The Republican journal., 1911-03-30
A PRIZE ESSAY.

Wadsworth Packard, junior. His es-
say was as follows:
LEXINGTON AND CONCORD.
Journeying through the historic town
OF Lexington, Massachusetts, the trav-
eler finds himself confronted by large
stone boulder, situated on the famous
Lexington Green, and bearing the fol-
lowing inscription, the burning words
uttered by the patriotic Captain John
Parker Immediately before the first vol
ley OF the American Revolution:
Stand your ground! Don't fire unless
hred upon; but if they mean to have
war let it begin here!'
In the neighboring and equally historic
town OF Concord is found the celebrated
Minute Man. statue, on which is in
scrlbed the following stanza from Emer-
sons famous poem:
by the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And hred the shot heard round the world"
Viewing these renowned monuments
marking the birthplace of the American
Revolution, the mind of the spectator
PUSHES back to the scenes which they
commemorate, scenes vastly important
in the worlds history. In the early
dawn of an April morning he sees seven
ty stalwart forms, farmers of the region,
under command of Captain Parker, calm
~ awaiting the approach of eight hun
dred British troops under Major Pitcairn.
Those eight hundred British regulars are
the representative of Mother England,
one OF the foremost nations of Christen-
dom, yet overbearing, tyrannical and I'M
just in her blind persecution of this
youthful colony. The seventy resolute
mlnute-men who oppose them represent
a young State which is destined to take
its place in the first rank among the ma
tons OF the earth. They are uprising in
the Righteousness of their Indignation
and demanding those powers and privi-
leges which are theirs by Divine right.
Already have they left the mother coun-
try and at terrible price have won re-
ligious freedom. Is it to be expected
that they will submit quietly to the loss
OF their political freedom? No! For
they must become government of the
people, by the people, and for the people.
Such IS our Introduction to the contem-
plation Of one of the most decisive events
in the history of America.
In Massachusetts, as a result of con-
tlnued outrages, affairs had come to a
crisis. The government of that prov
lnce, under the new order of things, had
been confided to General Gage, comman-
der in chief of the British army in Amer
lea, and he had come to Boston at the
head of small force of troops. He
was weak, foolish and imprudent man,
who annoyed the colonists by series of
petty reprisals. By the spring of ITS
Massachusetts was practically in re-
bellion. Every village green was drill
ground, every church town arsenal.
Gage, who had under his command
about three thousand effective men, was
Informed by his spies of small amount
OF military stores, collected by provincial
committees at Concord; and he resolved
on striking blow, as the king desired.
On the night of the eighteenth of April,
he secretly despatched about eight hun
dred men, commanded by Lieutenant
Colonel Smith, on the march to Concord.
They were under orders to destroy the
supplies gathered by the "rebels,'' and
to seize the persons of John Hancock and
Samuel Adams, who were living tempo
rarily at Lexington. The departure of
the expedition had been discovered, how
ever, and Paul Revere and William Dawes
spread abroad the information, alarming
the country and causing the firing Of
guns and ringing of bells which served
the two-fold purpose of arousing the
minute-men and causing Smith to send
for reinforcements.
When the advance of the British col
umn reached Lexington in the early
morning it was opposed by about seventy
militia men under command of Captain
John Parker. The British were led by
Major Pitcairn, who, on observing the
preparations for resisting his progress,
halted his men to load, and then advanced
at double quick, himself riding in advance
and crying to the Americans to lay down
their arms and dispense. The minute men
stood firm; too few to resist, too brave to
fly. At this Pitcairn fired his pistol and
with loud voice cried, "Firev' The
British volley killed and wounded fifteen
men.
In the disparity of numbers Parker
ordered his men to dispense. Then and
not till then, did few of them, on their
own impulse, return the fire. These
random shots did little damage, and the
British force, learning that Hancock and
Adams had retired, proceeded to Con-
cord. The latter place, destined to be-
come the second battle-ground of that
day, was reached little after seven
o'clock.
The country was now thoroughly
aroused, and some three hundred militia
had assembled under command of Colo
mel Barrett. They fell back across the
North Bridge on the approach of the
British and waited for achievements,
who were coming in rapidly. Mean
while Pitcairn was fretting and fu-
ming at the tavern-keeper for shutting
against him the doors of the inn, and ex-
ulted over the discovery of two twenty
four Founders in the tavern yard, as
though they reimbursed the expedi-
ton. These were spiked; sixty barrels
of flour were slightly damaged; five
hundred pounds of ball were thrown into
a mill-pond. The liberty pole and several
carriages for artillery were burned, the
court house also taking fire, though it
was put out. At the sight of fire in the
village the minute-men took up their
march for the town, encountering the
British at North Bridge, where after
brisk fight the British began to retreat.
Every piece of wood, every rock by the
wayside, served as a lurking place; the
hills seemed to the British to be alive
with "rebels." At first the retreat NOV
ed in order, but soon the fatigued and
exhausted soldiers were being driven be-
fore the Americans like sheep, until
early in the Afternoon, when they were
coy1od bI1 ord Dorou with +r,oJ,,a L.,-