USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Concord > History of the town of Concord, Middlesex County, Massachusetts : from its earliest settlement to 1832; and of the adjoining towns, Bedford, Acton, Lincoln, and Carlisle; containing various notices of county and state history not before published. > Part 32
USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Concord > History of the town of Concord, Middlesex County, Massachusetts : from its earliest settlement to 1832 : and of the adjoining towns, Bedford, Acton, Lincoln, and Carlisle > Part 32
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1 Capt. John Derby of Salem was despatched with these papers to England, where he arrived the 29th of May. He was the bearer of the " Essex Gazette," containing the first published account of these events, which was printed and circulated in London on the day of his arrival, and gave the first notice of the affair in England. It produced great commotion. General Gage's official account, although despatched four days before Capt. Derby sailed, did not arrive until the 10th of June, eleven days after Capt. Derby's arrival, subjecting the ministry to no small embarrassment and chagrin. The depositions taken out by Capt. Derby were the originals first taken, and contain the real signatures of the deponents. They were intended for the British government, but for some causes not known were never communicated. They have been returned to this country, and are now in the Library of Harvard College. See Wash- ington's Writings, Vol. III. p. 35. The depositions and the letters sent by Capt. Derby may be found in the printed Journals of Congress for 1775.
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relating to Concord were dated the 23d, and those relating to Lexington the 25th of April.
" A Narrative of the Concord Fight, with 104 Depositions to support the truth of it," was written by the Rev. Mr. Gordon of Roxbury, and published in George's Almanac for 1776, "by particular desire and for the use of the gentlemen officers and soldiers of the American Army." Lowe's Almanac for that year contains another account by the same gentleman, describing " what he saw, or collected from unquestionable authority on the spot," relating to the same events.
The Rev. Jonas Clark published his Narrative, referred to in our General History, in connexion with his Anniversary Ser- mon in 1776. He informs us that he was an eye-witness ; and that it is " a plain and faithful narrative of facts, as they appeared unto us in this place."
A " circumstantial account " of this affair was transmitted by Gov. Gage to Gov. Trumbull ; 1 and an official account was sent to England, which was not published by the ministry till June 10th, and which drew forth some severe but well deserved criti- cisms in the " Remembrancer " and other English papers. Gordon says it " had little truth in it ; " and all who had even an imper- fect knowledge of the facts will say the same. This statement of the material facts is contradicted by the original depositions, by Mr. Clark's Narrative, and by all the recent publications above noticed. It was so drawn up as especially to answer a particular purpose, and as a lame apology of Gage to England for murdering innocent citizens. It was probably compiled from letters of Smith and Percy, or from a narrative of the occurrences written by Ensign D. Bernicre, which was left in Boston, when the British evacuated it, and published in 1779, says the title, " for the information and amusement of the curious." 2 This remark in some measure shows the estimation in which its state- ments were then held. It was not believed by most of the English historians of those times, who have been considered accurate and impartial ; though some, who appear willing to adopt the errors of others from prejudice or without careful in- vestigation, have believed and sent it forth as truth.
These were all the material printed original sources of evi- dence.3 Most other writers anterior to 1825 have described the
1 2 Massachusetts Historical Collections, ii, p. 224.
2 2 Massachusetts Historical Collections, iv, p. 215.
3 The letter of Paul Revere relates to other occurrences of the day not in controversy. 1 Hist. Coll., Vol. v. p. 106.
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events without being eye-witnesses, - without thorough exam- ination, or have been mere copyists from some one of these authorities with comments to suit their own peculiar views.
And what is the purport of this evidence ?
In these depositions, Capt. Parker, commander of the Lexing- ton company, testifies under oath, that on the approach of the Brit- ish troops he "immediately ordered the militia to disperse, and not to fire ; immediately said troops made their appearance." John Robbins, that when commanded by the British troops to disperse, they did disperse before any firing took place. 34 others, that " the company began to disperse, and, when their backs were turned upon the troops, they were fired upon." Timothy Smith, that "the troops marched up to the company then dispersing " before the firing. Thomas Fessenden, that " as soon as ever the officer cried 'Disperse, you rebels,' the said company dispersed as fast as they could ; and, while they were dispersing, the reg- ulars kept firing at them." Edward T. Gould, a British officer, that " on our approach they dispersed, and, soon after, firing be- gan." The Rev. Mr. Clark fully confirms these depositions. The British account says, " when the troops came within one hundred yards of them they began to file off towards some stone walls."
How was this testimony understood? Isaiah Thomas, in the . Massachusetts Spy of May 3d, 1775, published an account of this affair, " collected from those whose veracity is unquestioned," in which he says, "it is to be noticed they fired upon our people as they were dispersing agreeably to their command, and that they did not even return the fire." -"Thus did the troops of the British king fire first at two several times [at Lexington and Concord] upon his loyal American subjects, and put a period to ten lives before a gun was fired upon them. Our people THEN returned the fire and obliged them to retreat." The London " Remembrancer " (Vol. I, p. 56) says, "The positive oaths and veracity of witnesses render it unquestionable that the King's troops began the fire, and that too upon a very small body of pro- vincials who were dispersing." Gordon, in the Narrative to which I have referred, says, " Upon seeing the regulars they dispersed." -" The Lexington company upon seeing these troops, and being of themselves so unequal a match for them, were deliberating for a few moments what they should do, when several dispersing of their own heads, the Captain soon ordered the rest to disperse for their own safety." This was before the firing of the British. " They killed 3 or 4 on the common, the rest on the other side of the walls, and while dispersing." This is confirmed by the British account. The Rev. Mr. Pemberton says, "They were
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fired upon while dispersing ; " 1 and repeats the same idea in his manuscript history.
It has been said that this evidence was " ex parte and made for particular purposes,"- to decide the question " whether the Americans fired first, and not whether they fired' at all." It has also been said, that those " who gave in their evidence would not disclose any " facts which might in all probability expose them- selves or their friends to the British halter." These objections, to be of force, must, as seems to me, apply equally to all the testimony, to that which relates to Concord as well as to Lexington ; and even to the Narrative of Mr. Clark. The Concord deponents testified before " Gen. Gage and other apologists of British outrage," (in the language of Mr. Phinney's preface,) " had asserted that the people of Lexington commenced the attack on the king's troops," that they returned the fire and killed some of the British troops ; and they testified two days before the Lexington deponents gave in their testimony to the same committee. If the Lexington company returned the fire, why, it has been asked, should they not have testified to it after the Concord deponents had done it ? Why should one fear the halter more than the other ? And why should it be more criminal in one to tell the whole truth than in the other? And it is especially difficult to perceive how Mr. Clark should be influenced by such or any other improper mo- tives. His Narrative was drawn up after being a year on the spot, and after daily conversations on the subject. It is not easy to perceive how any motive could have influenced him to make an imperfect statement, or " color it for a particular purpose." He could not have suppressed the truth, because he feared " the halter"; nor was it necessary at that time to rouse the indigna- tion of the Americans towards the British by erroneous state- ments, nor to refute their assertions, nor to show that they had committed " the most deliberate murder " at Lexington. Bunker Hill battle had been fought, Washington for some time had had the command of the army ; and, among other great events, the enemy had removed from our neighbourhood, and evacuated Boston. Why should his Narrative not be believed and received as he says it is, - as " a plain and faithful Narrative of facts as they appeared to us in this place " [Lexington] ? And with far more authority than any foreign historian ?
None of the original authorities to which I have referred, states that the fire was returned, though it is inferred from what is testified that some guns were fired. But these could not have
1 1 Massachusetts Historical Collections, ii, p. 48.
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been fired till after Capt. Parker had "ordered the militia to disperse and not to fire." -" Very few of our people," says Mr. Clark, "fired at all ; and even they did not fire till, after being fired upon by the troops, they were wounded themselves, or saw others killed, or wounded by them, and looked upon it next to impossible to escape." But does not the expression returning the fire, as usually understood, convey some other meaning than that implied by Mr. Clark ? Would two or three guns from behind the walls or from neighbouring houses or even on the common, on each one's own responsibility, after orders had been given by the commanding officer " to disperse and not to fire," be considered, in military affairs, or in the ordinary use of language, as returning the fire, and making a regular, forcible resistance ? Whether any British blood was shed or not at Lexington in the morning, so far as regards the sources of evidence to which we have adverted, rests entirely on the assertion in the British account, that a single man was wounded in the leg. Whether this be true is problematical, since this account is not now relied on by any one as authority. It is not pretended by any one, that a single individ- ual of the enemy was killed at Lexington in the morning.
Notwithstanding the distinguished part Concord acted on that occasion, her citizens never took the trouble to have the partic- ulars published to the world. This is partly to be ascribed to the premature death of that devoted patriot, the Rev. William Emerson. He and several others left matter in manuscript which has aided me in this work. Lexington, on the other hand, cele- brated the day by military parades and religious services on eight successive anniversaries ; and the sermons preached on the occasion were printed. The legislature also granted on the 28th of February, 1797, on the petition of Joseph Simonds, then a representative from Lexington, $200 to erect a monument in that town. Mr. Thomas Park of Harvard built the monument. After some progress had been made in its erection it was found that a further sum would be necessary to complete it, and the selectmen petitioned for more aid. $200 more were granted on the 13th of January, 1798.1 It was proper that such a mon- ument should be placed there ; and the inscription it bears is happily designed for its object. This monument, however, and the celebrations above noticed, combined with various other cir- cumstances, have tended to take off the public mind from an ex- amination of the whole history of the events of the 19th of April, 1775, and to mark this spot for other purposes than the monument
1 Resolves of the General Court.
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was intended, - the spot where the first American blood was shed ; where the first American life was taken.
The inhabitants of Lexington deserve great credit for the stand they took in the morning, and the part they acted during the day. That her militia were slain with arms in their hands is an import- ant fact, and highly honorable to their patriotism and valor. As to resistance there, it is not contended by any one that any was made or attempted, which could have impeded the progress of the troops. Mr. Clark speaks of the place, as "the field, not of battle, but of murder and bloodshed." This was undoubtedly true. It would have been rash and inconsiderate for 70 militia men to have placed themselves in the attitude of opposition to 800 chosen troops ; and much more so to have engaged in a battle. It would have been folly, and not bravery. It was much more honorable to disperse. It was not so at Concord. There the circumstances were different, and the numbers of both oppos- ing parties more nearly equal. All testimony concurs in saying that there was cool, deliberate, and effectual opposition, by order of the commanding officer. There was the first forcible resist- ance, - there the enemy were first compelled to retreat : and there the first British life was taken.
I annex all the depositions taken by authority of the Provincial Congress, and published officially in the pamphlet of which we have given the title on page 336. The signatures of the depon- ents, and the certificates of the Justices of the Peace and Notaries Public, only, are omitted.
" We, SOLOMON BROWN, JONATHAN LORING, and ELIJAH SAND- ERSON, all of lawful age and of Lexington, in the County of Mid- dlesex, and colony of the Massachusetts-Bay, in New England, do testify and declare, That on the evening of the eighteenth of April instant, being on the road between Lexington and Concord, and all of us mounted on horses, we were, about ten of the clock, sud- denly surprised by nine persons whom we took to be regular officers, who rode up to us, mounted and armed, each holding a pistol in his hand, and after putting pistols to our breasts, and seizing the bridles of our horses, they swore that if we stirred another step we should be all dead men, upon which we surren- dered ourselves, they detained us until two o'clock the next morn- ing, in which time they searched and greatly abused us, having first enquired about the magazine at Concord, whether any guards were posted there and whether the bridges were up, and said four or five regiments of regulars would be in possession of the stores soon, they then brought us back to Lexington, cut the horses bridles and girts, turned them loose, and then left us.
" Lexington, April 25th, 1775."
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" I, ELIJAH SANDERSON above-named, do further testify and declare that I was in Lexington Common the morning of the nine- teenth of April aforesaid, having been dismissed by the officers above-mentioned, and saw a large body of regular troops advanc- ing towards Lexington Company, many of whom were then dis- persing, I heard one of the regulars, whom I took to be an officer, say, 'Damn them we will have them,' and immediately the regulars shouted aloud, run, and fired on the Lexington Company, which did not fire a gun before the regulars discharged on them, eight of the Lexington company were killed, while they were dispersing and at considerable distance from each other, and many wounded, and, although a spectator, I narrowly escaped with my life.
" Lexington, April 25th, 1775."
" I, THOMAS RICE WILLARD, of lawful age, do testify and de- clare, that being in the house of Daniel Harrington, of Lexington, on the nineteenth instant, in the morning, about half an hour be- fore sun-rise, looked out at the window of said house and saw (as I suppose) about four hundred of regulars in one body coming up the road and marched toward the north part of the Common back of the meeting-house, of said Lexington, and as soon as said regulars were against the East-End of the meeting-house, the commanding officer said something, what I know not, but upon that the regulars ran till they came within about eight or nine rods of about an hundred of the militia of Lexington who were collected on said common, at which time the militia of Lexington dispersed, then the officers made an huzza, and the private sol- diers succeeded them, directly after this, an officer rode before the regulars, to the other side of the body, and hollowed after the Militia of said Lexington, and said 'Lay down your arms, damn you, why don't you lay down your arms,' and that there was not a gun fired till the militia of Lexington were dispersed, and further saith not.
" April 23d, 1775."
" Lexington, 25th of April, 1775.
" SIMON WINSHIP of Lexington, in the county of Middlesex, and province of the Massachusetts-Bay, in New England, being of lawful age testifieth and saith, that on the nineteenth of April instant, about four o'clock in the morning, as he was passing the public road in said Lexington, peaceably and unarmed, about two miles and an half distant from the meeting-house in said Lex- ington, he was met by a body of the King's regular troops, and being stopped by some officers of said troops was commanded to dismount, upon asking why he must dismount, he was obliged by force to quit his horse, and ordered to march in the midst of the body, and being examined whether he had been warning the minute-men he answered no, but had been out and was then re- turning to his father's. Said Winship further testifies, that he marched with said troops until he came within about half a quar-
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ter of a mile of said meeting-house, where an officer commanded the troops to halt, and then to prime and load ; this being done, the said troops marched on till they came within a few rods of Capt. Parker, and company, who were partly collected on the place of parade, when said Winship observed an officer at the head of said troops, flourishing his sword and with a loud voice giving the word ' Fire,' which was instantly followed by a discharge of arms from said regular troops, and said Winship is positive, and in the most solemn manner declares, that there was no dis- charge of arms on either side, till the word fire was given by said officer as above."
" Lexington, April 25th, 1775.
" I, JOHN PARKER, of lawful age, and commander of the militia in Lexington, do testify and declare, that, on the 19th instant, in the morning about one of the clock, being informed that there were a number of the regular officers riding up and down the road, stopping and insulting people as they passed the road, and also was informed that a number of the regular troops were on their march from Boston, in order to take the province stores at Concord, ordered our militia to meet on the common in said Lex- ington, to consult what to do, and concluded not to be discovered nor meddle or make with said regular troops (if they should ap- proach) unless they should insult or molest us, and upon their sudden approach, I immediately ordered our militia to disperse and not to fire. Immediately said troops made their appearance and rushing furiously, fired upon and killed eight of our party, without receiving any provocation therefor from us."
" Lexington, April 24th, 1775.
" I, JOHN ROBBINS, being of lawful age, do testify and say, that on the 19th instant, the company under the command of Captain John Parker, being drawn up sometime before sunrise, on the green or common, and I being in the front rank, there suddenly appeared a number of the King's troops, about a thousand, as I thought, at the distance of about sixty or seventy yards from us, huzzaing, and on a quick pace towards us, with three officers in their front on horseback, and on full gallop towards us, the foremost of which cried, ' Throw down your arms, ye villains, ye rebels,' upon which said company dispersing, the foremost of the three officers ordered their men, saying, ' Fire, by God, fire,' at which moment we received a very heavy and close fire from them, at which instant, being wounded, I fell, and several of our men were shot dead by me. Capt. Parker's men, I believe, had not then fired a gun, and further the deponent saith not."
" We, BENJAMIN TIDD, of Lexington, and JOSEPH ABBOT, of Lincoln, in the county of Middlesex, and colony of the Massachu- setts-Bay, in New England, of lawful age, do testify and declare,
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that, on the morning of the nineteenth of April instant, about five o'clock, being on Lexington common and mounted on horses, we saw a body of Regular Troops marching up to the Lexington company which was then dispersing ; soon after, the regulars fired, first a few guns, which we took to be pistols, from some of the regulars who were mounted on horses, and then the said regulars fired a volley or two before any guns were fired by the Lexington company. Our horses immediately started and we rode off and further say not.
" Lexington, April 25th, 1775."
" WE, NATHANIEL MULLIKEN, PHILIP RUSSELL, MOSES HAR- RINGTON, Jun., THOMAS and DANIEL HARRINGTON, WILLIAM GRI- MER, WILLIAM TIDD, ISAAC HASTINGS, JONAS STONE, Jun., JAMES WYMAN, THADDEUS HARRINGTON, JOHN CHANDLER, JOSHUA REED, Jun., JOSEPH SIMONDS, PHINEAS SMITH, JOHN CHANDLER, Jun., . RUEBEN LOCK, JOEL VILES, NATHAN REED, SAMUEL TIDD, BEN- JAMIN LOCK, THOMAS WINSHIP, SIMEON SNOW, JOHN SMITH, MOSES HARRINGTON, 3d., JOSHUA REED, EBENEZER PARKER, JOHN HARRINGTON, ENOCH WILLINGTON, JOHN HOSMER, ISAAC GREEN, PHINEAS STEARNS, ISAAC DURANT, and THOMAS HEADLY, Jun., all of lawful age, and inhabitants of Lexington, in the county of Middlesex, and Colony of the Massachusetts-Bay, in New Eng- land, do testify and declare, that on the nineteenth of April in- stant, about one or two o'clock in the morning, being informed that several officers of the regulars had, the evening before, been riding up and down the road, and had detained and insulted the inhabitants passing the same, and also understanding that a body of regulars were marching from Boston, towards Concord, with intent (as it was supposed) to take the stores belonging to the colony in that town, we were alarmed and having met at the place of our Company's parade, were dismissed by our Captain, John Parker, for the present, with orders to be ready to attend at the beat of the drum, we further testify and declare, that about five o'clock in the morning, hearing our drum beat, we proceeded towards the parade, and soon found that a large body of troops were marching towards us, some of our company were coming up to the parade and others had reached it, at which time the com- pany began to disperse, whilst our backs were turned on the troops, we were fired on by them, and a number of our men were instantly killed and wounded, not a gun was fired by any person in our company on the regulars, to our knowledge, before they fired on us, and they continued firing until we had all made our escape.
" Lexington, April 25th, 1775."
" We, NATHANIEL PARKHURST, JONAS PARKER, JOHN MUNROE, Jun., JOHN WINDSHIP, SOLOMON PEIRCE, JOHN MUZZY, ABNER MEADS, JOHN BRIDGE, Jun., EBENEZER BOWMAN, WILLIAM MUN-
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ROE, 3d., MICAH HAGAR, SAMUEL SANDERSON, SAMUEL HASTINGS, and JAMES BROWN, of Lexington in the county of Middlesex and colony of the Massachusetts-Bay, in New England, and all of lawful age, do testify and say, that on the morning of the nine- teenth of April, instant, about one or two o'clock, being informed that a number of regular officers had been riding up and down the road the evening and night preceding, and that some of the inhabitants as they were passing had been insulted by the officers and stopped by them, and being also informed that the regular troops were on their march from Boston, in order (as it was said) to take the colony stores then deposited in Concord, we met on the parade of our company in this town; after the company had collected, we were ordered by Capt. John Parker (who commanded us) to disperse for the present, and to be ready to attend the beat of the drum, and accordingly the company went into houses near the place of parade. We further testify and say, that about five o'clock in the morning, we attended the beat of our drum, and were formed on the parade; we were faced towards the regulars then marching up to us, and some of our company were coming to the parade, with their backs towards the troops, and others on the parade began to disperse, when the regulars fired on the company, before a gun was fired by any of our company on them ; they killed eight of our company and wounded several, and con- tinued their fire until we had all made our escape.
" Lexington, 25th April, 1775."
" I, TIMOTHY SMITH of Lexington, in the county of Middlesex and colony of Massachusetts-Bay, in New England, being of law- ful age, do testify and declare, that on the morning of the nine- teenth of April instant, being at Lexington common, as a specta- tor, I saw a large body of regular troops, marching up towards the Lexington company, then dispersing, and likewise saw the regular troops fire on the Lexington company, before the latter fired a gun. I immediately ran, and a volley was discharged at me, which put me in imminent danger of losing my life : I soon re- turned to the Common, and saw eight of the Lexington men, who were killed, and lay bleeding at a considerable distance from each other, and several were wounded; and further saith not.
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