On the north side of the road the British encountered 80-year-old Samuel Whittemore. A onetime captain in the Royal Dragoons, Whittemore had a musket, two pistols and a saber. He was crouched behind a stone wall behind Cooper’s Tavern at the junction of the road to Medford when flankers from the 47th Regiment came upon him. Whittemore killed one with his musket and emptied both pistols at the rest, killing or wounding at least one more soldier before being shot in the face. Militiamen around him fled as enraged British soldiers bayoneted Whittemore 13 times. Incredibly, he survived to live another 18 years.
http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-menotomy-first-blood-1775.htm
Thank you! Even more impressive for one so old.....
“William Diamond’s Drum”
A book about your post and link
is one of my favorites!
Thank you marktwain,
I got a few of the details wrong, your corrections make the tale even better.
Jack