The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-04-16
The shot Heard Round the world
Who Fired tt

/ CRADLE DAY In our annals, ana, luuccu, "
those far away that name sufficiently indicates
the locality Of the occurrence. But it is
otherwise with the people near by, and 1t
should scarcely surprise any one to learn that
the men who now dwell near Concord and Lex
ington are disputing somewhat warmly the
relative glory and hardihood of the men who
lived IN the respective towns ''in the brave
days Of DID, that there are claims and counter
claims as to who began it and who did it the
more strenuously, and so on; and oil that is
legitimate enough. Massachusetts, has the
general honor of leadership in the famous
struggle, and the possession is so definitely
hers that while the first centennial of an i'm
portant event-that of the tea party-had its
scene within her limits, the next important
event, with On interval of more than year,
is also hers, no act having been done in the
meantime in ali the other colonies that their
people now deem worthy of celebration in
this connection. Now, if it is an honor to
Massachusetts over other States that she was
the first to draw the line between the acts OF
authority that seemed legitimate and those
that she would resist as unjust and oppres-
siye, the honor is just as good for one town
of Massachusetts, against other towns-as for
that, one State above other States.
| In the so-called battle of Lexington we note
what has been noted of many more bloody
combats. There is a battle of Waterloo
which was not fought at Waterloo; there is
the battle of Arbela, which was not fought
within many miles of that little town. 1t
g. e.
the battles that have TO typographical right
to the names they bear. Alexander, having
thrashed the barbarians, his custom always in
the afternoon, went quietly to the rear, 10 the
little town where he could be comfortable, and
there wrote his dispatches. His dispatches,
therefore, came to the people at home ''from
Arbela," and spoke of the battle without def
mite designation of its scene; and SO it be-
came the battle of Aroela. Wellington did
the same thing with a similar result 1t is
generally the case that battles are called by
the name of the place from which the re-
ceived account of them goes to the world
We do not mean to say that the Concord peo-
pie fought and the Lexington people talked
about it, but the story that was hurried into
Percy was sent out with reinforcements evil
IDENTIFY went from Lexington and when the
patriots exchanged CHEEKY salutations on King
street that night, or the tories uttered their
agitation, they all assumed the occurrence of
the event at the place from which the news
had comet was tout at Lexing.on"-and
SO arose the association of the name and the
event, for in any other way the association is
not justified by the facts.
BY the 10Th of April it must have become
very difficult point with Governor Gage to
determine how far he was justified in inaction
in the presence and full view of the organiza-
ton of resistance. But what could he do?
1t was becoming terribly serious, to be sure
All the judges of the land were charging al
the grand juries that resistance to tyrants
was obedience TO Cod, and the people of
that generation meant to obey God so lar as
they saw the way. Patriotic eloquence fred
the national heart at all the cross roads. Old
Ben franklin had lost his place in the Post
/ Office, and a Provincial Congress, under the
nose, as it were, Of this sadly badgered Gov
ernor, had sketched an army on paper,
| drawn up rules for the government of the sol
diers, and urged the accumulation OF war ma
i terial All, here was something he could do
| Where was this material? They said there
was a store at Salem, and an expedition was
sent to destroy it but that district of sinister
/ fame missed new immortality by hiding
away its treasures 50 that the soldiers could
not find them and by compromising with
the soldiers in regard to the passage Of
bridge. Salem never compromised with the
witches. But as no stores could be found at
Salem, they must be found elsewhere for it
was now clear case with Gage, and on his
conscience that these stores-this revolu-
tionary -four, patriotic oats and dangerous
acknowledgements be put out of the way. So
it was ordered that an expedition should go
to Concord and destroy the stores Not a
word about Lexington as yet.
The expedition was planned for a surprise
and, in fact, it was surprise in the same
sense in which the Russian soldier caught the
Tartar. His Majestys authorities picketed
the road to Concord on the 18th. Some Off
GERS went out aud dined at Old Cambridge
that day, and in the afternoon "strolled into
the country" These were depended upon to
stop any couriers who might be sent out from
Boston upon the departure Of the troops to
give to the patriots at Concord such notice as
would enable them to hide or remove the
stores Consequently when Paul Revere was
waiting at night on the other side Of the river
for Robert Newman's signal in the old North
tower at Boston the men who were ac-
tually to capture him were already far ahead
of him on the road. At night the troops we're
put over on the Cambridge side--the grena-
der and light companies from every
regiment then in Boston-and this force,
Of perhaps fifteen hundred men, was
pushed forward rapidly in the hope ap-