The Minutemen and Their World

Chapter Five arrives as the book’s defining moment: the battle between British Regular forces and colonists centered around Concord’s North Bridge. The chapter begins by examining the character of Thomas Gage, the governor of Massachusetts, and his thought process leading up to the opening events of the Revolution. Spies were sent to Concord and other Massachusetts communities to judge the mood there; since tensions were high, Gage was concerned that certain actions would be impossible without prompting an attack by colonists.

There were many calls for preemptive attacks by colonists in the month leading up to war. In early April, the Provincial Congress decided to raise an army of 18,000 soldiers. In mid-April, Gage received orders from the British Secretary of State for America to arrest the leaders of the colonial resistance and encourage Tories to take up arms in expectation of the arrival of reinforcements from Britain. Though Gage believed himself to be operating in total secrecy until the final moments before the confrontation, “Gage’s plan was, as noted, what every well-informed colonist had been anticipating for weeks. The only question was when the governor would move, not where” (113). It was a natural move for Gage to attempt to destroy the stockpile of weapons and supplies at Concord—British spies had already delivered detailed information on what the colonists had and where they were storing it.

The attack began when between 700 and 800 British forces gathered on Boston Common on the night of April 18. At the same time, Concordians, aware that an attack was imminent, were already working to move ammunition stores to new hiding places. As British troops began to march from the Common, Paul Revere began his famous trip to warn the colonists of the impending attack, as did several other watchful citizens. By 2 a.m., about 130 militiamen had gathered on Lexington Common, intending to engage with British troops only if they attacked. This group eventually dispersed, and when sentries warned that the British were near, only about seventy men reassembled. Paul Revere and others had exaggerated the size of the force that would be waiting for them in Lexington, and the British troops arrived ready for battle. Though it is unclear who fired the first shot, it is generally agreed that the British troops “raged out of control” (117). Eight colonists were killed, and nine others were wounded.

News of the events quickly spread to Concord and other towns, and the towns’ militias assembled. 150 of Concord’s men came together, but retreated to higher ground to wait out the British advance. The British found a mostly-abandoned town, and moved to destroy as much of the colonists’ war provisions as possible, though the operation “was largely conducted with restraint—perhaps because British officers, appalled by the breakdown of discipline and by the bloodshed at Lexington Common, were determined to avoid further incidents” (120). However, there was looting and destruction that proved ruinous for a few town residents, and British soldiers did manage to destroy a significant amount of stockpiled supplies.

As smoke rose from the town, the militiamen and reinforcements from other towns decided it was time to act. The American soldiers met the British on the North Bridge. When the famous “shot heard ‘round the world” and others was over, three British soldiers had been killed. Though the British were panicked and at a tactical disadvantage, the militiamen “were still fighting only in self-defense,” and did not shoot at the retreating soldiers(126). The British then retreated by the Bay Road, unaware that American forces were waiting for them along the ridge that ran along the road. By the time the British retreated at noon on the 19th, they had sustained a 20% casualty rate to the Americans’ 2-3%. Concord had no fatalities, and only four Concordians were wounded. Rumors of British retaliation moved through the countryside, but soon died down.