The Military Journals of Two Private Soldiers, 1758 1775

A >> Abraham Tomlinson >> The Military Journals of Two Private Soldiers, 1758 1775

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"But we most ardently wish that the several papers herewith
enclosed may be immediately printed and dispersed through every
town in England, and especially communicated to the lord-mayor,
aldermen, and council, of the city of London, that they may take
such order thereon as they may think proper. And we are confident
your fidelity will make such improvement of them as shall
convince all, who are not determined to be in everlasting
blindness, that it is the united efforts of both Englands that
can save either: but that whatever price our brethren in the one
may be pleased to put on their constitutional liberties, we are
authorized to assure you that the inhabitants of the other, with
the greatest unanimity, are inflexibly resolved to sell theirs
only at the price of their lives.

"Signed by order of the Provincial Congress,
"JOSEPH WARREN, _President, P. T._

"A true copy from the original minutes,
"SAMUEL FREEMAN, _Sec. P. T._"

The depositions relative to the commencement of hostilities are as
follows:--

"LEXINGTON, _April 25, 1775_.

"We, Solomon Brown, Jonathan Loring, and Elijah Sanderson, all of
lawful age, and of Lexington, in the county of Middlesex, and
colony of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, do testify and
declare that, on the evening of the 18th of April, instant, being
on the road between Concord and Lexington, and all of us mounted
on horses, we were, about ten of the clock, suddenly surprised by
nine persons, whom we took to be regular officers, who rode up to
us, mounted and armed, each having a pistol in his hand, and,
after putting pistols to our breasts, and seizing the bridles of
our horses, they swore, if we stirred another step, we should be
all dead men, upon which we surrendered ourselves. They detained
us until two o'clock the next morning, in which time they
searched and greatly abused us, having first inquired about the
magazine at Concord, whether any guards were posted there, and
whether the bridges were up, and said four or five regiments of
regulars would be in possession of the stores soon. They then
brought us back to Lexington, cut the horses' bridles and
girths, turned them loose, and then left us.

"SOLOMON BROWN,
"JONATHAN LORING, ELIJAH SANDERSON."

"LEXINGTON, _April 25, 1775_.

"I, Elijah Sanderson, above named, do further testify and
declare, that I was on Lexington common, the morning of the 19th
of April aforesaid, having been dismissed by the officers above
mentioned, and saw a large body of regular troops advancing
toward Lexington company, many of whom were then dispersing. I
heard one of the regulars, whom I took to be an officer, say,
"Damn them, we will have them;" and immediately the regulars
shouted aloud, run and fired upon the Lexington company, which
did not fire a gun before the regulars discharged on them. Eight
of the Lexington company were killed while they were dispersing,
and at a considerable distance from each other, and many wounded;
and, although a spectator, I narrowly escaped with my life.

"ELIJAH SANDERSON."

"LEXINGTON, _April 23, 1775_.

"I, Thomas Rice Willard, of lawful age, do testify and declare
that, being in the house of Daniel Harrington, of said Lexington,
on the 19th instant, in the morning, about half an hour before
sunrise, looked out at the window of said house, and saw (as I
suppose) about four hundred regulars in one body, coming up the
road, and marched toward the north part of the common, back of
the meeting-house of said Lexington; and as soon as said regulars
were against the east end of the meeting-house, the commanding
officer said something, what I know not, but upon that the
regulars ran till they came within about eight or nine rods of
about a hundred of the militia of Lexington, who were collected
on said common, at which time the militia of Lexington dispersed.
Then the officers made a huzza, and the private soldiers
succeeded them: directly after this, an officer rode before the
regulars to the other side of the body, and hallooed after the
militia of said Lexington, and said, "Lay down your arms, damn
you, why don't you lay down your arms?"--and that there was not a
gun fired till the militia of Lexington were dispersed. And
further saith not.

"THOMAS RICE WILLARD."

"LEXINGTON, _April 25, 1775_.

"Simon Winship, of Lexington, in the county of Middlesex, and
province of Massachusetts Bay, New England, being of lawful age,
testifieth and saith, that on the 19th April instant, about four
o'clock in the morning, as he was passing the public road in said
Lexington, peaceably and unarmed, about two miles and a half
distant from the meeting-house in said Lexington, he was met by a
body of the king's regular troops, and being stopped by some
officers of said troops, was commanded to dismount. Upon asking
why he must dismount, he was obliged by force to quit his horse,
and ordered to march in the midst of the body; and, being
examined whether he had been warning the minute-men, he answered,
'No, but had been out, and was then returning to his father's.'
Said Winship farther testifies that he marched with said troops,
till he came within about half a quarter of a mile of said
meeting-house, where an officer commanded the troops to halt, and
then to prime and load: this being done, the said troops marched
on till they came within a few rods of Captain Parker's company,
who were partly collected on the place of parade, when said
Winship observed an officer at the head of said troops,
flourishing his sword, and with a loud voice giving the word,
'Fire! fire!' which was instantly followed by a discharge of arms
from said regular troops; and said Winship is positive, and in
the most solemn manner declares, that there was no discharge of
arms on either side, till the word 'Fire' was given by the said
officer as above.

"SIMON WINSHIP."

"LEXINGTON, _April 25, 1775_.

"I, John Parker, of lawful age, and commander of the militia in
Lexington, do testify and declare that, on the 19th instant, in
the morning, about one of the clock, being informed that there
were a number of regula-officers riding up and down the road,
stopping and insulting people as they passed the road; and also
was informed that a number of regular troops were on their march
from Boston, in order to take the province stores at Concord,
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.

"JOHN PARKER."

"LEXINGTON, _April 24, 1775_.

"I, John Robins, being of lawful age, do testify and say that, on
the 19th instant, the company under the command of Captain John
Parker, being drawn up (some time before sunrise) on the green or
common, and I being in the front rank, there suddenly appeared a
number of the king's troops, about a thousand, as I thought, at
the distance of about sixty or seventy yards from us, huzzaing,
and on a quick pace toward us, with three officers in their front
on horseback, and on full gallop toward us, the foremost of which
cried, 'Throw down your arms, ye villains, ye rebels!' upon which
said company dispersing, the foremost of the three officers
ordered their men, saying, 'Fire, by God! fire!' at which moment
we received a very heavy and close fire from them; at which
instant, being wounded, I fell, and several of our men were shot
dead by me. Captain Parker's men, I believe, had not then fired
a gun. And further the deponent saith not.

"JOHN ROBINS."

"LEXINGTON, _April 25, 1775_.

"We, Benjamin Tidd, of Lexington, and Joseph Abbot, of Lincoln,
in the county of Middlesex, and colony of Massachusetts Bay, in
New England, of lawful age, do testify and declare that, on the
morning of the 19th of April instant, about five o'clock, being
on Lexington common, and mounted on horses, we saw a body of
regular troops marching up to the Lexington company, which was
then dispersing. Soon after, the regulars fired, first, a few
guns, which we took to be pistols from some of the regulars who
were mounted on horses, and then the said regulars fired a volley
or two before any guns were fired by the Lexington company; our
horses immediately started, and we rode off. And further say not.

"BENJAMIN TIDD, JOSEPH ABBOT."

"LEXINGTON, _April 25, 1775_.

"We, Nathaniel Mullokin, Philip Russell, Moses Harrington, jun.,
Thomas and Daniel Harrington, William Grimes, William Tidd, Isaac
Hastings, Jonas Stone, jun., James Wyman, Thaddeus Harrington,
John Chandler, Joshua Reed, jun., Joseph Simonds, Phineas Smith,
John Chandler, jun., Reuben Cock, Joel Viles, Nathan Reed, Samuel
Tidd, Benjamin Lock, Thomas Winship, Simeon Snow, John Smith,
Moses Harrington the 3d, Joshua Reed, Ebenezer Parker, John
Harrington, Enoch Willington, John Hornier, Isaac Green, Phineas
Stearns, Isaac Durant, and Thomas Headley, jun., all of lawful
age, and inhabitants of Lexington, in the county of Middlesex,
and colony of the Massachusetts Bay, in New England, do testify
and declare, that, on the 19th of April instant, about one or two
o'clock in the morning, being informed that several officers of
the regulars had, the evening before, been riding up and down the
road, and had detained and insulted the inhabitants passing the
same; and also understanding that a body of regulars were
marching from Boston toward Concord, with intent (as it was
supposed) to take the stores, belonging to the colony, in that
town, we were alarmed, and having met at the place of our
company's parade, were dismissed by our captain, John Parker, for
the present, with orders to be ready to attend at the beat of the
drum. We further testify and declare, that, about five o'clock in
the morning, hearing our drum beat, we proceeded toward the
parade, and soon found that a large body of troops were marching
toward us. Some of our company were coming up to the parade, and
others had reached it, at which time the company began to
disperse. While our backs were turned on the troops, we were
fired on by them, and a number of our men were instantly killed
and wounded. Not a gun was fired by any person in our company on
the regulars, to our knowledge, before they fired on us, and
they continued firing until we had all made our escape.

"Signed by each of the above deponents,"

"LEXINGTON, _25th of April, 1775_.

"We, Nathaniel Parkhurst, Jonas Parker, John Munroe, jun., John
Winship, Solomon Pierce, John Muzzy, Abner Meeds, John Bridge,
jun., Ebenezer Bowman, William Munroe the 3d, Micah Hager, Samuel
Saunderson, Samuel Hastings, and James Brown, of Lexington, in
the county of Middlesex, and colony of the Massachusetts Bay, in
New England, and all of lawful age, do testify and say, that, on
the morning of the 19th of April instant, about one or two
o'clock, being informed that a number of regular officers had
been riding up and down the road the evening and night preceding,
and that some of the inhabitants, as they were passing, had been
insulted by the officers, and stopped by them; and being also
informed that the regular troops were on their march from Boston,
in order (as it was said) to take the colony stores then
deposited at Concord, we met on the parade of our company in this
town. After the company had collected, we were ordered by Captain
Parker (who commanded us) to disperse for the present, and to be
ready to attend the beat of the drum; and accordingly the company
went into houses near the place of parade. We further testify and
say, that, about five o'clock in the morning, we attended the
beat of our drum, and were formed on the parade; we were faced
toward the regulars then marching up to us, and some of our
company were coming to the parade with their backs toward the
troops, and others, on the parade, began to disperse, when the
regulars fired on the company, before a gun was fired by any of
our company on them. They killed eight of our company, and
wounded several, and continued their fire until we had all made
our escape.

"Signed by each of the deponents."

"LEXINGTON, _April 25, 1775_.

"I, Timothy Smith, of Lexington, in the county of Middlesex, and
colony of Massachusetts Bay, in New England, being of lawful age,
do testify and declare, that, on the morning of the 19th of April
instant, being on Lexington common, as a spectator, I saw a large
body of regular troops marching up toward the Lexington company,
then dispersing, and likewise saw the regular troops fire on the
Lexington company, before the latter fired a gun. I immediately
ran, and a volley was discharged at me, which put me in imminent
danger of losing my life. I soon returned to the common, and saw
eight of the Lexington men who were killed, and lay bleeding at a
considerable distance from each other; and several were wounded.
And further saith not.

"TIMOTHY SMITH."

"LEXINGTON, _April 25, 1775_.

"We, Levi Mead and Levi Harrington, both of Lexington, in the
county of Middlesex, and colony of Massachusetts Bay, in New
England, and of lawful age, do testify and declare, that, on the
morning of the 19th of April, being on Lexington commons, as
spectators, we saw a large body of regular troops marching up
toward the Lexington company; and some of the regulars, on
horses, whom we took to be officers, fired a pistol or two on the
Lexington company, which was then dispersing. These were the
first guns that were fired, and they were immediately followed by
several volleys from the regulars, by which eight men belonging
to said company were killed, and several wounded.

"LEVI HARRINGTON, LEVI MEAD."

"LEXINGTON, _April 25, 1775_.

"I, William Draper, of lawful age, and an inhabitant of Colrain,
in the county of Hampshire, and colony of Massachusetts Bay, in
New England, do testify and declare, that, being on the parade of
said Lexington, April 19th instant, about half an hour before
sunrise, the king's regular troops appeared at the meeting-house
of Lexington. Captain Parker's company, who were drawn up back of
said meeting-house on the parade, turned from said troops, making
their escape, by dispersing. In the meantime, the regular troops
made a huzza, and ran toward Captain Parker's company, who were
dispersing; and, immediately after the huzza was made, the
commanding officer of said troops (as I took him) gave the
command to the said troops--"Fire! fire! damn you, fire!"--and
immediately they fired, before any of Captain Parker's company
fired, I then being within three or four rods of said regular
troops. And further say not.

"WILLIAM DRAPER."

"LEXINGTON, _April 23, 1775_.

"I, Thomas Fessenden, of lawful age, testify and declare, that,
being in a pasture near the meeting-house, at said Lexington, on
Wednesday last, at about half an hour before sunrise, I saw a
number of regular troops pass speedily by said meeting-house, on
their way toward a company of militia of said Lexington, who were
assembled to the number of about one hundred in a company, at the
distance of eighteen or twenty rods from said meeting-house; and
after they had passed by said meeting-house, I saw three
officers, on horseback, advance to the front of said regulars,
when one of them, being within six rods of the said militia,
cried out, "Disperse, you rebels, immediately!" on which he
brandished his sword over his head three times: meanwhile, the
second officer, who was about two rods behind him, fired a
pistol, pointed at said militia, and the regulars kept huzzaing
till he had finished brandishing his sword; and when he had thus
finished brandishing his sword, he pointed it down toward said
militia, and immediately on which the said regulars fired a
volley at the militia, and then I ran off as fast as I could,
while they continued firing till I got out of their reach. I
further testify, that, as soon as ever the officer cried,
"Disperse, you rebels," the said company of militia dispersed
every way, as fast as they could; and, while they were
dispersing, the regulars kept firing at them incessantly. And
further saith not.

"THOMAS FESSENDEN."

"LINCOLN, _April 23, 1775_.

"I, John Bateman, belonging to the fifty-second regiment,
commanded by Colonel Jones, on Wednesday morning, on the 19th day
of April instant, was in the party marching to Concord, being at
Lexington, in the county of Middlesex, being nigh the
meeting-house in said Lexington, there was a small party of men
gathered together at that place, when our said troops marched by;
and I testify and declare that I heard the word of command given
to the troops to fire, and some of said troops did fire, and I
saw one of said small party lay dead on the ground nigh said
meeting-house; and I testify that I never heard any of the
inhabitants so much as fire one gun on said troops.

"JOHN BATEMAN."

"LEXINGTON, _April 23, 1775_.

"We, John Hoar, John Whithead, Abraham Garfield, Benjamin Munroe,
Isaac Parks, William Hosmer, John Adams, Gregory Stone, all of
Lincoln, in the county of Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay, all of
lawful age, do testify and say that, on Wednesday last, we were
assembled at Concord, in the morning of said day, in consequence
of information received that a brigade of regular troops were on
their march to the said town of Concord, who had killed six men
at the town of Lexington. About an hour afterward, we saw them
approaching, to the number, as we apprehended, of about twelve
hundred, on which we retreated to a hill about eighty rods back,
and the said troops then took possession of the hill where we
were first posted. Presently after this we saw the troops moving
toward the north bridge, about one mile from the said Concord
meeting-house. We then immediately went before them and passed
the bridge just before a party of them, to the number of about
two hundred, arrived. They there left about one half of their two
hundred at the bridge, and proceeded with the rest toward Colonel
Barrett's, about two miles from the said bridge. We then, seeing
several fires in the town, thought the houses in Concord were in
danger, and marched toward the said bridge; and the troops that
were stationed there, observing our approach, marched back over
the bridge, and then took up some of the planks. We then hastened
our march toward the bridge, and, when we had got near the
bridge, they fired on our men--first three guns, one after the
other, and then a considerable number more; and then, and not
before (having orders from our commanding officers not to fire
till we were fired upon), we fired upon the regulars, and they
retreated. On their retreat through the town of Lexington to
Charlestown, they ravaged and destroyed private property, and
burnt three houses, one barn, and one shop.

"Signed by each of the above deponents."

"LEXINGTON, _April 23, 1775_.

"We, Nathan Barret, captain; Jonathan Farrar, Joseph Butler, and
Francis Wheeler, lieutenants; John Barret, ensign; John Brown,
Silas Walker, Ephraim Melvin, Nathan Buttrick, Stephen Hosmer,
jun., Samuel Barret, Thomas Jones, Joseph Chandler, Peter
Wheeler, Nathan Pierce, and Edward Richardson, all of Concord, in
the county of Middlesex, in the province of Massachusetts Bay, of
lawful age, testify and declare, that, on Wednesday, the 19th
instant, about an hour after sunrise, we assembled on a hill near
the meeting-house in Concord aforesaid, in consequence of an
information that a number of regular troops had killed six of our
countrymen at Lexington, and were on their march to said Concord;
and, about an hour afterward, we saw them approaching, to the
number, as we imagine, of about twelve hundred; on which we
retreated to a hill about eighty rods back, and the aforesaid
troops then took possession of a hill where we were first posted.
Presently after this, we saw them moving toward the north bridge,
about one mile from said meeting-house; we then immediately went
before them, and passed the bridge just before a party of them,
to the number of about two hundred, arrived. They there left
about one half of these two hundred at the bridge, and proceeded
with the rest toward Colonel Barret's, about two miles from the
said bridge. We then, seeing several fires in the town thought
our houses were in danger, and immediately marched back toward
said bridge, and the troops who were stationed there, observing
our approach, marched back over the bridge, and then took up some
of the planks. We then hastened our steps toward the bridge, and
when we had got near the bridge, they fired on our men--first
three guns, one after the other, and then a considerable number
more; upon which, and not before (having orders from our
commanding officer not to fire till we were fired upon), we fired
upon the regulars, and they retreated. At Concord, and on their
retreat through Lexington, they plundered many houses, burnt
three at Lexington, together with a shop and barn, and committed
damage, more or less, to almost every house from Concord to
Charlestown.

"Signed by the above deponents."

"We, Joseph Butler and Ephraim Melvin, do testify and declare,
that, when the regular troops fired upon our people at the north
bridge, in Concord, as related in the foregoing depositions, they
shot one, and we believe two, of our people, before we fired a
single gun at them.

"JOSEPH BUTLER, EPHRAIM MELVIN.
"LEXINGTON, _April 23, 1775_."

"CONCORD, _April 23, 1775_.

"I, Timothy Minot, jun., of Concord, on the 19th day of this
instant, April, after that I had heard of the regular troops
firing upon Lexington men, and fearing that hostilities might be
committed at Concord, thought it my incumbent duty to secure my
family. After I had secured my family, some time after that,
returning toward my own dwelling, and finding that the bridge on
the north part of said Concord was guarded by regular troops,
being a spectator of what had happened at said bridge, declare
that the regular troops stationed on said bridge, after they saw
the men that were collected on the westerly side of said bridge,
marched toward said bridge; then the troops returned toward the
easterly side of said bridge, and formed themselves, as I
thought, for regular fight: after that they fired one gun, then
two or three more, before the men that were stationed on the
westerly part of said bridge fired upon them.

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