Part 1

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE

Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.

Superscripts are represented by ^, for example 19^{th}.

All changes in the Errata, found at the end of the narrative and before the main Index, have been applied to the etext.

Other obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and consultation of external sources.

More detail can be found at the end of the book.

SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION,

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Number of copies printed:

This one No.

THE BATTLE OF APRIL 19, 1775,

IN

LEXINGTON, CONCORD, LINCOLN, ARLINGTON, CAMBRIDGE, SOMERVILLE AND CHARLESTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS.

BY

FRANK WARREN COBURN.

LEXINGTON, MASS., U. S. A., PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR, 1912.

COPYRIGHT, 1912, FRANK WARREN COBURN.

F. L. COBURN & CO., PRINTERS, BOSTON, MASS., U. S. A.

DEDICATION.

TO MY SON:

CHARLES LYMAN COBURN,

A NATIVE OF LEXINGTON.

PREFACE.

There have been many histories of the Battle of Lexington and of the Battle of Concord, some of them excellent to the extent of that part of the contest to which they were devoted. From time to time gifted orators have gone to the one town or to the other, and eloquently portrayed the heroic deeds of men within that town on the opening day of the American Revolution. No fault should be found with any of those, designed as a healthy stimulus to local pride, and to foster sentiments of national patriotism.

But the student in American local history needs a more extensive view of the operations of that day. He needs to be better informed as to the various scenes of carnage that were waged along all of those nearly twenty miles of highway. Men were slain in Lexington, and in Concord; but there were many others slain in Lincoln, in Arlington, in Cambridge, and in Somerville. Nor should we forget the youngest martyr of the day, but fourteen years of age, who fell in Charlestown.

For the purpose, then, of presenting to such as may be interested, I have assembled here the most comprehensive account that has ever been offered, and one that aims to be a history of the entire day. I have endeavored to make it not only complete and interesting, but just and reliable, recognizing fully the rights of my own ancestors to rebel, and also recognizing the rights of the mother country to prevent such rebellion--even by an appeal to arms. Since those days we have grown to be a mother country ourselves, and have had reason, on more than one occasion, to exercise that accepted right of parental control.

This narrative is based upon official reports, sworn statements, diaries, letters, and narratives of participants and witnesses; upon accounts of local historians and national orators; and, in a few cases, upon tradition, if such seemed authentic and trustworthy.

But I am sorry to say, that in more than one instance, I have found even the sworn statements at variance with each other. I am satisfied that the authors did not intend to mislead in any way, but simply tried to tell to others what appeared to them. Their mental excitement naturally added a little of that vivid coloring noticeable in most war narratives of a personal nature. My work has been to harmonize and simplify these, and to extract simply the truth.

In 1775 the greater part of the present town of Arlington was a part of Cambridge, and known as the Menotomy Precinct. Later it was incorporated as a separate town and called West Cambridge. Later still its name was changed to Arlington. Somerville, in that year, was a part of Charlestown. What remained of Charlestown eventually became a part of Boston, though still retaining its ancient name. In writing of the events that happened within the boundaries of each, I shall speak of them as of Arlington, of Somerville, and of Charlestown.

I am glad to add that the bitterness and hatred, so much in evidence on that long-ago battle day, no longer exist between the children of the great British Nation.

FRANK WARREN COBURN.

Lexington Mass., April 19, 1912.

CONTENTS.

AUTHORITIES XII

IN PARLIAMENT 1

THE PROVINCIAL CONGRESS 5

BRITISH FORCES IN BOSTON 13

THE BRITISH START FOR LEXINGTON AND CONCORD 19

THE MESSENGERS OF ALARM 20

FLIGHT OF HANCOCK AND ADAMS 30

ALARMS IN OTHER PLACES 32

LIEUT.-COL. SMITH'S ADVANCE THROUGH CAMBRIDGE 47

LIEUT.-COL. SMITH'S ADVANCE THROUGH SOMERVILLE 48

LIEUT.-COL. SMITH'S ADVANCE THROUGH CAMBRIDGE 50

LIEUT.-COL. SMITH'S ADVANCE THROUGH ARLINGTON 51

LIEUT.-COL. SMITH'S ADVANCE THROUGH LEXINGTON 57

THE OPENING BATTLE ON LEXINGTON COMMON 58

LIEUT.-COL. SMITH'S ADVANCE THROUGH LINCOLN 72

LIEUT.-COL. SMITH'S ADVANCE INTO CONCORD 73

BATTLE AT NORTH BRIDGE IN CONCORD 78

LIEUT.-COL. SMITH'S RETREAT THROUGH CONCORD 95

LIEUT.-COL. SMITH'S RETREAT THROUGH LINCOLN 99

LIEUT.-COL. SMITH'S RETREAT TO LEXINGTON VILLAGE 105

EARL PERCY MARCHES TO REINFORCE LIEUT.-COL. SMITH 114

PERCY'S RETREAT THROUGH ARLINGTON 130

PERCY'S RETREAT THROUGH CAMBRIDGE 145

PERCY'S RETREAT THROUGH SOMERVILLE 150

PERCY'S ARRIVAL IN CHARLESTOWN 154

AMERICAN KILLED, WOUNDED AND MISSING 157

BRITISH KILLED, WOUNDED, PRISONERS AND MISSING 159

DISTANCES MARCHED BY THE BRITISH SOLDIERS 161

ENGLISH FRIENDS AFTER THE BATTLE 162

INDEX 165

ILLUSTRATIONS.

MAJOR JOHN PITCAIRN facing title

Copied from a rare miniature in the possession of the Lexington Historical Society, and published in this work by their permission.

THE DOOLITTLE PICTURES.

PLATE I. THE BATTLE OF LEXINGTON, APRIL 19TH, 1775 facing page 58

PLATE II. A VIEW OF THE TOWN OF CONCORD, facing page 73

PLATE III. THE ENGAGEMENT AT THE NORTH BRIDGE IN CONCORD facing pace 78

PLATE IV. A VIEW OF THE SOUTH PART OF LEXINGTON facing page 122

The Amos Doolittle Pictures of Lexington and Concord, copperplate engravings, size about 12 x 18 inches, and hand-colored, were originally published by James Lockwood in New Haven, December 13, 1775. The drawings were made by Mr. Earl, a portrait painter, and the engravings therefrom were by Amos Doolittle. Both were members of the Governor's Guard, and came on to Cambridge as volunteers under Benedict Arnold immediately after the battle of April 19th, and soon after commenced these early specimens of American art. The student of today prizes them, not for their artistic excellence, but for their faithfulness in depicting the scenery, buildings, and troops engaged.

In the _Book Buyer_ for January, 1898, is an illustrated article on Early American Copperplate Engraving, by William Loring Andrews. I am indebted to him, and to the publishers, Charles Scribners' Sons, for permission to copy the Doolittle set for this work.

HUGH EARL PERCY facing page 114

From a contemporary copperplate engraving published by John Fielding. London, 1785.

GENERAL WILLIAM HEATH, facing page 154

From a portrait in _Harper's Magazine_, October, 1883, and copied for publication in this work by permission of Harper & Brothers.

MAPS.

BOSTON AND VICINITY IN 1775-6, facing page 19

Copied from part of the map to illustrate the Siege of Boston in Marshall's Life of Washington, and dated 1806. I have made slight additions to indicate Smith's and Percy's movements.

LEXINGTON COMMON AND VICINITY, page 59

CONCORD VILLAGE AND VICINITY, page 79

BATTLE ROAD THROUGH CONCORD AND LINCOLN page 100

BATTLE ROAD THROUGH ARLINGTON AND CAMBRIDGE page 131

BATTLE ROAD THROUGH SOMERVILLE AND CHARLESTOWN page 151

AUTHORITIES.

_Individuals, Societies, and Historical Works of Value to Me in the Preparation of this Work._

Adams, Josiah. Address at Acton, July 21, 1835.

Adams, Josiah. Letter to Lemuel Shattuck, in Vindication of the Claims of Capt. Isaac Davis.

Allen, Joseph and Lucy Clark Allen, Memorial of, by their Children.

Almanack. George's Cambridge, or the Essex Calendar for 1776.

Almanack. Nathaniel Low, 1775.

Almanack. North American, 1775. By Samuel Stearns.

Almanack. North American, 1776. By Samuel Stearns. Containing Rev. Wm. Gordon's Account of the Battle.

Austin, James T. Life of Elbridge Gerry.

Bacon, Edwin M. Historical Pilgrimages in New England.

Bancroft, George. History of the United States.

Barber, John Warner. Historical Collections of Massachusetts.

Barber, John W. History and Antiquities of New Haven.

Barrett, Capt. Amos. Concord and Lexington Battle, in Journal and Letters of Rev. Henry True.

Barry, William. History of Framingham.

Bartlett, George B. Concord Guide Book.

Bartlett, S. R. Concord Fight.

Bolton, Charles Knowles. Brookline, the History of a Favored Town.

Bolton, Charles Knowles. Letters of Hugh Earl Percy.

Bond, Henry, M.D. Genealogies of the Families of Watertown.

Boston. Celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of the Evacuation of, by the British Army.

Booth, E. C. Article in Somerville _Journal_, April, 1875.

Boutwell, George S. Oration at Acton, Oct. 29, 1851.

British Officer in Boston in 1775, in _Atlantic Monthly_, April, 1877.

Brooks, Charles, and James M. Usher. History of Medford.

Brown, Abram English. Beneath Old Roof Trees.

Brown, Abram English. History of Bedford.

Brown, Charles, of East Lexington.

Cambridge of 1776. Edited for the Ladies' Centennial Committee, by A. G.

Clarke, Jonas. Pastor of the Church in Lexington. Opening of the War of the Revolution. Appended to a Sermon Preached by Him, April 19, 1776.

Cleaveland, Colonel, of the Artillery. Historical Record of the 52nd Regiment.

Concord Celebration of the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Incorporation, Sept. 12, 1885.

Concord Fight, Souvenir of the 120th Anniversary of.

Converse, Parker Lindall. Legends of Woburn.

Curtis, George William. Oration on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Fight at Concord.

Cutter, Ben. and William R. History of Arlington.

Dana, Richard H. Oration on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Battle of Lexington.

Dawson, Henry B. Battles of the United States.

De Bernicre's Report of the Battle.

Depositions of Eye-witnesses and Participants.

Drake, Francis S. The Town of Roxbury.

Drake, Samuel Adams. Historic Fields and Mansions of Middlesex.

Drake, Samuel Adams. History of Middlesex County.

Drake, Samuel Adams. Old Landmarks and Historical Personages of Boston.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Historical Discourse, Concord, Sept. 12, 1835. Containing Diary of Rev. William Emerson (eye-witness), April 19, 1775.

Everett, Edward. Oration at Concord, April 19, 1825.

Everett, Edward. Address at Lexington, April 19 (20), 1835.

Everett, Edward. Mount Vernon Papers.

Farmer, John. Historical Memoir of Billerica.

Frothingham, Richard. History of the Siege of Boston.

Frothingham, Richard. Rise of the Republic of the United States.

Gage. Gen. Thomas. Report of the Battle.

Gettemy, Charles Ferris. True Story of Paul Revere's Ride, in the _New England Magazine_, April, 1902.

Gordon, William, D.D. History of the United States.

Goss, Elbridge Henry. Life of Col. Paul Revere.

Graham, James. History of the United States.

Great Britain, War Office of, for Gen. Gage's Report.

Green, Samuel Abbott. Groton During the Revolution.

Hale, Edward E., in Winsor's Memorial History of Boston.

Hamlin, Rev. Cyrus. My Grandfather, Col. Francis Faulkner.

Hanson, J. W. History of Danvers.

Harper's Popular Cyclopaedia of U. S. History.

Haven, Samuel F. Historical Address, Dedham, Sept. 21, 1836.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Mosses From an Old Manse.

Hazen, Rev. Henry A. History of Billerica.

Heath, Major-General. Memoirs of. Written by Himself.

Historical Records of the British Army. The Fourth or King's Own Regiment of Foot.

Holland, Henry W. William Dawes and His Ride with Paul Revere.

Houghton, H. M. Plans Locating Graves of British Soldiers.

Hudson, Alfred Sereno. History of Sudbury.

Hudson, Charles. History of Lexington.

Hudson, Charles. History of Marlborough.

Hudson, Frederic. Concord Fight in _Harper's New Monthly Magazine_, May, 1875.

Hunnewell, James F. A Century of Town Life. A History of Charlestown.

Hurd, D. Hamilton. History of Essex County.

Hurd, D. Hamilton. History of Middlesex County.

Jewett, C. F. & Co. History of Worcester County.

King, Daniel P. Eulogy at the Funeral of Gen. Gideon Foster.

Lannon, John. Lexington.

Lexington, Handbook of its Points of Interest, 1891.

Lexington, Historical Monuments and Tablets.

Lexington Historical Society, Alonzo E. Locke, President, and various officers and attendants.

Lexington Historical Society, Proceedings of, Vol. I., II., III., IV. Contributions by Edward P. Bliss; Francis H. Brown, M.D.; G. W. Brown; Albert W. Bryant; Elizabeth Clarke; Elizabeth W. Harrington; Herbert G. Locke; James P. Munroe; Elizabeth W. Parker; G. W. Sampson; A. Bradford Smith; Geo. O. Smith; and Rev. Carlton A. Staples.

Lexington, History of the Fight at, From the Best Authorities.

Lexington, Proceedings at the Centennial Celebration of the Battle of.

Lewis, Alonzo. History of Lynn.

Lincoln, William. History of Worcester.

Lincoln, Mass. Celebration of the 150th Anniversary of Its Incorporation, April 23, 1904.

Local Loiterings and Visits in the Vicinity of Boston. By a Looker-on.

Lossing, Benson J. History of the United States.

McGlenen, Edward W., Boston.

McKenzie, Rev. Alexander. Address at Dedication of Monument Over Cambridge Killed.

Mansfield, Rev. Isaac, Chaplain of Gen. Thomas's Regiment. Thanksgiving Sermon in Camp at Roxbury, Nov. 23, 1775.

Marshall, John. Life of George Washington.

Massachusetts Archives, at State House, Boston.

Massachusetts Historical Society Collections, Vols. II., IV., V., XVIII., and Vol. IV., Second Series.

Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings, May, 1876.

Military Journals of Two Private Soldiers, 1758, 1775. Lemuel Lyons, Samuel Haws.

Muzzey, A. B. History of the Battle of Lexington.

Muzzey, A. B. Reminiscences and Memorials of the Men of the Revolution.

Narrative of the Excursion and Ravages of the King's Troops. Worcester, Printed by Isaiah Thomas, by Order of the Provincial Congress.

New England Historic Genealogical Society.

Osgood, Charles S. and H. M. Batchelder. Historical Sketch of Salem.

Paige, Lucius R. History of Cambridge.

Parker, Charles S. Town of Arlington, Past and Present.

Parliamentary History of England. Published Under the Superintendence of T. C. Hansard, Vol. XVIII.

Percy, Acting Brigadier-General, His Report of the Battle.

Phinney, Elias. History of the Battle of Lexington.

Provincial Congress of Massachusetts. Journals of Each.

Rantoul, Robert, Jr. Oration at Concord, on the Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the Events of April 19, 1775.

Revere, Paul. His Account of the Ride to Lexington. Reprinted in the Life of Revere by Goss.

Reynolds, Rev. Grindall. Concord Fight.

Riply, Rev. Ezra. History of the Fight at Concord.

Russell, Edward J., Dorchester.

Samuels, E. A., and H. H. Kimball. Somerville, Past and Present.

Sawtelle, Ithamar B. History of Townsend.

Scull, G. D. Memoir and Letters of Capt. W. Glanville Evelyn, of the 4th Regiment (King's Own).

Sewall, Samuel. History of Woburn.

Shattuck, Lemuel. History of Concord, Bedford, Acton, Lincoln and Carlisle.

Sidney, Margaret. Old Concord, Her Highways and Byways.

Simonds, Eli. Article Containing his Statement about the Battle of Lexington, Boston _Globe_, July 17, 1895.

Smith, Samuel A. West Cambridge on the Nineteenth of April, 1775. An Address.

Smith, S. F., D.D. History of Newton.

Somerville, Handbook of the Historic Festival, 1898.

Staples, Rev. Carlton A.

Stearns, Jonathan F., D.D. Historical Discourse, Bedford Sesqui-Centennial, Aug. 27, 1879.

Stedman, C. History of the Origin, Progress and Termination of the American War.

Stephens, Alexander. Memoirs of John Horne Tooke.

Stone, Edwin M. History of Beverly.

Sumner, William H. History of East Boston.

Swan, Charles W. MSS. of Levi Harrington. Account of the Battle, given by him to his son, Bowen, March, 1846. (Eye-witness on Lexington Common, and then about fifteen years of age.)

Tenney, Wallace Fay.

Tolman, George. Concord Minute Man.

Thornton, John Wingate. Pulpit of the American Revolution.

United States Geological Survey, Maps of.

Watson, John Lee. Paul Revere's Signal. The True Story of the Signal Lanterns.

Webber, C. H. and W. S. Nevins. Old Naumkeag. Historical Sketch of Salem.

Wellington, Caroline, Charles A., Cornelius, and Eliza.

Wheildon, W. W. Chapter in the History of the Concord Fight. Boston _Sunday Herald_, April 19, 1885.

Winsor, Justin. Memorial History of Boston.

Worthington, Erastus. History of Dedham.

Wyman, Thomas B. Genealogies and Estates of Charlestown.

THE BATTLE OF APRIL 19, 1775.

IN PARLIAMENT.

The Treaty of Peace signed at Paris, Feb. 10, 1763, terminated the prolonged struggle between England and France, for supremacy in the New World. For seven long years it had lasted, and its cost had been treasure and blood. Justly proud were the British Colonies of the martial success of their mother country, a goodly part of which they had valorously won themselves.

During the war, and at its close, England had been generous in remitting to the Colonial Treasuries large sums in partial liquidation of the war expenses advanced by them; but subsequently it was esteemed wise, by a majority of her statesmen, to gradually replace such sums in the royal coffers, by a system of colonial taxation very similar to modern methods of raising war revenues. In the abstract this fact was not particularly disagreeable to the colonists, for the necessity was admitted, but the arbitrary method of levying those taxes was bitterly contested.

England's Parliament claimed the right to tax the distant Colonies even as it taxed the neighboring Boroughs, and as a commencement of its financial plan enacted a Stamp Act, so called, to take effect Nov. 1, 1765, similar in intent and working, to the modern revenue stamp of our Government. These stamps were to be purchased of the Crown's officers and affixed to certain articles of merchandise and in denominations according to a schedule of taxable value.

The opposition to this Act was immediate, continuous, and bitter in the extreme, and the result was that it was repealed March 18, 1766.

The next move on the part of the Mother Country was the passage of a Military Act which provided for the partial subsistence of armed troops on the Colonies. Violent opposition to this was also immediate and general, but without avail. In Boston one result was a conflict between the troops and the inhabitants on March 5, 1770, and now referred to as the Boston Massacre.

In June, 1767, another Act was passed, taxing tea and other commodities, which was repealed April 12, 1770, on all articles except the tea. Large consignments were sent to America. Ships thus laden that arrived in New York were sent back with their full cargoes. At Charleston the tea was landed but remained unsold. At Boston, a party disguised as Indians threw it from the ship into the sea.[1] Parliament in consequence passed the Boston Port Bill, March 7, 1774, closing Boston as a commercial port, and removing the Custom House to Salem in another harbor a dozen miles or more northward up the coast.

This Act went into effect June 1, 1774, and was immediately felt by all classes, for all commerce ceased. Boston merchants became poor, and Boston poor became beggars. The hand of relief, however, was extended, even from beyond the sea. The City of London in its corporate capacity subscribed £30,000[2]. In America the assistance was liberal and speedy. George Washington headed a subscription paper with £50[3].

These severe measures of Parliament, with their natural effect of ruin and starvation among the people of America, served to stimulate a feeling of insubordination, and hatred of the Mother Country, from which crystalized the First Continental Congress which assembled at Philadelphia, Sept. 5, 1774, soon followed by the First Provincial Congress of Massachusetts which met at Salem, Oct. 7, of the same year.

On the question of Colonial Government Great Britain and her American colonies were not divided by the Atlantic Ocean, for on the American side the Crown had its ardent supporters, while on the other side friends of the American cause were almost as numerous as were the oppressors. We have seen how the great City of London contributed liberally to the Bostonians, shut off from the world by the Port Bill, and on the floor of Parliament many gifted orators espoused the American cause.

With prophetic eloquence the Lord Mayor, Mr. Wilkes, exclaimed:

"This I know, a successful resistance is a revolution, not a rebellion.... Who can tell, sir, whether in consequence of this day's violent and mad Address to his Majesty, the scabbard may not be thrown away by them as well as by us?... But I hope the just vengeance of the people will overtake the authors of these pernicious councils, and the loss of the first province of the empire be speedily followed by the loss of the heads of those ministers who advised these wicked and fatal measures."[4]

Lord Chatham in his motion to withdraw the troops from Boston, said:

"As an American I would recognize to England her supreme right of regulating commerce and navigation: as an Englishman by birth and principle I recognize to the Americans their supreme unalienable right in their property; a right in which they are justified in the defence of to the last extremity."[5]

The Corporation of the City of London passed a vote of thanks to Chatham, and to those who supported him for having offered to the House of Lords a plan to conciliate the differences with America.[6]

When Lord North's unfriendly proposition for conciliating America was introduced, it naturally found an advocate in the loyal and courtly Gen. Burgoyne--courtly but courageous; loyal ever to his King but not blind to the merits of the claims of the Colonists. While modestly pledging his loyalty to the Crown, he could not refrain from adding:

"There is a charm in the very wanderings and dreams of liberty that disarms an Englishman's anger."[7]

In the debate on the bill for restraining the Trade and Commerce of the English Colonies, Lord Camden asked:--

"What are the 10,000 men you have just voted out to Boston? Merely to save General Gage from the disgrace and destruction of being sacked in his entrenchments. It is obvious, my Lords, that you cannot furnish armies or treasure, competent to the mighty purpose of subduing America.... It is impossible that this petty island can continue in dependence that mighty continent."[8]

Continuing, he drew a picture of American union and American courage, that in the end would prevail.

The Earl of Sandwich replied:--