COLOURS OF THE TENTH REGIMENT OF FOOT.
1775
In the spring of 1775, General Gage, who commanded the British troops at Boston, ascertained that the Americans were collecting military stores at Concord, about eighteen miles from Boston, and the flank companies of the Tenth, and of several other corps, embarked in boats, at ten o'clock on the night of the 18th of April, under Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Smith of the Tenth, for the purpose of destroying the stores. Proceeding to the entrance of the Cambridge-river, the troops landed at Phipps's farm, and advanced upon Concord, while the Americans, by the ringing of bells and the firing of guns, spread an alarm over the country. About four o'clock on the morning of the 19th of April, the light company of the Tenth, being in advance, approached the village of Lexington, where a body of American militia was forming; they were called upon to lay down their arms, but instead of obeying the order, they attempted to take shelter behind a stone wall, and several of them fired at the King's troops, wounding a soldier of the Tenth, which was the first blood shed in this unhappy contest. The light infantry responded to this act of hostility with an irregular volley, which killed and wounded several Americans, and dispersed the remainder: the commencement of the American war thus took place.
After this rencounter, the flank companies continued their route to Concord, and Captain Parsons of the Tenth was detached with several companies to secure the bridge beyond the town, while the remainder of the detachment searched for and destroyed the military stores. The light companies of the fourth and Tenth regiments were posted on some heights near the bridge; crowds of armed men assembled on the high grounds near the town, and a party of Americans fired upon the soldiers at the bridge, killing three men and wounding several others, when the fire was returned, and the detached companies joined the main body in the town.
The military stores having been destroyed, the troops commenced their march back to Boston, when the country was found swarming with armed men, who commenced a sharp fire from behind walls, fences, trees, &c., and skirmish succeeded skirmish until the soldiers were exhausted, and had expended nearly all their ammunition. Arriving at Lexington, they were met by a brigade of infantry and two guns, under Colonel Earl Percy, who formed his men into a square, with the exhausted flank companies in the centre, and, after a short halt, continued the retreat to Charlestown, from whence he crossed the river by the ferry to Boston, having lost several men from the incessant fire which the Americans kept up from behind walls, trees, and other coverts on both sides of the road.
The regiment had two men killed; Lieut.-Colonel Francis Smith, Captain Lawrence Parsons, Lieutenant Waldron Kelly, Ensign Jeremiah Lester, and thirteen rank and file wounded.
Hostilities having thus commenced, the whole province of Massachusetts-bay was speedily in arms, and an immense number of men invested Boston, where the King's troops were stationed on the land side. The Americans commenced constructing works on Bunkers-hill, a high ground beyond the river, from which it was determined to dislodge them, and the flank companies of the Tenth formed part of the force selected for this service.
Embarking from Boston in boats, about noon on the 17th of June, the soldiers crossed the river, and landed on the opposite shore. The ships of war opened their fire upon the enemy's works, and the troops ascended the steep hill, which was covered with grass reaching to the knees, and intersected with walls and fences of various enclosures, and advanced to storm the works in the face of a well-directed fire. The difficulty of the ascent, the heat of the weather, and the enemy's superior numbers and incessant fire, combined to render this enterprise particularly arduous; twice the King's troops appeared to stagger; but recovering, they rushed forward with renewed ardour, and drove the Americans out of the works at the point of the bayonet; thus proving their superior bravery and discipline, by gaining a complete victory over an enemy three times as numerous as themselves and protected by entrenchments.
The flank companies of the Tenth were among the troops which distinguished themselves, and every officer was wounded. Their loss was two serjeants and five rank and file killed; Captains Parsons, Fitzgerald, Lieutenants Pittigrew, Verner, Hamilton, Kelly, one drummer, and thirty-nine rank and file wounded.
The valour of the British soldiers in North America excited the admiration of their sovereign and country; yet, the circumstances in which they were placed rendered it impossible for their prowess to be exercised with the prospect of ultimate success. The great superiority of the numbers of the enemy more than counter-balanced the advantages of superior skill and discipline, and the troops in Boston remained in a state of blockade; live cattle, vegetables, and even fuel, were sent for their use from England; many of the vessels were, however, wrecked, and others captured by the Americans, and great distress, sickness, and loss of life occurred.