Captain John Parker and 77 armed Individuals stood on Lexington Widespread on what revolutionary Samuel Adams proclaimed “an excellent morning for America.”
It was April 19, 1775.
The “shot heard ‘around the world,” as Ralph Waldo Emerson later referred to as it, was about to ignite the American Revolution and alter world historical past ceaselessly.
Parker was 45 years previous and riddled with tuberculosis. He roused his weakened physique simply after midnight, when the cry reached Lexington and echoed by a community of alarm riders via the Massachusetts countryside.
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“The regulars are out!” Paul Revere himself warned the individuals of Lexington.
Now, at daybreak, Parker’s small volunteer militia confronted a terrifying sight: A drive of 700 British regulars, extremely skilled troopers, skilled killers, well-armed brokers of essentially the most highly effective empire on Earth.
The Lexington Minuteman Statue superimposed in American flag towards blue sky. Lexington Widespread, Massachusetts. (H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock/Getty Photographs)
The Redcoats have been decided to squash a colonial insurrection that had been percolating in close by Boston for almost a decade.
The British hoped to grab a cache of colonial weapons and insurgent leaders John Hancock and Sam Adams, who have been in Lexington that very morning.
“I believe Parker and his males have been clearly scared. I believe they might have been indignant and motivated, too.”
“I believe [Parker and his men] have been clearly scared,” Dan Davis, senior training supervisor for American Battlefield Belief, advised Fox Information Digital.
“I believe they might have been indignant and motivated, too, to guard their households and houses … That they had a really massive British drive marching via their city.”
A Lexington Minuteman waits on Lexington Widespread, within the pre-dawn hour. The Battle of Lexington is commemorated on Patriots’ Day, April 18, 2022, in Lexington, Massachusetts. The city pays tribute to those that died on the morning of April 19, 1775. (Joanne Rathe/The Boston Globe through Getty Photographs)
Parker had been elected captain of the native militia — the Lexington Coaching Band, as they referred to as themselves — referred to as minutemen in fashionable lore.
They have been farmers, blacksmiths, cordwainers and wagon makers. Lots of the males have been carefully associated — no extra distant than cousins.
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Most have been religious Christians and terribly well-read for widespread individuals.
“We have been in all probability essentially the most literate nation on this planet on the time,” Parker biographer Invoice Poole, former president of the Lexington Historic Society, advised Fox Information Digital.
His assertion is supported by many colonial students.
“Principally,” he added, “as a result of we have been nice Bible readers.”
American troops have been mocked as “Yankee psalm-singers” by their British foes, David McCullough notes in his e book “1776,” an epic have a look at the dramatic yr that adopted
American silversmith, engraver and Revolutionary patriot Paul Revere (1735-1818) rides to warn the individuals of Massachusetts that the British troops have been advancing by boat, April 1775. He reached Lexington to warn minutemen there earlier than being stopped by the British on the way in which to Harmony. (Interim Archives/Getty Photographs)
The exceptional literacy of the colonists is taken into account a serious cause why revolutionary beliefs that toppled millennia of monarchial hierarchies took root so deeply amongst Individuals within the 1700s.
Massachusetts was the middle of the motion. The colony had a protracted simmering feud with Britain that reached its breaking level a yr earlier with Parliament’s Insupportable Acts.
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Amongst different indignities, the acts closed the port of Boston, the supply of the colony’s prosperity, and restricted the cherished custom of city assembly in communities like Lexington. Colonists have been outraged.
The second of reality got here on Lexington Widespread.
“Throw down your arms! Ye villains, ye rebels,” a British officer, almost definitely Main John Pitcairn, reportedly ordered the vastly outnumbered American volunteers.
“In the event that they imply to have a battle, let it start right here.” — Captain John Parker
Parker and his males defied the order.
“Stand your floor, don’t hearth until fired upon,” Parker advised his males. “In the event that they imply to have a battle, let it start right here.”
‘We belief in God’
Captain John Parker was born in Lexington on July 13, 1729, to Lt. Josiah and Anna (Stone) Parker.
A few of his ancestors had arrived within the Massachusetts Bay Colony as early as 1635, giving the Parker household roots as deep as some other sooner or later United States.
British troopers hearth upon members of the native militia firm throughout the annual re-enactment of the Battle of Lexington on Lexington Widespread on Monday, April 15, 2019, in Lexington, Massachusetts. (Nicolaus Czarnecki/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald through Getty Photographs)
“A stout, large-framed man of medium top,” Poole writes in his biography of Parker.
Captain Parker is usually described as a mechanic. He was, in essence, a woodworker — making spinning wheels, press screws and compass bins.
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He earned his army coaching within the French and Indian Battle (1756-63), although a number of consultants observe there isn’t any documented proof of his service, simply oral historical past and circumstantial proof.
He reportedly skilled with Rogers’ Rangers. It was a gaggle of New Hampshire troopers instructed in irregular warfare — guerilla warfare. United States particular forces hint their roots to Rogers’ Rangers and its “28 guidelines of ranging at this time.”
These ways proved important to Parker’s management all through the day.
A pair cease to pose subsequent to a large American flag held on the aspect of Carey Memorial Library after watching the reenactment of the Battle of Lexington Inexperienced, a short but essential marker of the American Revolution advised and celebrated for 248 years. The Battle of Lexington is commemorated on Patriots’ Day, April 17, 2023, in Lexington, Massachusetts. The city pays tribute to those that died on Lexington Widespread on April 19, 1775. (Joanne Rathe/The Boston Globe through Getty Photographs)
The members of the Lexington Coaching Band have been citizen-soldiers, sure not by army professionalism however by religion and a vow to one another.
It learn: “We belief in God that, ought to the state of our affairs require it, we will be able to sacrifice our estates and every part pricey in life, yea and life itself, in help of the widespread trigger.”
“We belief in God.” — Lexington militia’s vow
It didn’t take an ideal army thoughts to grasp that the volunteer militia, outnumbered almost 10 to 1, was no match for the firepower of the British Empire arrayed earlier than them.
Parker’s solely hope was to keep away from a struggle, delay the Redcoats lengthy sufficient to permit extra minutemen to collect and confront the British drive someplace later and in a extra advantageous place.
The primary photographs of the American Revolution have been fired in Lexington, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775. Print reveals line of minutemen being fired upon by British troops. Engraving, circa 1903. Virginia orator Patrick Henry had referred to as upon his colonists to lift a militia solely 4 weeks earlier, famously demanding, “Give me liberty, or give me dying!” (VCG Wilson/Corbis through Getty Photographs)
Destiny had different plans. The shot that adopted on Lexington Widespread, that ignited the American Revolution, stays a thriller to historical past.
The firefight shortly grew to become a rout.
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“The British gentle infantry fired, ‘made a huzza,’ and ran furiously towards the retiring militia,” Alexander R. Cain writes in his historical past of the encounter, “We Stood Our Floor.”
Cain can be a member of the Lexington Minute Males, a gaggle of historians and volunteers who maintain alive the legacy of Parker and his males.
The Individuals returned hearth, however have been overwhelmed and scattered.
When the smoke cleared, greater than a dozen Individuals lay lifeless or wounded. Almost one-third of the 77 males who stood on Lexington Widespread that morning could be killed (11 of them) or have been wounded by the tip of the day.
Jonas Parker, the captain’s cousin, gave his life gruesomely on Lexington Widespread.
Lexington Minuteman Jonas Parker was shot, then killed by bayonet after vowing by no means to run from the British. A reenactor lays lifeless after being bayonetted by considered one of His Majesty’s Regulars, one of many first casualties of the Battle of Lexington Inexperienced. The Battle of Lexington is commemorated on Patriots’ Day; the city pays tribute to those that died on April 19, 1775. (Joanne Rathe/The Boston Globe through Getty Photographs)
Parker was “standing … together with his [musket] balls and flints in his hat on the bottom between his ft,” based on an account by fellow Lexington militiamen Ebenezer Munroe.
Parker bravely declared “he would by no means run,” Munroe mentioned.
Jonas Parker, he mentioned, “was shot down at the second hearth … I noticed him struggling on the bottom, trying to load his gun … as he lay on the bottom they (ran) him via with the bayonet.”
The slaughter of citizen-soldiers came about in entrance of your entire village.
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“Because the regulars left the onslaught behind them, wives, kids and the spectators emerged from hiding and made their method onto the widespread,” writes Cain.
“Many have been overcome with emotion and grief on the sight of husbands, sons, brothers, cousins and neighbors mendacity lifeless or wounded on the sector.”
Parkers’ revenge
The British, with only some of their males wounded, marched previous the carnage and made their method towards Harmony, seven miles to the west.
However Parker’s delaying tactic labored.
Avenue indicators in Lexington, Massachusetts, bear an emblem at this time that pays homage to Captain John Parker and the city militia, 77 males who stood up 700 British Redcoats on April 19, 1775, and fought the primary battle of the American Revolution. “What an excellent morning for America.” (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox Information Digital)
Because the residents of Lexington tended to the wounded on the widespread, “over 200 males from Woburn’s militia and minuteman firms arrived in Lexington,” based on Cain.
“Disturbed at what they noticed, the boys halted and assisted the Lexington residents in treating the wounded and carrying the lifeless into the meetinghouse. Afterward, the Woburn males reassembled and resumed their march towards Harmony.”
The armed Americans turned again the British troopers in Harmony.
The 200 Woburn males have been simply the tip of the spear. Hundreds extra minutemen started to reach from communities from all throughout Massachusetts.
The armed Americans turned again the British troopers in Harmony and commenced chasing the troops again to Boston, choosing off Redcoats alongside the way in which.
Boston Tea Get together, Dec. 26, 1773. Inhabitants of Boston, Massachusetts, dressed as American Indians, threw tea from vessels within the harbor into the water as a protest towards British taxation: “No taxation with out illustration.” Late nineteenth century wooden engraving. (Photo12/Common Photographs Group through Getty Photographs)
“Nearly 2,000 militiamen … had descended to the world, and extra have been continuously arriving,” notes Historical past.com.
Parker miraculously gathered his troops after the shock the boys witnessed within the morning. They lay in ready to ambush the British as they fled again to Boston.
“Some wore bandages stiffened from the blood of wounds they’d suffered within the morning, they usually have been anxious to revenge themselves and their lifeless neighbors,” experiences American Battlefield Belief.
The King’s Regulars shoot one final spherical on Lexington Widespread throughout the annual Patriots’ Day reenactment of the Battle of Lexington on Apr. 17, 2017. (Joanne Rathe/The Boston Globe through Getty Photographs)
They shot and killed an unknown variety of British. The day resulted in an unbelievable victory for America’s citizen troopers.
The British by the tip of the day suffered about 300 killed and wounded, to fewer than 100 for the Individuals. They retreated to Boston.
Hundreds of American militiamen laid siege to the British in Boston for almost a yr earlier than the Redcoats lastly fled on March 17, 1776. Massachusetts had gained its insurrection towards the British Empire whereas the American Revolution moved to different colonies.
His heroics gave rise to the Declaration of Independence the next yr.
“The positioning of Parker’s Revenge is the primary of many fields the place courageous American troopers turned defeat into victory,” writes American Battlefield Belief.
Patriots’ Day
John Parker succumbed to the tuberculosis that plagued him on Lexington Widespread on Sept. 17, 1775. He was solely 46 years previous.
His heroics gave rise to the Declaration of Independence the next yr — and to a courageous and daring new nation, the USA of America.
James Lee is the captain commanding the Lexington Minutemen, a gaggle of reenactors, patriots and American historical past fanatics. By firm custom, he’ll painting Capt. John Parker within the annual reenactment of the “shot heard ‘around the world,” which occurred on Lexington Widespread on April 19, 1775. (Michael Duncan Smith)
He by no means noticed both.
No portrait of Parker exists. However his picture lives on in American lore because the inspiration for the well-known Minuteman Statue on Lexington Widespread; and within the nation’s religion of an armed citizenry as a bulwark towards tyranny, encoded within the Second Modification.
His legacy additionally survives in the USA Military Reserve — impressed by his selfless instance of citizen-soldier speeding to assistance from their nation in want.
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The U.S. Military Reserve motto, “Twice the Citizen,” pays deference to the stand of Parker and the 77 that morning, whereas its official brand, a person in colonial headgear, is called The John Parker.
The Lexington Minuteman Statue superimposed towards an American flag in a blue sky, Lexington Widespread, Massachusetts. James Lee (at proper) portrays Capt. John Parker throughout the annual reenactment on Lexington Widespread. (Getty Photographs/Michael Duncan Smith)
Sprawling and serpentine Minute Man Nationwide Park traces the lengthy route of the “superb day” in American historical past. Latest analysis has uncovered particulars of the positioning of Parker’s Revenge.
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The stand of Parker’s 77, and the bigger Battles of Lexington and Harmony, are celebrated every year as Patriots’ Day, statewide holidays in Massachusetts and Maine, on the Monday closest to April 19.
The festivities start at daybreak with the reenactment of the Battles of Lexington and Harmony; and celebrations happen in different communities as properly, particularly those that despatched minutemen to struggle the British that morning.
The enormous American flag was unfurled over the Inexperienced Monster throughout the nationwide anthem. The Boston Pink Sox hosted the Minnesota Twins within the annual Patriots’ Day morning MLB baseball recreation at Fenway Park in Boston on April 18, 2022. (Jim Davis/The Boston Globe through Getty Photographs)
Lexington has reenacted the stand of its 77 males yearly since 1791.
The Boston Pink Sox play a house recreation at Fenway Park each Patriots’ Day at 11 a.m. It’s the solely morning recreation on the Main League Baseball calendar every year.
“He stood as a sick and weakened however highly effective man for the rights of all Individuals.” — Invoice Poole, historian
The streets of Boston and different Bay State communities erupt with events and parades on Patriots’ Day because the Boston Marathon winds its method from western suburbs into downtown Boston.
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It is among the most eagerly anticipated days of the yr in Massachusetts, amongst different issues marking the arrival of spring.
Few Patriots’ Day celebrants at this time know the patriot who impressed the festivities.
“Captain Parker stood in defiance of a really highly effective army energy, essentially the most highly effective nation on Earth,” mentioned Poole, the Lexington historian.
The Minuteman Statue in Lexington, Massachusetts, is supposed to depict Captain John Parker, who led the outnumbered Lexington militia towards the British regulars on April 19, 1775. The following skirmish, the “shot heard ‘around the world,” ignited the American Revolution. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox Information Digital)
“He stood for the rights of the group and the rights of the person. He stood as a sick and weakened however highly effective man for the rights of all Individuals and, as such, ought to be held as a hero.”
To learn extra tales on this distinctive “Meet the American Who…” collection from Fox Information Digital, click on right here.
