USA > Massachusetts > Commonwealth history of Massachusetts, colony, province and state, volume 2 > Part 52
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Fand F. Last position of Americans.
CONCORD
Colonel
B
IMENT
F
C
...
NORTH
From BEDFORD
From A British Fusilier in Boston, by Allen French; courtesy of Harvard University Press
REDRAWING AND INTERPRETATION OF A CONTEMPORARY PLAN OF THE CONCORD FIGHT BY AN UNKNOWN OBSERVER
Road From Watertown
Mill pond
575
OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE
must be noted that neither before nor after the Concord fight was any violence done in the town to unarmed civilians by the British officers or troops.
THE AMERICAN DEFENSIVE
All this time, upon the hill above the North Bridge, the force of the militia was slowly increasing. Some of the Concord men, no doubt, returned from their task of saving stores. The companies of Bedford minute-men and militia, and the single company from Carlisle, marched in and joined the Concord and Lincoln companies. There were, as well, men but not companies from Littleton, Westford, and Chelms- ford. And the Acton company marched in under the com- mand of their ill-fated captain, Isaac Davis. Destined to fall within the hour, young, vigorous, and fiery, he was of the finest type of yeoman patriot.
In command of these companies was Colonel James Bar- rett, sixty-five years of age, unable to march on foot, but strong enough to spend hours in the saddle. He was in con- sultation with Major Buttrick, with Lieutenant-colonel Robin- son of Westford, and with prominent citizens of Concord. During these acts of capture and destruction the waiting force of Americans had grown to perhaps four hundred men. While they outnumbered the three companies stationed at the bridge, a force of little more than a hundred, they were considerably less than the total of the British in Concord. Marshalling the militia was Joseph Hosmer of Concord, act- ing as adjutant. When this man saw rising from the town a greater volume of smoke than had yet appeared, he went to Barrett and his little council of war, and pointing to the smoke, demanded, "Will you let them burn the town down?"
THE AMERICAN OFFENSIVE
It was then perhaps half past nine on a fine clear morning, with the smoke showing plainly. Already disturbed by its increase, Barrett and his councillors were not long in mak- ing a decision, strange to be taken by farmers and mechanics, momentous beyond any single act of resistance yet taken
576
THE NINETEENTH OF APRIL, 1775
in America. Others through preceding years may have reared the pyre for war; these were the men who struck the fire. They determined to march into the town or die in the at- tempt,-the first offensive taken by American troops against the regular troops of the British Empire.
William Smith, the Lincoln captain, offered to take his company and "dislodge" the British at the bridge. It was decided, however, for the whole to march down in column; and the lead was given, not to Smith, but to Davis and his Acton men.
Either the manoeuvers in getting into formation, or the evident numerical superiority of the provincials, had caused the British commander to call in his two advance companies. At first he formed his force on the western bank of the river, with the bridge at their back. The increasing activity among the Americans, however, now made him retreat across the bridge, and form his men for its defence. Tradition, and Lieutenant Sutherland's recently discovered narrative, say that the three companies were formed across the road, parallel to the river. With equal positiveness, the diary of Lieutenant Barker, who was also there, states that the British companies were in column, which, according to the drill books of the time, was the right formation for maintaining a continuous fire across the bridge by successive volleys from squads steadily replacing one another.
By the sudden withdrawal of the outlying British com- panies, Lieutenant Sutherland, preparing to follow Captain Parsons, found himself dangerously close to the Americans. Warned in time, he joined Captain Laurie before he crossed the bridge toward the militia; and after the crossing he stayed upon the bridge with a few men to take up the planks, him- self raising the first.
THE DECISION TO FIGHT
On the other side, the momentous decision to attack was made effective. Barrett had issued his order to march; and, standing at the top of the slope as the militia passed by him two and two, repeatedly warned them not to fire unless fired upon. For there was no positive news, as yet, of the slaying
577
FIGHT AT THE BRIDGE
at Lexington, and the Americans felt that they must wait to be attacked. To the, tune of the White Cockade, played by the Acton fifer, the little column marched down the hill.
It was no gay affair, that march, despite the tune. The men were not soldiers, but householders and citizens, risking their lives and the future of their families on the chance of American success against one of the greatest military powers in the world. Neither jaunty defiance nor angry haste ruled that little procession, striding to the tap of drum and the thin fife. The task was one to undertake with solemnity, and all the deeper sentiments rose in the hearts of the men. One of the Concord captains declared that he went to the fight with the same feelings which he carried to church.
Buttrick led the van, and by his side was Robinson of Westford. Next came Davis of Acton, leading his men. Behind came the two Concord minute companies, with the minute-men of other towns following. The militia came next ; and last came the Concord alarm company, the old men, "while a short Youth boiled up within their Veins, and strung their Nerves anew." Because of the narrowness of the roads, the men still marched two and two. Down the hill they moved by the byway, and reaching the main road, turned the corner and marched directly toward the bridge.
THE FIGHT AT THE BRIDGE
As the provincials drew near, they saw the British on the bridge raising planks. Buttrick shouted a warning for them to desist, and they went back to their ranks. The provincials marched on. As they approached, warning shots, said to be three in number, were fired by the British into the river; but the Americans paid no attention. Another gun, possibly in the hands of an officer, was fired at them directly. The bullet passed under the arm of Robinson, and wounded an Acton and a Concord man. As the Americans still advanced, Laurie gave the order to the British to fire. The range was proper for the muskets of those days, the British aim not bad. Isaac Davis, just raising his gun, was shot through the heart, sprang high, and fell dead. Behind him Abner Hosmer, a
578
THE NINETEENTH OF APRIL, 1775
young man of Acton, likewise was instantly killed. Some few others were wounded by flying bullets.
Instantly Buttrick, described as leaping as he turned to his men, shouted the order, "Fire, fellow soldiers, for God's sake fire!" The response was immediate. All who could see to aim fired at the British; and some broke from the column in order to see to fire. And their aim was good. Among the British half the officers were wounded, a sergeant was hit, two men were dying, a third was mortally wounded. Others, an unknown number, were hurt. As the Americans continued to advance, and set foot upon the bridge, the British broke and fled.
This in essence was the famous Concord Fight. From But- trick's first word to the flight of the regulars, it could have lasted scarcely three minutes. Yet here for the first time Americans had marched upon the regulars, received their fire, and returned it and held their ground.
One strange and unfortunate consequence of the first fight happened while the field lay deserted. Many of the provin- cials had returned with the dead and wounded to the Buttrick farm, leaving but half their number to cross the bridge with Buttrick and take post on the ridge in front. By the bridge a British soldier lay dead, and another dying. An American lad, crossing the bridge to join the force under Buttrick, see- ing, perhaps, the soldier struggling to rise, struck him on the head with an axe and passed on. The three companies under Parsons, presently returning from the Barrett farm, saw the dying man, and without investigation, leaving him still in his agonies, hurried by and reported him as scalped. Passed along the ranks, the report was immediately exaggerated; before the day was out it was said that several were scalped, their ears cut off, and their eyes gouged out. The distorted incident gave rise to much hard feeling, and the story of the "scalping" was printed in British histories for nearly eighty years.
PREPARATIONS FOR BRITISH RETREAT
Now was the time for action on Smith's part. To recall the searching parties, prepare transportation for his wounded, and push for Boston, was called for by the common sense of
From the engraving by Amos Doolittle; courtesy of Allen French, Esq.
THE FIGHT AT THE NORTH BRIDGE IN CONCORD
579
THE RUNNING FIGHT
the situation. Yet he left Parsons and his men to their own devices, and wasted valuable time in Concord even after they returned. On the other hand the Americans, divided now and without plan, unable to attack the British in Concord and anxious only for their departure, hesitated and let time fight for them. Till Smith marched out the Americans merely watched and waited, not even preparing obstructions on his line of march.
Not till about noon were the British ready to start to return. The wounded Lieutenant Gould had been sent ahead in a chaise; the rest of the injured were carried with the column. Out Lexington Road, on which they had entered the town, the troops marched, with their flankers clearing the ridge above them. The march was without incident for the first mile, until the British reached Meriam's Corner.
Here was seen the consequence of Smith's delay. While the provincials who had fought at the bridge were approaching the Corner from the north, and men of East Sudbury from the south, the minute-men of Reading came marching down the Bedford road, and were nearest the Corner when the British rear guard crossed a little bridge which spanned the brook. In an exchange of volleys at fair musket range, the British had the worst. Leaving men dying on the ground, the regulars marched on.
THE RUNNING FIGHT
This began the famous running fight. From that time the British column was beset on both sides by Americans who ambushed it from every cover. They acted as individuals; for with the same impulse, every provincial company that reached the British line of march, scattered and acted each man for himself. Desirable as it would have been, more than once that day, for even a single company to attack as a unit, there is no record of such combined action except at Con- cord Bridge.
Long before the British reached Lexington, the men of Billerica, East Sudbury, Framingham, and even Woburn from the east, were on their flanks. Before the day was out the men of many other towns had taken part in the fight. At the
580
THE NINETEENTH OF APRIL, 1775
least, thirty-five hundred provincials had the chance of empty- ing their guns at the British, and took it. The chance was fair that the expedition would be entirely cut off.
Certainly Smith's detachment would have been captured but for the coming of support. Before reaching Lexington the column was totally demoralized. New to this kind of fighting, and perplexed by it, the men lost discipline, and the officers could not maintain control. It is true that at first the flanking parties, marching in the fields parallel to the road, at times caught Americans who, thinking themselves safe, were shot or bayoneted. But in that rough country the flankers became weary, and the men of the column were help- less to return the fire of the hidden provincials. The men shot wildly, wasted their ammunition, and were dismayed to see their companions fall before invisible enemies. Three miles from Meriam's Corner their ammunition was dwindling, all order was lost, and the officers were struggling hard to keep the retreat from turning into a flight.
At Fiske Hill, near Lexington, an attempt was made to stand the Americans off; and at a place favorable for the attempt, Pitcairn was marshalling his men. But the place was likewise favorable for an ambush, and a fire from close at hand caused his startled horse to throw him, and ruined the attempt. The horse ran among the Americans, and Pit- cairn proceeded on foot; Smith was wounded in the leg, but kept his saddle. Another mile, and Lexington Green was reached; already, a proof of splendid courage, the men of Lexington had joined in the attack, to take their revenge for the morning's bloodshed. The regulars passed the spot of their earlier triumph, almost at a disgraceful run. Their officers formed them again, but hopelessly. But for the com- ing of a relief column, the British, almost desperate, would soon have had to surrender.
PERCY'S RELIEF COLUMN
Meanwhile in Boston General Gage, even before he re- ceived Smith's note asking for support, had ordered his First Brigade to start out at four in the morning. A series of blunders caused the order to be neglected; the arrival of
581
RELIEF CORPS AT LEXINGTON
Smith's note "produced an inquiry," but it was necessary to reissue the order. Even then the marines did not appear, because the order concerning them was sent to Pitcairn's quarters, and he was far away. Not till about 9 A. M. did the brigade march out. Another hour's delay, and it would have been too late to save the detachment.
The brigade was composed of the battalion companies of the 4th, 23d, and 47th Regiments, and the marines, all of whose flank companies had gone out with Smith. The force was commanded by Lord Percy, colonel of the 5th, acting as brigadier. With them went two light field-pieces, a valu- able part of the equipment. The total of the men of the brigade was perhaps eight hundred.
All Boston had news of the fighting; the result only was in doubt. No longer hampered by the necessity of secrecy, Percy did not have to wait for the slow work of ferriage, but marched his men openly out Boston Neck, while in the faces of the disturbed and scowling Whigs his fifes played "Yankee Doodle." He took his route through Roxbury, Brookline, and Brighton to the Great Bridge over the Charles. Here there was a slight delay, because the planks had been taken up to prevent his crossing. The honor of securing the bridge and making it passable was claimed by Montresor the engineer. Percy's men passed on; but his supply-train was further delayed. Crossing at last, it followed the brigade, but only to be captured in Menotomy.
RELIEF CORPS AT LEXINGTON
Percy, passing through deserted Cambridge, along the Har- vard College buildings, prophesied that from the closed houses he would be attacked on returning. In Menotomy, the present Arlington, he met the wounded Lieutenant Gould who was only a few miles in advance of the detachment and could tell of its plight. The brigade must have hastened the faster; the noise of shooting was presently to be heard. Closer it came, and at last the rescuers could be seen by the men of the harassed detachment. With shouts the two forces joined. They met in Lexington, on the eastern side of the village, at a place where Percy could draw up his men on two
582
THE NINETEENTH OF APRIL, 1775
little heights, post his cannon for defence, and give welcome rest to Smith's weary men, who in this temporary safety threw themselves down exhausted. Such refreshment as could be got at Munroe's tavern, within the lines, was given them; and Percy accorded them as much time as he dared. While they rested, his cannon smashed a hole through the meeting-house, and nearer buildings were set on fire, because they gave cover to snipers. In early days much was made of this destruction, and many accusations of brutality were brought against the British because of the deaths of supposed non-combatants. Modern research has, however, disproved many earlier misconceptions, and today we understand more of the inevitable happenings in time of war.
In the pause, American leaders, now at last on the ground, tried to prepare for organized fighting. William Heath, lately appointed brigadier general, was on the spot, and with him Joseph Warren, who had quitted Boston on receiving definite news of the fighting. Heath had had little military experience, Warren had none at all ; moreover there was no staff, no organi- zation to call together the scattered companies and form them into regiments. The obvious strategy was systematic resis- tance to the regulars at selected points, so as to crush the flankers, and to check the column from time to time, when a close fire could be poured in on the regulars crowded together, waiting to advance.
BRITISH RETREAT
Lord Percy gave little time either to his friends or to his foes. In less than an hour, at a quarter past three, the whole column was again on the march. Putting Smith's weary men in front, where the danger was least, Percy followed with the 47th, the 4th, the marines, and in the rear the 23d. Flankers were out, and the cannon were near the rear, where the pursuers came openly on the road, gathering in the British wounded and stragglers, and shouting defiance.
The openness of the country between Concord and Lex- ington, where there were walls and woods but few houses, now. gave place to a district where houses were more fre- quent along the road. Walls, however, were everywhere, stone walls at that; and orchards too gave cover. Using these
583
BRITISH RETREAT
protections, the Americans began their fire again as soon as the column was well upon its march. A "spirit of enthu- siasm," as Percy said, possessed some of the provincials; they even advanced within a few yards of him or his officers, though certain to be put to death. Others, mistakenly confi- dent of cover that protected them in front, were killed by flankers coming upon them from behind. There was bloody hand-to-hand fighting in many a dwelling. Nor could the regular, when it came to the bayonet, be chivalrous. He fought, bearing in mind the story of the "scalping" at Con- cord; he shared, too, his officers' hatred for this new and "murderous" fighting from cover, which bewildered him and put him in fear. For the Briton had been trained to stand in the open and be shot, and considered any other method was treacherous and unfair. Yet still the British were tena- ciously and fearlessly waylaid. That was no gentle warfare on the road from Lexington.
In the village of Menotomy occurred a hot fight. If Heath planned this resistance, he did well. Warren was near death, for a bullet passed through his hair. The regulars were brought to a halt, and Percy had to call upon his cannon. Little damage as these two small pieces actually did, their moral effect was decided, for the provincials melted away be- fore them. The column again took up its march, and ap- proached Cambridge.
THROUGH CAMBRIDGE TO SOMERVILLE
Now was a critical moment of the day. If Percy had fol- lowed the road by which he came, attempting to reach Boston by Roxbury and the Neck, he would have had hard work to get through. For this time the Great Bridge across the Charles near Cambridge village was barricaded and defended against him, and there was no other way of crossing. This obstacle was due to Heath's foresight, and in addition it may well have been he who tried to block Percy's only alter- native route by the second attempt (the fight at Concord in the morning being the first) to oppose the regulars in the open field. Again Percy was brought to a brief halt; and again he called upon his cannon. The farmers dispersed, as Percy
584
THE NINETEENTH OF APRIL, 1775
later wrote; and with true understanding he took the left hand road that they tried to block. Thus by going to Charles- town he shortened his path to safety, and avoided the dan- gerous passage of the Charles.
As the fighting went on, many Americans dropped out of the pursuit, their powderhorns empty. Their places were taken by those who came fresh to the field. The reported American casualities were not many, considering the length of the fight-ninety-three in all. Those of the British were two hundred and seventy-three. A question may well arise as to the long-boasted marksmanship of the Americans. If it is remembered that the men of Middlesex could not have had a backwoodsman's skill in shooting, that the best range of their clumsy smoothbores was but sixty or seventy yards, and that out of respect for the flankers that range was seldom attained, we have an explanation why the British casualities were not greater. If the Americans were protected by stone walls, so too in part was the hurrying line of the British.
As the regulars reached Somerville, the firing became hotter. The flankers, once more exhausted, were keeping closer to the column. The rear-guard had twice been relieved by other regiments. Beneath Prospect Hill the fighting was brisk, and for a third time since Lexington, Percy had to call his cannon to the front. The regulars won through that pass, and com- ing once more into the open, saw before them the hills of Boston and the houses of Charlestown. Two miles more, and the column would be under the protection of the guns of the fleet.
One more chance remained that the retreating British col- umn could be halted. Men of Essex County had already ap- peared on the ground, fighting alongside the Middlesex men. Now at the last minute appeared three hundred men of Salem, marching under their colonel Timothy Pickering who, at first misinformed of the situation, now came hotfoot upon the road. He came in sight of the British as evening began to fall, when the fighting could be seen by the flash of the guns rather than by smoke. Pickering had sent to Heath word of his coming; he halted his men and ordered them to load. They were probably the best-drilled body of provincials in Massachusetts; had Pickering been ordered to throw them in
585
RETURN TO BOSTON
a body at the British flank, there must have been a check, heavy fighting, and at least more casualties than at any time that day. But Heath answered Pickering "that the British had cannon in their rear, and could not be approached by musketry alone." The chance was lost, and in the gathering dusk Percy's weary men tramped across Charlestown Neck. Their hard day's work was ended. The life work of men killed in action was also closed.
RETURN TO BOSTON
Not till now did Gage take charge of the situation. He had not sent out a second detachment to meet Percy, nor had he as yet landed any troops in Charlestown. Depending upon the guns of his fleet to sweep Charlestown Neck, he sent Percy a note for his guidance. General Pigot would pass over with a reinforcement, and his boats were to be used to bring the grenadiers and light infantry back, with the wounded. Montresor would throw up a "sort of Redoubt on the hill." Later in the night, Percy's own men would be ferried to Bos- ton. Already Gage, learning that Charlestown men had gone out with their guns to join in the fighting, had warned the selectmen of the town that any attack on the troops would bring on a bombardment. But the remaining citizens of the town were quite as afraid of the regulars as the General could be of them. The town was agitated; people left their houses in expectation of their destruction, and wandered about dis- tractedly until their fears were allayed. General Pigot crossed, and on the slope of Bunker Hill that faced the mainland an en- trenchment was begun, as if to meet an attack of the provin- cials.
Had Gage kept to this plan, finished his redoubt, and put in it the two hundred men and guns of which he wrote to Percy, he might never have had to learn that on Charlestown penin- sula there was another hill than the one which commanded the Neck, a hill that was to become famous throughout the civi- lized world. But a short time assured him that there was no immediate danger to his troops. Charlestown was quiet, and the provincials from the mainland did not attack. He gave orders to level the entrenchment, and began transporting the
586
THE NINETEENTH OF APRIL, 1775
weary brigade, and the still wearier detachment, over to Bos- ton. By midnight the wounded were in hospital, and the troops were all in their barracks. Only the nervous challenges of a heavier line of sentries on Boston Neck, and the strange appearance of camp-fires in Roxbury, showed that there was any difference from the previous midnight.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DAY
In reality there was all the difference in the world. The alertness of the provincial leaders had been justified, and their organization had worked well. Gage had underestimated his opponents ; his troops had met failure. In battle the resource- fulness of the provincial had proved too much for the stubborn but bewildered courage of the regular. The military evils were now but minor details. The great fact was that Massa- chusetts was in rebellion and the siege of Boston had begun.
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
BARKER, JOHN .- The British in Boston; Being the Diary of Lieutenant John Barker of the King's Own Regiment from November 15, 1774 to May 31, 1776 (Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1924)-With notes by, Elizabeth Ellery Dana. A dependable account of the ex- pedition to Concord.
BARRETT, AMOS .- Concord Fight (Boston, Todd, 1925)-Letter giving an account of the battle, written April 10, 1825, by Capt. Barrett, a min- uteman and participant; with comments by and edited by Allen French. Reprinted from the copy in HENRY TRUE, Journal and letters, Marion, Ohio, 1900.
BLOOD, THADDEUS .- "Recollections of the Concord Fight" (Boston Daily Advertiser, April 20, 1886, p. 2).
CLARK, JONAS .- The Fate of the Bloodthirsty Oppressors and God's ten- der Care of his Distressed People. A Sermon Preached at Lexing- ton, April 19, 1776. To which is added A Brief Narrative of the principal Transactions of that Day (Boston, Powars and Willis, 1776) -The narrative was reprinted by the Lexington Historical Society, 1901. A careful contemporary story of the fight at Lexington.
CLUB OF ODD VOLUMES, compiler .- Late News of the Excursion and Rav- ages of the King's Troops on the Nineteenth of April, 1775 (Privately printed, Cambridge, 1927)-Contains the recently discovered contem- porary narratives of Lieutenant William Sutherland, 38th Regiment, and of Private Richard Pope, 47th Regiment.
DE BERNIERE, HENRY .- General Gage's Instruction of 22d February, 1775, to Captain Brown and Ensign de Berniere. Also, an Account of the Transactions of the British Troops, from the Time they Marched out of Boston, on Evening of the 18th, 'till their confused Retreat back, on the ever memorable nineteeth of April, 1775; and a return of their killed, wounded and missing on that auspicious day, as made to Gen. Gage. Left in town by a British officer previous to the evacuation ... and now printed for the information and amusement of the curious (Boston, J. Gill, 1779; reprinted in Mass. Historical Society, Collec- tions, Second Series, Vol. IV, pp. 204-219, Boston, John Eliot, 1816).
EMERSON, WILLIAM .- [Diary of the 19th of April] (Proceedings at the Centennial Celebration of the Concord Fight, April 19, 1875, Concord, 1876)-From his interleaved almanac of 1775. Reproduced in fac simile.
FORCE, PETER, compiler .- American Archives: consisting of a Collection of Authentic Reports, the Whole a Documentary History of the Causes and Accomplishment of the American Revolution. Fourth Series (6 vols., Washington, 1837-1846)-Covers the period March 7, 1774, to July 4, 1776.
FRENCH, ALLEN .- The Day of Concord and Lexington (Boston, Little, Brown, 1925).
FROTHINGHAM, RICHARD .- The Life and Times of Joseph Warren (Boston, Little, Brown, 1865)-A writer of excellent historical books.
587
588 THE NINETEENTH OF APRIL, 1775
FROTHINGHAM, RICHARD .- The History of the Siege of Boston, and the Battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill (Boston, Little, Brown, 1849)-See chap. II, "Lexington and Concord."
GAGE, THOMAS .- "A circumstantial Account of An Attack that happened on the 19th of April, 1775, on His Majesty's Troops, by a number of People of the Province of the Massachusetts-Bay" (PETER FORCE, American Archives, Series IV, 6 vols., Washington, 1837-1846)-See Vol. II, col. 435)-Duplicate of this production, MURDOCK'S The Nineteenth of April, 1775. The original MSS. of Gen. Gage's instructions to Smith and his letter to Percy are among the "Gage Papers" in London.
GORDON, WILLIAM .- "An account of the commencement of Hostilities be- tween Great Britain and America, in the Province of the Massachus- etts-Bay ... in a Letter to a Gentleman in England, dated May 17, 1775" (PETER FORCE, compiler .- American Archives, Fourth Series, 6 vols, Washington, 1837-1846)-See Vol. II, col. 625-631.
HEATH, WILLIAM .- The Memoirs of Major-General Heath. Containing Anecdotes, Details of Skirmishes, Battles, and other Military Events during the American War (Boston, I. Thomas and E. T. Andrews, Aug. 1798)-Gives his recollections of the day.
HOLLAND, HENRY WARE .- William Dawes and his Ride with Paul Revere (Boston, Wilson, 1878)-The family story of Dawes and his ride.
HUDSON, CHARLES .- History of the Town of Lexington, Massachusetts; rev. and continued to 1912 by the Lexington Historical Society (2 vols., Houghton, Mifflin, 1913)-A detailed study of the Lexington story.
MACKENZIE, FREDERIC .- A British Fusilier in Revolutionary Boston; being the diary of Lieutenant Frederick Mackenzie (Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1926)-Edited by Allen French. The best account of Earl Percy's Expedition.
MASSACHUSETTS (Commonwealth) : PROVINCIAL CONGRESS .- Journals of each Provincial Congress of Massachusetts in 1774 and 1775, and of the Committee of Safety, with an Appendix containing the Proceed- ings of the County Conferences-Narratives of the Events of the Nineteenth of April, 1775-and Other Documents (Boston, 1838).
MURDOCK, HAROLD .- The Nineteenth of April, 1775 (Boston, Houghton, Mifflin, 1923)-Excellent historical criticism and narration.
PERCY, HUGH, earl .- Letters of Hugh, Earl Percy, from Boston and New York 1774-1776 (Boston, Goodspeed, 1902)-Edited by C. K. Bolton. Contains his letters and his report to Gage; see pp. 49-51.
PICKERING, TIMOTHY .- [Letter giving his recollections of the day] (See Historical Index to the Pickering Papers, Mass. Historical Society, Collections, Sixth Series, Vol. VIII, p. 284, Boston, 1896)-MSS. stored with the Massachusetts Historical Society.
REVERE, PAUL .- [Letter to Dr. Belknap concerning events in April, 1775] (Mass. Historical Society, Proceedings, First Series, Vol. 16, pp. 370- 376, Boston, 1879)-Also reprinted in Old South Leaflet, No. 222.
RIPLEY, EZRA .- A History of the Fight at Concord, on the 19th of April, 1775 (Concord, Atwill, 1832)-Somewhat controversial.
SHATTUCK, LEMUEL .- A History of the Town of Concord (Boston, Rus- sell, Odiorne and company; Concord, John Stacy, 1835)-See chap.VII.
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
589
STEDMAN, CHARLES (pseud. for William Thompson)-The History of the Origin, Progress and Termination of the American War (2 vols., privately printed, London, 1794)-Valuable in certain details.
STILES, EZRA .- Literary Diary (3 vols., N. Y., Scribner's, 1901)-Edited by F. B. Dexter. Contains contemporary material.
MANUSCRIPT SOURCES Depositions by participants and observers of the Concord-Lexington fight were taken soon afterwards; the origi- nals are in the libraries of Harvard University (MS. "Lee papers," Vol. II) and of the University of Virginia. Reprints may be found in Force's American Archives, and elsewhere.
APPENDIX
LIST OF COLONIAL OFFICERS DURING THE PROVINCAL PERIOD 1691-1775
GOVERNORS
Sir William Phips
1691, Dec. 12-Nov. 17, 1694
Lt. Gov. William Stoughton (Acting Governor)
1694, Nov. - May 26, 1699
Richard, Earl of Bellomont
1699, May 26-Mar. 5, 1700
Lt. Gov. William Stoughton (Acting Governor) The Council
1701, July -June,
1702
Joseph Dudley
1702, June 11-Feb. 4, 1714 1714, Feb. 4-Mar. 21, 1714
Joseph Dudley
1714, Mar. 21- 1715
Col. Elizeus Burgess (Commissioned)
1714, Mar. 17-Apr.
1716
Lt. Gov. William Tailer (Acting Governor) Samuel Shute
1716, June 15-Jan. 1, 1722
Lt. Gov. William Dummer (Acting Governor)
1722, Jan. 1-Mar. 7, 1727
William Burnet
Lt. Gov. William Dummer
1729, Sept. 10- 1730
Jonathan Belcher
1729-30, Jan 8- 1741
William Shirley
1741, May 16-Feb. 25, 1757
Thomas Pownall
1757, Feb. 25-June 3, 1760
Lt. Gov. Thomas Hutchinson (Acting Governor)
1760, June 3-Jan.
14, 1760
Sir Francis Bernard
BÝ 1760, Jan. 14-Aug. 2, 1769
Lt. Gov. Thomas Hutchinson (Acting Governor) Thomas Hutchinson
01770, Nov. 28-June 2 1774, Apr. 7-May,
1775
LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS
William Stoughton
1691
-June 7, 1701
Thomas Povey
1702, Apr. 11- 1705
William Tailer
1711, Oct. 1716
William Dummer
1716,
-April 14, 1730
William Tailer
Spencer Phips
1730, Apr. 14-Mar. 1, 1731 1733, -Apr. 4, 1757 1758, Jan. 31-Aug. 1769
Thomas Hutchinson
Andrew Oliver
1771, Mar. -Mar. 3, 1774
Thomas Oliver
1774, -Mar.
1776
SECRETARIES
Isaac Addington
-
1715, Mar. 26-June 3, 1715
Paul Dudley
$
1715, June 3- 1717
Josiah Willard
1717, June 17-Dec. 1, 1756 1756, 1758
Andrew Oliver (Acting Secretary)
1758, Mar. 2-Nov. 12, 1770
Andrew Oliver
Thomas Flucker
1770, Nov. 12- 1774
591
1692, Oct. 7-Mar. 19, 1714-15
Addington Davenport
Samuel Woodward
1769, Aug. 2-Nov. 28, 1770
1, 1774
Gen. Thomas Gage
1700, May -July 7, 1701
The Council
1715, Nov. 9-June 15, 1716
1727, Mar. 7-Sept. 7, 1729
592
APPENDIX
TREASURERS (Elected annually by the Assembly)
John Phillips James Tailer Jeremiah Allen William Foye Harrison Gray
1692, June 9- 1693
1693, June 17- 1714
1714, June 25- 1736
1736, July 5- 1753
1753, June 22-
1714
SETTLEMENTS BY IMMIGRANTS DIRECT FROM ENGLAND OTHER SETTLEMENTS UP TO 1690 SETTLEMENTS 1691 TO 1740
SETTLEMENTS 1741 TO 1765
SETTLEMENTS AFTER 1765
TOWNS OF MODERN MASSACHUSETTS INFO
In order to have a uniform authority for all towns, the dates relied on are those of first mention in state records, as officially published by The Commonwealth.
Where names of towns have been changed, they are classified as of first establishment. Apparently retarded areas in the eastern section represent the slow filling in of popu- lation after the frontier had moved on; they are towns set off, for the most part, from older and larger towns when a grow- ing citizenry demanded it ...
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Hi ORDER OF THEIR SETTLEMENT
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