Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1875-04-20
THE BATTLES OF LEXINGTON
mi CONCORD.

Yesterday was the one hundredth
anniversary of the day upon which
was shed the first blood in defense Il
American Independence. On the nIne-
teenth of April, 1875, the soldiers OF
King George received the first practi-
cal proof of the determination of the
Ipeople of the American colonies to
no longer tamely submit to the oppres
sive acts of the Government of Great
Britain; and although at that time the
idea of an independent government
had perhaps never been conceived,
and certainly v assumed a definite
shape, in the mind of a single partici-
pant of the first battle of the revolu-
ton, the events Of that day, (which
made Cancellation impossible and in
dependence CERTAIN" were the founda-
ton of q systematized armed opposi-
ton to the hordes of the oppressor,
which eliminated fifteen months af-
forwards in the announcement Of a Sc
ries of governmental principles which
%astonished the civilized world, and the
declaration of the national independ-
ence of the American States. Although
Philadelphia was the scene of the ma
TONS birth, the germ of civil liberty
was implanted at Lexington and Con-
cord, and "the shot heard round the
world" fired at the rude bridge which
spanned the sluggish Assabeth no
less significant of freedom than were
the deep tones of the old State house
bell, which afterwards proclaimed the
joyful intelligence of the birth of a
republic and the termination of kingly
rule over the oppressed people of the
colonies. The midnight ride of Paul
Revere, to warn the unconscious vii
layers Of the intended invasion, was
an event as interesting and important
as any that TRANSFERRED during the
struggle for liberty, and the names
of the sturdy yeomen who inaugurated
with their lives resistance to British
tyranny on Lexington Common, and
at the bridge in Concord on that April
day are entitled to as honorable men
ton, and as prominent a position in
the pages of American history as the
signers Of the declaration of the prin-
ciples for which they sacrificed their
lives, or as any of the more prominent
military patriots who participated in
the later sa%nguinary conflicts of that
troublous period. 1t is a gratifying
reflection that the Centennial Ami
versary of the %eventful day was cele-
brated in an appropriate manner upon
the scene of the principal conflict. The
people of Lexington and Concord,
many of whom are lineal descendants
of participators in the battles, made
extensive preparations forthe occasion,
and although we have not yet received
a report of the proceedings, from the
interest evinced in the East we infer
that the celebration was one of the
grandest that has ever been held in
New England. The President and his
Cabinet, many members of the U. S.
Senate and House of Representatives,
and a large number of prominent mil
itary, political and literary men from
all sections of the Union were to have
been present, and there appeared to be
1~-s.~ - 1~-o~ fIN -n.pso,,
to the fullest extent. Such a spirit
speaks we'll for the patriotism of the
American people, and is a gratifying
indication that the heroic acts
of the soldiers in the late civil war
have not entirely absorbed the admir-
alton of our people or obliterated from
their memory the valiant deeds of the
early revolutionary heroes.