But Dr. Joseph Warren, the most uncompromising of the younger theorists, had become a warrior. The next day the Minute Men were praising the nerve with which he had charged in to treat the wounded, even as musket balls burst around him and once grazed his wig. Overnight, Samuel Adams' protege became an American hero. On behalf of the Committee of Safety, Warren wrote an account of the events of April 19th, asking all available men to come to Cambridge and enlist in an American army. Death and devastation are the instant consequences of delay.
Every moment is infinitely precious.
An hour lost may deluge your country in blood and entail perpetual slavery upon the few of your posterity who may survive the carnage. Within a day, Joseph Warren was surrounded by a throng of twenty thousand men. When Warren asked the militia commander where he might be of service in combat, General Israel Putnam replied much the same as Elbridge Gerry had implored the evening before. The new Major-General was too valuable to be risked at the front lines and would be of great assistance in fortifying Bunker Hill to the rear of the American line. As president pro tempore of the Provincial Congress, Warren was indeed a valuable man to risk in combat.