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Posted on 10/08/2015 5:57:56 AM PDT by ETL
Full title: Archaeologists uncover secrets of historic Revolutionary War battle site
BOSTON – Archeologists using 21st-century technology are mapping out the exact spots British soldiers and Colonial militiamen were standing as they fired at each other during a pivotal skirmish on the first day of the American Revolution.
Parker's Revenge, as the fight is known, occurred on April 19, 1775, after the battles of Lexington and Concord as the redcoats retreated to Boston.
Capt. John Parker, commander of the 77-member Lexington militia, had met the 700-strong British column on the green at 5:30 a.m. Eight of his men were killed and 10 wounded.
Undaunted, Parker planned his revenge, positioning his remaining men on a rocky hillside on the border of Lexington and Lincoln and awaiting the return of the British early in the afternoon.
"Parker met a force approximately 10 times his size and took 20 percent casualties on the green, then made the choice to go after them," said Bob Morris, president of the nonprofit Friends on Minute Man National Park. "It's the kind of heroism that cries out to be researched and memorialized."
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
When reports of the approach of a sizeable force of British soldiers reached Lexington overnight, men from the town and the surrounding area began to gather on the Common. Parker’s Lexington company were not minutemen, as sometimes stated, but from the main body of Massachusetts Militia.[1] Parker was initially uncertain as to exactly what was happening. Conflicting stories arrived and as the British regulars had spent much of the winter engaged in harmless route marches through the Massachusetts countryside their exact intention was far from certain.
When Smith became aware that the countryside had been alarmed and that resistance might be encountered, he sent a detachment of light infantry under Major John Pitcairn ahead of the main column. Pitcairn’s advance guard reached Lexington first and drew up on the Common opposite Parker’s men. Parker ordered his men to disperse to avoid a confrontation, but they either failed to hear him or ignored his instructions. Shortly afterwards firing broke out despite the fact that both sides had orders not to shoot. In the following fight eight militia were killed and ten wounded while one British soldier was wounded.
The lopsided casualty list led to initial reports of a massacre, stories of which spread rapidly around the colony further inflaming the situation. There remains considerable doubt as to exactly what occurred during the fight at Lexington, and a variety of different accounts emerged as to what had taken place and who had fired first. By the time Smith arrived with his main body of troops ten minutes later, he had trouble restoring order amongst his troops, who had chased fleeing militiamen into the fields around the town. Smith then decided, in spite of the fighting, to continue the march to Concord.[2]
One of Parker’s company, many years later, recalled Parker’s order at Lexington Green to have been, “Stand your ground. Don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.” Paul Revere recalled it as having been “Let the soldiers pass by. Do not molest them without they begin first”. During the skirmish Parker witnessed his cousin Jonas Parker killed by a British bayonet. Later that day he rallied his men to attack the regulars returning to Boston in an ambush known as “Parker’s Revenge”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Parker_%28captain%29#Lexington
LIBERTY! The American Revolution is a dramatic documentary about the birth of the American Republic and the struggle of a loosely connected group of states to become a nation. The George Foster Peabody award-winning series brings the people, events and ideas of the revolution to life through military reenactments and dramatic recreations performed by a distinguished cast.
_________________________
EPISODE 1: "The Reluctant Revolutionaries" 1763-1774
In 1763, the capitol city of America is London, George Washington is lobbying for a post in the British army, and no one thinks of Boston harbor when they hear talk of tea parties. In a dozen years, the colonies are on the brink of rebellion. What happens to bring this country so quickly near war with England?
EPISODE 2: "Blows Must Decide" 1774-1776
A total break from Great Britain remains hard for Americans to imagine, even after shots are fired at Lexington and Concord. Words push matters "Over the Edge" in 1776. Common Sense argues that it is the natural right of men to govern themselves. The Declaration of Independence declares this same idea a "self-evident" truth. For Americans, there is no looking back. There will be war with England.
EPISODE 3: "The Times That Try Men's Souls" 1776-1777
Days after the Declaration of Independence is signed, a British force arrives in New York harbor. Washington and his troops are driven to New Jersey. With only a few days of enlistment left for many of his volunteers, a desperate Washington leads his army quietly across the Delaware River on the day after Christmas, 1776, to mount a surprise attack on a sleeping garrison in Trenton.
EPISODE 4: "Oh Fatal Ambition" 1777-1778
The "united" states remain in dire need of funds and military support. Congress dispatches Benjamin Franklin to France in hopes of creating an alliance which will provide both. Meanwhile, a British army marches down the Hudson River trying to cut off New England from the other colonies. The British are crushed by Americans at Saratoga. The French enter the conflict on the American side.
EPISODE 5: "The World Turned Upside Down" 1778-1783
The British hope to exploit the issue of slavery and to enlist the support of loyalists in the south. They fail. After a series of brutal engagements, the British army heads for Virginia, only to be trapped by the miraculous convergence of Washington's army and the French fleet at Yorktown. The end of the war is at hand.
EPISODE 6: "Are We to Be a Nation? 1783-1788
Peace comes to the United States, but governing the world's newest republic is no simple task. Congress is ineffectual and individual states act like sovereign nations. By the time the Constitutional Convention convenes in 1787, many wonder if the country can survive. The long ratification process helps define what sort of nation the United States is to be—a process that continues to this day.
__________________________________________
EPISODE 2: “Blows Must Decide” 1774-1776
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIT_GL-Y5hQ
EPISODE 3: “The Times That Try Men’s Souls” 1776-1777
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnELswbakFs
EPISODE 4: “Oh Fatal Ambition” 1777-1778
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae6XknOqceI
EPISODE 5: “The World Turned Upside Down” 1778-1783
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkjhu2GKYAs
EPISODE 6: “Are We to Be a Nation? 1783-1788
(Part 6, from a different poster, is cut short by about 20 mins, but ends smoothly)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1AQ8PJq6mk
Thanks for posting this.My ancestors were in the Lincoln Militia that day, hence my Freeper handle.
Freegards
LEX
Thank you for sharing that.
Back when Massachusetts encouraged gun ownership.
Interesting study. Metal detector archaeological surveys have been done at the 1876 Little Bighorn Battlefield in Montana and the 1779 Monmouth Court House Battlefield in New Jersey with pretty impressive results.
Bump for later
This is our heritage. We are Americans. Same blood as Captain Parker and his men.
We are not English or Aussies. We are a different breed altogether.
Don't screw with us - WE WILL NOT COMPLY.
Howdy! For Rev War ping list... How ya been?
You should be proud—those men birthed a nation, a nation that would become the greatest one the world has ever seen.
To me, the most sacred ground in America is not Independence Hall nor in Washington, DC.
It is the places in Concord and Lexington where farmers risked all to stand up to the largest, most powerful empire the world had ever known to that time, to defend their freedom as men.
When they left their homes, the chance they would not return, and the imminent financial ruin it would mean for their families was outweighed by the hope for a better tomorrow for all.
We owe them so much.
Very cool. My 5th Great Grandfather Francis B. Way is a DAR Patriot. Besides signing a pledge to support the colonists against the monarchy, he served as a Lieutenant in the 2nd Regiment of the Dutchess County (New York) Militia. There were several other members of the Way family who signed the same pledge, and served in the same unit.
Thanks ETL.
Thank you. So much to discover, so little time left.
That WAS our heritage. We WERE Americans.
Now it is just the heritage of some of us who are actually Americans and we are being quickly outnumbered and taken from within.
John was always just playing Wayne and that was all that was necessary. Thank John Ford for making him the icon he became.
I’m thinking of a young man I know today. Fearful but saddling up anyway.
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