THE FIGHT AT LEXINGTON
4. The battle of Lexington fired the country. Within a few days an army of twenty thousand men gathered about Boston. A line of intrenchments was drawn from Roxbury to Chelsea. John Stark came down with the New Hampshire militia. Rhode Island sent her men under Nathaniel Greene. Benedict Arnold came with the provincials of New Haven. Ethan Allen, with a company of two hundred and seventy patriots, advanced against Ticonderoga. Benedict Arnold joined the expedition as a private. On the evening of the 9th of May, the force reached the shore of Lake George, opposite Ticonderoga.
Ethan Allen at Ticonderoga.
5. On the following morning, eighty-three men succeeded in crossing. With this mere handful, Allen made a dash and gained the gateway of the fort. He rushed to the quarters of the commandant, and cried out: "Surrender this fort instantly!" "By what authority?" inquired the officer. "In the name of the great Jehovah and the Continental Congress," said Allen, flourishing his sword. The garrison were made prisoners and sent to Connecticut, and vast quantities of military stores fell into the hands of the Americans. Two days afterwards Crown Point was also taken.
6. On the 25th of May, Generals Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne arrived at Boston. The British army was augmented to more than ten thousand men. It was now rumored that Gage was about to sally out of Boston to burn the neighboring towns and devastate the country. The Americans determined to anticipate this movement by fortifying Bunker Hill, which commanded the peninsula of Charlestown.
7. On the night of the 16th of June, Colonel Prescott was sent with a thousand men to intrench the hill. The provincials reached the eminence; but Prescott and his engineer, not liking the position, proceeded down the peninsula to Breed's Hill, within cannon range of Boston. Here a redoubt was thrown up during the night. The British ships in the harbor were so near that the Americans could hear the sentinels repeating the night-call, "All is well."
Battle of Bunker Hill.
8. As soon as it was light, General Gage ordered the ships to cannonade the American position. The British batteries on Copp's Hill also opened fire. Just after noon, three thousand British veterans, commanded by Generals Howe and Pigot, landed at Morton's Point. The Americans numbered about fifteen hundred. Charlestown was burned by the British as they advanced. Thousands of spectators climbed to the house-tops in Boston to watch the battle. On came the British in a stately and imposing column.