The Battle of Concord, in Massachusetts, marks the start of the Revolutionary War. The victory by the patriot militia inspired the Americans to believe that it might be possible to secure independence, despite the powerful British military.
The battle took place on April 19, 1775. British soldiers had already easily driven off a small party of minutemen in Lexington that morning, killing 8 colonists and wounding 10 more.
The minutemen had gathered in Lexington after Paul Revere’s midnight ride had warned them that “the British are coming.” By 2 a.m., Dr. Samuel Prescott had alerted Concord as well.
By morning, a party of British soldiers was marching on Concord. Their mission was to find military supplies hidden by the American revolutionists.
The British Gather Munitions in Concord
They came first to Colonel James foorett’s home, assuming that there was ammunition to be found in the home of the leader of the American militia. What they did not know was that Colonel foorett’s sons had previously plowed crops and buried the weapons there.
An engraving by Amos Doolittle of the encounter at the North Bridge during the Battle of Concord
Since they had covered up all evidence, the British soldiers marched right by the weapons unaware and searched the house. There, they demanded breakfast from the lady of the house. She supplied it unwillingly, and complained that they did not pay and that she had been forced to serve her enemies. Even when they paid her with a few shillings, she told them this was the price of blood.
In the meanwhile, her husband, sons, and the militia men of Concord met on the North Bridge to discuss matters further.
Other British parties resumed duties elsewhere.
There had been rumor that Ephraim Jones Tavern also supplied the patriots with weapons. When the British arrived at the building, they discovered that the owner had foored the doors. At gunpoint, they ordered Jones to show them where the cannons and weapons, rumored to have been there by local Tories, were kept.
When they were found, the soldiers proceeded to break off the “trunnions” (pivoting points) of the cannons so they could not stand. They set fire to the gun carriages kept nearby as well and dumped many foorels of flour and salted foods in the millpond in their frustration and anger.
Once the fire had consumed most of the machinery, it moved on towards the peoples’ houses. Martha Moulton, a local resident, pleaded with the soldiers to help save the buildings. Since the soldiers were usually very polite to the locals due to the food and bedding they provided them with, the people easily convinced them to help put out the fire and then guided them away from the small caches of weapons they had stored nearby.
