On receipt of this intelligence, signal guns were fired, the bell rung, and the militia of the town were ordered to meet at the usual place of parade. About the same time two persons were sent express to Cambridge to gain intelligence and watch the route of the enemy.

The Lexington train band, or militia, and the alarm men, consisting of the aged and others exempted from military duty, except in case of alarm, met according to order, on the commons near the meetinghouse, and waited the return of the messengers. There were present when the roll was called about 120 militia and alarm men together. Between three and four A. M., one of the messengers returned, saying there was no appearance of troops neither on the Cambridge or the Charlestown roads. Put off their guard by this information, and the night being chilly and uncomfortable on the parade ground, the privates were dismissed, to appear again at the beat of drum. Some, who resided in the neighborhood, went to their homes, others to the public house at the east corner of the common. Messrs. Hancock and Adams had been persuaded to depart from the town, as the seizure of their persons was probably one object of the enemy. The return of the second messenger was anxiously awaited by the officers who had continued at their posts, but he had been taken prisoner by the enemy, as every other person had been who passed up or down the road; so that, after every precaution, the British troops were actually in the town, and upon a quick march towards the place of parade, within half an hour after the company was dismissed. The commanding officer, however, thought it proper to muster them in the very face of the enemy; alarm guns were accordingly fired and the drum beat to arms about 4:30 o’clock. Part of the company, to the number of about sixty, were soon on the parade; others were hastening towards it, when the attack was made. The Lexington company, as they hastily formed on the rising ground to the north of the meetinghouse, were placed in two ranks, ordered to load with ball, and as previously agreed, were determined to offer no aggression, but to repel it if offered by the British.

The British van, commanded by Major Pitcairn, had thus stolen upon the militia unawares, while temporarily dismissed, and it was in sight of the formidable body that the little band of Americans was forming their ranks when the enemy halted at about twelve rods distance. Major Pitcairn with his aids, hastily rode up the Bedford road to right of the meetinghouse, and returned by the Concord road to the left; and having thus reconnoitered this handful of men, drew his pistol and cried: “Disperse, Rebels; throw down your arms and disperse,” gave orders to fire, and fired his own pistol. The soldiers at the same time ran up huzzaing, and fired, at first some scattering guns, which were immediately followed by a general discharge, which did no injury, excepting slightly wounding one man; and the fire was not returned; but the second discharge was fatal to several Americans. They returned the fire, as far as the confusion in their ranks from the number of killed or wounded would permit. The militia dispersed immediately after firing, but were shot at as they retreated. The British troops then resumed their march to Concord.

II

This story of the Concord fight is taken from the original manuscript of Thaddeus Blood, of Concord, and was first published in the Boston Journal in 1896. He began as a minuteman, and later was a Lieutenant in Captain Moses Barnes’ company, Lieut.-Col. Pierce’s regiment, stationed part of the time in Rhode Island and part in Swanzey, as his own quaint phraseology puts its. He says:

On the morning of the 19th of April, 1775, about 2 o’clock in the morning, I was called out of bed by John Barrett, a Sergeant of the militia company to which I belonged (I was 20 years of age the 28th of May next following): I joined the company under Captain Nathan Barrett (afterwards Colonel), at the old court-house, about 3 o’clock, and was ordered to go to the Court House to draw ammunition. After the company had all drawn their ammunition we were paraded near the meetinghouse and I should suppose that there was 60 or 70 men in Capt. Barrett’s company, and that the whole of the militia and minute-men of Concord under arms that day was not less than 200. About 4 o’clock they were joined by two companies from Lincoln: the militia commanded by Capt. Pierce (afterwards Colonel) and the minute-men by Capt. William Smith—the venerable and honorable Samuel Hoar of Lincoln was one of his lieutenants—and were then formed, the minute-men on the right and Capt. Barrett’s on the left, and marched in order to the end of Meriam’s Hill, then so-called, and saw the British troops a-coming down Brooks’ Hill: the sun was arising and shined on their red coats and glis’ning arms. We retreated in order over the top of the hill to the Liberty pole erected on the heights opposite the meetinghouse, and made a halt; the main body of the British marched up in the road and a detachment followed us over the hill, and 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, and were followed by two companies of the British. One company went up to destroy stores at Colonel James Barrett’s, and they tarried near the bridge; some of them went to Capt. David Brown’s, some to Mr Ephraim Butterick’s. About 9 o’clock we saw smoke rise at the Court House; it was proposed to march into town and were joined by Westford and Acton companies, and were drawn up west of where Colonel Jonas Butterick now lives. Colonel James Barrett rode along the line, and having consulted with the officers, shouted, not to fire first; then began their march—Robinson and Butterick led. Upon beginning to march the company of British formed first on the causeway in platoons: they then retreated over the bridge and took up three planks and formed, part in the road and 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 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, and the fire ceased. Part of our men went over the bridge and myself among the rest, and part returned to the ground they had left. After the firing, every one appeared to be his own commander; it was thought best to go the east part of the town and take them as they came back. Each took his own station; for myself, I took my stand south of where Dr Minot then lived; when I saw the British coming from Concord, their right flank in the meadows, their left on the hill.

“When near the foot of the hill Col. Thompson of Billerica came up, with three or four hundred men, and there was heavy firing, but the distance so great that little injury was done on either side; at least I saw but one killed, and a number wounded.”

The rest of the story is more familiar to us—the steady, running fight, all the way, until Lord Percy’s welcome reinforcement saved the day—and the exhausted British detachment reached once more the sheltering lines of Boston, whence they had set out with so much confidence that early morning. Of the patriots, 49 were killed, 39 wounded and 5 missing. Of the British, 73 were killed, 174 wounded and 26 missing.

III
DR. FISK’S BILL

LEXINGTON, April, 1775.