The Shot

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.

 -Ralph Waldo Emerson - Concord Hymn


Today marks the anniversary of the start of the Revolutionary War!  On the morning of April 19, 1775, the British troops arrived in Lexington to confiscate military supplies and instead found an armed group of colonists, ready to fight.  Though both sides were told to hold fire, a shot rang out.  After some fighting at the North Bridge, the redcoats fled back to Boston.

Suggested reading:  Howard Fast's April Morning

William Dawes

(1745-1799)

We've all heard about Paul Revere's midnight ride to warn the colonists that the British Army was approaching, but had you heard Revere wasn't the only rider?  On the night of April 18, 1775, William Dawes took a land route heading toward Lexington, getting out of Boston just before the city was sealed off.  His warning spread throughout the towns, making it possible for a militia to be organized by the next morning. It is unknown, however, if Dawes had any part in the battle that followed.  During the war, he served as quartermaster.  And a cool fun fact, he died in Marlborough, MA!