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 ...
Happy Patriots Day to all.
Well it makes a change anyway. Are they still threatening to arrest the re-enactors for carrying around muskets, or did they get over that?
I'm fairly sure that was only a theoretical risk, at best. Re-enactors are certainly allowed to carry muskets.
And it wasn’t just GUNS...but the people also had CANNONS (GASP! Could it be that the Second Amendment covers more than single shot target rifles and shotguns?! :-) ...and General Gage’s troops had already confiscated American cannons elsewhere in MA before this. But these brave colonists didn’t let it go unopposed at Lexington & Concord.
BTTT!
Thanks for the post. Happy Patriots Day to you and all.
Ironically, not twenty years before, New Englanders had been instrumental in driving the Acadians from l'Acadie through sheer terror---and---grabbing their guns. In other words, they knew very well what could go down, because they'd been on the other side.
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?
"Are you afraid to go?"
3) What was special about Davis' Acton Minutemen?
They were well equipped for irregulars, even having bayonets, and had trained extensively (paid for it, too).
I remember watching a show on TV about the battle. The lefty history professor they had on said that the red coats were just going to reclaim the cannons that the militia had stolen. Lets see the militia had stolen their own canons?
Same to you. Lexington and Concorde. Wooooo-hooooo!
Bump
Thank you for the faithful pings.
What a gorgeous photo.
One of them, Job Pratt, farmed near Westborough and was among several of the town mustered into service in time for the action at Concord Bridge.
It is my distinct pleasure, m’dame.
6. Percy, later to be Duke of Northumberland
5. Mother Batherick was working in the field had her gun ..saw the battle and took British Redcoats prisoner...then delivered her prisoners to a minute man captain and told them, “If you ever live to get back, you tell King George that an old woman took six of his grenadiers prisoners.”
We women ROCK!!
Pencils down, everyone. I’d display your grades but Federal law prevents that. 1975 or so, wasn’t it? A change whose aftershock only now made it to Virginia a few days ago.
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