the Angels.
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