Patr^ts' Dav 
 
 L6V32 
 
 fOM CO Rg 
 
 ARNiiy 
 
 -•<t!!)!:;:s^r-; 
 
Class- il- ^4) 
 8ook_'-L6V-5g, 
 
THE STORY 
 
 OF 
 
 PATRIOTS' DAY 
 
 LEXINGTON AND CONCORD 
 April 19, 1775 
 
 WITH POEMS 
 
 BROUGHT OUT ON THE FIRST OBSERVATION OF THE ANNIVERSARY, HOLIDAY 
 
 AND THE FORMS IN WHICH IT WAS CELEBRATED 
 
 BY 
 
 GEO. J. VARNEY 
 
 BOSTON 
 LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS 
 
 10 MILK STREET 
 

 Copyright, 1895, by Lee and Shepard 
 
 An Rights Reserved 
 
 The Story of Patriots' Day 
 
 By Hxoha 
 
 AmeHoan U-" 
 
 Jan. IB 
 
 typography by C. J. PETERS & SON, BOSTON. 
 
 PRESS OF S. J. PAKKHILL & CO. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The bill abolishing the practice of appointing annu- 
 ally a day of " fasting and prayer," having passed the 
 Massachusetts House of Representatives, received the 
 approving vote of the Senate on March i6, 1894, and 
 was on the same day signed by the governor, Fred- 
 eric T. Greenhalge. The bill also established the nine- 
 teenth day of April as an annual holiday. The latter, 
 therefore, is the legitimate successor of Fast Day, 
 which had come to be observed chiefly by its desecra- 
 tion. 
 
 The first proclamation of the new holiday was issued 
 on the eleventh day of April, 1894, and gave it, most 
 appropriately, the name Patriots' Day. Neither the 
 statute nor the proclamation prescribed any definite 
 form of celebration ; consequently, there is ample scope 
 and freedom for the preferences of communities and 
 organizations in its observance. The proclamation was 
 as follows : — 
 
 " By an act of the Legislature, duly approved, the 
 nineteenth day of April has been made a legal holiday. 
 
VI PREFACE 
 
 "This is a day rich with historical and significant 
 events which are precious in the eyes of patriots. It 
 may well be called Patriots' Day. On this day, in 
 1775, at Lexington and Concord, was begun the great 
 war of the Revolution ; on this day, in 1783, just eight 
 years afterwards, the cessation of war and the triumph 
 of independence were formally proclaimed ; and on 
 this day, in 1861, the first blood was shed in the war 
 for the Union. 
 
 "Thus the day is grand with the memories of the 
 mighty struggles which in one instance brought lib- 
 erty, and in the other union, to the country. 
 
 " It is fitting, therefore, that the day should be cele- 
 brated as the anniversary of the birth of Liberty and 
 Union. 
 
 " Let this day be dedicated, then, to solemn religious 
 and patriotic services, which may adequately express 
 our deep sense of the trials and tribulations of the 
 patriots of the earlier and of the latter days, and also 
 especially our gratitude to Almighty God, who crowned 
 the heroic struggles of the founders and preservers of 
 our country with victory and peace." 
 
 It is earnestly and devoutly to be desired that the 
 sentiments of this proclamation shall imbue every 
 breast ; that patriotism shall more and more take the 
 
PREFACE Vll 
 
 form of religion, holding relation, not to one nation 
 only, but to all the peoples of the earth ; that the happy 
 time may come when justice, forbearance, and magna- 
 nimity will so prevail among men that violent and de- 
 structive differences between individuals, communities, 
 states, and nations will be prevented by wise tribu- 
 nals chosen and empowered to adjudicate disputes and 
 establish peace and amity in all lands. 
 
 For the incidents and data of this presentation of 
 the opening conflict of our Revolutionary War, I am 
 indebted in part to several works, a list of which may 
 be found on the last page of this volume. 
 
 The illustrative views, except those of Lexington 
 Green, Paul Revere, and the diagrams of Concord and 
 Lexington, are from photographs made since 1875 ; and 
 most of the objects remain the same to the present 
 date. 
 
 The view of the conflict at Lexington is from a 
 copper-plate engraving made previous to December, 
 1775, and accurately represents the scene as preserved 
 also by history and tradition. A room in the building 
 at the left (Buckman's Tavern) was used by John 
 Hancock as an office while the Provincial Congress 
 held its sessions in Concord. The large building in 
 the middle is the first church, with the belfry on the 
 
VIU PREFACE 
 
 ground near by, as it stood at the time. Another 
 illustration in the poems is from a recent photograph 
 of the same belfry as it now appears. 
 
 It should be explained that the patriots' guns were 
 not pointed as shown in the picture until the British 
 had opened fire. In the background appear the ranks 
 of the main body of the " Regulars " on the march 
 towards Concord, nearly seven miles to the right of 
 Lexington Green, or " Common " as it has been 
 called in recent years. 
 
 Boston, A^ri/ 3, 1895. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface v 
 
 Introduction i 
 
 I. The Conditions in Massachusetts in April, 1775 . . 7 
 
 II. Lexington's Midnight Alarm 15 
 
 III. The Massacre at Lexington 29 
 
 IV. The Battle of Concord 38 
 
 V. The British Retreat 53 
 
 VI. On the Beginning of the American Revolution . . 74 
 
 Stories of the Nineteenth of April, 1775, — 
 
 A Minute-Man's Story of the Concord Fight . . » . . . 81 
 
 Stories told by Men and Women Living in 1894 89 
 
 Flags of the Revolution 104 
 
 Poems of Patriots' Day, — 
 
 April 19, 1775 109 
 
 The Dawn of Lexington 113 
 
 The Nineteenth of April 121 
 
 A Story of an April Day 124 
 
 The Song of the North Church Bells 127 
 
 The Minute-Man 133 
 
 The Buff and the Blue . 134 
 
 Paul Revere's Ride 135 
 
 ix 
 
X CONTENTS 
 
 Poems of Patriots' Day — Continued^ — page 
 
 Our Country 137 
 
 The Scar of Lexington 141 
 
 The Buzz-Saw 143 
 
 Concord River 146 
 
 The Nineteenth of April 150 
 
 Lexington 151 
 
 Celebrations of the First Patriots' Day 157 
 
 Observance by Social Organizations of Patriots' Day . . . 164 
 
 Military Organizations 168 
 
 Benevolent and Religious Associations ........ 169 
 
 Bibliography 170 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 First Church, Concord Frontispiece 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Paul Revere's Ride 13 
 
 Clark House, Lexington 19 
 
 Map of British Route, April 19, 1775 27 
 
 The British at Lexington 34 
 
 Scene of Operations at Concord 39 
 
 House of Col. James Barrett, Concord 43 
 
 Merriam's Corner, Concord 55 
 
 Plan of Lexington 61 
 
 MuNROE Tavern, Lexington 65 
 
 Old Powder House, Somerville 69 
 
 Keyes House, Concord 85 
 
 The Flag of the Minute-men at Concord 104 
 
 Battle Monument, Concord in 
 
 The Belfry on Lexington Green 117 
 
 Statue of Minute-man, Concord ....131 
 
 Old North Church, Boston 139 
 
 Concord North Bridge 147 
 
 American Flag 154 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 The 19th of April is the most important date in 
 our national calendar; for on this day, a.d. 1775, 
 
 •* By the rude bridge that arched the flood, 
 Their flag to April's breeze unfurled, 
 Here once the embattled farmers stood, 
 And fired the shot heard round the world." 
 
 The whole world is freer to-day, and the condition 
 of mankind better, for the events of that date. Though 
 the honor and the misfortune of the initiatory conflict 
 of the Revolution occurred in Massachusetts, the war 
 might have begun in any of the thirteen original 
 States (held as colonies by England), for in all 
 there existed the same love of liberty, the same in- 
 dignation at the subversions and exactions of the 
 king and Parliament, which had been continued, with 
 brief respites, almost ever since immigration began ; 
 and in nearly all there had been forcible resistance 
 to the oppressions which had been found most offen- 
 sive. All had become pioneers in a wild country 
 
2 INTRODUCTION 
 
 under charters which gave them the same right of 
 self-government which they had as citizens of Eng- 
 land in their own Parliament ; or, in those instances 
 where it was really not so, they had come believing 
 that their English rights came with them to the new 
 dominion. Before 1643 they had occasion to pro- 
 test against the subjection of the English in America 
 to a legislative body located in England ; and the 
 Parliament of the Commonwealth, during the Pro- 
 tectorate of Cromwell, had admitted the justice of 
 their position. From first to last, their purpose of 
 free government, such as the mother country has 
 accorded to Canada, never faltered. The General 
 Court of Massachusetts, while evincing its loyalty to 
 the English sovereign, and consenting that America 
 might be expected to contribute something toward 
 the national expenses, yet insisted that taxation with- 
 out representation was tyranny ; and the people in 
 every way placed themselves in opposition to the 
 enforcement of laws in whose making they had no 
 voice. When the climax of the contest came, there 
 were noble Englishmen in Parliament (among whom 
 was William Pitt, Earl of Chatham) who asserted as 
 strongly as themselves the right of the colonists ag 
 Englishmen ; but the avaricious and tyrannical ma 
 
INTRODUCTION 5 
 
 jority was in power ; and, in consequence, General 
 Gage was sent over as governor of New England, 
 accompanied by an army and fleet with which to 
 subjugate their own kin. At Massachusetts Bay was 
 the head and front of the offending colonies, and 
 there the heaviest blow was aimed. The British min- 
 istry believed that, with Boston under military con- 
 trol, the whole country would be overawed. The 
 result was quite the contrary. Everywhere in the 
 colonies the people showed their sympathy with 
 the Bay colony, and began to make preparations to 
 defend their own rights, when the blow should fall 
 upon them, by special organizations and in other 
 ways, and by instituting closer communication with 
 other patriotic organizations in all parts of the 
 country. 
 
 Again, on the 19th of April, 1783, the cessation of 
 hostilities between the United States and England was 
 proclaimed to the army by General Washington ; the 
 exchange of ratifications of the preliminary articles 
 of a treaty having been made. The proclamation was 
 read at the head of every regiment and corps of the 
 army; after which the chaplains of the several bri- 
 gades, in their presence, rendered thanks to Almighty 
 God. * General Washington, in his orders for the day, 
 
4 INTRODUCTION 
 
 said, "The commander-in-chief, far from endeavoring 
 to stifle the feelings of joy in his own bosom, offers 
 his most cordial congratulations on the occasion to all 
 the officers of every denomination, to all the troops of 
 the United States in general, and in particular to those 
 gallant and persevering men who had resolved to de- 
 fend the rights of their invaded country so long as 
 the war should continue. For these are the men who 
 ought to be considered as the pride and boast of the 
 American army ; and who, crowned with well-earned 
 laurels, may soon withdraw from the field of glory to 
 the more tranquil walks of civil life." 
 
 Well, indeed, would it be for all our States to set 
 apart for chaste observation that day of all in the 
 year marked by the first brave resistance of our an- 
 cestors as the birthday of a nation of freemen ; and 
 again, after eight years of painful labors and bloody 
 battles, signalized by the proclamation of the noble 
 leader of its armies, that the dreadful conflict had 
 been brought to a successful end, and the independ- 
 ence of the United States established. 
 
THE STORY 
 
 OF 
 
 PATRIOTS' DAY 
 
 April 19, 1775 
 
I 
 
 THE CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS 
 IN APRIL, 1775 
 
 In the spring of 1775 the population of Boston was 
 about seventeen thousand, though the commerce of the 
 city was almost entirely destroyed. The Boston Port 
 Bill, imposed by the British Parliament, went into effect 
 on the 1st of June, 1774, cutting off not only its foreign 
 trade, but the whole of its domestic trade by water. 
 "Did a lighter attempt to land hay from the islands, 
 or a boat to bring in sand from the neighboring hills, 
 or a scow to freight to it lumber or iron, or a float 
 to land sheep, or a farmer to carry marketing over 
 the ferry-boats, the argus-eyed fleet was ready to 
 see it, and prompt to capture or destroy it. Not a 
 raft or a keel was allowed to approach the town 
 with merchandise. Many of the stores, especially 
 those upon Long Wharf, were closed. In a word, 
 Boston had fairly entered on its season of suffering. 
 Did its inhabitants expostulate on the severity with 
 which the law was carried out ? The insulting reply 
 
 7 
 
8 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS* DAY 
 
 was that to distress them was the very object of 
 the bill. As though the deeper the iron entered 
 into the soul, the sooner and more complete would 
 be the submission. Citizens of competence were re- 
 duced to want ; the ever hard lot of the poor became 
 harder. To maintain order and preserve life at so 
 trying a season called for nerv^e and firmness. Work 
 was to be provided when there was no demand for 
 the products of labor, and relief was to be distributed 
 according to the circumstances of the applicants. 
 The donation committee sat every day, Sundays ex- 
 cepted, to distribute the supplies. An arrangement 
 was made with the selectmen by which a large num- 
 ber were employed to repair and pave the streets, 
 and hundreds were employed in brick-yards laid out 
 on the Neck. Manufactories of various kinds were 
 established ; the building of vessels and of houses 
 and setting up blacksmith shops were among the pro- 
 jects started."^ Tents covered its fields, cannon were 
 planted on its eminences, and troops daily paraded 
 in its streets. Thus, in addition to the destruction 
 of its trade, it wore the aspect, and became subject 
 to the vexations, of a garrisoned place. The daily 
 cavalry mount of the British in December was three 
 
 1 Frotlungham's Siege of Boston^ p, 37. 
 
THE CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS 9 
 
 hundred and seventy men ; and, before the middle of 
 April, General Gage had four thousand men in his 
 command. Fortifications and batteries defended every 
 point liable to attack. 
 
 Boston's only connection with the mainland was 
 the Neck, which joined it to Roxbury on the south ; 
 and even this, at the period of the Revolution, was 
 divided by a broad creek, spanned by a bridge, which 
 alone saved the township from being an island. On 
 both sides of the creek were strong lines of forti- 
 fication, guarded by a field officer's guard of one 
 hundred and fifty men. Charlestown Neck was com- 
 manded by a floating battery on each side, while the 
 man-of-war Somerset lay in the Charles, commanding 
 the communications between Charlestown and Boston. 
 
 During this period the patriots in Boston were 
 making great efforts to send military stores into the 
 country ; and, on the i8th of April, the guard at the 
 Neck seized 13,425 musket cartridges and a quantity 
 of bullets. The Committee of Safety and Supplies 
 had deposited large quantities of military stores at 
 Concord, and in March it was rumored that General 
 Gage was determined to destroy them ; and as early 
 as the 14th of this month, the committee voted to 
 place a guard over them. On the 15th its clerk 
 
10 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS DAY 
 
 was directed to establish a nightly watch, and to ar- 
 range for teams to be in readiness to carry them, 
 at the shortest notice, to places of safety. Couriers 
 were engaged in Charlestown, Cambridge, and Rox- 
 bury to alarm the neighboring towns ; for it had be- 
 come known that Gage had sent officers out in 
 disguise to make sketches of the roads, and ascer- 
 tain the state of the towns in respect to political 
 sentiment and military conditions, Concord being one 
 of the places visited. Bodies of troops occasionally 
 marched through the adjacent towns, in part, for in- 
 timidation no doubt, but also to exercise them on long 
 marches, to familiarize them with the roads, and to 
 render movements of the troops less significant. 
 
 Meantime instructions from the king and Parlia- 
 ment had come to General Gage to take more ener- 
 getic measures to put down the growing rebellion. 
 There were indications that Boston was to be made 
 a prison, and its citizens held as hostages for the 
 good order of the province, while the leading pa- 
 triots should be sent to England for trial for alleged 
 political offences. Many people removed from the 
 town, and it was becoming extremely hazardous for 
 those known as patriots to remain. Samuel Adams 
 and John Hancock, who had been attending the Pro- 
 
THE CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS II 
 
 vincial Congress, were persuaded to leave their prop- 
 erty and business in the care of others, and to stay- 
 out of the city wholly for a while. Accordingly, while 
 the Provincial Congress was in session at Concord, 
 they made their abode with the Rev. Jonas Clark at 
 Lexington. 
 
 The General Court, which had been summoned by 
 Governor Gage to meet at Salem on the 5th of 
 October, 1774, was dissolved by him before the day 
 arrived. Its members, pursuant to the course agreed 
 upon, resolved themselves into a Provincial Congress. 
 This body, on the 26th of October, adopted a plan for 
 organizing and maintaining the militia. It also estab- 
 lished, as executive authorities, a Committee of Safety 
 and a Committee of Supplies. Committees of corre- 
 spondence had for months existed in many places under 
 the authority of the towns alone, and now they were 
 provided with a Provincial head. Instructions were 
 given that militia and minute-men should be put in 
 the best posture of defence, and communication was 
 opened with the other New England States in regard 
 to organizing for their common security. This was 
 the situation on the i8th of April, 1775. 
 
Paul Revere's Ride. 
 
II 
 
 LEXINGTON'S MIDNIGHT ALARM 
 
 \^Paul Revere'' s own Story of His Ride?-'\ 
 
 Dear Sir^ — Having a little leisure, I wish to fulfil 
 my promise of giving you some facts and anecdotes 
 prior to the battle of Lexington, which I do not re- 
 member to have seen in any *' History of the Amer- 
 ican Revolution." 
 
 In the year 1773 I was employed by the Selectmen 
 of the town of Boston to carry the account of the 
 Destruction of the Tea to New York ; and afterwards, 
 1774, to carry their despatches to New York and 
 Philadelphia for calling a Congress ; and afterwards 
 to Congress several times. In the fall of 1774 and 
 winter of 1775, I was one of upwards of thirty, chiefly 
 mechanics, who formed ourselves into a committee 
 
 1 The original of this document was contributed by Paul Revere to the 
 Massachusetts Historical Society for its collections of 1798. Revere, at the 
 date of his ride, was about forty years of age, and had seen service in the last 
 French and Indian war. He was by trade a coppersmith and brass founder ; 
 producing weather-yanes, bells, busts, medallions, etc. ; he also showed much 
 ability as a designer an4 ^.s an engraver on copper. Many creditable examples 
 of his skill in the latter still remain. 
 
 IS 
 
l6 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS* DAY 
 
 for the purpose of watching the movements of the 
 British soldiers, and gaining every intelligence of 
 the movements of the Tories. We held our meet- 
 ings at the Green Dragon Tavern. We were so care- 
 ful that our meetings should be kept secret, that every 
 time we met, every person swore upon the Bible that 
 they would not discover any of our transactions, but 
 to Messrs. Hancock, Adams, Doctors Warren, Church, 
 and one or two more. 
 
 THE SIGNAL GIVEN. 
 
 In the winter, towards the spring, we frequently 
 took turns, two and two, to watch the soldiers, by pa- 
 trolling the streets all night. The Saturday night pre- 
 ceding the 19th of April, about twelve o'clock at night, 
 the boats belonging to the transports were all launched 
 and carried under the sterns of the men-of-war. (They 
 had been previously hauled up and repaired.) We like- 
 wise found that the grenadiers and light infantry were 
 all taken off duty. From these movements we ex- 
 pected something serious was to be transacted. On 
 Tuesday evening, the 1 8th, it was observed that a 
 number of soldiers were marching towards the bottom 
 of the Common. About ten o'clock Dr. Warren sent 
 in great haste for me, and begged that I would im- 
 
Lexington's midnight alarm 17 
 
 mediately set off for Lexington, where Messrs. Han- 
 cock and Adams were, and acquaint them of the 
 movements, and that it was thought they were the 
 objects. When I got to Dr. Warren's house, I found 
 he had sent an express by land to Lexington, — a 
 Mr. William Dawes. 
 
 The Sunday before, by desire of Dr. Warren, I 
 had been to Lexington to Messrs. Hancock and 
 Adams, who were at the Rev. Mr. Clark's.^ I 
 returned at night through Charlestown. There I 
 agreed with a Colonel Conant and some other gentle- 
 men, that if the British went out by water, we would 
 show two lanthorns in the North Church steeple; and 
 if by land, one, as a signal ; for we were apprehensive 
 it would be difficult to cross the Charles River, or 
 get over the Boston Neck. I left Dr. Warren, called 
 upon a friend,^ and desired him to make the signals. 
 I then went home, took my boots and surtout, went 
 to the north part of the town where I had kept a 
 boat ; two friends rowed me across Charles River, 
 
 1 The house of Rev. Jonas Clark stood on the road to Woburn, about one- 
 fourth of a mile from the main road to Concord, a short distance beyond the 
 meeting-house near which the Lexington fight occurred. 
 
 2 Robert Newman, sexton of the North (Christ) Church. The lights were 
 shown but a few seconds. Surmising that the foe would also see the lights, the 
 sexton hastened home and into bed ; and, sure enough, a few minutes after, in 
 came some British soldiers, finding him a very sleepy man. 
 
l8 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS* DAY 
 
 a little to the eastward where the Somerset man-of- 
 war lay. 
 
 It was then young flood, the ship was winding, 
 and the moon was rising.^ They landed me on the 
 Charlestown side. When I got into town I met Colo- 
 nel Conant and several others ; they said they had 
 seen our signals. I told them what was acting, and 
 went to get me a horse ; I got a horse of Deacon 
 Larkin. While the horse was preparing, Richard 
 Devens, Esq., who was one of the Committee of 
 Safety, came to me, and told me that he came down 
 the road from Lexington after sundown that even- 
 ing ; that he met ten British officers, all well mounted 
 and armed, going up the road. 
 
 THE RIDE OF ALARM. 
 
 I set off upon a very good horse. It was then 
 about eleven o'clock, and very pleasant. After I had 
 passed Charlestov/n Neck and got nearly opposite 
 where Mark^ was hung in chains, I saw two men 
 
 1 Revere and two companions, in a boat with muffled oars, passed the British 
 man-of-war Somerset within hailing distance, just five minutes before orders were 
 given to stop any one leaving Boston by water. This was at about half-past ten, 
 and the transports were then landing British troops at Lechmere's Point, in East 
 Cambridge. 
 
 2 A murderer who had been executed some years previously. 
 
LEXINGTON S MIDNIGHT ALARM 21 
 
 on horseoack under a tree. When I got near them, 
 I discovered they were British officers. One tried to 
 get ahead of me, and the other to take me. I turned 
 my horse very quick, and galloped towards Charles- 
 town Neck, and then pushed for the Medford road. 
 The one who chased me, endeavoring to cut me off, 
 got into a clay pond, near where the new tavern is 
 now built. I got clear of him, and went through Med- 
 ford, over the bridge, up to Menotomy.^ In Medford 
 I awaked the captain of the minute-men ; and after 
 that, I alarmed every house, till I got to Lexington.^ 
 I found Messrs. Hancock and Adams at the Rev. 
 Mr. Clark's ; ^ I told them my errand and inquired 
 
 1 Menotomy was then a part of West Cambridge, east of Arlington Heights. 
 It is now a part of the town of Arlington. 
 
 2 Lexington Green, where the patriots first brought the British to a stand, is 
 about twelve miles north-west of Boston by the road. Concord is six miles 
 west of Lexington, 
 
 3 The time of arrival was a few minutes past midnight. The house was 
 guarded by six of the Lexington militia. Miss Dorothy Quincy, the affianced 
 bride of Mr. Hancock, was also in the house, having followed her patriot lover 
 in his temporary self exile from Boston. 
 
 Revere was stopped by the guard, who, in reply to his demand for admittance, 
 told him that the family had just retired, and had requested that they should not 
 be disturbed by any noise about the house. " Noise ! " exclaimed Revere, "you 
 will have noise enough before long. The regulars are coming out." At this 
 statement he was permitted to pass ; and on knocking at the door Mr. Clark 
 opened the window and inquired who was there. Revere, without answering the 
 question, said that he wished to see Mr, Hancock, Mr. Clark was wary, and 
 intimated his unwillingness to admit strangers without a knowledge of their 
 business there ; when Mr, Hancock (who had retired to rest), overhearing and 
 recognizing Revere's voice, cried out, " Come in, Revere ; we are not afraid of 
 you." 
 
22 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS DAY 
 
 for Mr. Dawes ; they said he had not been there ; I 
 related the story of the two officers, and supposed he 
 must have been stopped, as he ought to have been 
 there before me. After I had been there about half 
 an hour, Mr. Dawes came ; we refreshed ourselves, 
 and set off for Concord to secure the stores, &c., 
 there. We were overtaken by a young Dr. Prescot, 
 whom we found to be a high Son of Liberty. I told 
 them of the ten officers that Mr. Devens met, and 
 that it was probable we might be stopped before we 
 got to Concord ; for I supposed that after night they 
 divided themselves, and that two of them had fixed 
 themselves in such passages as were most likely to 
 stop any intelligence going to Concord. I likewise 
 mentioned that we had better alarm all the inhabi- 
 tants till we got to Concord ; the young doctor much 
 approved of it, and said he would stop with either 
 of us, for the people between that and Concord knew 
 him, and would give the more credit to what we 
 said. 
 
 CAPTURED BY BRITISH SCOUTS. 
 
 We had got nearly half-way ; Mr. Dawes and the 
 doctor stopped to alarm the people of a house ; I was 
 about one hundred yards ahead when I saw two men 
 in nearly the same situation as those officers were, 
 
LEXINGTON S MIDNIGHT ALARM 23 
 
 near Charlestown. I called for the doctor and Mr. 
 Dawes to come up ; in an instant I was surrounded 
 by four ; they had placed themselves in a straight 
 road that inclined each way, they had taken down a 
 pair of bars on the north of the road, and two of them 
 were under a tree in the pasture. The doctor being 
 foremost, he came up, and we tried to get past them ; 
 but they being armed with pistols and swords, they 
 forced us into the pasture; — the doctor jumped his 
 horse over a low stone wall, and got to Concord. I 
 observed a wood at a small distance, and made for 
 that. When I got there, out started six officers on 
 horseback, and ordered me to dismount. One of 
 them, who appeared to have the command, examined 
 me ; where I came from, and what my name was ? I 
 told him. He asked me if I was an express ? I an- 
 swered in the affirmative. He demanded what time 
 I left Boston .? I told him ; and added that their 
 troops had catched aground in passing the river, and 
 that there would be five hundred Americans there in 
 a short time, for I had alarmed the country all the 
 way up. 
 
 He immediately rode towards those who stopped us, 
 when all five of them came down upon a full gallop ; 
 one of them, whom I afterward found to be a Major 
 
24 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS DAY 
 
 Mitchell, of the 5th regiment, clapped his pistol to my 
 head, called nje by name, and told me he was going to 
 ask me some questions, and if I did not give him true 
 answers, he would blow my brains out. He then 
 asked similar questions to those above. He then or- 
 dered me to mount my horse, after searching me for 
 arms. He then ordered them to advance, and lead me 
 in front. When we got to the road, they turned down 
 towards Lexington. When we had got about one mile, 
 the Major rode up to the officer that was leading me, 
 and told him to give me to the Sergeant. As soon as 
 he took me, the Major ordered him, if I attempted to 
 run, or anybody insulted them, to blow my brains out. 
 
 THE LEXINGTON FIGHT. 
 
 We rode till we got near Lexington meeting-house, 
 when the militia fired a volley of guns, which appeared 
 to alarm them very much. The Major inquired of me 
 how far it was to Cambridge, and if there was any 
 other road ? After some consultation, the Major rode 
 up to the Sergeant, and asked if his horse was tired } 
 He answered him, he was (he was a Sergeant of 
 Grenadiers, and had a small horse) ; then, said he, 
 take that man's horse. I dismounted, and the Ser- 
 geant mounted my horse, when they all rode towards 
 
LEXINGTON S MIDNIGHT ALARM 2$ 
 
 Lexington meeting-house. I went across the burying- 
 ground, and some pastures, and came to the Rev. Mr. 
 Clark's house, where I found Messrs. Hancock and 
 Adams. 
 
 I told them of my treatment, and they concluded to 
 go from that house towards Woburn. I went with 
 them and a Mr. Lowell, who was a clerk to Mr. Han- 
 cock. When we got to the house where we intended 
 to stop, Mr. Lowell and myself returned to Mr. Clark's 
 to find what was going on. When we got there, an 
 elderly man came in ; he said there were no British 
 troops coming. Mr. Lowell and myself went towards 
 the tavern, when we met a man on full gallop, who 
 told us the troops were coming up the rocks. We 
 afterwards met another* who said they were close by. 
 
 Mr. Lowell asked me to go to the tavern with him, 
 to get a trunk of papers belonging to Mr. Hancock. 
 We went up-chamber ; and while we were getting the 
 trunk, we saw the British very near, upon a full march. 
 We hurried towards Mr. Clark's house. In our way 
 we passed through the militia. There was about fifty. 
 When we had got about one hundred yards from the 
 meeting-house, the British troops appeared on both 
 sides of the meeting-house. In their front was an 
 officer on horseback. They made a short halt, when I 
 
26 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS* DAY 
 
 saw and heard a gun fired, which appeared to be a 
 pistol. Then I could distinguish two guns, and then 
 a continued roar of musketry ; when we made off with 
 the trunk. 
 
 PAUL REVERE. 
 Boston, /an. i, 1798. 
 
Map of British Route, April 19, 1775. 
 
Ill 
 
 THE MASSACRE AT LEXINGTON 
 
 The two lanterns, hung for a few moments in the 
 tower of Christ Church, at the north end of primitive 
 Boston, showed to the watchers in Charlestown that 
 the expected British raid to destroy the military stores 
 at Concord was in progress. As the moon rose, Paul 
 Revere, the patriot messenger who gave the alarm, 
 was in mid-stream between Boston and Charlestown ; 
 and at the same moment the advance of the British, 
 having embarked at the foot of the Common, were 
 landing at Lechmere's Point, East Cambridge. The 
 point is scarcely more than half a mile distant from 
 the place where Revere mounted his horse. 
 
 The route of the troops and that which the messen- 
 ger intended to take joined at North Cambridge ; but a 
 couple of British horsemen were already ahead of the 
 messenger, and cut him off from this route, forcing 
 him to take the road to the right, which led through 
 the southern part of Medford. The routes again 
 joined at Arlington Square, between Spy and Mystic 
 
 29 
 
30 
 
 ponds ; but Revere had given his alarms in Medford 
 v^ithout much delay, and galloped into Arlington and 
 past the critical point a safe distance in advance. 
 
 From the landing, the route of the troops lay across 
 Willis Creek to vi^hat is now Union Square in Somer- 
 ville, thence up Elm Street, turning left through Beach 
 Street, past the Davenport tavern into North Avenue, 
 Appleton, Vine, and Main Streets, then through Ar- 
 lington to Lexington line and along the main road to 
 the Common, where they were first brought to a stand. 
 The force now on the march consisted of about eight 
 hundred infantry, under Lieutenant-Colonel Smith. 
 Before they left Arlington they had caught glimpses 
 of shadowy forms hovering about their flanks, and 
 horsemen galloping ahead of them, and were surprised 
 by the sound of alarm bells and signal guns, and at 
 beacon-iires on the heights ; and, though the usual 
 drum-beat had been suppressed and even conversation 
 prohibited among the men, the commander perceived 
 that the secret was out and the country alarmed. Im- 
 pressed with the fact, he halted and detached six 
 companies of light infantry and marines under Major 
 Pitcairn, with orders to hasten forward to Concord and 
 secure the two bridges, while he also sent messengers 
 back to Boston asking a re-enforcement. 
 
THE MASSACRE AT LEXINGTON 3 1 
 
 Major Pitcairn's detachment had not gone far when 
 they met the mounted officers who had captured Re- 
 vere and Dawes, returning at their best speed with the 
 information that hundreds of men were assembling on 
 the Green in Lexington to oppose the progress of the 
 king's troops. This was an exaggeration ; yet the 
 minute-men under Captain John Parker had turned out 
 in full force as early as two o'clock, answering the roll- 
 call to the number of one hundred and thirty. All 
 guns were loaded, and the men remained for some time 
 on parade. Then one of the messengers who had been 
 sent to discover the approach of the regulars, return- 
 ing, announced that they were nowhere to be seen. 
 As the air was chilly, the company was thereupon dis- 
 missed, with instructions to be in readiness to rally on 
 the Green at the sound of the drum. 
 
 About half-past four, in the gray light of morning, 
 a scout galloped in with the news that the British 
 were only a mile and a half away. Immediately the 
 drum was beat, signal guns fired, and the bell rang 
 out its alarm. All the militia within reach obeyed 
 the call, and were soon formed in two lines on the 
 northern side of the Green, the farthest from the 
 approaching enemy. A Woburn minute-man, who had 
 come in advance of his company, said that he counted 
 
32 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS DAY 
 
 thirty-eight men in the ranks, and also that there 
 were as many more who did not belong to the com- 
 pany, scattered behind walls and buildings, mostly 
 non-combatant lookers-on. 
 
 The British were near enough to hear the drum 
 beat to arms ; and, regarding this as a challenge, 
 Major Pitcairn halted his force and ordered them to 
 load and prime. Then, doubling their ranks, the reg- 
 ulars marched at quick step, and with a shout, up 
 to the meeting-house ^ on the corner of the Green 
 nearest them. A portion of them here left the road, 
 and filed off in platoons upon the wide area of the 
 Green. The feeble band of minute-men was aston- 
 ished at the sight of this imposing force, which 
 seemed to them to be twice its real number. The 
 scene has never ceased to be a wonder. There stood 
 the little band of farmers on their own training-field, 
 facing the veteran ranks of the king in splendid 
 uniform and with complete equipment. Some of the 
 farmers had seen service in the last French and 
 Indian wars ; but that was a more individual war- 
 fare, where each in a large degree waged battle ac- 
 cording to his own judgment. The old spirit was 
 
 1 The old meeting-house was taken down in 1793; but several of the other 
 buildings which stood around the Common at the time of the conflict still occupy 
 their old places. 
 
THE MASSACRE AT LEXINGTON 33 
 
 in them still ; and their companions in arms of this 
 day shared it with them. Again their homes, their 
 property, personal and communal, and their rights 
 as freemen, were threatened ; and they were both 
 patriots and heroes, every one. 
 
 Major Pitcairn rode forward at the left of his line. 
 He drew a pistol,^ and, with threats and oaths, com- 
 manded the Americans to lay down their arms and 
 disperse. Fearing that in the excitement of the 
 moment some of his men might discharge their 
 guns too hastily, Captain Parker cried out, ''Don't 
 fire unless you are fired on ; but if they want a 
 war, let it begin here." And he threatened to shoot 
 any man who attempted to leave his post. 
 
 Pitcairn perceived that his orders were not to be 
 obeyed ; and hearing the report of a gun ^ near a 
 wall opposite, commanded his men to fire. They 
 hesitated, and he brandished his sword and discharged 
 his pistol; thereat a few in the first platoon fired, 
 
 1 Pitcairn's pistols, a very handsome pair, were exhibited at the Lexington 
 Centennial (1875), having been loaned by their owner, the widow of John P. 
 Putnam of Cambridge, N. Y. These pistols have a full and authentic history. 
 Pitcairn's horse had to be abandoned during the retreat ; and his equipage, 
 including the pistols, fell into the hands of the Americans. The latter were 
 presented to General Israel Putnam, who wore them through the war. 
 
 2 This is believed to have been an accidental discharge of one of the rickety 
 old flint-locks, which had already served more than one generation. Whatever 
 the fact, it does not appear that any of the regulars were wounded by it. 
 
3,4 
 
 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS DAY 
 
 but without any apparent harm. He repeated the 
 order to fire, and the whole line delivered a volley. 
 Several of the gallant little company fell dead or 
 wounded ; the patriot ranks were broken before they 
 had fired a shot. There was no longer a question of 
 their right to resist the king's troops to the death. 
 
 Engraved in 1775. 
 
 The British at Lexington. 
 
 Reproduced, 1895. 
 
 and a volley from the muskets of the minute-men 
 rang out in reply. ^ 
 
 1 In Stiles's diary, under date of Aug. 19, 1775, is this record, giving Pitcairn's 
 version of the beginning of the fight : " Riding up to them, he ordered them to 
 disperse; which. they not doing instantly, he turned about to order his troops to 
 draw out so as to surround and disarm them. As he turned, he saw a gun in a 
 peasant's hand, behind a wall, flash in the pan without going off ; and instantly, 
 or very soon, two or three guns went off, by which he found his horse wounded, 
 and also a man near him wounded. These guns he did not see, but believing 
 
THE MASSACRE AT LEXINGTON 35 
 
 The die was cast ; the war had begun ; but with 
 such overwhelming odds that further contest could 
 only end in the slaughter of every American present ; 
 and Captain Parker ordered a retreat. Yet there 
 continued a scattering fire from men behind walls 
 and trees, and from some who were unwillingly re- 
 treating. Jonas Parker had often said that he never 
 would run from the British. He appears not to 
 have been in the company ranks. It is narrated 
 that he had placed his ammunition in his hat, on 
 the ground between his feet. He was wounded, and 
 dropped down ; but raising himself, he fired on the 
 foe; then, resting on his knees, he attempted to 
 load again, when he was pierced by the bayonet of 
 a redcoat. 
 
 The halt of the British at this place did not exceed 
 half an hour in duration. Two only of the regu- 
 lars were wounded. Having fired the first volley, 
 
 they could not come from his own people, he doubted not, and so asserted that 
 they came from our people ; and that thus they began the attack. The impetu- 
 osity of the king's troops was such that a promiscuous, uncommanded, but general, 
 fire took place, which he [Pitcairn] could not prevent, though he struck his staff 
 or sword downwards with all earnestness, as the signal to forbear firing." This 
 seems to be a rather lame statement. It is hardly to be credited that the regu- 
 lars, accustomed to the strict discipline of the British army, and having for 
 months been under daily drill, should have been so little under the control of 
 their chief officer as to fire a volley or two when they were only ordered to draw 
 out and disarm the Americans. The account, as given in the narrative, is sup- 
 ported by many depositions taken witlun the sumuier following. 
 
36 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS' DAY 
 
 they were so enveloped by the smoke of their guns 
 that it was impossible for the patriots to take aim 
 at any one of them. 
 
 Two of the Americans were killed after they had 
 left the Common, a few of the red-coats having pur- 
 sued the flying minute-men and others up the Bed- 
 ford Road. Altogether seven Americans were killed, 
 and nine were wounded, almost half the number 
 who stood their ground on the Common.^ 
 
 " Were these men true? We ask not were they brave, — 
 Men who their lives thus to their country gave ! 
 
 When such men fall or put their foes to flight. 
 Resisting wrong or battling for the right ; 
 When they of freedom's army lead the van, 
 Or fall as martyrs in the cause of man, — 
 Man's heart hath never willingly forgot 
 The holy day, the consecrated spot. 
 Marked by an act of valor or of faith. 
 Or by a nobler deed or noble death." 
 
 1 John Symonds with three others had, on the approach of the British, gone 
 into the meeting-house for a supply of powder. They had got two half-casks 
 from the upper loft into the gallery, when the British reached the Green. Two 
 of them, Caleb" Harrington and Joseph Comee, resolved at every hazard to escape 
 from the house and join the company. Harrington was killed in the attempt at 
 the west end of the meeting-house ; Comee, finding himself cut off from the com- 
 pany, ran, under a shower of balls, — one of which struck him in the arm, — to 
 the Munroe house [near the church] ; and, passing through the house, made his 
 escape at the back door. A third secreted himself in the opposite gallery ; while 
 Symonds loaded and cocked his gun, and, laying down, placed the muzzle upon 
 the open cask of powder, determined to blow up the British if they should 
 enter the gallery, choosing to destroy his own life rather than fall into their 
 hands. — Hudson'' s History of Lexington, p. i8o. 
 
THE MASSACRE AT LEXINGTON 3/ 
 
 Some of the red-coats went into the houses in 
 the vicinity of the Green for a drink ; but, with a 
 few exceptions, those who had been engaged in 
 the fight soon re-formed, fired a volley, and gave 
 three huzzas for their victory ! Colonel Smith, with 
 the main body of the troops, had come up, and all 
 proceeded to Concord without further interruption. 
 But the Americans, at different times and places that 
 morning, captured seven of the regulars, the first 
 prisoners taken in the Revolutionary War. 
 
IV 
 
 THE BATTLE OF CONCORD 
 
 Concord, in 1775, was the largest town in the colony 
 above tide-water. In its literary, political, and social 
 aspect it was not excelled by any except Boston. 
 The village at the centre then contained a church, a 
 court-house, a jail, a grist-mill, and two or three small 
 factories. A few houses stood mostly in groups along 
 the main road from Boston, being most numerous some 
 half a mile south-east of where it crossed the river. 
 The 'road enters the town from the south-east along 
 the side of a hill which commences on the right of it, 
 about a mile below the court-house. This hill rises 
 from thirty to fifty feet above the level of the highway, 
 and terminates a little past the north-western angle of 
 the old square. The top of the hill is a plain, and on 
 it stood the liberty-pole. The Concord River (main 
 branch) flows sluggishly in a serpentine course through 
 the town on the north-west side of the village, passing 
 about half a mile from its centre. The old South 
 Bridge was on the road running slightly south of west 
 
 38 
 
."^ 
 
 
 >£i^M 
 
 fiiuenicAi 
 
 "BEOFORO) 
 
 rsuoeuAY 
 
 *^" 
 
 Scene of Operations at Concord. 
 
THE BATTLE OF CONCORD 4I 
 
 from the square, while a road running northward and 
 bending westward crossed the river at the old North 
 Bridge. From here the road ran in an indirectly 
 western course to Colonel James Barrett's, about two 
 miles from the village. 
 
 Colonel Barrett had been a member of the General 
 Court, and was at this time member of the Provincial 
 Congress. By direction of this body he was in charge 
 of the military supplies in Concord, a considerable 
 quantity being stored at his mill and house. He was 
 also authorized to superintend the movements of the 
 militia, if called into action.^ 
 
 " It was between one and two o'clock in the morning 
 when the quiet community of Concord were aroused 
 from their slumbers by the sound of the church bell. 
 The Committee of Safety, the military officers, and the 
 prominent citizens quickly assembled for consultation. 
 Messengers were despatched toward Lexington for in- 
 formation ; the militia and minute-men were formed 
 in rank on the customary parade ground near the 
 meeting-house ; and the inhabitants, with a portion of 
 the militia, under the direction of Colonel James Bar- 
 rett, zealously labored in removing the military stores 
 
 1 The organization of the militia was at this time incomplete, both in system 
 and officers, and without authority from the general government, except partially 
 in a few cases. " Minute-men" were specially enrolled, to march at a tniniitc's 
 notice. 
 
42 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS DAY 
 
 into the woods and other out-of-the-way places for 
 safety. Meanwhile, their patriotic minister, the Rev. 
 William Emerson, mingled with the people, and gave 
 counsel and comfort to the terrified women and chil- 
 dren." 
 
 One of the messengers returned with the startling 
 intelligence that the regulars had fired upon the 
 militia at Lexington, and were now on the march to 
 Concord. It was determined to resist them; accord- 
 ingly, a portion of the force marched off to meet the 
 advancing column. A part of the troops from Lin- 
 coln — the minute-men under command of Captain 
 William Smith, and the militia under Captain Samuel 
 Farrar — soon joined the Concord companies. Cap- 
 tains Minot and Nathan Barrett, who had remained 
 at the centre, now led their companies upon the long 
 hill (then called Merriam's Hill) to its eastern end. 
 Scarcely had they taken position when the companies 
 which had been sent down the road returned with the 
 information that the number of the British was triple 
 that of the Americans. Very soon the regulars ap- 
 peared on the road coming down Brooks's Hill, their 
 arms glistening, and their red coats glowing in the 
 rising sun. Their movement was very rapid ; and 
 a line of their infantry filed off towards the hill on 
 
THE BATTLE OF CONCORD 45 
 
 which the Americans were posted. The 'militia then 
 fell back to the liberty-pole, opposite the meeting- 
 house. The regulars followed them, but halted when 
 they had come within gunshot. There was little time 
 for deliberation. It is evident that the patriot lead- 
 ers had hoped to turn the British back by displays 
 of force merely, — not expecting that the number of 
 regulars would be so large. The militia again fell 
 back in order to the burial-ground on a lower emi- 
 nence westward. They were here joined by Colonel 
 Barrett, the field-officer, who had been attending to 
 the removal of the military stores. He is reported 
 to have addressed them with much feeling, but in 
 a very firm and inspiring manner ; and he enjoined 
 them not to fire upon the regulars unless first fired 
 upon by them. 
 
 Some were now in favor of resisting the farther 
 advance of the British ; while others prudently advised 
 to again fall back, and to delay resistance until other 
 companies should arrive. Approving the latter policy. 
 Colonel Barrett ordered the militia to retire over 
 the North Bridge to Punkatasset Hill, a commanding 
 eminence a short distance north-westward of the bridge, 
 and nearly a mile and a half from Concord centre. As 
 they reached the hill, a column of the enemy was seen 
 
46 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS' DAY 
 
 advancing from the village ; and Colonel Barrett gal- 
 loped off to his residence about a mile south-west of 
 the bridge, on another road, to hasten the removal 
 of other military stores. He had barely reached the 
 hill on his return before the column had crossed the 
 bridge, and turned along the road towards his house 
 and mill. 
 
 The column of regulars which had followed the 
 militia along the hill, descended to the square, while 
 Colonel Smith and Major Pitcairn entered the burial- 
 ground, and examined with their glasses the position 
 of the Americans. Very soon the disposition of the 
 troops was decided upon. The grenadiers,^ under 
 the immediate command of Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, 
 remained at the centre, while a company under Cap- 
 tain Pole was sent to hold the South Bridge,^ and six 
 
 1 Originally, companies who threw hand-grenades ; consequently soldiers of 
 superior stature, intelligence, and discipline to the light infantry. Their capn 
 tains were usually mounted ; and the rank and file held themselves as of greater 
 dignity than other foot-soldiers. In Boston tliey were often nicknamed 
 " grannies." 
 
 2 It appears as though orders had been issued to the Sudbury company to 
 march to Colonel Barrett's to guard the stores there ; and their nearest road was 
 by way of the South Bridge. But Captain Pole was ahead of them there. In 
 that company was Deacon Josiah Haynes, eighty years of age. He v/as urgent 
 for an attack to be made on the British at the bridge, but the judgment of the 
 officers was against it. On the retreat of the regulars, he, with the rest of the 
 company, pursued the regulars with ardor as far as Lexington, where he was 
 killed by a musket-ball. 
 
THE BATTLE OF CONCORD 4/ 
 
 companies under Captain Parsons were sent by way 
 of the North Bridge to destroy the stores on the west 
 side of the river. This was the column which came 
 near intercepting Colonel Barrett. About half the 
 force was left under command of Captain Laurie to 
 guard the bridge ; while Captain Parsons, with the 
 other companies, proceeded to Barrett's mill to de- 
 stroy the military supplies in that vicinity. 
 
 The British met with but partial success in the work 
 of destruction, in consequence of the removal and 
 concealment of the stores.^ In the centre of the 
 town the troops broke open about sixty barrels of 
 flour — nearly half of which, however, was saved ; 
 knocked off the trunnions of three iron twenty four- 
 pound cannon, threw a few cannon-balls into the mill- 
 pond, and burnt sixteen new carriage-wheels and a 
 few barrels of wooden trenchers and spoons. They cut 
 down the liberty-pole, and set the court-house on fire.^ 
 
 1 At Colonel Barrett's the British burned a number of carriages for cannon. 
 The officers very politely offered to pay Mrs. Barrett. for the food she furnished 
 them ; but she refused it, saying, " We are commanded to feed our enemy, if he 
 hunger." They asserted that she should have good treatment, but that they 
 would have to search her house, and destroy all public stores. There were in 
 the garret the small articles belonging with cannon,- also musket-balls, flints, cut- 
 lasses, and other articles ; but Mrs. Barrett had so covered them with quantities 
 of feathers that they were not discovered, 
 
 2 The fire in the court-house was soon quenched, however, by the heroic exer- 
 tions of the widow Moulton, whose own house stood near by. " While in the 
 village the British seized and abused many persons, aged men who were not 
 
48 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS' DAY 
 
 Meanwhile minute-men from the neighboring towns 
 had been arriving at the rendezvous, Punkatasset Hill, 
 until they numbered about four hundred and fifty. 
 They were formed into line by Joseph Hosmer, who, 
 in the emergency, was acting as adjutant. It is im- 
 possible to state with accuracy what companies were 
 present at this hour. There were minute and militia 
 men from Carlisle, Chelmsford, Westford, Littleton, 
 and Acton. The minute-men from the latter place 
 were under the command of Captain Isaac Davis, a 
 brave and energetic man. 
 
 Most of the operations of the British were in view 
 
 armed. Among them was Deacon Thomas Barrett, brother of the Colonel. In 
 his buildings there was a gun-factory carried on by his son, Mr. Samuel Barrett, 
 and men employed by him. The Deacon was a man noted for his piety and 
 goodness, and for his mildness of disposition. Not appearing terrified nor in- 
 sulting, he began seriously to remonstrate against their violence, and the unkindly 
 treatment of the mother country against her colonies. When they threatened to 
 kill him as a rebel, he calmly said, they would better save themselves the trouble, 
 for he was old and would soon die of himself. Upon which they replied, ' Well, 
 old daddy, you may go in peace.' " — Rev. Ezra Ripley's History of the Fight 
 at Concord. Another incident was more amusing. As Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Smith, the British commander, was on the point of entering the tavern of Cap- 
 tain Ephraim Jones in Concord village, the proprietor came rushing round the 
 corner of the house to escape some soldiers, looking backward, and struck with 
 much force against the huge body of the officer. (Colonel Smith weighed between 
 two and three hundred pounds, and is said to have been very fat and ungainly.) 
 Both men rolled on the ground together. The officer thought that the collision 
 was intended by the innkeeper, and immediately placed him under arrest. He 
 demanded liquor, — most of which, of course, had been hidden in apprehension of 
 the coming of the regulars. Our innkeeper had the advantage here, and used 
 it ; and npt a drop could the officer get until he set his prisoner at liberty. 
 
THE BATTLE OF CONCORD 49 
 
 from the elevated ground of the rendezvous, and fires 
 they had set were visible in several directions. The 
 dislodgement of the regulars from the North Bridge 
 was under consideration as Captain Davis came up 
 from an inspection of that vicinity. Captain William 
 Smith of Lincoln volunteered to make the attempt 
 with his company. " I haven't a man that is afraid to 
 go," added Captain Davis. Colonel Barrett then de- 
 cided on the attack, and selected Major John Buttrick 
 as leader in this critical movement ; and Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Robinson volunteered, and accompanied him 
 as subordinate. They were ordered to march to the 
 bridge and pass it, but were not to fire on the king's 
 troops unless the latter fired upon them. 
 
 It was nearly ten o'clock in the morning when the 
 body of Provincials arrived near the river. The Acton 
 company was in front, with Major Buttrick, Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Robinson, and Captain Davis at their head. 
 Captains David Brown, Charles Miles, Nathan Barrett, 
 and William Smith, with their companies, and parts of 
 other companies, fell into line. They marched in 
 double file, and with trailed arms. 
 
 The British guard, about one hundred in number, 
 were on the west side of the river ; but on seeing the 
 Americans approaching, they crossed to the east side, 
 
50 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS' DAY 
 
 formed as if for a fight, and began to take up the 
 planks of the bridge. The American column was pro- 
 ceeding along a road parallel to the river which ran 
 into the road across the bridge ; and Major Buttrick 
 shouted to the regulars, remonstrating against the 
 demolition they were attempting ; and he ordered his 
 men to hasten their advance. When the head of the 
 column had almost reached the turn, the res-ulars beo-an 
 to fire solitary shots toward them. This was the first 
 firing at Concord.^ The shots were few in number, 
 and did no execution ; but others followed with double 
 effect. Luther Blan chard, a fifer in the Acton com- 
 pany, was the first wounded ; in a following discharge 
 Captain Isaac Davis and Abner Hosmer, of the same 
 company, were killed. 
 
 On seeing the British fire take effect, Major But- 
 trick exclaimed, " Fire, fellow-soldiers ! for God's 
 sake, fire ! " The Americans then fired for the first 
 time, the discharge killing one, and wounding several 
 
 1 In regard to the firing at Concord Bridge, the Rev. WilUam Emerson 
 says : " We received the fire of the enemy in three several and separate discharges 
 of their pieces, before it was returned by our commanding officer. Captain 
 James Barrett and several others testified that two of the militia were killed and 
 several wounded before the fire was returned." Captain Nathan Barrett and 
 twenty-three other men say that " when we got near the bridge they fired on 
 our men, first three guns, one after the other, and then a considerable num- 
 ber more; upon which, and not before, we fired upon the regulars, and they 
 retreated." 
 
THE BATTLE OF CONCORD 5 1 
 
 of the enemy. The fire continued for a few moments 
 only, when the British retreated in great confusion. 
 They were met by a detachment sent out to support 
 them, but all returned to the centre together. 
 
 The Americans followed over the bridge, a portion 
 of them turning to the left and ascending the hill on 
 the east of the main road, while another portion re- 
 turned to Punkatasset, carrying with them the dead 
 bodies of the gallant Davis and Hosmer. Military 
 order was now discarded. Many had been on duty all 
 the morning, and were hungry and fatigued ; and they 
 seized the opportunity to take necessary refreshment. 
 
 This was the situation when Captain Parsons, having 
 heard the firing at the bridge, hastened back from 
 Barrett's, repassed the bridge, and saw the bodies of 
 the fallen regulars.^ It would have been easy for the 
 Americans to cut off this party ; but war had not 
 been declared, and, as yet, the leaders were acting on 
 
 1 The wounds of one of the redcoats who fell at the bridge gave rise to the 
 charge in General Gage's report of this expedition that the Provincials " scalped 
 the wounded and cut off their ears." The manner in which this soldier came 
 to his death is said to be as follows : A boy employed at the " old manse," 
 which stands near the bridge, came down to the scene of the skirmish after it 
 was over. One of the wounded regulars was sitting up, and while the boy was 
 at the water's edge bending over to dip some water, the redcoat shot at him. 
 He missed the mark, but the act made the boy so angry that he ran and 
 gave the fellow a blow on the head with a hatchet. The manse was at this 
 time occupied by the Rev. William Emerson, who was extremely grieved at 
 the occurrence. 
 
52 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS DAY 
 
 the defensive merely. Captain Pole, at the South 
 Bridge, and other small parties not so far away, were 
 recalled by the sound of the guns to the centre. 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, having concentrated his 
 troops and put them in a position of defence, gave 
 his efforts to procuring conveyances for the wounded. 
 This was not accomplished, and the retreat begun, until 
 nearly two hours after the skirmish at the bridge, — 
 a loss of time that nearly proved fatal to the entire 
 British force.^ 
 
 1 The time of the movements of the British troops was nearly as follows : 
 Departure from Boston, 10.30 p.m. on the i8th (British account) ; arrival at 
 Lexington, 4.30 a.m. on the 19th (Gordon) ; halt of twenty minutes at Lexing- 
 ton (Phinney) ; arrival at Concord, 7 a.m., " about an hour after sunrise " (Bar. 
 rett's deposition) ; skirmish at the bridge, " between nine and ten '' (Brown's diary, 
 in Adams's account, and deposition No. 18, 1775, say " nearly ten") ; left Con- 
 cord at 12 m. ; met Percy's brigade at two (British letters) ; arrived at Charles- 
 town at sunset. 
 
V 
 
 THE BRITISH RETREAT 
 
 While the events which marked the beginning of a 
 new nation were transpiring in Lexington and Con- 
 cord, the news of the hostile march of the British 
 troops was spreading rapidly through the country ; 
 and scores of communities, animated by the same 
 patriotic and determined spirit, were sending out their 
 representatives to the battle-field. The minute-men, 
 organized and ready for action in numerous towns, 
 promptly obeyed the summons to parade. Perhaps 
 they waited, in some instances, to receive a parting 
 blessing from their minister, or to take leave of weep- 
 ing friends ; but before the British had been driven 
 from the bridge, all the roads leading to Concord were 
 thronged by minute-men hurrying to the scene of 
 action. They carried, in most instances, the old flint- 
 lock musket that had fought the Indian ; with them 
 was the drum that beat at Louisburg ; and they were 
 led by men who had served under Wolfe at Quebec. 
 As they drew near the scenes of conflict they learned 
 
 53 
 
54 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS DAY 
 
 that the regulars had been the aggressors in both 
 cases — " had fired first ; " and they were deeply stirred 
 by the slaughter of their countrymen. The British 
 had crossed the fatal line ; and if any American still 
 counselled forbearance, moderation, peace, his words 
 were thrown away. The assembling bands felt that 
 the hour had come to hurl back the insulting charges 
 on their courage that had been repeated for years, and 
 to make good the solemn words of their public bodies ; 
 and they determined to attack the invaders of their 
 soil wherever found. 
 
 The return of the regulars to Boston commenced 
 about twelve o'clock. The main body marched in the 
 road, its right being protected by a brook, while the 
 left was covered by a strong flank guard that kept the 
 height of land that borders the Lexington road leading 
 to Merriam's Corner. They soon perceived how thor- 
 oughly the country had been alarmed. As one of 
 them wrote, " it seemed that men had dropped from 
 the clouds," so full were the roads and the hills of 
 minute-men.^ The Provincials left the high grounds 
 
 1 Ensign De Berniere, who had made explorations and diagrams of the towns 
 about Boston, and was the guide of the British on this occasion, says that Cap- 
 tain Laurie was attacked by about " fifteen thousand rebels " at the bridge ; and 
 yet " they let Captain Parsons, with his company, return, and never attacked us." 
 This is the wildest of exaggerations. According to numerous depositions taken 
 by the Provincial authorities during the same season, and at least one trust- 
 
THE BRITISH RETREAT 57 
 
 near the North Bridge and went across the fields and 
 pastures (the '' Great Fields ") to the Bedford road, 
 which came in from the north-east at Merriam's Cor- 
 ner, a mile or more from the centre. Here they were 
 joined by the Reading minute-men under Major Brooks 
 (afterwards governor) ; and a few minutes later. Col- 
 onel William Thompson led up a body of militia from 
 Billerica. Minute-men from other towns also came up 
 in season to fire upon the British as they left Concord. 
 The Reading company discovered the British flank 
 guard coming over the long hill, and halted in silence 
 some twenty rods short of Merriam's Corner, the reg- 
 ulars having also approached to about the same dis- 
 tance from that point. They marched down the hill 
 with slow and steady step, without music or an audi- 
 ble word. They numbered perhaps a hundred men. 
 Reaching the main road, they passed over a small 
 bridge near the corner, then suddenly faced about and 
 delivered a volley upon the Americans. They over- 
 shot, and no one is known to have been hurt. This 
 
 worthy British authority, the number was less than five hundred. One British 
 letter of April 30, says : " It was thought there were about six thousand [armed 
 Provincials during the retreat] at first, and at night double that number." An- 
 other letter says : " The rebels were monstrous numerous, and surrounded us on 
 every side ; when they came up we gave them a smart fire, but they never woilld 
 engage us properly."' This conduct must have seemed grievous in the extreme 
 to the martinet, a character which the grenadiers largely bore. 
 
58 THE STORY OF PATRIOT'S DAY 
 
 was not apparent at the moment, however, and the 
 militia returned the fire, two of the regulars falling 
 dead near the brook. 
 
 The battle was now reopened, and a severe fire was 
 poured upon the foe from every favorable position. 
 The Sudbury company, under Captain Nathaniel Cud- 
 worth, came up in the woods on the south, and attacked 
 them near Hardy's Hill; and there was a severe skir- 
 mish on the old road below the Brooks tavern. Here 
 the woods lined both sides of the road where the Brit- 
 ish had to pass, and a minute-man was behind almost 
 every tree. When the enemy ordered out a flank 
 guard to dislodge them it was merely offering the 
 patriots a better mark. The conflict was short and 
 sharp ; and for three or four miles along these woody 
 defiles the regulars suffered fearfully. 
 
 The town of Woburn, lying on the north-east of 
 Lexington, had "turned out extraordinary;" sending 
 to the scene of action, with Major Loammi Baldwin, 
 a well-armed force one hundred and eighty strong. 
 They reached Tanner Brook, in Lincoln, ahead of 
 the regulars, and there scattered, firing from the 
 trees and walls ; then, moving on, they made re- 
 peated attacks from new points. Before the British 
 had re-entered Lexington, Captain Parker's brave 
 
THE BRITISH RETREAT 59 
 
 company, which had made the first fight on Lexing- 
 ton Green, appeared in the field and did efficient ser- 
 vice. "The enemy," said Colonel Baldwin, "marched 
 very fast, and left many dead and wounded, and a 
 few tired." Eight of the dead were buried in the 
 Lincoln graveyard. Of the Americans, Captain Jon- 
 athan Wilson of Bedford, Nathaniel Wyman of Bille- 
 rica, and Daniel Thompson of Woburn, were killed 
 here. At Fiske's Hill, as they entered Lexington, a 
 mounted officer was killed, and Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Smith, the commander, was wounded in the leg.^ 
 
 When within a short distance of Lexington Green, 
 the regulars again suffered severely from the close 
 pursuit and sharp fire of the Provincials. Their am- 
 munition was failing, while their light companies 
 were so fatigued as to be almost unfitted for service, 
 being too much exhausted to send out flankers. The 
 large number of wounded caused great confusion, and 
 many of the troops rather ran than marched. The 
 officers tried in vain to restore discipline. The con- 
 fusion increased under their efforts, until, placing 
 
 1 At the foot of Fiske's Hill occurred a personal contest between a British 
 soldier and James Hayward of Acton. The Briton raised his gun, with the 
 remark, " You are a dead man." — " And so are you," answered Hayward. 
 Both fired ; the Briton was killed and Hayward mortally wounded, though he 
 lived until the next day. 
 
60 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS* DAY 
 
 themselves in front, they threatened the men with 
 death if they advanced. It was a desperate effort, 
 made under a heavy fire, but it succeeded in partially 
 restoring order.^ 
 
 It was now almost two o'clock in a day of unusual 
 heat ; and the detachment must have soon surrendered 
 had not re-enforcements been at hand. Percy's brigade 
 met the harassed regulars half a mile toward Boston 
 east of the Lexington meeting-house, and received 
 the routed and exhausted column in a hollow square.^ 
 The re-enforcement consisted of three regiments of 
 infantry and two divisions of marines, with two field- 
 pieces, under Lord Percy. They had left Boston at 
 nine o'clock,^ marching out through Roxbury to the 
 
 1 It was not far from this point that two or three Provincials behind a pile 
 of rails fired on a splendidly mounted officer, who, in directing the troops, had 
 come near them. The officer instantly fell, or was thrown by a violent move- 
 ment of the horse, which then ran directly toward the Provincials and was cap- 
 tured. It is nearly certain that this officer was Major Pitcairn, who was not 
 wounded, but was thrown, and had his arm broken by the fall. 
 
 2 Letters to England from officers who were with the British troops on this 
 occasion, testify to the critical situation of Lieutenant-Colonel Smith's detach- 
 ment, when met by Percy's brigade, and some admit that he must have surren- 
 dered. A British historian (Stedman) says of the soldiers, " They were so much 
 exhausted with fatigue that they were obliged to lie down for rest on the ground, 
 their tongues hanging out of their mouths, like those of dogs after a chase.'' 
 
 3 The British Coiiduct of the American War makes the following statement 
 regarding the delay of this re-enforcement : " Lieutenant-Colonel Smith's party 
 would have been destroyed had not Lord Percy joined him, and even he was 
 almost too late from two stupid blunders we committed. The general ordered 
 the first brigade under arms at four in the morning ; these orders, the evening 
 

 Americans 
 3 British] 
 
 Plan of Lexington. 
 
THE BRITISH RETREAT 63 
 
 time of ''Yankee Doodle." Their course lay over 
 the Charles River by the old bridge, nearly opposite 
 Harvard College. To impede their march the select- 
 men of Cambridge had ordered the planks removed 
 from the bridge. This was done ; but, instead of 
 being carried away, the planks were piled beside the 
 road near by. The troops soon had them mostly in 
 place, and the column passed without much delay. 
 The provision teams were, however, so long detained 
 that they lost the protection of the main body, and 
 were captured by the Americans at West Cambridge.^ 
 
 before, were carried to the brigade major's ; he was not at home ; the orders were 
 left ; no inquiry was made after him ; he came home late ; his servant forgot to 
 tell him there was a letter on his table. Four o'clock came, no brigade appeared ; 
 at five o'clock an express from Smith, desiring a re-enforcement, produced an in- 
 quiry ; the above discovery was made ; at six o'clock part of the brigade got on 
 the parade ; there they waited, expecting the marines ; at seven, no marines 
 appearing, another inquiry commenced ; they said they had received no orders ; 
 it was asserted they had ; in the altercation it came out that the order had been 
 addressed to Major Pitcairn, who commanded the marines, and left at his quar- 
 ters, though the gentlemen concerned in this business ought to have remembered 
 that Pitcairn had been despatched the evening before with the grenadiers and 
 light infantry under Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, This double mistake lost us 
 from four till nine o'clock, the time we marched off to support Colonel Smith." 
 
 1 Later in the day the " home guard " in Watertown showed its strength and 
 prowess. In this town was the home of Lydia Warren Barnard, a woman noted 
 in the town for her strength and determination. Her husband was out as a 
 minute-man, — the able-bodied men, it is stated, had all gone. Sometime in the 
 afternoon several neighbors of her own sex came running to her house, and call- 
 ing, " Mrs. Barnard ! there's a redcoat coming! " Running out she saw, halted 
 amidst a group of women and old men, a British soldier on horseback, who was 
 inquiring his way to Boston. He claimed to be wounded, but in the absence of 
 
64 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS* DAY 
 
 Percy had brought two field-pieces, one of which 
 was immediately mounted on the high ground in the 
 angle made with the route by the Woburn road, 
 while the other was placed on another eminence near 
 the rear of his column, on the opposite side of the 
 road ; the Munroe tavern, used temporarily by the 
 British as a hospital, was a little farther back on 
 the same side. These guns kept the Americans in 
 check for about half an hour, which afforded the 
 British force time for rest and refreshments. Though 
 the regulars numbered about eighteen hundred, of 
 undoubted bravery and veteran discipline, Percy made 
 no attempt to turn upon his assailants to make good 
 the boastful insults of his military associates.^ 
 
 sufficient evidence, they took him, rather, for a messenger. Excited and anxious 
 in regard to their husbands, fathers, and sons, tlie group were ready themselves 
 to do battle against the enemy. The sight of this redcoat " stirred her Warren 
 blood " to action. Striding through the group, she grasped the bridle and or- 
 dered the soldier to dismount. As he disregarded her command, she pulled him 
 to earth in a moment. *' You villain ! " she exclaimed, shaking him vigorously ; 
 " how do I know but what you have been killing some of my folks ? " He pro- 
 tested that he had not fired a shot. *' Let me see your cartridge-box ! " She 
 examined it, and found several places empty. At this she shook him still more 
 violently ; and, her anger increasing, she grasped his weapons in such a threaten- 
 ing manner that his fears overcame his courage, and he fell upon his knees and 
 begged for his life. She let him get up, and placed him in charge of the men 
 who had been attracted to the scene. He was subsequently exchanged. The 
 horse he rode was a splendid animal, and his owner was found to be a Cambridge 
 man. The steed had been ridden out by a patriot to give the alarm, and was 
 captured by the British. 
 
 1 Lord Percy afterwards said that he never saw anything equal to the intre- 
 pidity of the New England minute-men. — Reiftonbrances^ vol. i., iii. 
 
THE BRITISH RETREAT 6/ 
 
 The Provincials continued to harass them as they 
 toiled over the Heights and between the ponds in 
 Menotomy, or West Cambridge, now Arlington. 
 Here the skirmishing again became sharp and bloody, 
 and the troops increased their atrocities.^ 
 
 The Danvers company, marching in advance of the 
 Essex regiment, had taken position to attack the 
 enemy, some behind trees on the side of the hill, 
 others in a walled enclosure, further protecting them- 
 selves by erecting a breastwork of bunches of shingles. 
 The British passed in solid column on their right, 
 while a large flank guard came up on their left. 
 They were thus surrounded, and many were killed 
 and wounded. The British also had many killed or 
 wounded in this vicinity. They entered what is now 
 
 1 Jason Russell of this place, an invalid and a non-combatant, was barbar- 
 ously killed in his own house. Near the foot of the rocks a mother was killed 
 while nursing her infant. Others were driven from their dwellings, and these 
 robbed of whatever attracted the cupidity of the marauders. In Somerville 
 (then forming the western part of Charlestown), a family returning to their 
 deserted house found a red-coated soldier lying dead across the drawer of a 
 bureau which he had been ransacking. The diary of the British Lieutenant 
 John Barker states that from Lexington to Charlestown Neck nearly every 
 house was forcibly entered, and " all that were found in the houses put to 
 death." Under date of April 25, he wrote of the regulars on this retreat, 
 " By their eagerness and inattention they killed many of our own people ; and 
 the plundering was shameful." It was, no doubt. Lord Percy's marines who 
 committed these outrages ; as the soldiers who had shed the first blood at Lex- 
 ington and Concord were now too nearly exhausted to attempt anything more 
 than getting back to a place of security. 
 
6S THE STORY OF PATRIOTS* DAY 
 
 Elm Street, Somerville, (then West Charlestown) on 
 the run, receiving a hot fire from the minute-men 
 in the woods near by. Lord Percy now planted his 
 two field-pieces on the north-westerly spur of Spring 
 Hill, and cannonaded the coverts for a few minutes ; 
 but the regulars were soon in full retreat again, 
 passing hurriedly down Milk Row. Some of the 
 hottest firing of the day from the Americans occurred 
 in the vicinity of Prospect Hill ; and here Percy 
 again planted his cannon, but with little effect.^ 
 
 The situation of the regulars was now critical in the 
 extreme. By the orders of Dr. Warren, the planks of 
 the bridge over the Charles had been taken up, this 
 time effectually; but the British, for some reason, took 
 the road to Charlestown Neck. Their field-pieces had 
 lost their terror to the Americans, and they had but 
 few rounds of ammunition left, even for the muskets; 
 while the large number of wounded was a distressing 
 obstruction to their progress. The main body of the 
 
 1 Several Americans were killed in this vicinity by flanking parties of the 
 regulars. On the side of the hill two minute-men were firing on the redcoats 
 from behind a wall, when they were suddenly cut off by a flanking-party. The 
 eldest, James Miller, was urged by his companion to escape, but replied, " I am 
 too old to run;" and he continued firing at the approaching foe until he fell, 
 pierced by thirteen bullets. Near Charlestown Neck a boy was killed by the 
 British ; and, on the other hand, an officer of the Sixty-fourth Regiment was 
 captured. 
 
THE BRITISH RETREAT 7I 
 
 Provincials hung closely on their rear ; a strong force 
 was advancing upon them from Roxbury, Dorchester, 
 and Milton ;' and Colonel Pickering, with the Essex 
 militia, seven hundred strong, threatened to cut off 
 their retreat to Charlestown peninsula. General Wash- 
 ington, reviewing this day's work, wrote, " If the re- 
 treat had not been as precipitate as it was, — and God 
 knows it could not well have been more so, — the 
 ministerial troops must have surrendered, or been 
 totally cut off."i 
 
 Charlestown had, since early morning, presented 
 scenes of intense excitement and confusion, as the 
 occurrences of the day successively became known. 
 Dr. Warren (" General " at the Battle of Bunker Hill),^ 
 had ridden through the town giving intelligence of 
 the slaughter at Lexington, and a large number of the 
 citizens departed to take a part in the conflict, so that 
 the greater portion of those remaining were women 
 
 1 Sparks's Washmgton, vol. ii., p. 407. 
 
 2 It is not to be supposed that Dr. Warren and other patriots were either 
 secluded or idle during the day ; on the contrary, Warren and General Heath of 
 Roxbury were directing the militia during the latter part of the retreat, when- 
 ever they could be got at. It is said (I know not on what authority), that, before 
 Percy's arrival. Commander Smith desired to surrender, but could find no officer 
 to whom the proffer might be made. Certainly a white flag would have been 
 respected by every American, and an officer competent to receive the surrender 
 might readily have been found in the truce which a white flag would have insti- 
 tuted. 
 
72 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS DAY 
 
 and children. In the afternoon Hon. James Russell 
 of Charlestown received a warning note from General 
 Gage to the effect that, if a single man more went out 
 armed, *'the most disagreeable consequences might be 
 expected." 
 
 Many families prepared to leave, and every vehicle 
 was employed to carry away their most valuable effects. 
 Reports had reached them that " the Britons were mas- 
 sacring: the women and children." Some remained in 
 the streets, speechless with terror ; some ran to the 
 clay-pits back of Breed's Hill, where they passed the 
 niofht. But the officers directed the women and chil- 
 dren to go into their houses and they would be safe; 
 and only required of them to pass out drink to the 
 soldiers. 
 
 The main body of the British during the evening 
 occupied Bunker Hill, forming a line fronting the 
 Neck. Additional troops were also sent over from 
 Boston. Guards were stationed in all parts of the 
 town, and everything during the night was quiet. 
 Some of the wounded were carried over immediately, 
 in the boats of the Somerset, to Boston. The next 
 day General Pigot was placed in command in Charles- 
 town, when the troops were all transferred to Boston, 
 and returned to their quarters. 
 
THE BRITISH KETJIEAT 73 
 
 The British loss in the expedition to Concord 
 was seventy-three killed, one hundred and seventy- 
 wounded, and twenty-six missing, — the latter being 
 mostly taken prisoners by the Americans. Of this 
 loss eighteen were officers, ten were sergeants, two 
 drummers, and two hundred and forty were privates. 
 The prisoners were treated with great humanity ; and 
 General Gage was notified that his own surgeons, if 
 he desired, might attend those who were wounded. 
 
 The American loss was forty-nine killed, thirty-nine 
 wounded, and five missing. A committee of the 
 Provincial Congress estimated the value of the private 
 property destroyed by the British in Lexington to 
 be ^1761 i^s. ^d, ; in Concord, £2'j/^ i6s. jd. ; in Cam- 
 bridge, ^120 22>s. yd. The General Court indemnified 
 all losses. 
 
VI 
 
 ON THE BEGINNING OF THE AMERICAN 
 REVOLUTION 1 
 
 The commencement of the war of the American 
 Revolution — a work worthy of commemoration for 
 ages — cannot be satisfactorily accounted for without 
 taking into view previous effort. Nothing is clearer 
 than that it obeyed the great law of production. It 
 was the result of labor. It took, years of deliberation 
 by the people to arrive at the point of forcible re- 
 sistance; and after this point had been reached, 
 there were months of steady preparation to meet 
 such a crisis worthily. The coming of the crisis, 
 therefore, was not unexpected, nor was it left to 
 stand by itself when it came. The leading patriots 
 were neither rash nor dull, and had both purpose 
 and preparation to seize upon the opportunity and 
 the means it afforded to secure for the country that 
 independence which is proper to a people of intelli- 
 gent minds and superior regard for moral principles. 
 
 1 The basis of a large part of this chapter is the text of Frothingham, in his 
 excellent History of the Siege of Boston; but it was found unadapted to the 
 purposes of this volume without considerable modificatioo. 
 
 74 
 
BEGINNING OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 75 
 
 They were men of sound common-sense, who well 
 discerned the signs of the times. If they trusted 
 to the inherent goodness of their cause, they also 
 took' care to keep their powder dry. 
 
 Many individual volunteers, it is true, appeared on 
 the field on this first day of Revolutionary battles ; 
 but the power that was thus successful against a 
 body of British veterans of undoubted bravery, finely 
 officered, disciplined, and equipped, — that twice put 
 them in imminent peril of entire capture, — was not 
 an armed mob, made up of dissociated individuals, 
 who, on a new-born impulse, aroused by the shout 
 of alarm, or the far-off peal of a bell, seized their 
 rusty flint-lock guns and rushed to the battle. No, 
 — it was an organized power, made up of men who 
 had associated themselves, often by written agree- 
 ments, to meet such an emergency as this ; who 
 had been disciplined to meet it, were expected to 
 meet it, and who had been warned that it was close 
 at hand. They were the minute-men ! It is enough 
 to say that they came so nearly up to their own 
 ideal in the performance of a hazardous duty, and 
 to the high expectations of their fellow-patriots, as 
 to win praise from friend and foe. They did a 
 thorough, a necessary, and an immortal work, and 
 they should have the credit of that work. The ar- 
 
'J^ THE STORY OF PATRIOTS' DAY 
 
 duous conflict of the 19th of April, 1775, should be 
 called the Battle of the Mimite-Mefi. 
 
 The effect of the news of the commencement of 
 hostilities, both in the colonies and in Great Britain, 
 was very marked. 
 
 In the colonies the intelligence spread with won- 
 derful rapidity. In almost every community in New 
 England, on its reception, the minute-men rushed to 
 arms. Hundreds of the muster-rolls, thousands of 
 individual accounts of the soldiers of the Revolution, 
 date from "The Lexington Alarm." Throughout the 
 English colonies in America the- same spirit prevailed. 
 Nothing could exceed the shock which it gave to the 
 public mind. In every quarter the people assembled, 
 and prepared to join their brethren of Massachusetts 
 in defence of their liberties.^ 
 
 The Provincial Congress adopted an address " To 
 the Inhabitants of Great Britain;" and this was sent, 
 together with a letter, to the colonial agent in Lon- 
 don, by Hon. Richard Derby of Salem, arriving in 
 
 1 It was the battle of Lexington which ericited, in North Carolina, the Meck- 
 lenburg Declaration of Independence, which is alluded to in the journals of tliat 
 day, and has been reprinted and commented upon at intervals ever since. The 
 point of actual forcible resistance had been reached in Massachusetts nine months 
 previous. Massachusetts may go even farther back, to the bold Abington re- 
 solves of 1770, which declared acts of Parliament "a mere nulUty," — producing 
 a great effect in the colonies. They were a virtual declaration of independence. 
 It is said that some other towns were equally bold. 
 
GINNING OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 7/ 
 
 that city on the 29th of May. This address, after 
 brief accounts of the battle of the 19th of April, and 
 of the outrages of the troops, states, that "these marks 
 of ministerial vengeance have not yet detached us 
 from our royal sovereign ; " that the colonies were 
 still ready to "defend his person, family, crown, and 
 dignity;" that they would not tamely submit to the 
 persecution and tyranny of this cruel ministry ; but 
 appealing to Heaven for the justice of their cause, 
 they were determined to die or be free;^ and, in 
 closing, said, that in a constitutional connection with 
 the mother country, they hoped soon to be altogether 
 a free and happy people. 
 
 1 In his address at Concord, on the occasion of the new holiday of the 
 19th of April, Hon. Mellen Chamberlain related an-interview he held fifty-two 
 years before with Capt. Levi Preston, one of the militia-men who participated 
 in the conflict that opened the Revolution. Judge Chamberlain was then about 
 twenty-one years of age, and began his questions to the veteran, he says, with the 
 assurance of one fresh from the school histories. " ' Captain Preston, what made 
 you go to the Concord fight ? ' was the young man's opening question. The 
 old man, bowed with the weight of fourscore years and ten, raised himself up- 
 right, and turning to me, said : ' What did I go for ? ' — ' Yes,' I replied. ' My 
 histories all tell me you men of the Revolution took up arms against "intoler- 
 able oppression." What was it ? ' — ' Oppression ? I didn't feel any that I know 
 of.' — ' Were you not oppressed by the Stamp Act ? ' — * I never saw any stamps, 
 and I always understood that none were ever sold.' — 'Well, what about the 
 tea-tax ?' — ' Tea-tax ? I never drank a drop of the stuff : the boys threw it all 
 overboard.' — ' But I suppose you had been reading Harrington, Sidney, and 
 Locke about the eternal principles of liberty.' — * I never heard of those men. 
 The only books we had were the Bible, the Catechism, Watts's Psabns and 
 hymns, and the Almaiiack.^ — ' Well, then, what was the matter, and what did 
 you mean in going to the fight i" — * Young man, what we meant in fighting the 
 British was this : We always had been free, and we meant to be free always.' " 
 
78 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS* DAY 
 
 The address was printed and circulated, giving the 
 first intelligence of the battle of Lexington and Con 
 cord to the British public. The news was astounding. 
 The government had information of the state of things 
 in America that was accurate, but refused to give it 
 credit. Speeches were made in Parliament, portraying 
 the consequences of political measures with a foresight 
 and precision that to-day appear wonderful, but the 
 ministry heard them with indifference. It preferred to 
 rely on representations of the colonies made by its ad- 
 herents there, who were blinded by passion, or swayed 
 by interest ; or on language in Parliament dictated by 
 ignorance or pride, which described the great patriot 
 army as a mere faction, and the colonists as cowards, 
 and five thousand regulars as invincible. Hence, they 
 looked to see their imposing military and naval prepa- 
 rations strike fear into *'a rude rabble," and produce 
 submission. Such ignorance and expectation were 
 shared in by the British nation. How great, then, was 
 the astonishment to hear that a collection of country 
 people, hastily assembled, had compelled the veterans 
 of England to retreat to their stronghold ! The news 
 agitated London to its centre. It engrossed the atten- 
 tion of all classes. It seemed not merely improbable, 
 but incredible. 
 
STORIES 
 
 I 
 
 NINETEENTH OF APRIL, 1775 
 
A MINUTE-MAN'S STORY OF THE CONCORD FIGHTS 
 
 " The causes which led to hostilities between Great 
 Britan & America are well known to all those ac- 
 quainted with history. In Oct., 1774, Gen. Gage, 
 having previously ordered the General Court to meet 
 at Salem, & had dissolved or prorogued the court, 
 the greater part of the members met at Salem not- 
 withstanding, and formed themselves into a Provincial 
 Congress and choce Doct. Warren President, and ad- 
 journed to Concord, & chose Mr. Hancock, President 
 — they secretely agreed to make preparations to op- 
 pose the acts of Parliament, until we should have re- 
 dress of the grievances we complained of (at that time 
 
 1 This story is from the original manuscript of Thaddeus Blood of Concord, de- 
 scribing the ever memorable Concord fight with the British regulars on April 19, 
 1 775, in which he was an active participant. He began as a minute-man, and 
 worked up through the ranks until, in 1779, he became a " Lieut, in Capt. Moses 
 Barnes Company in Lieut.-Col. Perce' Regt., stationed part of the time in R. I. 
 and part in Swansey," as stated in his own quaint phraseology. His account, 
 says the Bostoti Jotir?ial (which has investigated the authenticity of this docu- 
 ment), is of great value, as he was for many years thereafter a schoolmaster, and 
 so learned to be extremely careful. Therefore, in points where his relation differs 
 from the commonly accepted account of the day, it should not be cast aside as 
 useless. The manuscript was obtained from the estate of Mr, Blood's children by 
 Colonel William Barrett, of Concord. 
 
 81 
 
82 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS' DAY 
 
 and near a year after there was nothing said about In- 
 dependance) — the Congress recommended the forming 
 of companies of minute men, and the collecting of 
 stores & camp equipage ; a quantity of stores and 
 cannon, etc., were collected & deposited in Concord, 
 under the superintendence of Col. James Barrett, who 
 had been a member of the General Court for many 
 years, & then a respectable member of the Provincial 
 Congress, and as great a patriot as was then, or per- 
 haps ever, in Concord. He was requested by the Con- 
 gress to encourage the forming of the companies, to 
 guard the stores and to superintend the movements of 
 the malisha, if called to action, and I heard him several 
 times charge the companies not to fire first as we were 
 marching to the Bridge. By his influence an armory 
 for the manufacture of firearms and manufacture of 
 saltpetre was set up in Concord, and it is my candid 
 opinion that his name should be honorably handed 
 down to posterity. In Feb., 1775, the British at- 
 tempted to take the cannon at Salem, but were disap- 
 pointed. From that time there was a guard kept at 
 Concord over the cannon & stores till five or six weeks 
 after Concord fight — here it should be observed that 
 we were all then British subjects, that the officers were 
 nominally appointed over the companies of the Minute- 
 
A MINUTE-MAN*S STORY OF THE CONCORD FIGHT 83 
 
 men, that there was no commission nor any authority 
 to commission until after Concord fight — except the 
 malitia officers that were previously appointed by the 
 King — that all the servises performed were volun- 
 tary, both of officers & men. On the 19th of April, 
 1775, about 2 o'clock in the morning, I was called out 
 of Bed by John Barritt, a Sergt of the malitia compy 
 to which I belonged (I was 20 years of age the 28th of 
 May next following). I joined the company under 
 Capt. Nathan Barrett (afterward Col.) at the old Court 
 House, about 3 o'clock, and was ordered to go into the 
 Court House to draw amunition. After the company 
 had all drawn their amunition we were paraded near 
 the meeting house, & I should suppose that there was 
 60 or 70 men in Capt. Barrett's company, for the com- 
 pany commonly consisted of 100 or over, & I think 
 that about 30 join'd the minute companies or were sent 
 to guard the cannon that was carried into the woods, 
 &c., & that the whole of the malitia and minute-men of 
 the town of Concord under arms that day was not less 
 than 200, notwithstanding a Rev brother thinks there 
 were but few of Concord about. About 4 o'clock the 
 several company s of Concord were joined by two com- 
 panies from Lincoln, the malitia commanded by Capt. 
 Perce (afterward Col.), & the minute com'y by Capt. 
 
84 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS' DAY 
 
 Wm. Smith — the vcn'l and hon'l Saml Hoar of Lin- 
 coln was one of his Lieuts — & were then formed, the 
 minute on the right, & Capt. Barrett's on the left & 
 marched in order to the end of Meriam's Hill, then so 
 called, and saw the British troops a coming down 
 Brook's Hill; the sun was arising and shined on their 
 arms & ttiey made a noble appearance in their red 
 coats and glising arms — we retreated in order over 
 the top of the hill to the liberty pole erected on the 
 heighth opposite the meeting house & made a halt ; the 
 main Body of the British marched up in the road & 
 a detachment followed us over the hill & halted in half 
 gun shot of us, at the pole ; we then marched over the 
 Burying ground to the road, and then over the Bridge 
 to Hunt's Hill, or Punkataisett, so called at that time, 
 & were followed by two companies of the British over 
 the Bridge, one company went up to destroy some 
 stores at Col. James Barrett's before mentioned, and 
 they tarried near the Bridge, some of them went to 
 Capt, David Brown's, some Mr. Ephraim Buttrick's, 
 where Col. Jonas Buttrick now lives. About 9 o'clock 
 we saw a smoke rise at the Court House; it was pro- 
 posed to march into town, and were joined by Westford 
 and Acton companies, & were drawn up west of where 
 Col. Jonas Buttrick now lives. Col. James Barrett, 
 

 If- 
 
 
A minute-man's story of the concord fight 2>7 
 
 afore mentioned, rode along the line, & having con- 
 sulted with the officers, &, as was observed, shouted 
 not to fire first, they began their march. Robinson & 
 Buttrick led — I say Robinson & Buttrick, for I do not 
 know what offices they held, but this certain, they had 
 no commissions till after that time, after Robinson was 
 appointed Lieut. Col. & Buttrick Major. Upon our 
 begin'g to march the company of British formed first on 
 the cosway in platoons, they then retreated over the 
 Bridge & in retreating took up 3 planks and formed 
 part in the road & part on each side, our men the same 
 time marching in very good order, along the road in 
 double file. At that time an officer rode up and a gun 
 was fired. I saw where the Ball threw up the water 
 about the middle of the river, then a second and a 
 third shot, and the cry of fire, fire, was made from front 
 to rear. The fire was almost simultaneous with the 
 cry, and I think it was not more than two minutes, if 
 so much, till the British run & the fire ceased — part 
 of our men went over the Bridge & myself among the 
 rest, & part returned to the ground they had left — 
 after the fire every one appeared to be his own comman- 
 der ; it was tho't best to go the east part of the Town 
 & take them as they came back. Each took his own 
 station, for myself I took my stand south of where Dr. 
 
88 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS DAY 
 
 Minot then lived, and saw the British come from Con- 
 cord, their right flank in the meadows, their left on the 
 hill. When near the foot of the hill. Col. Thomeson of 
 Billerica came up with 3 or 4 hundred men and there 
 was a heavy fire, but the distance so great that little 
 injury was done on either side, at least I saw but one 
 killed, a number of wounded. I know it has been said 
 that Gen. Bridge commanded the regiment from Chelms- 
 ford & Bilerica. He might be some officer in the regi- 
 ment, but it can be proved that Col. Tomson went with 
 the regi't to Cambridge and stood till the troops were 
 organized, and, being old, Bridge was made Colonel. 
 
 Thad Blood, sergant. 
 
STORIES 
 
 TOLD BY MEN AND WOMEN, LIVING IN APRIL, 
 
 1894, WHO HAD THEM FROM THE LIPS 
 
 OF THE HEROES OF THE IQTH OF 
 
 APRIL, 1775 ^ 
 
 The only living son of a man who stood in the 
 Concord fight is Luke Smith of Acton. He was 
 the youngest of thirteen children, and thus tells the 
 father's story : — 
 
 " Sitting upon my father's knee in the full enjoy- 
 ment of the blessings of liberty, I received from him 
 this account of the eventful day of history: — 
 
 *' *The 19th of April, the day of the great battle, was 
 a bright, crisp morning. The sun had been up a full 
 hour and a half. We were drawn up in line when I 
 heard the word of command for which we were anx- 
 iously waiting. " March ! " How those words still 
 ring in my ears ! Luke Blanchard was our fifer, and 
 Francis Barker was the drummer. To the tune of the 
 
 1 These narrations were originally contributed to the Boston Globe by 
 A. E. Brown, Esq., author of the " History of Bedford," " Legends of Old 
 Bedford," etc. 
 
 89 
 
90 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS DAY 
 
 " White Cockade " we left the town for — we knew not 
 what end. We were too much in haste for many part- 
 ing words. A few did run back to say a word to wife 
 or parent. 
 
 " * We took the road for a while, and then left it and 
 struck through the woods, a shorter cut to Concord. 
 We passed Barrett's mill before coming to old North 
 Bridge. How indignant we were when we first caught 
 sight of Captain Parsons's detachment of British troops, 
 with axes, breaking up the gun-carriages, and bringing 
 out hay and wood, and setting fire to them in the yard. 
 
 " * We had a good mind to fire upon the redcoated 
 soldiers of King George there and then, but we trusted 
 our captain and waited for his orders. When [at the 
 hill and bridge] I heard him say to Colonel Barrett, 
 " I have not a man who is afraid to go," my heart beat 
 faster than the drum of our company ; but how my feel- 
 ings changed when I saw Isaac Davis fall, and Abner 
 Hosmer by his side ! I then thought of the widow at 
 home, whom a few hours before I had seen Isaac so 
 tenderly leave, after giving her advice as to the care of 
 the children in case of his death. 
 
 " ' But we soon rallied and fought the harder until 
 the British troops started on the retreat. I got a 
 glimpse of Colonel Smith and Major Pitcairn as they 
 
STORIES TOLD BY MEN AND WOMEN 9I 
 
 Stood with spyglasses in hand overlooking the scer^ 
 from the old graveyard on the hill. 
 
 " ' Although we had the great satisfaction of driving 
 off the redcoats, we went sorrowfully back to our 
 homes ; for two whom we had loved had perished, and 
 we had the dead bodies as our charge.' " 
 
 Mr. Samuel Hartwell of Lincoln, chairman of the 
 selectmen of that town, yet tills the acres which his 
 ancestors cultivated in their small way when they were 
 subjects of King George III. 
 
 Mr. Hartwell says : " It was my good fortune to have 
 a grandmother live in the full possession of her fac- 
 ulties until she attained almost a century of life. 
 
 '' She said, ' Your grandfather left the house with 
 the neighbors as soon as the alarm came by the way 
 of Bedford. They had some agreement as to how the 
 alarm should be spread in case of a movement of the 
 British out this way, and the alarm was sounded here 
 very early in the morning. 
 
 '' * I did up the chores of the barn, and cared for the 
 children as well as I could in my anxiety. When going 
 out to one of the neighboring houses, I looked down 
 the road, and saw such a sight as I can never forget. 
 The army of the king was coming up in fine order. 
 
92 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS' DAY 
 
 Their red coats were brilliant, and their bayonets glis- 
 tening in the sun made a fine appearance ; but I knew 
 what all that meant, and I felt that I should never 
 see your grandfather again. They passed up the road 
 without molesting me or any of us who were left in 
 our houses. 
 
 " * I saw an occasional horseman dashing by, going 
 up and down, but heard nothing more until I saw them 
 coming back in the afternoon all in confusion, wild 
 with rage, and loud with threats. I knew there had 
 been trouble, and that it had not resulted favorably for 
 that retreating army. I heard the musket-shots just 
 below by the old Brooks's Tavern, and trembled, be- 
 lieving that our folks were killed. 
 
 *' * Some of the rough, angry redcoats rushed up to 
 this house and fired in, but, fortunately for me and 
 the children, the shots went into the garret, and we 
 were safe. How glad I was when they all got by the 
 house, and your grandfather and our folks got home 
 alive ! 
 
 " ' I could not sleep that night, for I knew there 
 were many of the British soldiers lying dead down by 
 the roadside ; but the next morning we were somewhat 
 quieted, and the neighbors hitched up the oxQn to the 
 cart and went down and gathered up the dead. I had 
 
STORIES TOLD BY MEN AND WOMEN 93 
 
 got over my ill feelings for the soldiers ; and, thinking 
 of the wives, parents, and children away across the 
 ocean, who would never again see their loved ones, 
 I went out, and, leading my little children (your father 
 one of them), I followed the rude hearse to the grave, 
 hastily made in the burial-yard. I remember how 
 cruel it seemed to put them into one large hole with- 
 out any coffins. There was one in a fine uniform, and 
 I suppose he was an officer. His hair was tied up in 
 a cue. 
 
 Mrs. Herbert Wyman of North Wobum, now of 
 about fourscore years, had a double share of the nar- 
 rations of that April day's experiences. She has 
 nestled in the arms of two grandfathers who fought 
 by the rude bridge, and she can tell what many love 
 to hear. 
 
 " My grandfather, Nathaniel Page of Bedford," she 
 said, ** was the flag-bearer of the minute-men of that 
 town. 
 
 " He used to say : * I had been drilling with the 
 other folks, and we expected something would come, 
 but I was surprised when I was aroused at the dead 
 of night by some one pounding on the house, and cry- 
 ing, *' Up ! up ! the regulars are coming ! " 
 
94 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS DAY 
 
 " ' I got up in a hurry, left your grandmother and the 
 baby, just born, took the old flag that my father had 
 carried years before,^ and started for Fitch's Tavern, 
 where we gathered according to previous plans. Cap- 
 tain Wilson, who lived down here, was there early ; 
 and Thompson Maxwell, his brother-in-law, was with 
 him, although he then lived up in New Hampshire ; 
 but he was brave, and would go. When we got to- 
 gether we went in, had some toddy and a lunch of 
 rye bread and cheese, and started. Captain Wilson 
 flourished his old sword, and said, " This is a cold 
 breakfast, but we'll give the redcoats a hot dinner ; 
 we'll have every dog of them before night." 
 
 <' < We got there ahead of the militia company ; but 
 all were in time to help remove the stores to safe 
 places, as we thought. My flag was a bother to me, 
 and I laid it down — not just the thing to do, but 
 we were in a hurry. After getting the stores hid, I 
 came for my flag, and found the boys had it, and were 
 parading about. 
 
 ** ' We were in the fight at the bridge when the 
 Acton men fell, but v/e all escaped ; yet did not fare 
 as well when we got across the " Great Fields." 
 
 • 1 In the French and Indian Wars. See " Flags of the Revolution," in the 
 following article. 
 
STORIES TOLD BY MEN AND WOMEN 95 
 
 " ' We had a hot time, and near Brooks's Tavern came 
 the worst of all. Captain Wilson fell dead, and Job 
 Lane was wounded. We . . . were soon after them 
 to Cambridge, and it proved a great day for the 
 colony.' " 
 
 Dr. Thomas B. Hosmer of Bedford repeats the story 
 of Lexington as he had it from his grandfather, John 
 Hosmer, who was with Captain Parker's company 
 of volunteers that morning. Dr. Hosmer, when a boy, 
 went with his grandfather to the field of Lexington, 
 before it was made a park, and had pointed out to him 
 the exact line of the company, and many of the im- 
 portant places to history generally unknown. 
 
 His grandfather said: "I stood here when I heard 
 Captain Parker say, 'Stand your ground! Don't fire 
 unless fired upon. But if they mean to have a war, 
 let it begin here.' I saw the British when they 
 marched up in fine order, and heard the command 
 of Major Pitcairn : 'Disperse, ye rebels! lay down 
 your arms and disperse I ' 
 
 *' We were glad when we saw them start on and leave 
 us, but how sad, when we saw so many of our men 
 lay dead, and others wounded, on this field where we 
 are now standing." 
 
96 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS' DAY 
 
 Mr. Elijah W. Stearns of Bedford repeats thus 
 his grandfather's story : '' I was not in any official 
 capacity when I left home ; but after the fight at the 
 old North Bridge, and when pursuing the retreating 
 enemy, my brother-in-law. Captain Jonathan Wilson, 
 was killed, and I took command of the company 
 through the day. We followed on to Cambridge, but 
 I did not stay in camp long. Leaving my son Solo- 
 mon there, I came home to care for my family. My 
 son remained in camp until he sickened, and he died 
 in the May following." 
 
 Mrs. Alfred Mudge of Boston was seen at the Hotel 
 Copley, where she recalled the story reproduced here 
 as told to her by her grandmother, Alice Stearns 
 Abbott, later Mrs. Stephen Lane : — 
 
 " I was eleven years of age, and my sisters Rachel 
 and Susannah were older. We all heard the alarm, 
 and were up and ready to help fit out father and 
 brother, who made an early start for Concord. We 
 were set to work making cartridges and assisting 
 mother in cooking for the army. We sent off a large 
 quantity of food for the soldiers, who had left home 
 so early that they had but little breakfast. We were 
 frightened by hearing the noise of guns at Concord ; 
 
STORIES TOLD BY MEN AND WOMEN Q/ 
 
 our home was near the river, and the sound was con- 
 ducted by the water. 
 
 '' I suppose it was a dreadful day in our home, and 
 sad indeed ; for our brother, so dearly loved, never came 
 home." 
 
 Edward Reed of Burlington lives in the house which 
 his father, James, and grandfather, James, owned 
 and occupied. 
 
 "In this room," said Mr. Reed, "the prisoners 
 captured at Lexington were held in custody. 
 
 " My grandfather said : * I was making ready to 
 go over to Lexington when I saw some of the minute- 
 men coming with a squad of the redcoats. They 
 brought them here to my house, and gave them up 
 to me, informing me of the affairs at Lexington. I 
 could not then go on in the pursuit, as I was given 
 the custody of these prisoners. 
 
 " * I did my duty faithfully, treated them well, as 
 they would say to-day if they could come around ; but I 
 guess they would not want to run the gantlet of the 
 Yankee again. I had them here in this room (now the 
 same as one hundred and nineteen years ago). They 
 behaved well, and I guess they thought they were lucky 
 to get out of it that way. Fearing their return from 
 
98 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS* DAY 
 
 Concord, my redcoated visitors were taken off to 
 Chelmsford, and I was not sorry to be rid of them.' ** 
 
 Samuel Sewall, a descendant of Chief Justice Sewall 
 of Massachusetts, who, with his father, has served the 
 town of Burlington as clerk a full half-century, tells 
 this story of April 19, as he had it from the illustri- 
 ous Dorothy Quincy (niece of the ** Dorothy Q." of 
 Dr. Holmes's poem), who had become the wife of John 
 Hancock. 
 
 Mr. Sewall, then a youth, in company with his 
 father, visited this noted lady, a family connection, 
 at her home, the old Hancock rriansion on Beacon Hill ; 
 and there her story, given below, came to him, which 
 he has always cherished as a precious memorial of 
 the Dorothy O. of history : — 
 
 *' I was a guest with others on the night of April 18, 
 at the Lexington parsonage, being particularly in- 
 terested in John Hancock, a relative of Mrs. Clark. 
 Samuel Adams was also with us, a guest. I was not 
 a little anxious, for I was aware of the hatred that 
 existed among the leaders of the regulars for both 
 Mr. Adams and Mr. Hancock. 
 
 '' I was easily awakened when the warning mes- 
 senger came to the house. I made a hasty toilet, 
 
STORIES TOLD BY MEN AND WOMEN 99 
 
 and was soon ready for the discretion of the officers. 
 After much reluctance it was decided that we go 
 over to the parsonage in Woburn precinct, where 
 were trusted friends of the Lexington minister. We 
 were driven there in a coach and four, and found a 
 welcome, — Madame Jones, the widow of the deceased 
 minister, being the hostess. She was aided by her 
 daughter and the young minister. Rev. Mr. Marrett, 
 who later married the daughter of the family. 
 
 " Preparations were soon begun for a meal, and no 
 pains were spared. A fine salmon, given to Mr. Han- 
 cock in the morning at Lexington, was sent over to 
 our stopping-place, and it was prepared for the table. 
 We were all sitting down to the tempting feast, when 
 a messenger from Lexington rushed in and told the 
 story of the carnage there, and that we were hotly 
 pursued. The coach, a telltale indeed, stood in the 
 yard. This was secreted by Cuff, the negro slave in 
 the family ; and the male guests were conducted away 
 through the woods to the home of Amos Wyman in an 
 obscure corner of Bedford, Burlington, and Billerica. 
 
 *' There they were forced from the cravings of na- 
 ture to call for food, which the lady of the house gave 
 them, such as she had, — cold boiled salt pork, brown 
 bread, and potatoes, — strange diet for these patriots, 
 
100 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS DAY 
 
 who were in the habit of having the best. But this 
 was the best the house afforded ; and the hospitality 
 was in after years rewarded by Mr. Hancock, who 
 gave a cow to the daughter who became Mrs. Sey- 
 mour." 
 
 Mr. Sewall, who recalls Madam Hancock's story, 
 said : — 
 
 *' We have the very table in the house around which 
 those noted guests were gathered ; and it will be spread 
 on the one hundred and nineteenth anniversary of the 
 battle of Lexington and Concord in somewhat the 
 same manner that it was for Hancock, Adams, and 
 Dorothy Q." 
 
 Mrs. Pamela Fisk of Arlington is ninety-four years 
 of age, and her stories seem like a new chapter in 
 the history of April 19, 1775. 
 
 Mrs. Fisk is a granddaughter of Francis Brown 
 and of Edmund Munroe, both of Lexington, where 
 she was born and spent her early life. Her paternal 
 grandmother was Mary Buckman, who lived at the 
 old Buckman Tavern. So, on all sides, she inherits 
 the blood of true patriots, and has heard the story 
 from their own lips. 
 
 "Grandfather Brown/' she says, "told me this story : 
 
STORIES TOLD BY MEN AND WOMEN Id 
 
 *I was out here near the meeting-house at the early 
 hour of two o'clock, and answered the roll-call of our 
 company, and in response to the order of Captain 
 Parker, loaded my gun with powder and ball. I 
 heard the discussion as to the safety of Hancock 
 and Adams, then sleeping over at the home of Par- 
 son Clark. I went back home and waited until 
 half-past four o'clock, when I heard the alarm guns 
 and the drum beat to arms, and I was again on the 
 Green. 
 
 ***The order not to fire unless fired upon deterred 
 me and all of us from having a shot as the British 
 soldiers came up. I participated in the early action, 
 and, having cared for our dead and wounded neigh- 
 bors, I was in the afternoon attack ; when I was 
 wounded by a ball which entered my cheek, passed 
 under my ear, and lodged in the back of my neck, 
 where it remained nearly a year.' " Mrs. Fisk said : 
 "I used to put my finger on these scars, as he told 
 me just how the ball went. We needed no fairy 
 tales in our youth ; the real experiences of our own 
 people were more fascinating than all the novels 
 ever written." 
 
 Mrs. Sophronia Russell of Arlington, now eighty- 
 
102 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS DAY 
 
 seven years of age, in the full possession of all her 
 faculties, says : — 
 
 "Some of the delights of my life were the visits 
 to my uncle, Jonathan Harrington, at Lexington. He 
 was the last survivor of the battle of Lexington, liv- 
 ing until 1854. By the open fire he and Aunt Sally 
 would sit and tell the story over and over again ; 
 for, as the sentiment in the country increased, he 
 was sought out by men from all lands, and became a 
 hero indeed. If Goldsmith had had my uncle in 
 mind he could not have more truly pictured him than 
 he did when writing — 
 
 * The broken soldier, kindly bade to stay. 
 Sat by his fire, and talkM the night away, 
 Wept o'er his wounds, or, tales of sorrow done, 
 Shouldered his crutch, and show'd how fields were won.' 
 
 " My husband's grandfather told me that he returned 
 from the fight to his store, and found that the British 
 soldiers had not only drunk up his rum, but pulled out 
 the taps and let his molasses run all over the floor. 
 Grandmother Russell showed me the route she took 
 when fleeing from the enemy with her babe in her 
 arms. 
 
 " She said : ' When we first saw the army coming 
 up the road we were engaged in melting up our pew- 
 
STORIES TOLD BY MEN AND WOMEN IO3 
 
 ter dippers and running bullets. So as not to be 
 molested we put out our candle, and were passed 
 by unnoticed by the army, which went up all in good 
 regular order ; but such confusion I never saw as they 
 were in when on the retreat. My father escorted 
 me down to Spring Valley (now near the residence 
 of J. T. Trowbridge), and there showed me where 
 the horses of the British, killed in the road, were put, 
 and their bones left to bleach in the sun.' 
 
 *'The story of the opening of the Revolution has 
 always been a reality in our family. One of the mem- 
 bers, Jason Russell, was an invalid and non-combatant, 
 and was barbarously butchered here in his own house 
 when the British were on the retreat. He would not 
 flee, saying, *An Englishman's house is his castle.' 
 He was shot with two bullets, and eleven bayonet 
 stabs were found in his body." A Bible that be- 
 longed to his widow is treasured in this family. In 
 it is written : — 
 
 " Purchased with the money given her by some unknown friend 
 in England, in consideration of the loss of her beloved husband, 
 on the 19th of April, 1775, who was inhumanly murdered by the 
 British troops under the command of Gen. Thomas Gage, to the 
 eternal infamy of the British nation." 
 
 The Russell family are glad the day is to be known 
 
 in the future as Patriots' Day. 
 
THE FLAGS OF THE REVOLUTION 
 
 The banner here illustrated was carried by Cor- 
 net Nathaniel Page in the company of minute- 
 men from Bedford. It is 
 now the property of the 
 town of Bedford. A re- 
 port on this flag, made to 
 the. Massachusetts Histor- 
 ical Society in January, 
 1886, was as follows: ** It 
 was originally designed in 
 England, in 1660-70, for 
 the three-county troops in 
 Massachusetts, and became one of the accepted 
 standards of the organized militia of this State, 
 and as such it was used by the Bedford com- 
 pany." The "three-county troops" consisted of 
 the Colony regiments organized in 1643 ; of which 
 Middlesex had one, Suffolk one, and Essex and Nor- 
 folk together one. This flag^ is, without doubt, the 
 
 1 For the account of the bearing of this flag at Concord, see page 94. 
 104 
 
THE FLAGS OF THE REVOLUTION I05 
 
 banner carried by the Middlesex regiment from that 
 date, and was the standard of the patriots at the 
 initial conflict of the Revolution. It is, therefore, 
 one of the most valuable relics of the Common- 
 wealth.^ 
 
 1 The flag borne at the Battle of Bunker Hill had a blue field with a white 
 union, in which was a red cross ; and in the upper staff corner a green pine-tree. 
 It has been stated that a flag having a red field, with the same figures, was also 
 carried on that day. The corps led by Dr. Warren, in this battle, carried a Con- 
 necticut regimental flag, — one of those described below. 
 
 In the spring of 1776, Massachusetts adopted for service on the cruisers fitted 
 out in her ports, a standard of very nearly the design suggested by General 
 Washington, — a white flag with a green pine-tree central, and above it the 
 words, " An Appeal to Heaven." Modifications of this design — with or without 
 a motto — had a red or a blue field, with a white union, and in the latter a green 
 pine-tree. 
 
 The Connecticut troops, in 1775, carried banners of a solid color, — a dif- 
 ferent color for each regiment, — yellow, blue, scarlet, crimson, white, azure, and 
 orange. They bore, on one side, a vine and the motto " qui transtulit susiinet,^* 
 and (later) on the other side the words, " An Appeal to Heaven." 
 
 The pine-tree flag divided its popularity in the country with the rattlesnake 
 flag, which also varied in color of field and position of figure. 
 
 The earliest standard displayed in the South that was distinctively American, 
 yet not national, was designed by Colonel Moultrie, and raised at Charleston, 
 S.C., in the fall of 1775. It was a large blue flag with a white crescent in the 
 upper corner near the staff. He subsequently added the word " Liberty " in large 
 white letters. 
 
 During the siege of Boston a committee (one of whom was Dr. Franklin) 
 was appointed by the Continental Congress to prepare a national standard. The 
 committee visited General Washington at Cambridge, Mass., and conferred with 
 him on the subject ; and he, together with the committee, requested a professor 
 of the college in that town and the wife of their host to prepare a design for a 
 national flag. The design adopted was formed of thirteen red and white stripes, 
 
I06 THE STORY OF PAIKIOTS' DAY 
 
 placed in alternation, with the " Union Jack" in the upper staff corner, for a 
 union. On Prospect Hill, Somerville (adjoining the Charlestown District of 
 Boston), is a stone erected by a historical society of the city, — a part of the 
 inscription reading as follows : " On this hill the Union Flag, with its thirteen 
 stripes, the emblem of the United Colonies, first bade defiance to an enemy 
 January i, 1776." A flag of full size of this design was raised on a hill in 
 Cambridge on January 2, 1776, by the hands of General Washington himself. 
 
 This design, without doubt, was the one used in the flags made under the 
 direction of Dr. Franklin by Mrs. Betsy Ross of Philadelphia in the following 
 spring. General Washington visited Philadelphia in June, '76-7, and was re- 
 quested by Congress, together with Hon. Robert Morris and Colonel George 
 Ross, to prepare a national standard. Accordingly they carried to Mrs. Ross 
 a rude design of a flag with thirteen stripes, alternately red and white, the union 
 having thirteen stars in a blue field. There can be little doubt that it was one 
 of the flags made by her from these designs which was displayed in the Hall of 
 Independence, and another flung to the breeze from the cupola of the building, 
 at the close of the prayer offered by the chaplain of Congress immediately after 
 the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. 
 
 Congress took no further action in this matter until June 14, 1777, when it 
 adopted a resolve " That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen 
 stripes alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a 
 blue field, representing a new constellation." 
 
 This flag — with additional stars, as subsequently provided by Congress — 
 has ever since been the standard of the United States of America, 
 
POEMS 
 
 Brought out by the first celebration 
 
 OF 
 
 PATRIOTS' DAY 
 
APRIL 19, 1775 1 
 [By Rev. S. F. Smith, D, Z>.] 
 
 Praise to the brave and true, 
 Men prompt to dare and do, 
 
 To do or die. 
 Blazoned on history's page. 
 Men for their stormy age. 
 Fearless the fight to wage, 
 Scorning to fly. 
 
 They with prophetic eye 
 Saw through the lurid sky 
 
 The goal they sought, 
 A nation of the free, 
 A land of liberty. 
 Stretching from sea to sea, — 
 
 O glorious thought ! 
 
 1 Written by Dr. Smith, author of the hymn " America," for the celebration 
 of the One Hundred and Nineteenth Anniversary of the Battles of Lexington 
 and Concord by the International Order of the King's Daughters and Sons, and 
 read by him at their entertainment in the People's Church, Boston, on the afte^ 
 noon of April 19, 1894. 
 
 109 
 
no THE STORY OF PATRIOTS DAY 
 
 They hailed the coming State, 
 Patient to toil and wait, 
 
 Suffered and bled. 
 Death strode o'er hill and plain, 
 With hunger, cold, and pain ; 
 Hope rose to sink again 
 
 Till years had fled. 
 
 Hail, patriots ! Whose brave hands 
 Over these free, fair lands 
 
 Their flag unfurled. 
 Men, by all times admired, 
 To noble deeds inspired, 
 By whom the shot was fired 
 
 " Heard round the world." 
 
 O, sons of noble sires, 
 
 Who, through affection's fires, 
 
 To triumphs rode : 
 Proud of the deeds they wrought, 
 With countless blessings fraught. 
 Cherish the land they bought — 
 
 The gift of God. 
 

 ''^m 
 
 
 I'-v^ 
 
 <||K*^ 
 
THE DAWN OF LEXINGTON I 
 
 [By Clarence H, Bell.'\ \ 
 
 The sun s last gleam has died away, j 
 
 And naught remains to tell of day, i 
 
 Save that above yon distant hill j 
 
 A golden tinge doth linger still, j 
 
 From out the town doth softly come j 
 
 The rhythmic rattle of the drum ; | 
 
 And on the ships at anchor fast ■ j 
 
 The flags are lowered from the mast. 
 
 Along the margin of the shore j 
 
 The twinkling lights shine out once more. \ 
 
 Upon the piers and pebbly strand ' 
 The keen-eyed sentries take their stand. 
 
 The glistening river flows along, ' 
 
 Its bubbling current, deep and strong ; 
 
 Beyond the stream, a gentle rise. 
 
 The hills outlined against the skies. ' \ 
 
 Slow down the slope a horseman rides I 
 
 To where the verdure meets the tides ; , 
 
 113 ^ 
 
114 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS DAY 
 
 Dismounting there upon the beach, 
 He holds his steed in easy reach. 
 
 The charger nibbles at the green, 
 And all the tufts doth quickly glean, 
 Then strains impatient at the rein 
 More distant morsels to obtain. 
 
 The master, with a fervent clasp, 
 Retains the bridle in his grasp, 
 And, standing there with eager eye. 
 To pierce the gloom doth vainly try. 
 
 Alone he stands upon the shore ; 
 A nobler form ne'er manhood wore ; 
 Erect and firm, with iron will. 
 He keeps his lonely vigil still. 
 
 Of wealth is he no favored son ; 
 From dawn to dark his work was done : 
 New England reared such men as he, 
 To show the world a nation free. 
 
 The watcher stands expectant there. 
 Though dark the night and chill the air ; 
 One point alone attracts his eye, 
 'Tis where the steeple rises high. 
 
THE DAWN OF LEXINGTON Ilj 
 
 Upon the breeze faint murmurs float ; 
 The splashing oars of passing boat, 
 The rumbling wheels, and now and then 
 The measured tread of martial men. 
 
 Commotion thickens in the air ; 
 Some movement of the forces there ; 
 The heavy hand on Boston pressed, — 
 Will it reach out and crush the rest ? 
 
 Amid the blackness of the night 
 There shines a sudden flash of light ; 
 A gleaming star, an eye of fire, 
 The signal from the Old North spire. 
 
 When Freedom's picket standing there 
 Discerned the message in the air, 
 He quickly reached his saddle seat, 
 His patriot heart in angry beat. 
 
 Across the mead at lightning speed 
 With gory spur he urged his steed ; 
 Then up the slope along the crest, 
 The charger's fiery course was pressed. 
 
 The rattling hoof-beats smite the air. 
 As hour by hour the night doth wear ; 
 
Il6 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS' DAY 
 
 By dusty lane, through wooded glen, 
 He holds the pace, unseen by men. 
 
 At last before a farmhouse door 
 He reins his weary steed once more, 
 Then plies the knocker fast and loud. 
 His arm with frantic strength endowed. 
 
 From window high a man looks out. 
 Dull, drowsy eyes, in fear and doubt. 
 With trembling hand he shades the light, 
 " What means this tumult in the night ? " 
 
 The eager horseman calls him down, 
 " Come forth at once and rouse the town, 
 Give up your sleep, forego your dream. 
 The British troops have crossed the stream.' 
 
 These fateful words no sooner said 
 Than on to other homes he sped. 
 From house to house the message flew. 
 And far and wide the country through. 
 
 In every home was bustle then, 
 
 On every road were eager men ; J 
 
 One common impulse seized them all, \ 
 
 To face the foe, perhaps to fall. ! 
 
The Belfry on Lexington Green. 
 
THE DAWN OF LEXINGTON IIQ 
 
 When daylight came there could be seen 
 
 At Lexington, upon the green, 
 
 A little band of heroes true, 
 
 With hearts to dare and wills to do. 
 
 A varied throng, in homespun clad, 
 With toil-marked hands and faces sad ; 
 The youth with down upon his chin. 
 The sire with scanty locks and thin. 
 
 Not long to wait ; the breaking day 
 Reveals the British on their way. 
 In solid front, at beat of drum. 
 Behold the scarlet legions come. 
 
 'Gainst such a host what can they do? 
 To face the storm, alas, too few. 
 One scattered volley dins the ear ; 
 The farmer greets the grenadier. 
 
 But all in vain their puny might : 
 The seasoned soldiers, trained to fight, 
 With gleaming steel and nitred lead 
 Disperse the band, except the dead. 
 
 Upon the grass the heroes lie ; 
 But deeds like these can never die. 
 
I20 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS DAY 
 
 The Yankee blood that stains the sod, 
 Like martyred Abel's, cries to God. 
 
 The troops pass on, — in peace no more ; 
 On every side the sounds of war. 
 Here, single shots ; there, volleys fly ; 
 The victors yell, the victims cry. 
 
 Each sturdy oak a marksman hides ; 
 Behind the wall the foeman glides ; 
 In vain the captains urge their men 
 Against a surge they cannot stem. 
 
 They halt, they pause, reverse for flight ; 
 Might quails before the cause of right ; 
 And, hasting back to whence they came, 
 They leave the country all aflame. 
 
 New England's blood at fever height ; 
 The Yankee's fist in anger tight ; 
 Oppression's might avails no more. 
 Though drenched the land in yeoman gore. 
 
 O monarch on Great Britain's throne. 
 No more this land thy rule shall own ; 
 The nursling now a giant grown. 
 Hath burst his bonds and stands alone ! 
 
THE NINETEENTH OF APRIL. 
 
 [By E. Way Allen.l 
 
 A HUNDRED years ago and more, 
 A woman stood in a farmhouse door, 
 Straining her eyes to the distant hill. 
 With a breaking heart, but lips held still, 
 Then closed the door, and went to pray — 
 New England women did, that day. 
 
 In the hush of night the message came 
 By a neighbor's boy, uncouth and plain ; 
 Yet the unshod feet and freckled face 
 Were clothed by the words with a noble grace 
 "The British are coming ! Arm and meet 
 At the village green by Concord Street ! " 
 
 Then rolling outward through the gloom, 
 The church-bell sent the call of doom. 
 And ere the gray dawn reached the west. 
 These farmer heroes stood the test, — 
 Triumphant souls went up to God, 
 And martyrs' life-blood stained the sod 
 
122 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS DAY 
 
 Is this the end ? Can this be all ? 
 Slain by a British musket-ball ? 
 Shall all the fate of all the years, 
 With all their hopes and all their fears 
 And deathless rights, sink in the grave 
 Of men who died those rights to save ? 
 
 Look down the years : The green corn waves 
 Over God's Acre, sown with graves. 
 Though counting few, yet twice the band 
 Whose dauntless valor won the land. 
 These are the children, those the sires. 
 And such blood acts as the need requires. 
 
 The April day rose sweet and calm. 
 
 The robin hymned a morning psalm ; ! 
 
 The apple-blossoms, pink and fair, ! 
 
 With springtime fragrance filled the air; | 
 
 When sudden came a jarring thrill, j 
 
 And the robin's leaping note was still. ] 
 
 i 
 A rumble and thud through the trembling ground, 
 A rattle of firearms' horrid sound. 
 Tumult and noise down the startled street, 
 Gasping, moaning, — wild retreat, 
 
THE NINETEENTH OF APRIL 1 23 
 
 Utter confusion, shameless rout, 
 Panic-struck soldiers wearied out ! 
 
 Look quickly ! look ! and look again ! 
 The British regulars are but men, 
 And ours are men of sterner stuff, 
 By toil and hardship rendered tough ; 
 Great thoughts have been their daily food. 
 And great deeds now but suit t]ieir mood. 
 
 Lexington heroes head the list, 
 
 Lexington homes most men have missed : 
 
 Never a child but came through pain, 
 
 And the greater the sorrow the greater the gain. 
 
 Remember, a nation was born that day ! 
 
 Was the price, do you think, too great to pay ? 
 
 *'Our lives and homes" was the pledge they said, 
 " For the truth shall live when we are dead." 
 Their lives they gave, their homes were burned, — 
 By the weight of those ashes was destiny turned ; 
 And that ours to-day is the first of lands 
 Is the royal gift from their rustic hands. 
 
A STORY OF AN APRIL DAY.^ 
 
 [By a Grand-daughter. '\ 
 
 I've a little story of an April day, 
 I would like to tell in a simple way : 
 
 * *Twas one hundred and nineteen years ago — 
 That was the time of the " Concord Fight ; " 
 
 And my story is only a little side-show, 
 
 A little story I happen to know. 
 An incident of that morning bright. 
 
 The British were coming — the British were here ; 
 
 The minute-men rallied to meet the foe, 
 With never a thought of shrinking or fear, 
 And never a dream that fame was so near, 
 
 As they sallied forth in the morning's glow. 
 
 In the shade of the forest, not far away 
 
 (I wish I could tell exactly where), 
 Some women and children were gathered that day, 
 
 1 This is a true incident of the Concord Fight. The " Joseph B." of the 
 poem was Joseph Burrows, whose father, Lieutenant Wm. Burrows, served in the 
 patriot army from April 19, 1775, to the end of the war. 
 
 124 
 
A STORY OF AN APRIL DAY l2^ 
 
 Shuddering to hear the sound of the fray 
 
 Which was borne to their ears on the April air. 
 
 Well, one of the boys, just eleven years old, 
 
 Whose name and initial were Joseph B., 
 With some other lads, who were equally bold. 
 Forgetting the dangers of which they were told, 
 Wandered away from the sheltering tree. 
 
 From their mothers* retreat they wandered away, 
 
 And wandered farther than they were aware 
 (As boys will sometimes do in their play), 
 Till they came at length near the old highway. 
 While some British soldiers were resting there. 
 
 These soldiers seemed friendly and very well bred, 
 
 And gave to the boys a welcome glad. 
 And one of the officers to Joseph said. 
 As he patted him kindly on the head, 
 " Where is your father, my little lad } '* 
 
 <* He has gone to fight the regulars, sir ! " 
 Promptly responded Joseph B. 
 " Well, you won't fight them, I dare aver, 
 You'll never fight them, will you, sir?" 
 " Yes, when I'm big enough," said he. 
 
126 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS* DAY 
 
 The officer smiled and winked to the rest, 
 And the boys returned to their rendezvous. 
 
 They looked on the matter as a very good jest ; 
 
 But their frightened mothers were much distressed, 
 When the lads had told them all they knew. 
 
 The years rolled on, one, two, three, four ; 
 
 Now was the time for Joseph B. 
 Fifteen years was "big enough" sure, — 
 So he shouldered his musket and went to the war ; 
 
 And the years he served were one, two, three. 
 
 He had served three years when victory came, 
 And then he returned to his home once more, 
 
 With only a soldier's modest fame. 
 
 And simply his own untarnished name, 
 Plain Joseph B., just as before. 
 
 This is my story of that April day. 
 
 When the brave-hearted minute-men rose in their 
 might ; 
 And Joseph's grandchildren are old and gray. 
 But they hold in remembrance this tale of that day. 
 
 This little side-show of the "Concord Fight." 
 
THE SONG OF THE NORTH CHURCH BELLS 
 
 IBy Walter J. Phelan.'\ 
 
 Oft when the Sabbath morning time 
 With smile of calm the city greets, 
 
 Echo the tones of a tender chime 
 Over the maze of sordid streets, — 
 
 A gray church tower's sweet-cadenced strain ; 
 
 In hearts that know, what chords are stirred 
 Tumultuous, when in soft refrain 
 
 Those century-mellowed notes are heard ! 
 To them from out that belfry high 
 Its glorious story fills the sky. 
 
 With slender spire against the blue 
 Bright sky it stands in simple state ; 
 
 Yet ne'er may tower the wide world through 
 So sweetly sing a song so great. 
 
 Above the city and the hills. 
 
 The winding river and the sea. 
 To varied human joys and ills 
 
 It lends a voiceful sympathy — 
 127 
 
128 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS* DAY 
 
 Prayerful anthem, triumph-swell, 
 Patriot paean, hero's knell. 
 
 And yet whatever strain may be 
 That carillon's, or wild or faint, 
 
 One burden 'mid its melody 
 
 Rolls ever from that belfry quaint. 
 
 At least to boyish fancies deep 
 
 That trancing tower did conscious seem. 
 
 Whose voice the morning stirred to leap 
 Ecstatic from its memoried dream, 
 
 Till thus from thoughts impression'd long 
 
 Suggestion caught the old tower's song : 
 
 "In me was born fair Freedom's light," 
 (So keen it starts in tingling pride) 
 
 " My twin-star beam one April night 
 Flashed fateful meaning o'er the tide. 
 
 " It lit a patient watcher's eye. 
 
 It nerved a good steed's quivermg frame. 
 Told ready hearts the hour was nigh, — 
 
 It leaped when tongues of angry flame 
 The dream of hills and centuries woke 
 What time that glorious morning broke. 
 
THE SONG OF THE NORTH CHURCH BELLS 1 29 
 
 " It glittered where a strange low mound 
 Fringed yonder hill with ominous hint, 
 When 'mid the red coils tightning round 
 The rifle-flash met bayonet-glint. 
 
 " It glowed, when lo ! they found their chief, 
 More bold investing watch-fires burned ; 
 
 While trembling spires scarce knew relief, 
 Till wide beneath me, seaward turned, 
 
 A vast fleet streamed, and on our shore 
 
 The red flag fluttered nevermore. 
 
 " My spark along a continent 
 
 Its warning sped to far renown, 
 
 And lo ! the strife no longer meant 
 
 An empire 'gainst a little town. 
 
 " But wide the land its magic power 
 To maddening conflagration stirred. 
 Till rapturous from a distant tower 
 
 Outrang th' irrevocable word ! 
 In myriad hearts' high purpose set 
 That holy flame is living yet." 
 
 So proudly peals each silver tongue. 
 Delirious-sweet their accents roll ; 
 
I50 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS DAY 
 
 They thrill the walls whose thunders rung 
 When Otis flash'd his stormy soul. 
 
 They reach that doubly sacred fane 
 
 Whose ampler breast swelled bold and free ; 
 
 To Adams' tireless soul and brain 
 
 They speak the waves that knew the tea, — 
 
 And faint or clear, at the breeze's will, 
 
 Float o'er the tide to that storied hill. 
 
SxATLii i.'F .Minltj: .Max, Cw.ncuku. 
 
THE MINUTE-MAN 
 
 [By Isaac Bassett Choate."] 
 
 Blithe speeds the plough this warm sweet day of 
 
 spring, 
 When April's sun has broken winter's reign, 
 Unclasped the hold frost had on lake and plain ; 
 Swift hurry swallows north on eager wing ; 
 To plough boy's whistle thrush and bluebird sing. 
 The brook runs glad, escaped from icy chain 
 Which tyrant winter forged, but forged in vain ; 
 All fields and woods with songs of freedom ring. 
 Now halts the plough in furrow, ready hand 
 Grasps ready musket in defence of right ; 
 The ploughboy is a soldier at command, 
 His country serving well ; before the night 
 Shall sound of musketry assurance bring 
 That now hath minute-man succeeded king. 
 
 133 
 
THE BUFF AND THE BLUE 
 
 [By £. Way Allen.^ 
 
 Golden buff and a deep, deep blue — 
 The hearts beneath were stanch and true, 
 Men that a kingdom could not buy, 
 Men that would dare and do and die ; 
 These were the sort that led the fight 
 In the struggle for freedom, God, and right. 
 
 The deep, deep blue and the golden buff, — 
 
 How can we render them honor enough ? 
 
 We unfurled the blue in our flag on high, 
 
 Where it matches its tint with the blue of the sky ; 
 
 And we buried the buff beneath the sod, 
 
 To rise, fresh-born, in the golden-rod. 
 
 Golden buff and the deep, deep blue 
 O'er us to-day their power renew ; 
 And loyal Yankees everywhere, 
 On head or shoulder or bosom, wear 
 A knot of the buff and a knot of the blue, 
 As the patriot wore them, stanch and true. 
 
 134 
 
PAUL REVERE'S RIDE^ 
 [By Rev. S. F. Smithy D. Z>.] 
 
 Hang out the lanterns ! Let oppression quail, — 
 The pen of History shall record the tale; 
 A feeble taper flashing o'er the sea, 
 But the first signal light of liberty. 
 
 Hang out the lantern ! Veiled by friendly night, 
 A watchful horseman waits to catch the light ; 
 Then warn the sleeping people far and near. 
 Who is the patriot rider ? Paul Revere. 
 
 Ride on ! Ride on ! O valiant horseman ! Wake ! 
 Fathers and sons, a stern defence to make. 
 Armed with brave hands, and hearts resolved to be, 
 Through Heaven's defence, a nation of the free. 
 
 1 On the eve of April 19, 1894, there was a celebration at Christ Church 
 (the Old North Church), Boston, of the restoration of its chimes, and of the 
 signals from its tower for the messenger to warn Lexington and Concord of 
 the approach of the British troops. At one point Dr. Smith attempted 
 to leave the church, but was captured at the door by his friends, and brought 
 back to the platform, while the people cheered. He was besought to make a 
 speech, but confessed his inability bo to do. " But," said he, " I have something 
 which I have written here ; " and suiting the action to the word, he drew a roll of 
 manuscript from his pocket. From this he read the following original poem. 
 
136 
 
 The foeman started bravely on his way, 
 But found the freemen ready for the fray, 
 Waiting their coming — men who knew no fear, 
 Prepared for battle — roused by Paul Revere. 
 
 High thoughts, strong souls, firm wills then showed 
 
 their power ; 
 Then independence struck the nation's hour. 
 The patriots won the day, and Percy's men. 
 Conquered and broken, sought their camps again. 
 
 The feeble lantern in the belfry hung, 
 With flickering rays over the still waters flung : 
 A central sun, that never more declines. 
 Still round the world a radiant signal shines. 
 
 Strong men, great hearts, the stirring times required. 
 With matchless zeal and fervent purpose fired ; 
 But none more grandly served the cause so dear 
 Than that brave patriot rider, Paul Revere. 
 
OUR COUNTRY! 
 
 [By Julia Ward Howe.'] 
 
 On primal rocks she wrote her name; 
 
 The towns were reared on holy graves ; 
 The golden seed that bore her came 
 
 Swift-winged with prayer o'er ocean waves. 
 
 The Forest bowed his solemn crest, 
 And open flung his sylvan doors ; 
 
 Fresh rivers led the appointed guests 
 To clasp the wide-embracing shores% 
 
 Till fold by fold, the broidered land, 
 To swell her virgin vestments, grew ; 
 
 While sages, strong in heart and hand, 
 Her virtue's fiery girdle drew. 
 
 O exile of the wrath of kings ! 
 
 O pilgrim ark of liberty ! 
 The refuge of divinest things. 
 
 Their record must abide in thee. 
 
 1 Read at the meeting of the Daughters of the Revolution at the Old South 
 Meeting-house, April 19, 1894. 
 
 137 
 
138 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS* DAY 
 
 First in the glories of thy front 
 
 Let the crown jewel, truth, be found ; 
 
 Thy right hand fling with generous wont 
 Love's happy chain to farthest bound. 
 
 Let justice with the faultless scales 
 Hold fast the worship of thy sons ; 
 
 Thy commerce spread her shining sails 
 Where no dark tide of rapine runs. 
 
 So link thy ways to those of God, 
 So follow firm the heavenly laws, 
 
 That stars may greet the warrior-browed, 
 And storm-sped angels hail thy cause. 
 
 O land — the measure of our prayers, 
 Hope of the world in grief and wrong — 
 
 On thine the blessing of the year, 
 The gift of faith, the crown of song. 
 
Old North Church. 
 
THE SCAR OF LEXINGTON ^ 
 [Bjy Hannah F. Gould. '\ 
 
 With cherub smile, the prattling boy 
 
 Who on the veteran's breast reclines, 
 Has thrown aside his favorite toy, 
 
 And round his tender finger twines 
 Those scattered locks, that with the flight 
 Of fourscore years are snowy white ; 
 And as a scar arrests his view. 
 He cries, *' Grandpa, what wounded you?" 
 
 '' My child, 'tis five-and-fifty years 
 
 This very day, this very hour. 
 Since from a scene of blood and tears 
 
 Where valor fell by hostile power, 
 I saw retire the setting sun 
 Behind the hills of Lexington ; 
 While pale and lifeless on the plain 
 My brothers lay, for freedom slain. 
 
 1 The above poem, written many years ago by Miss H. F. Gould of Newbury- 
 port, refers to her father, Captain Benjamin Gould, and his little grandson, now 
 Dr. Benjamin A. Gould, the astronomer. 
 
 141 
 
142 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS DAY 
 
 And ere that fight — the first that spoke 
 
 In thunder to our land — was o'er, 
 Amid the clouds of fire and smoke, 
 I felt my garments wet with gore. 
 'Tis since that dread and wild affray, 
 That trying, dark, eventful day. 
 From this calm April eve so far, 
 I wear upon my cheek the scar. 
 
 When thou to manhood shalt be grown, 
 
 And I am gone in dust to sleep. 
 May freedom's rights be still thine own, 
 
 And thou and thine in quiet reap 
 The unblighted product of the toil 
 In which my blood bedewed the soil ; 
 And while those fruits thou shalt enjoy, 
 Bethink thee of 'this scar, my boy. 
 
 But should thy country's voice be heard 
 
 To bid her children fly to arms, 
 Gird on thy grandsire's trusty sword. 
 And, undismayed by war's alarms. 
 Remember, on the battle-field, 
 I made the hand of God my shield ! 
 And be thou spared, like me, to tell 
 What bore thee up, while others fell." 
 
THE BUZZ-SAW 
 
 [By Paul West.'] 
 
 A CONFUSION OF BATTLES 
 
 It was very nearly midnight, 
 
 On the streets of Boston town ; 
 Only now and then a person 
 
 Was there walking up and down ; 
 But there came a roving spirit 
 
 From the shades of long ago, 
 And he scanned the people's faces 
 
 As they passed him to and fro. 
 
 " I have ridden," he was musing, 
 
 "Many miles since yesterday, 
 To get tidings for my people 
 
 Of that awful English fray. 
 They've been fighting out at Concord, 
 
 And at Lexington the gore 
 Of the patriots stains the meadows. 
 
 It is war, most bitter war." 
 143 
 
144 I'HE STORY OF PATRIOTS DAY • 
 
 It was plain to those who saw him 
 
 That the shade was not ate fait. 
 He imagined he was living 
 
 In a long-transpired day. 
 He was talking of the battles 
 
 That have furnished many a rhyme. 
 He had no thought of the seasons, 
 
 Of the passing on of time. 
 
 Down the street there came a person, 
 
 Clad in " sporty " raiment he, 
 With a diamond on his bosom — 
 
 " Flash " in his entirety. 
 " Tell me, tell me," quoth the spirit, 
 
 As approached the stranger near, 
 "Tell me how the battle goeth. 
 
 We have lost, I greatly fear ! 
 
 " I have ridden from a distance, 
 
 For my patriot comrades* sake, 
 To inquire about this battle. 
 
 And return ere day shall break. 
 Have we won, or have the others 
 
 Stained the greensward with our life ? 
 Tell me, tell me, have we licked them 
 
 In this bloody, bloody strife .? " 
 
THE BUZZ-SAW I45 
 
 " Well," the stranger said, " 'twas dis way : 
 
 Fust it looked as dough de coon 
 Didn't have no chance o' winnin', 
 
 But would give out pooty soon. 
 But he kept on gittin' * foxy,' 
 
 An' at last de jaw he foun*, 
 An' he knocked de odder silly — 
 
 Did him up in sixteen roun'." 
 
 Then the shade's eyes bulged and glittered. 
 
 " Hold," he said. " I do not know 
 Why you twit me with such stories, — 
 
 Sure they fill me full of woe. 
 Are you talking of the battle, 
 
 Out at Concord in the night ? " 
 "Naw," the sport said. "I am chirpin* 
 
 Of de Tracey-Wolcott fight ! " 
 
CONCORD RIVER 
 
 ■ [By Isador H. Coriat.'] 
 
 Upon that rustic bridge I stood, 
 Where once those brave men shed their blood; 
 *Twas here that Freedom's seeds were sowed, 
 Where Concord, lovely Concord, flowed. 
 
 The heaven's splendid sanguine hue, 
 
 Slow changed into a sapphire blue, 
 
 And its reflection dimly showed 
 
 Where Concord, mirrored Concord, glowed. 
 
 The stars of evening sparkled clear ; 
 The hills, the fields, the roadways drear. 
 No more with the dying daylight glowed, 
 Where Concord, silent Concord, flowed. 
 
 I thought on those whose souls had fled, 
 Who rest now with the mighty dead 
 In their sequestered, dark abode. 
 Where Concord, slumbering Concord, flowed. 
 146 
 
CONCORD RIVER I49 
 
 I thought upon that happy seer 
 Who wrote with neither scorn nor fear, 
 Who dwelt serene in his abode, 
 Where Concord, holy Concord, flowed. 
 
 I thought on him whose charming pen 
 Had analyzed the souls of men, 
 And of the Manse, near by the road. 
 Where Concord, classic Concord, flowed. 
 
 Upon that woodland sage I thought, 
 Who after Nature's secret sought ; 
 Whose life-stream in his plain abode. 
 Like Concord, placid Concord, flowed 
 
 They all now sleep in heavenly peace 
 'Neath Sleepy Hollow's moaning trees ; 
 Make Thou, O God, my last repose 
 Quiet as lovely Concord flows. 
 
THE NINETEENTH OF APRIL 
 
 [By Joseph A. Watson.'\ 
 
 What old North Ender, born below 
 The chimes of Christ Church steeple, 
 
 But feels within his bosom glow 
 The soul of those brave people 
 
 Who, farther back than " seventy-six," 
 Were vexed about some taxes, 
 
 And put King George in such a fix 
 By stirring tea with axes ! 
 
 A hundred years and more have fled 
 
 Since, on that April morning. 
 Men, numbered never with the dead. 
 
 Heard Paul Revere's bold warning. 
 
 Ah, those true men who shed their blood, 
 On heights lived, not in hollows ; 
 
 And on the " bridge that arched the flood " 
 They fired — you know what follows. 
 
 150 
 
LEXINGTON 1 5 1 
 
 What dearer thing by poets sung — \ 
 
 Its spirit shines unrusted — | 
 
 Than the "ole queen's-arm that Gran^ther Young ] 
 Fetched back from Concord busted " ? 
 
 But though 'tis busted, I aver \ 
 
 It speaks right on forever : ^ 
 
 "Be patriots as your grandsires were ? • 
 
 Be less than free men never ! " . i 
 
 LEXINGTON 1 
 
 [By Miriam Lester."] 
 
 We name our heroes in the hush 
 That follows battle's awful roar, 
 And count the cost of that great rush 
 To victory ! They deemed no more 
 Than just, the simple right to shed 
 Their blood in such a holy cause. 
 
 1 Poem written for the celebration of the One Hundred and Nineteenth Anni- 
 versary of the Battle of Lexington, and read before the Daughters of the Ameri- 
 can Revolution at Kendall Green (Washington, D. C), April 19, 1894. 
 
152 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS DAY 
 
 Where the unconquered died or bled 
 We turn, from our safe ground, and pause 
 To wonder how, in days long gone, 
 Such power was given to right the wrong ! 
 
 We deem them worthy of all praise, 
 The heroes of that battlefield ; 
 And looking backward to those days, 
 .That meed of praise most gladly yield. 
 Were they more true to dictates bold 
 Of honor in that olden time ? 
 Or, when the weight of proof is told, 
 Rang out the truth in purer chime ? 
 Gave they more freely of life's stream 
 Than we would do ? — than we dare dream ? 
 
 They did not flinch when in the wage 
 
 Of war stern duty's standard waved. 
 
 But heart and hand did both engage. 
 
 And on each soul was deep engraved 
 
 *' Country and Home ! " fit words to urge 
 
 To action more heroic still. 
 
 As o'er that ocean's mighty surge 
 
 Rang out the watchword of their will ! 
 
 As onward pressed to Liberty 
 
 The men through whom we now are free ! 
 
LEXINGTON 1 53 
 
 In conflict rang their cry of might, ; 
 
 " Ours is the cause that must be Won ; 
 God is the helper of the right." 
 So sped the word at Lexington, 
 While hurrying from peaceful plough 
 To war's red-stainM field they came. 
 Not theirs 'neath tyranny to bow ; 
 Not theirs a country's death and shame; 
 But to go on to greater height 
 With wing outspread for purer flight. 
 
 Hail; heroes in our country's need, 
 We bring ye wreaths of laurel-leaves ; 
 We gather of the scattered seed 
 In full and ripened harvest sheaves. 
 Yours be it e'er to lift our minds 
 To realms of higher deed and thought ; 
 Be ours to loose what here but binds 
 And holds us from the object sought. 
 Then may we hope, in time, to stand 
 As stanch and true as that brave band. 
 To-day, as meet, we hold this page 
 Of history before the world ; 
 While overhead, undimmed by age. 
 Our country's flag is all unfurled. 
 
154 
 
 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS DAY 
 
 O emblem of sweet Freedom's gift, 
 
 Not Vainly are thy stars displayed. 
 
 To thee our eyes with pride we lift ; 
 
 Thy Stars and Stripes our strength have made. 
 
 Hail, heroes of brave deeds well done, 
 
 Hail, day that gave us Lexington. 
 
SUPPLEMENT 
 
 CELEBRATIONS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 FIRST "PATRIOTS' DAY" 
 1894 
 
CELEBRATIONS OF THE FIRST PATRIOTS' DAY 
 
 The first proclamation for the new holiday in the 
 good Commonwealth of Massachusetts was issued on 
 the nth of April, 1894. There was no form of cel- 
 ebration to serve as a precedent in its observance, and 
 the time was short for suitable consideration. The 
 name and purpose of the holiday gave wide scope in 
 the manner of keeping it ; which actually, in different 
 organizations and communities, varied from religious 
 meetings and social and literary gatherings to public 
 balls and private dancing-parties, tennis, golf, crickety 
 and other games ; races, regattas, fireworks, with 
 band music and bell-ringing, salutes, military parades, 
 and sham fights, — thus ranging in character from, 
 that of the time-honored Fast Day, whose place the 
 new holiday has taken, to that of the Fourth of July 
 and the old Muster Day. 
 
 Of the nearly four hundred cities and towns in the 
 State, there were many which took little note of 
 the day because of a lack of habit and the absence 
 of any conventional form of observance. It will be 
 interesting to mark the features of the celebrations 
 held on this first occurrence of the day ; and they 
 may prove useful in suggesting forms of celebration 
 for future years. 
 
 The initial observance of the day, on the scene of 
 the important events of the original and unproclaimed 
 " Patriots' Day," was ushered in by a meeting on the 
 evening of the i8th of April at the Old North Church 
 
 157 
 
158 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS* DAY 
 
 (Christ Church) in Salem Street, Boston, which was 
 at once a congratulatory occasion celebrating the 
 restoration to a condition of use of its ancient and ex- 
 cellent chimes, and a commemoration of the hanging 
 in the tower of the church the two signal lanterns 
 which informed Paul Revere, the chief herald of Rev- 
 olutionary events, of the route the troops were taking. 
 Seated in or near the chancel were the governor and 
 other State dignitaries, with quite a number of the 
 leading clergymen and citizens of Boston, several of 
 whom addressed the meeting. The Rev. Dr. S. F. 
 Smith, author of " America," presented a new poem,^ 
 relating to the signal lanterns and the messenger. The 
 most striking, as well as the most pleasing, feature 
 of the evening to the outside congregation occurred 
 at the close of the exercises in the audience room, 
 when two lanterns were carried through the church 
 to the belfry by the sexton, who was followed by 
 the members of the Old Colony Guild of Bell Ringers 
 (of tower chimes). The lanterns were hung from the 
 same window as in 1775 ; and then the peals from 
 the chimes began, rolling their impressive, suggestive, 
 and delightful melody over the north end of the city 
 and to the shores across the Charles and the inner 
 harbor. 
 
 The signal was observed, as of yore, and a wait- 
 ing horseman then imitated the galloping ride of Paul 
 Revere ; and his shouts of alarm were as numerously 
 heard, if not as terrifying, as those of the Revolution-, 
 ary messenger. 
 
 CONCORD. 
 
 But Concord and Lexington certainly should be 
 points of chief attention. The programme of Con- 
 
 1 Given among the poems of the day in this volume. 
 
CELEBRATIONS OF THE FIRST PATRIOTS* DAY 1 59 
 
 cord's celebration was carried out as follows : The 
 red, white, and blue floated from every available point ; 
 and bunting greeted the eye on every hand, especially 
 in the historic localities. At sunrise the bells were 
 rung, and the Concord Independent Battery fired a 
 salute of fifty guns from the hill overlooking the vil- 
 lage. At noon a salute of nineteen guns was fired, 
 and the bells rung. At six o'clock the final salute 
 of fifty guns was given, while the bells again pealed 
 out. There was band music at intervals at various 
 points through the day, a formal concert being given 
 on Monument Square at one o'clock. Other events 
 of the day were a military parade by the third bat- 
 talion of the sixth regiment at 8.45 a.m. ; the sham 
 fight between a body of militia representing the Pro- 
 vincials and a large company of colored soldiers repre- 
 senting the British ; another general parade at 2 p.m., 
 culminating in a reception to the governor and other 
 distinguished guests; at 12 m. the Massachusetts 
 Society of the Sons of the American Revolution held 
 its sixth annual meeting, which was concluded by a 
 dinner with speeches ; and a concert and ball in the 
 town hall completed the festivities of the day. 
 
 LEXINGTON. 
 
 From early morning until late m the afternoon, 
 Massachusetts Avenue, leading from Boston through 
 Cambridge and Arlington to the historic centres of 
 Lexington and Concord, the route of the British troops 
 one hundred and nineteen years before, was crowded 
 with pleasure vehicles of all sorts, equestrians, pedes- 
 trians, and bicycles. Public buildings, business blocks, 
 and many dwellings were decorated, and flags and 
 colored draperies were plentiful. The celebration in 
 
l60 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS* DAY 
 
 Lexington began early in the morning, when the Lex- 
 ington drum-corps and the color-guard of the public 
 schools marched over the route taken by the " red- 
 coats " on that most memorable 19th of April, and 
 awaked \.\i&fin de sihle inhabitants from their peaceful 
 slumbers. At ten o'clock the governor and his party 
 arrived by the railway, and were met at the station by 
 a division from the Grand Army, and a detachment 
 from the Naval Brigade, — the line proceeding to the 
 Common,- — the old Lexington Green. Here all who 
 could, of the procession and people, entered the Han- 
 cock Church, where music and addresses were in 
 course ; while the overflow of people was entertained 
 by an out-door band concert, the latter. being repeated 
 at intervals through the day. A light lunch was 
 served to the guests at the Old Belfry Club House, 
 followed by a drive in the suburbs ; afterward they, 
 with a large number of others, enjoyed a banquet 
 and speeches in the Town Hall. There were also 
 several private entertainments during the day. The 
 celebration closed with a grand civic ball. 
 
 BOSTON. 
 
 At sunrise bells were rung, and flags were displayed 
 on all city buildings and on the public staffs. There 
 were also many private flags flying. At 10 a.m. dedi- 
 catory exercises were held in the new Agassiz school- 
 house in Jamaica Plain. At 10.30 commenced a twelve- 
 oared barge race for amateurs on Charles River, three 
 hundred dollars in trophies being given as prizes. At 
 12 M. there was a salute of one hundred guns fired on 
 the Common by a battery of artillery, together with 
 ringing of bells. From 3.30 to 5.30 p.m. there was a 
 band concert on the Common. At sunset the bells 
 
CELEBRATIONS OF THE FIRST PATRIOTS' DAY l6l 
 
 were rung again, ending the municipal celebration. 
 Many organizations observed the day, among which 
 were the Daughters of the American Revolution (Old 
 South Meeting-house), Tenth Mass. Battery Associa- 
 tion (sixteenth annual reunion and dinner), Second 
 Light Battery Association (annual reunion and din- 
 ner). King's Daughters and Sons (oratorical and liter- 
 ary entertainment for the benefit of their -State 
 headquarters). Ladies' Aid Society (festival in aid of 
 St. Mary's Infant Asylum), and others. There were 
 also many private entertainments during day and 
 evening. 
 
 In Worcester the first observance of Patriots' Day 
 began at midnight, when a Paul Revere, in Colonial 
 costume, on a white horse, rode through many of the 
 streets on the west side of the city, awakening the 
 residents with pistol-shots and calls to arms. Through 
 the day and evening there were many entertainments 
 and celebrations of various kinds by organizations and 
 private persons. 
 
 In Salem Patriots' Day was celebrated in a moderate 
 way. All of the church-bells were rung at morning, 
 noon, and evening, and salutes were fired. Entertain- 
 ments were given in all of the principal halls, and 
 several dances were held. ^ 
 
 In Lowell business was generally suspended. The 
 national colors were displayed on all public buildings, 
 Grand Army halls, public and parochial schools, and 
 upon the flagstaffs on the commons. Exercises were 
 held by various organizations. 
 
 Fitchburg had slight local observance, its military 
 organizations passing the day at Concord. 
 
 In Lynn Patriots' Day was quietly observed. Busi- 
 ness was largely suspended, the factories and stores 
 being closed, and people went in numbers to Concord 
 and Lexington. 
 
l62 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS* DAY 
 
 In Dedham Patriots' Day was a great day, and Tjnly 
 when its two hundred and fiftieth anniversary was ob- 
 served has it witnessed so successful a celebration of 
 any one day or occasion. 
 
 In Peabody the old Lexington monument, where the 
 minute-men assembled at the summons of Gideon Fos- 
 ter, was decorated in honor of the new holiday. 
 
 In Sudbury the public schools held exercises com- 
 memorative of the day. 
 
 The Beverly Historical Society celebrated Patriots* 
 Day in an appropriate manner, which included ad- 
 dresses and an oration. 
 
 At Bedford a company of children with cornet and 
 drums turned out and marched to the old village burial- 
 ground, where they rendered selections of national airs, 
 while the town's committee placed flags on the graves 
 of those who participated in the experiences of one 
 hundred and nineteen years ago. 
 
 From Lawrence, twenty miles from Concord, a long 
 cavalcade traversed the route of the British, attended 
 by a band of music, also mounted. 
 
 At Cambridge the public schools were closed, and 
 all the public buildings and many private ones were 
 decorated. The Lafayette Club, composed of French- 
 Americans, held a patriotic public meeting, which was 
 largely attended. 
 
 In Waltham Patriots' Day was observed in a quiet 
 manner. Business was almost entirely suspended, and 
 hundreds went to Lexington and Concord. The Em- 
 met Literary Association presented Arrak na Pogue 
 at the Park Theatre afternoon and evening. 
 
 In Arlington there was a meeting of the Improve- 
 ment Association in the Town Hall in the evening, 
 which was addressed by leading citizens. 
 
 In Acton business was suspended, and nearly all 
 
CELEBRATIONS OF THE FIRST PATRIOTS' DAY 1 63 
 
 the inhabitants joined with Concord in its celebration. 
 But the bells were rung at morning, noon, and night, 
 and there was an entertainment at the Town Hall in 
 the evening. 
 
 In the town of Wellesley the day was not greatly 
 observed. In the evening, however, the members of 
 the college community (Wellesley College — female), 
 with a few invited guests, assembled in the chapel for 
 the appointed special service. After an organ pre- 
 lude. Prof. Margaret E. Stratton read the governor s 
 proclamation of " Patriots' Day," and the Beethoven 
 Club sang The Star-spangled Banner, the audience 
 joining in the chorus. The venerable Rev. Dr. Webb 
 offered prayer, which was followed by an address from 
 Rev. Edward G. Porter, D.D., of Lexington; who, by 
 the aid of a chart, gave an account of the country 
 from Boston to Lexington, and of the principal events 
 which occurred at different points. At the close of 
 the address the audience sang America, and a bene- 
 diction then closed the observance. ^ ^ _ 
 
 The foregoing accounts embrace all the varieties m 
 celebration (not all the celebrations) which have come 
 to notice. Formerly, in the interior towns, the obser- 
 vances of Fast Day were generally religious meetings 
 and ball-games, with here and there public and private 
 dances; and Patriots' Day merely had fewer of the 
 meetings and more ball-playing. Bicycles, a recent 
 feature of the country roads, were more numerous 
 than ever before, and in some localities were quite 
 impressive in their processions and evolutions. 
 
OBSERVANCE BY SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS OF 
 PATRIOTS' DAY 
 
 The Massachusetts Society of the Sons of the 
 American Revolution, at noon of the 19th, held a 
 reunion in the First Parish Church in Concord, where 
 the first Provincial Congress was held. It was voted 
 to petition the Boston city government to mark the 
 graves of Revolutionary soldiers, sailors, and patriots 
 in that city, the number of graves being estimated at 
 scarcely more than one hundred. It was thought this 
 might be accomplished before another recurrence of 
 this holiday. Some routine business was transacted ; 
 and the society and its guests, to the number of 
 about three hundred, then enjoyed a dinner in the 
 vestry, enlivened by speeches from persons eminent 
 in the State and Nation. 
 
 The Ohio Society of the Sons of the American 
 Revolution celebrated the battles of Lexington and 
 Concord at Columbus, Ohio, on the evening of the 
 19th of April. Governor McKinley spoke to the 
 toast, "Ohio, an empire founded by the heroes of 
 the American Revolution." There were several other 
 speeches by eminent men. 
 
 The Daughters of the Revolution, Massachusetts 
 chapter, met, on the afternoon of Patriots' Day, at 
 Ruby Parlors, 62 Beacon Street. Mrs. William Lee, 
 the State regent, who presided, made an address and 
 related the history of the association, paying tribute 
 to Mrs. Jane G. Austen, the novelist, a member 
 recently deceased. A paper upon the life and deeds 
 
 164 
 
OBSERVANCE BY SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS 165 
 
 of Paul Revere was read by Elbridge H. Goss, his 
 biographer ; Rev. Dr. Edward Everett Hale spoke 
 about the hymn America ; and Miss Charlotte W. 
 Hawes spoke about the chime bells of Christ Church. 
 Refreshments and a social reception followed, closing 
 the occasion. 
 
 THE DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 A new chapter of this organization was formed on 
 April 15, in Boston, and adopted the name "Paul 
 Revere." This chapter, with visiting members of the 
 society from other States, attended the meeting held 
 by the Warren and Prescott chapters at the Old 
 South Meeting-house, at 11.30 A. m., on Patriots' Day, 
 to commemorate the deeds of April 19, 1775. Samuel 
 Eliot, LL.D., presided. There were orchestral and 
 vocal music, and addresses by the president of the 
 day, by Prof. Edward Channing of Harvard Uni- 
 versity, and Dr. Edward Everett Hale. These were 
 followed by the reading of an original poem, entitled 
 Our Country, by Mrs. Julia Ward Howe ; and Rev. 
 Dr. S. F. Smith told, in a very interesting way, of 
 how America was written. 
 
 In New York City the day was appropriately cele- 
 brated by the city chapter of the Daughters of the 
 American Revolution, the meeting being held in the 
 old Fraunce Tavern, at the corner of Broad and Pearl 
 streets, where General Washington gathered his gen- 
 erals on the day in which the British evacuated the 
 city. The tavern was profusely decorated with Ameri- 
 can flags, palms, and lilies. Tiie occasion included the 
 reading of an address by Mrs. Schuyler Hamilton, of 
 a poem by Miss Clinton Jones, and patriotic songs. 
 It was the third anniversary of this chapter. On the 
 
t66 THE STORY OF PATRIOTS' DAY 
 
 same day the general society of the Daughters met 
 at a kmcheon in the gold-and-white ballroom of the 
 Waldorf, in celebration of the battle of Lexington. 
 One hundred patriotic women were ranged about a 
 horseshoe table, and beside each plate was a bouquet 
 of daffodils tied with blue ribbon. 
 
 The Colonial Society of Massachusetts held its April 
 meeting on Patriots' Day, in the hall of the Ameri- 
 can Academy of Arts and Sciences. The principal 
 feature of the occasion was the address of Dr. 
 Edward G. Porter on the affair at Lexington and 
 Concord, who confined his treatment to the happenings 
 between Lexington Green and Concord Bridge, which 
 he related in minute detail. In the afternoon a 
 Colonial party was given at Hendrie Hall, Dorches- 
 ter. The halls were lavishly decorated with laurel, 
 palms, and flowers, while the two balconies were ef- 
 fectively draped with large flags. The invitations 
 were etched on parchment, the upper right-hand cor- 
 ner bearing a sketch of the figure of a ** minute- 
 man." The document was sealed and tied with the 
 national colors. The orders were little American 
 flags with the programme attached. The assembly 
 danced until the sun had set. The affair was pro- 
 nounced a grand success. 
 
 THE king's daughters, 
 
 on the afternoon of the 19th, gave a patriotic enter- 
 tainment at the People's Church, in Boston, for the 
 benefit of the State headquarters of the International 
 Order of the King's Daughters and Sons. The broad 
 platform was appropriately decorated with flags, and 
 with the oil portraits of General Washington and 
 his wife. On the platform were Rev. Drs. Edward 
 
OBSERVANCE BY SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS 167 
 
 Everett Hale and S. F. Smith, Julia Ward Howe, 
 Miss Charlotte Hawes, and Miss Gertrude E. Smith, 
 who each took part in the exercises, — Dr. Smith read- 
 ing a new hymn,^ written for the occasion. Two 
 young ladies, Misses Whittier and Stephen, added 
 greatly to the entertainment by their delightful sing- 
 ing. The presiding genius of the day was Mrs. 
 Charlotte S. Doolittle, who stands at the head of 
 the twenty thousand King's Daughters in Massa- 
 chusetts. 
 
 THE DAUGHTERS OF VERMONT, 
 
 resident in Boston and vicinity, held a reception in 
 the state apartments at the Hotel Vendome on the 
 eve of Patriots' Day, which was attended by many 
 New England ladies and gentlemen of eminence. 
 
 In a rear apartment refreshments were served by 
 groups of fair young girls, either daughters or grand- 
 daughters of Vermont. The Symphony Mandolin and 
 Guitar Club rendered a light music that proved very 
 suitable and delightful. 
 
 1 This hymn opens the poetical portion of this volume. 
 
MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS 
 
 THE ANCIENT AND HONORABLE ARTILLERY COMPANY 
 
 was already " ancient " when the battles of Lexing- 
 ton and Concord became incidents of history ; and it 
 was quite fitting that its members should observe 
 Patriots' Day. This they did, to the number of a 
 hundred and fifty, by a banquet at the Quincy 
 House, a band playing national and patriotic airs 
 in the intervals between the speeches. 
 
 The annual reunion and thirtieth anniversary of 
 the Second Light Battery Association, which includes 
 Battery B, M.V.M., and Company A, Forty-second Mas- 
 sachusetts Volunteers, was held in the Crawford House 
 on the 19th. 
 
 The sixteenth annual reunion and dinner of the 
 Tenth Massachusetts Light Battery Association took 
 place at the American House in the afternoon, about 
 fifty comrades participating. 
 
 Company A, Ninth Infantry, Captain Keefe, ob- 
 served Patriots' Day by partaking of its annual dinner 
 in the evening in the American House. 
 
 16S 
 
BENEVOLENT AND RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATIONS. 
 
 Several benevolent associations in Boston and neigh- 
 boring places held receptions and entertainments for 
 their institutions and patrons, in some cases success- 
 fully seeking pecuniary aid. The most notable and 
 extensive of these, whose report has come to hand, 
 was that of St. Mary's Infant Asylum, held at the 
 East Armory, Boston. There were a large number 
 of tables with articles for sale ; and for entertain- 
 ment, there were, in the afternoon, social dancing, 
 with orchestral music, also scarf and other spectacu- 
 lar dances, and songs by little girls ; in the even- 
 ing, Spanish dances by eight little girls, and by 
 professionals from the new Bijou Theatre, interspersed 
 with superior vocal music. 
 
 The parishioners of St. Augustine's Church (Roman 
 Catholic), in South Boston, celebrated the day in a 
 quiet and patriotic manner, listening to national songs 
 rendered by the St. Augustine Glee Club, assisted 
 by a chorus of two hundred children dressed in red, 
 white, and blue, and to a lecture by Hon. Thomas 
 J. Gargan on *' The Obligations of Catholics as Citi- 
 zens of the Republic." In his peroration the orator 
 said : — 
 
 "We may not be called upon to make sacrifices 
 upon the field of battle like the men of the Revolu- 
 tion, or the men who fought to keep the Union 
 whole; yet every generation must fight the battle 
 for the right ; we must preserve the patrimony that 
 came to us from our ancestors, and transmit it un- 
 impaired to succeeding generations, to the end that 
 the dignity, the credit, and the honor of this govern- 
 ment of the people may be maintained." 
 
 169 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 NINETEENTH OF APRIL, 1775. \ 
 
 Bancroft's History of the United States. \ 
 HiLDRETH's History of the United States, 
 Elliott's History of N'ew England. 
 
 Palfrey's History of Nerv England. \ 
 Adams's History of New England. \ 
 Austin's History of Massachusetts. Illustrated. 1 
 Varney's Gazetteer of Massachttsetts. Illustrated. • 
 Shattuck's History of Concord^ Mass. Illustrated. I 
 Hudson's History of Lexington^ Mass. Illustrated. i 
 Frothingham's -SzV^^ o/i5^j/^«, 1849-1873. Illustrated. ] 
 Goss'^ Life of Col. Paul .Revere. 1891. Many illustrations. i 
 Edward Everett's Mowit Vernon Papers. \ 
 Edward E. Hale's One Hundred Years Ago. ! 
 LossiNG's Field-Book of the Revolution. Illustrated. 1 
 Drake's History of Middlesex County. Illustrated. i 
 Drake's Historic Scenes and Mansions of Middlesex County. Illus- 
 trated. ! 
 Howells's Three Villages. 
 
 Bartlett's Concord Guide-Book. 1887. Illustrated. ^ 
 Handbook of Lexington. Boston, 1891. Illustrated. j 
 Souvenir of 7775. By RE^^ Edward G. Porter and H. M. Steven- 
 son. 1875. Illustrated. ! 
 
 Cooper's *' Lionel Lincoln " has a vivid account of the day as a setting; 
 for certain characters in that novel. 
 
 For a more thorough investigation, consult in addition the histories of 
 Cambridge, Somerville, Arlington, Lincoln, Bedford, Acton, and Sud- 
 bury; also *' The Reader's Handbook of the Revolution," by Justin Win- 
 sor (Boston, 1880), and "The Nineteenth of April in Literature," by 
 James L. Whitney (Concord, Mass., 1876). The last two volumes men- 
 tion pamphlets, magazine aiticles, and manuscripts, as well as books. 
 
 170 
 
-V,