USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Lexington > History of the town of Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from its first settlement to 1868, Volume I > Part 22
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The fact that there were twenty killed and wounded, on that day, belonging to a company of about one hundred, is conclusive evidence that they did not shun posts of danger. Not only on and near the Common in the morning, but dur- ing the day, the promptness and valor of this company were seen and acknowledged. They met the enemy in Lincoln on their return from Concord, and fearlessly joined in the hot pursuit, having three killed and one wounded in the after- noon - a greater loss than was sustained by most of the towns during the whole day. Including those killed and wounded in the morning, Lexington suffered more severely than any other town, losing more than one-sixth of her entire company, a proportion greater than that experienced on most
1 Ripley's History of the Fight at Concord, p. 37.
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of the sanguinary battle-fields. All contemporaneous and other authority shows the firmness and self-devotion of this gallant company, and establishes the fact that the fire was returned on the morning of that eventful day.1
.John Munroe, who was a member of the company and on the field at the time, testifies that, on parading the company in the very face of the British troops which were marching rapidly upon them, "Captain Parker gave orders for every man to stand his ground until he should order them to leave." Joseph Underwood, then of Woburn, who was present at the time, testifies "that he stood near Captain Parker when the regulars came up, and is confident that he did not order his men to disperse till the British troops had fired upon them the second time." He also testifies that on the rapid approach of the British, some proposed to quit the field; but Captain Parker gave orders for every man to stand his ground, and said he "would order the first man shot that offered to leave his post." Robert Douglas, then of Woburn, testifies to the same fact. John Munroe testifies that he fired once before he left the field, and once after he had retreated about ten rods; that Ebenezer Munroe fired before leaving the field, and is confident that Jonas Parker and some others did the same. Ebenezer Munroe says in his deposition, "After the first fire I received a wound in my arm, and then as I turned to run, I discharged my gun into the main body of the enemy. As I fired, my face being turned towards them, one ball cut off a part of one of my earlocks, which was then pinned up. An- other ball passed between my arm and my body, and just marked my clothes. As we retreated, one of our company, Benjamin Sampson, I believe, who was running with me, turned his piece and fired. When I fired, I perfectly well recollect of taking aim at the regulars." William Munroe says that he is confident that some of the company fired before they left the field, and that he saw a man firing from Buck- man's house. William Tidd and Nathan Munroe testify that they fired at the British after they left the Common. Amos Locke testifies that Ebenezer Locke took aim and fired at the
1 Any question as to whether or not the Lexington Minute-Men returned the fire of the British seems to be conclusively settled by the official report of Lieutenant- Colonel Smith to General Gage, made April 22, 1775. The report states "that they found on a green, close to the road, a body of the country people drawn up in mili- tary order, with arms and accoutrements, and, as appeared after, loaded." Mass. Hist. Soc. Proc., May, 1876. Ed.
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Britons. Solomon Brown and another were seen to fire at the British, one from the rear of the house and one from the front door of Buckman's; and the ball holes near the door, which are still to be seen, show that the fire was recognized and re- turned by the British. The Rev. Mr. Gordon, who was upon the ground a few days after the affair took place, for the ex- press purpose of learning the facts in the case, that he might write a history of the transaction to send to England, says that James Brown told him that he fired and that several others did the same. The British account, published at the time, declared that one man of the Tenth Regiment was wounded, 1 and that Major Pitcairn's horse was struck in two places.2 The testimony of Elijah Sanderson 3 and Abijah Harrington, that they saw blood in the road where the British column was standing at the time of the firing, goes far to con- firm the statement that the Americans returned the fire and that their shots took effect.
Nor are any of these facts contradicted by the depositions taken a few days after the events occurred. The British account, published at the time, represented that the Ameri- cans were the aggressors, and that the King's troops acted only on the defensive. The Provincial Congress ordered these depositions to be taken for the purpose of refuting this state- ment, by showing that the British troops were the aggressors, and thereby acquitting Captain Parker of the charge of rash- ness, and of having commenced a civil war in disregard of the urgent advice of the Continental and Provincial Congresses. They would naturally, therefore, select the best evidence they could for that purpose. "Besides," as Major Phinney justly remarks, "the principle of law that a person is not bound to state any facts in evidence which might tend to criminate himself was as well known at that day as at the present. The struggle had just commenced and the issue was quite doubt- ful. It could not have been expected of those who had taken an active part in the affair at Lexington that they would vol- untarily disclose facts which might, in all probability, as they then considered, expose them to the British halter."
Still these depositions, taken under such peculiar circum- stances, not only do not contradict but go directly to confirm
1 Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., Vol. Iv, 2d series; D'Bernicre. Ed.
2 Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll., Vol. II, 2d series, p. 225. Ed.
: Elias Phinney, History of the Battle of Lexington, pp. 33, 40. Ed.
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the fact that the fire was returned by the Americans. Elijah Sanderson, of Lexington, in his deposition, given on the 25th of April, 1775, says, "The Lexington company did not fire a gun before the regulars discharged on them." John Robbins, of Lexington, says, "We received a very heavy and close fire from them. Captain Parker's men, I believe, had not then fired a gun." Benjamin Tidd, of Lexington, and Joseph Abbott, of Lincoln, say, "The regulars fired a few guns, which we took to be pistols, and then they fired a volley or two, before any guns were fired by the Lexington company." Nathaniel Mulliken and thirty-three others, of Lexington, say, "Not a gun was fired by any person in our company on the regulars, to our knowledge, before they fired on us." Na- thaniel Parkhurst and thirteen others, of Lexington, say, "The regulars fired on the company, before a gun was fired by any of our company on them." Timothy Smith, of Lex- ington, says, "I saw the regular troops fire on the Lexington company, before the latter fired a gun." William Draper, of Colerain, who happened to be present at the time, says, "The regular troops fired before any of Captain Parker's company fired."
These depositions, which were taken a few days after the event occurred, and which are very carefully worded, plainly imply that the Americans did return the fire. By saying that Captain Parker's men did not fire before they were fired upon, the impression is distinctly given that they did fire after. The British official account, and the account given by General Gage in his letter to Governor Trumbull, both state that the Americans fired first, and the British periodicals of that day repeat the statement; but the evidence is conclusive that this was not the case. The evidence is also conclusive that the Americans did return the fire. Not only the depositions we have cited, but the accounts of that day which are entitled to the highest consideration confirm the position that, though the Americans did not fire first, they did return the fire of the King's troops. On the 12th of June, 1775, General Gage is- sued a Proclamation offering a pardon to all the rebels, as he called them, who had taken up arms against His Majesty's authority, except Samuel Adams and John Hancock, in which he recounted the events at Lexington. This Proclama- tion was taken up in the Provincial Congress, then in session, and referred to a committee of which Dr. Warren was chair-
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man, and John Hancock, Colonel Palmer, Mr. Seaver, and Dr. Taylor were members. This committee submitted a counter-statement or Proclamation, which was adopted by the Congress on the 16th day of June. In that document we have the following clear and explicit statement: "When the British troops arrived at Lexington meeting-house, they fired upon a small number of the inhabitants, and cruelly mur- dered eight men. The fire was returned by some of the survivors, but their number was too inconsiderable to annoy the regular troops." 1
As this statement was drawn up by Dr. Warren some six weeks after the event had taken place, when there had been full and ample time to have the first impulse of feeling sub- side, so that all the facts could be ascertained and all the evi- dence weighed coolly and dispassionately; and as the Provin- cial Congress, composed of delegates from all the towns in the Province, including those in the vicinity of the scene of action, adopted and endorsed this statement, we have every reason to give it the fullest credit and to regard it as absolutely conclu- sive in the case. We might with safety rest the whole matter here; but as efforts have been made to show that the first resistance to the British troops was made at Concord, we will subjoin a few other authorities.
Rev. Mr. Clarke, in a Narrative of the Events of the 19th of April, appended to his anniversary sermon, delivered April 19, 1776, says: "So far from firing first upon the King's troops, upon the most careful enquiry, it appears, that but very few of our people 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 looking upon it as next to impossible for them to escape," etc. This statement of Mr. Clarke, who was near the scene of action, shows that the fire was returned, and at the same time that Captain Parker's men acted with prudence and did not wantonly commence the attack. D'Bernicre, a British officer who was in the detachment, says in his narrative: "Pitcairn came up immediately, and cried out to the rebels to throw down their arms and disperse, which they did not do; he called out the second time, but to no purpose." This is a clear refutation of a statement which has sometimes been made, that Captain Parker's men dispersed as soon as they saw the
1 Lincoln's Journals of the Provincial Congress, p. 345.
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British troops approach. That Captain Parker did, with great prudence and propriety, order his men to disperse is readily admitted; but Joseph Underwood says in his deposition: "I stood very near Captain Parker, when the regulars came up, and am confident he did not order his men to disperse, till the British troops had fired upon us the second time." Dr. John Warren in his manuscript Diary, as cited by Frothingham, says under date of April 19, 1775: "Some dispersed, but a few remained in a military position." Gordon also says, "A few continued in a military position. Individuals finding they were fired upon, though dispersing, had spirit enough to stop and return the fire."
Foreign historians, who could have no motive to misrepre- sent the facts in the case, have all given their testimony to the firmness of the Americans and to the fact that the fire was returned. Botta, in his History of the War of Independence, says: "The English appeared, and Major Pitcairn cried in a loud voice, 'Disperse, rebels, lay down arms, and dis- perse.' The Provincials did not obey, upon which he sprung from the ranks, discharged a pistol, and, brandishing his sword, ordered his soldiers to fire. The Provincials retreated; the English continuing their fire, the former faced about to return it."1 Graham, an English historian, in his valuable History of North America, says of Pitcairn's command to dis- perse: "This order, which they refused to obey, was followed by a discharge from the British troops, whose fire, huzza, and rapid advance compelled their handful of adversaries to an instant flight. The fire continued after the dispersion, and the fugitives stopped, rallied, and returned the fire." 2 In Winter- botham's View of the United States, we find the following: "Individuals finding they were fired upon, though dispersing, returned the fire." 3 Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopedia gives this account of the transaction: "Pitcairn rode towards them, calling out, 'Disperse, ye rebels; throw down your arms, and disperse.' The order was not immediately obeyed. Major Pitcairn advanced a little farther, fired his pistol and flour- ished his sword, while his men began to fire with a shout. Sev- eral Americans fell; the rest dispersed, but the firing on them was continued, and on observing this, some of the retreating Colonists returned the fire." 4 Taylor says of the Americans:
1 Vol. I, p. 264.
8 Vol. I, p. 473.
2 Vol. IV, p. 373.
4 Vol. cIII, p. 125.
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"This company, not instantly obeying the order to throw down their arms and disperse, were fired upon, and eight of their number killed." 1 It is useless to multiply English au- thorities. They all admit that the Provincials fired upon the King's troops. Those writers who rely upon Gage's official account declare that the Americans fired first, and those who examine the subject more thoroughly admit that the British fired first and that the fire was returned by the Americans.
Bancroft, our own historian, says: "Pitcairn cried out, 'Disperse, ye villains, ye rebels, disperse; lay down your arms; why don't you lay down your arms and disperse!' The main body of the countrymen stood motionless in the ranks, wit- nesses against aggression; too few to resist, too brave to fly. The order to fire was instantly followed, first by a few guns, which did no execution, and then by a heavy, close, and deadly discharge. Parker ordered his men to disperse. Then, and not till then, did a few of them, on their own impulse, return the British fire." Speaking of Jonas Parker, he says: "A wound brought him on his knees. Having discharged his gun, he was preparing to load it again, when as sound a heart as ever throbbed for freedom was stilled by a bayonet."
Lendrum, in his History of the American Revolution, gives this truthful account of the transaction at Lexington on the morning of the 19th: "Major Pitcairn, who led the advanced corps, rode up to them, and called out, 'Disperse, you rebels; throw down your arms and disperse.' The Americans still continued in a body, on which he advanced nearer, discharged his pistol, and ordered his soldiers to fire. This was done with a huzza. A dispersion of the militia was the consequence, but the firing of the regulars was nevertheless continued. Indi- viduals finding they were fired upon, though dispersing, re- turned the fire." 2
Ramsay,3 the justly distinguished American historian, tells us that after Pitcairn ordered the Americans to disperse, "they continued in a body, on which he advanced nearer, dis- charged his pistol, and ordered his soldiers to fire. Individuals finding they were fired upon, though dispersing, returned the fire." Hannah Adams, in her History of New England, gives the same account. Holmes, in his American Annals, gives us a similar account. "The firing," says he, "continued after
1 Manual of History, p. 760.
2 Revised Edition, Vol. I, p. 91.
3 History of the United States, Vol. II, p. 14.
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the dispersion, and the fugitives stopped and returned the fire." In the Encyclopedia Americana, we have this testi- mony: "The English commander, having commanded the Americans to disperse, ordered his men to fire. Several Amer- icans were killed and wounded, and the company dispersed, several of the militia discharging their muskets as they re- treated." Lossing 1 says: "As the patriots did not instantly obey the command to lay down their arms, Pitcairn wheeled his horse, and waving his sword, gave orders to press forward and surround the militia. Pitcairn then drew his pistol and discharged it, at the same moment giving the word Fire. A general discharge of musketry ensued. Four of the patriots were killed and the remainder dispersed. Finding themselves fired upon, while retreating, several of them halted and returned the shots, and then secured themselves behind stone walls and buildings. Three British soldiers and Pitcairn's horse were wounded."
But it has frequently been said that there was no "organ- ized opposition " at Lexington. I am rather at a loss to under- stand what is meant by organized opposition. That Captain Parker's company was an organized company, as much as any in the field that day, admits of no doubt. His men were called together by his command, paraded under his order, and were expressly forbidden to leave the field without his order. It is abundantly proved that he ordered them to load their guns with powder and ball, and to form in warlike array in the very face of the British troops. Moreover, they refused to throw down their arms and disperse, when commanded so to do by the rash leader of the King's detachment. This of itself was organized opposition to the King's authority, and such opposition as would have been regarded as treason by the British Government at that day. The very writers who deny that there was any organized resistance at Lexington in the morning furnish evidence that Parker's company came upon parade, armed and prepared for resistance, if it should be- come necessary. Sylvanus Wood testifies that, as he was about to form his men on the field, "Parker says to them, 'Every man of you who is equipped follow me, and those of you who are not equipped, go into the meeting-house, and furnish yourselves from the magazine, and immediately join the company.'" Robert Douglas testifies that he formed with
1 Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution, p. 524.
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Captain Parker's company on the Common, near the road that leads to Bedford; "There we were commanded to load our guns. Some of the company observed, 'There were so few of us it would be folly to stand here.' Captain Parker replied, 'The first man who offers to run shall be shot down.'" 1 This certainly looks like organization and strict discipline.
It is readily admitted that Captain Parker when he ordered his men to load their guns, gave order "not to fire, unless they were first fired upon," 2 and this was the same order which Colonel Barrett gave at the North Bridge at Concord, several hours after, though it was known at that time that the Brit- ish had commenced the attack at Lexington and had killed several men.3 This command in both cases was prudent and wise under the circumstances; and especially so in the morn- ing, before any blood had been shed. But in both cases the command not to "fire unless they were first fired upon" implied a permission, if not a command, to fire in case they were attacked. Another thing going to show that there was organized resistance at Lexington in the morning is the fact that several prisoners were taken in Lexington before the British had reached Concord. There might have been no express command to return the fire at Lexington. But as the members of this company were citizens as well as soldiers, and as the whole subject had long been discussed in every circle, they all felt at perfect liberty to act on the defensive: so that the firing of the King's troops removed all restraint, and was a sort of command to every man to defend himself as best he might. It was on this principle that the Americans acted during the retreat from Concord to Charlestown; but no one will assert that there was no military resistance in the afternoon because the Provincials fired in most cases without any express orders and performed many deeds of noble daring on their own responsibility, without being led to the attack by a commanding officer.
Nor is it true that the first British blood was shed at Con- cord. The evidence is conclusive that one if not two British soldiers were wounded at Lexington in the morning. It is true that no one was killed; and even at the North Bridge at Con- cord, which has been claimed as the first battle-field of the
1 Ripley's History. 2 Nathan Munroe's Deposition.
3 Depositions of Colonel Barrett, and Captain Barrett, and others.
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Revolution, only one man was killed by the return fire, the other being killed with a hatchet after he was wounded and left on the field by the British in their hasty retreat. It would be unsafe to infer that there could have been no resistance at Lexington in the morning because no one was killed. Many a man goes through a succession of desperate battles unhurt. The number of killed in any encounter of arms depends in a great degree upon the doctrine of chances; and none has greater need of pleading this doctrine of chances than those who maintain that Concord was the place where the first resistance was made to the King's troops. All accounts agree that no one belonging to Concord was killed on that day, though their population and militia were double those of Lexington; and according to their own statements not more than four or five were wounded.1 It would be rather ungen- erous to infer that no citizen of Concord occupied a post of danger during that day because no one happened to be slain.
I will not revive the controversy which has unhappily ex- isted between citizens of the different towns along the line traversed by the British troops on that memorable day. There was something peculiar in each case, and as the people were called upon to act at once and without premeditation, it is remarkable that they acted as wisely as they did. If war had actually existed, it would have been imprudent in Cap- tain Parker to draw up his men in open field in front of a force ten times his own. But at that time war had not been declared, and General Gage had assured the people at sundry times that they should not be molested by his troops so long as they refrained from acts of violence. Captain Parker there- fore could not have anticipated the attack made upon his company. The state of the times fully justified him in calling his men together; and as a precautionary measure, he ordered them to load their pieces, so as to be prepared to defend themselves in case they were attacked. Being upon the field and being fired on as they were, common prudence and even true courage required that he should immediately retire from before such a superior force. If he had led them off in order, they would have been much more exposed to the enemy's fire
1 Ripley states the number at three, and Shattuck at four. E. Chase, Beginnings of the American Revolution, Vol. III, p. 218, adds a fifth, - Captain George Minot in the afternoon. Ed.
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than they were by fleeing in every direction. The order to dis- perse was, under the circumstances, the wisest and the best that could have been given. The firing of his men was spon- taneous; and just what would naturally occur among men of true courage and patriotism, unused to strict discipline and exasperated by the unprovoked slaughter of their brethren. No citizen of Lexington - no intelligent patriot could, under the circumstances, have desired a different course of action on the part of Captain Parker and the brave men under his com- mand.
But when the British arrived at Concord, the Americans were much better prepared to receive them. They had heard of the slaughter of their countrymen in the morning, and hence the embarrassment arising from commencing the at- tack was in some degree removed. Their force was also much greater; hence they were better qualified to defend themselves. The stay of the British was much longer; hence the people could act with more deliberation. But on the other hand, there was a new source of embarrassment. Detachments of troops had been sent to different sections of the town, were in the act of entering houses in search of military stores, and were demanding refreshments of the families. To attack the British troops under these circumstances might expose their homes and families to destruction. If, therefore, we find the Concord minute-men and militia less ready for an attack upon the King's troops, less zealous in the field, and more dis- posed to leave the ranks than the men from the other towns who had come to Concord that morning, we can easily account for it without distrusting their courage or impugning their patriotism. The deposition of Dr. Timothy Minott, Jr., reveals a state of feeling which must have existed at Concord to a considerable extent. He says, "After I had heard of the regular troops firing upon the Lexington men, and fearing that hostilities might be commenced at Concord, I thought it my incumbent duty to secure my family." This duty occu- pied him so long that he arrived at the North Bridge only in season to be a spectator of the firing there. Nothing is more natural, under the circumstances, than for the father and husband to override the soldier and to make the wife and child- ren the first object of his care. This, undoubtedly, was the case in some degree at Concord on the morning of the 19th of April; and if some may think that it detracts from the
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