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Monadnock Guide
Council of Elders
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
March 14 2005
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 Posted - April 14 2013 : 6:31:07 PM
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http://lhsoc.weebly.com/patriots-day.html
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6:00am
Reenactment of the Battle of Lexington
Lexington Battle Green
After the narrative, you will start to hear the sounds of the Redcoats coming from the East of the Green and the Patriots coming from Buckman Tavern, the yellow building across the street from the Green. The two forces couldn’t be more different: The Patriots are a rag-tag bunch of men of all ages dressed in their everyday clothing. The Redcoats are, well, dressed in their bright red uniforms which exude the arrogance, power and might of the British ruling force. Leading the Patriots is Captain John Parker, a recent returnee from the French and Indian wars and a local wheelwright. Leading the British forces is a black and yellow clad Major Pitcairn, who barks out orders to his troops.
Lexington wasn’t a scheduled stop for the British: They were focused on going to Concord to capture an ammunition cache. But the Lexington Minute Men stood in their way on Lexington Green, leading Major Pitcairn to swing his sword, and say, “Lay down your arms, you damned rebels”.
In a deposition taken later, Capt. John Parker testified:
“I … ordered our Militia to meet on the Common in said Lexington to consult what to do, and concluded not to be discovered, nor meddle or make with said Regular Troops (if they should approach) unless they should insult or molest us; and, upon their sudden approach, I immediately ordered our Militia to disperse, and not to fire:—Immediately said Troops made their appearance and rushed furiously, fired upon, and killed eight of our Party without receiving any Provocation therefor from us.”
No one knows who fired the first shot, but once a shot was fired a lot more ensued. The regulars charged forward with their bayonets, driving the Patriots off the green into nearby woods to the north. Once the shooting was over, eight Minute Men were dead and ten wounded.
At this point, the Redcoats reassemble, shout three loud “Huzzah”s, fire a round in victory, and march off to Concord.
And that was the first shot, the “shot heard ‘round the world” of the American Revolution.
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James N.
Colonial Militia
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
October 24 2007
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Posted - April 24 2013 : 2:05:36 PM
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Sounds like a fair account of the reenactment, but in reality it took a while for Pitcarin's officers to regain control over the Light Infantry companies. It is well to remember that the troops on BOTH sides were "green", and that despite their reputation as well-drilled soldiers, the regulars lost their discipline, however briefly. Of course things weren't helped by the fact these companies had never worked together before apart from their parent units, so often failed to recognize or respond to any but their own officers. Despite the failure of discipline after the shooting started, an impartial reading of the various accounts of the affair makes it seem likely that a "patriot" firing from cover or "the sidelines" fired first. It wasn't until Lt. Col. Smith at the head of the Grenadier companies caught up with Major Pitcarin that the march to Concord resumed.
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Monadnock Guide
Council of Elders
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
March 14 2005
Status: offline
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Posted - April 24 2013 : 7:22:41 PM
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| You know James, - in the over all scheme of things, it may be completely unimportant "who fired the first shot" ... under the circumstances it was going to happen at some point anyway. As it turns out, - Lexington was probably the best spot. The Brits were a long way from home (Boston in this case) and they would have a tough retreat. Had this been much closer to Boston, - and safety for the Brits, ... |
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