To Concord and Back

   Good Friday Greetings from Chairman Joe

   On this day in 1775, the Battles of Lexington and Concord took place, starting the war that would lead, eight years later, to America's independence from Britain.  Since the end of the French and Indian war in 1763, the colonists had been chafing under British interference with their daily lives. Getting the French out of North America had nearly bankrupted Britain and now Britain was trying to get the colonists to chip in for the costs of running an empire.
   With the French threat gone, the colonists were feeling less need to have the mother country looking out for them. They refused to pay the new British taxes and got the goods they could not make themselves by trafficking with smugglers. The colonists considered themselves Englishmen and loyal subjects of the crown, but King George III was not a flexible man. His advisors in Parliament came and went. Some were sympathetic to the colonists, others gave the king bad advice that pushed the colonists into revolution.
   It had been a crime for the colonists in Boston to dump British tea into the harbor back in 1773, but they felt they had to do it to protest British interference. It was a shame to waste all that good tea, but they could always get more from the Dutch tax-free.
   The British responded to the Tea Party by closing Boston Harbor. This got the colonists really riled. They began hiding arms and powder in the towns around Boston. They also began drilling in their militias more intensely. It was a law in the colonies that every man over 16 had to join the militia, mainly as a defense against Indian attacks. The Indian threat was over, but the militias were still in place, ready to be turned against the government.
   The British had 3,000 troops stationed in Boston to enforce the port closure. Most of these troops lived aboard warships anchored in the harbor. British General Gage would send out troops to the towns to destroy the hidden caches of arms and powder. But the colonists had a good intelligence system and were usually able to move their supplies before the British got there. In April of 1775, Gage learned there was a large store of cannon, muskets and ammunition hidden in the town of Concord, 17 miles west of Boston.
   On the 18th of April, Gage ordered 700 soldiers to march to Concord and search for and destroy these arms. Gage was counting on the element of surprise, so the troops started on their march at 2 am. on the 19th. The colonists were expecting this move. The only question was whether the British would leave Boston by land or whether they would row across the Charles River to Cambridge and march to Concord from there. They rowed, and two lanterns were hung in the steeple of Old North Church. Paul Revere saw the lanterns and took off to spread the alarm.

Old North Church...."two if by sea."

   Once people west of Boston heard  Revere's warning, they began ringing church bells, beating drums and lighting bonfires to spread the word throughout New England. Colonel Smith, in overall command of the British troops marching to Concord, must have thought, there goes our element of surprise. He made the wise decision to send a messenger back to Boston requesting reinforcements. General Gage's mania for secrecy led to the reinforcements departure being delayed for several hours. This delay would prove disastrous for the British.
   The British reached the town of Lexington at sunrise. A group of about 80 militiamen were waiting on the town common. Their leader knew it was hopeless to obstruct the British. When the British advance infantry reached the militiamen, their commander ordered the militiamen to lay down their arms and disperse. The militiamen started to leave the common carrying their arms with them. A shot rang out. Both sides denied firing it.The British began firing at the militiamen, killing eight of them. The militiamen returned a light fire as they retreated, slightly wounding one of the British soldiers.
   Word of this engagement sped on to Concord. All night and morning, miliamen from surrounding towns had been pouring into Concord. By the time the British reached the town, there were several hundred militiamen confronting them. Again, the leaders of the militiamen realized it was hopeless to attack these well trained troops. The British started their search for arms. They found three buried cannons that had been too heavy to be gotten away in time. They damaged the cannons and burned their wooden carriages.
   When militiamen by a bridge at the north end of town saw the smoke from the burning carriages, they thought the British were burning the town. The militiamen confronted a smaller British search party near the bridge. Again, an anonymous shot rang out. This was the "shot heard round the world." Now the shooting began in earnest. The British officer called for help. More militiamen gathered by the bridge. During this lull in the action, a mentally ill man wandered between both sides selling hard cider.
   The British were now outnumbered and should have headed back to Boston, but instead took a leisurely lunch and left Concord at noon. This delay gave additional militias time to reach the route the British were about to take. The militiamen took up positions on hills overlooking the road and were able to pick off British soldiers as they marched. As the British reached the Lexington border, they were met by the same militiamen they had dispersed that morning, some of them wearing bandages for their wounds.
   The British retreat was turning into a rout. The soldiers were almost out of ammunition and were running for their lives. Almost all their officers had been wounded or killed. At last, the reinforcements from Boston arrived, a force of 1,000 fresh soldiers with two cannons. This saved Smith's force. But the fight was not over. As the soldiers passed through the more densely settled towns near Boston, the fire from the militiamen intensified. Over half the British casualties occurred between Lexington and Boston.
   It was nearly dark by the time the soldiers reached the safety of Boston. By next morning the city was surrounded by 15,000 militiamen and the Siege of Boston had begun. The Battle of Bunker Hill would come in June. The British would be forced to evacuate Boston the following March and the Declaration of Independence would be proclaimed in July of '76. But the first step to Independence was taken this day on the road to Concord and back.

North Bridge, Concord

    It's also Good Friday, when Jesus went unresisting to the cross.
 "Love God and your neighbor....sell what you have and give to the poor....the kingdom of Heaven is among you." The Revolution continues.

Happy Easter dear Readers. I appreciate you!