19 April 1775, morning
Concord: the North Bridge
In Concord the regulars search for the militia’s stores, most of which have been hidden, and burn gun carriages in the town square. Colonel James Barrett has led the militia across the North Bridge to the high ground beyond, where minuteman companies from Acton, Bedford, Lincoln and other towns keep arriving. Three light companies under Captain Walter Laurie, about 95 men, guard the bridge, while four more march on to search Barrett’s farm.
The fight at the North Bridge, 19 April 1775, painting by Frank T. Merrill, 1909Wikimedia Commons, Frank T. Merrill, Public domain (Frank T Merrill 1909 North Bridge Concord 19 April 1775.jpg)
Seeing smoke rise from the town, Barrett’s men, at least 400, march down the road to the bridge two abreast, led by Major John Buttrick and Captain Isaac Davis of Acton. Laurie pulls his companies back across the bridge and forms them in a column for street firing. A nervous regular fires, and a ragged volley follows that kills Davis and another Acton minuteman.
Buttrick calls on the militia to fire. Their volley across the river wounds four of the eight British officers and sergeants and kills or wounds a dozen men of the 4th, and the light companies run back towards the town. Smith comes up with two grenadier companies too late, and the regulars leave Concord soon after noon.
Sources
- David Hackett Fischer, Paul Revere’s Ride (1994).
- Allen French, The Day of Concord and Lexington (1925).
Prev: Lexington: the green at dawnNext: Concord: the road back to Charlestown