[tomder55]

Today marks the beginning of the 250th anniversary of the birth of the United States . As you know ;there were events that led up to this day.
But on April 18 ,1775 Paul Revere and William Dawes rode from Boston to Lexington and Concord to warn them that the Brits were on the march to seize their arsenal.

Tomorrow is the anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and Concord ;the first battle between colonial patriots and the Brits.

The colonial militia at Lexington mustered to the town square in parade formation to demonstrate a protest of the Brit march to Concord . They were led by John Parker ;a vet of the French and Indian war .

The Brits were led by Major John Pitcairn . Had they been led by a better officer the battle would not have happened. But Pitcairn was contemptuous of the colonials. Instead of staying on the road to Concord ;he marched his troops to the town square to challenge the militia.

Pitcairn demanded they put down their arms . Reportedly Parker ordered the militia to disperse . But in the confusion of the Brit movement ,a shot was fired. (the shot heard round the world ). This gave Pitcairn the justification he was looking for. The Brits fired a volley that killed 8 colonials (some of them were bayonetted )and wounded several others.

Perhaps they would've clashed later that day at Concord . But at Lexington the war began.

Word of the action at Lexington swiftly spread and the colonials in the area grabbed their personal weapons to join the fight.

The Brits reached Concord but found no weapons at the armory . The road back to Boston by then was swarming with armed colonials. There was a battle at the North Bridge and then the Brits began their long march back through a gauntlet of colonials taking pot shots at them.

By the time they got back to Boston 15,000 colonials were surrounding the town.

The colonials lost 49 killed ;39 wounded ,and 5 missing. The Brit regulars lost 73 killed ;174 wounded ,and 26 missing from the 700 troops that began the march.

Over in Parliament they were drafting an act in an attempt of reconciliation called the' Conciliatory Resolution '. It would've replaced taxes that colonials objected to with 'voluntary contribution' to the defense of the colonies.
But it arrived to the Continental Congress too late .

[tomder55]

A side note

There was a question about how Revere and Dawes knew to look for the Brit troop movement . The answer was that Doctor Joseph Warren informed them .(Warren was later killed at Bunker Hill) .

The mystery is how did he know ? . Warren ran a Correspondence Committee . There is no proof but plenty of speculation that his informant was General Thomas Gage's wife, Margaret Kemble. He was the General in charge of Boston. He married colonial Margaret . Her loyalty was clearly with the colonies. Gage tried to keep the raid secret to avoid what happened . Margaret was the most likely person as she had contacts with Warren. Gage later shipped her to England on a ship carrying military widows, orphans, and wounded soldiers, including those from the Battle of Bunker Hill. Some historians speculate that her departure was due to rumors that she sympathized with the colonists and might have been sharing secrets with the Sons of Liberty. But that died with her . She never spoke of it .

[jlisenbe]

Great post, Tom. Those were men of courage.

[tomder55]

I was a college student in Iran in the summer of 1976 during the bicentennial celebration. At least there ;Americans really celebrated the event living in a nation that did not come close to the liberty we have. (and that was the Shah's Iran which was no where's near the tyranny that they live under today) .

I wish America could get that spirit again.

btw the Minutemen were the 'well regulated militia ' of their time . They were not an instrument of government .

[excon]

Hello tom:

How ya been??

1 if by land, 2 if by sea. I too, hope we find our way again. We're close to needing another beginning.

Hope your family is well. Go sox.

excon

[tomder55]

Hi Ex !! We are doing well thank you . How's life in Arizona(? I think that was were you currently reside ) .

Are you back on ASHD ? I really miss the dialogues . I have said that you were the most challenging member to debate .

Hi Ex !! We are doing well thank you . How's life in Arizona(? I think that was were you currently reside ) .

Are you back on ASHD ? I really miss the dialogues . I have said that you were the most challenging member to debate .