Today Marks the anniversary of the birth of Liberty in America
It all started with the Seven Years War, one of the many conflicts between Britain and France. It actually started on May 28, 1754 when an inexperienced militia officer and Virginia planter named George Washington fired on a delegation of Frenchmen, starting what came to be known as the French-and-Indian War. (Washington was so incompetent that the Iriqois Chief Half-King decided to switch sides and support the French.) At the heart of this conflict was the desire for land; the British had settled North America for the purposes of farming and mining, and they settled more densely than the French, who were more interested in pelts and fur. The ever-growing British population were confined to territories east of the Appalachians, and they eyed the virgin lands of Kentucky and Ohio with covetousness. The French, for their part, were not about to cede their inland empire to a bunch of British colonials, and they were prepared to fight.
Then, too, it had it`s roots in the economic system of the times. Prior to the rise of Capitalism the colonial powers practiced something called mercantilism. Mercantilism was essentially a command economy, one in which private merchants were allowed or restricted in how and with whom they could trade. The philosophy of the day called for the creation of independent empires capable of supplying all their own needs. Sugar, for example, could only be purchased from a British sugar producer-such as Jamaica. This would be shipped to New England where it would be converted into Rum, which would be shipped to Britain in return for manufactured goods, or sold to Arabs in Africa in return for slaves to work the sugar plantations in the West Indies. This system became known as the Triangle Trade; sugar went north, rum went east, slaves came west. It was not just a practice of the British; all nations with colonial ambitions sought colonies for raw materials or basic products in return for a safe market. The system was kept in check through taxation and military protection.
But the thirst for rum was lucrative, and the French or Dutch were happy to undercut the British suppliers. Smuggling was common. In fact, it made some men very, very wealthy. John Hancock, for one.
Until the French and Indian War the British ran their colonies with a feather touch, something refered to by some historians as “salutary neglect”. The job of the colonists was to produce raw materials and buy manufactured goods from Britain, and since they were paying taxes indirectly on those goods everyone was happy. The colonies had their own governments, collected their own taxes, and were left alone-the way they liked it.
But the war with France changed all that; the British government was forced to send troops to fight the French and their native allies, and were forced to leave permanent garrisons after the war was over. The colonies were often quite uncooperative with these troops, too, refusing to help feed them or house them, and often escorting them to the colonial border and summarily tossing them out. Many people back home were angry with the cavalier treatment the soldiers received, and it was decided that Parliament should impose a tax on the colonials to help defray the cost of their support. After all, they were there to protect them.
Baad idea! Parliament first ordered strict enforcement of the Navigation Acts, forcing the colonies to buy British and cracking down on smuggling. This was followed in 1764 by the Sugar Act, then the Currency Act barring the colonies from printing their own money. Next came the Stamp Act and the Quartering Act (which obligated private citizens to house and feed British soldiers).
The government likewise forbade colonization of the newly acquired Ohio Territories in an effort to settle amicably with the Indians; that had been the whole POINT of the French and Indian War as far as the colonists were concerned.
Then came the Townshend Acts of 1767 levying taxes on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea.
Throughout the 13 colonies anger turned to rage, and rage turned to action as the colonials boycotted British goods. Samuel Adams, a leader of the “Sons of Liberty” (as former Prime Minister William Pitt-a strong opponent of Parliament`s attempts to punish the colonies and assert their authority-termed them) recruited the uber-wealthy smuggler John Hancock into the cause of the Patriots.
Then in 1770 a crowd of colonials surrounded a group of British officers who opened fire, killing three and injuring eight. The Boston Massacre, as it became known, would make the fame of America`s future President John Adams, who defended the British soldiers in court.
This lead to the Tea Act in which Parliament reduced taxes on tea and offered a sweetheart deal to the East India Company, which would allow the troubled enterprise to sell tea below what even smugglers could charge. On December 16, 1773 a group of Patriots boarded cargo ships carrying tea and pitched 342 chests into Boston harbor.
Now Britain was MAD, and they followed this with the Intolerable Acts, which included the Boston Port Bill (making it illegal for colonists to use the port), the Massachusetts Government Act (giving the British governor of Massachusetts control of town meetings and giving the control of elections of most government offices), the Quebec Act (blocking colonial settlements in the west), and in 1775 issued the New England Restraining Act, essentially declaring war on the rebellious colonials by ordering New England to trade solely with the Crown.
Tempers were at a fever pitch, British soldiers were prowling the streets of Boston, and that great city`s harbor was choked with British warships. It was a powder keg awaiting a spark.
That spark occurred on April 18, 1775.
Everywhere, in cities, towns and farms, Patriots were stockpiling guns and ammunition, preparing to defend themselves if need be. Every community organized a citizen militia called Minutemen, whose purpose was to act if the Lobsterbacks should come to call. It appeared prudent for the leaders of the Sons of Liberty in Boston to slip out of that city, as they faced arrest at the hands of the British authorities. Sam Adams and John Hancock were spirited away to a small community named Lexington.
The British commander was a General named Thomas Gage, and Gage wanted to put a stop to this bandwagon once and for all. Word had reached Gage that the rebels were stockpiling weapons in the town of Concord, and he dispatched his troops to both seize that stockpile and arrest Adams and Hancock. While Gage sought to keep his plan quiet, Boston was full of Patriots eager to stick the knife into a Redcoat shoulder and twist. A silversmith and sometime false-teeth manufacturer (a most necessary commodity in a place without fluoride, toothpaste, or even novocaine to deaden the pain of a filling) named Paul Revere was sent to warn the outlying towns of the operation. A stocky veteran of the French and Indian War, Revere had met with William Conant, the Charlestown head of the Committee of Public Safety, and had arranged a signal, since it seemed likely that he would not be able to get out of Boston once the soldiers began moving. The land route followed a thin neck of land and required a long detour, while the British could simply ferry troops across the Charles river and then move quickly on Concord. The signal “one if by land, two if by sea” was agreed upon, and Conant received his warning as two lanterns were lit in the steeple of of Christ`s Church by a young man named Robert Newman.
Despite tight security, Revere managed to row across the Charles and borrowed a prize horse to make his swift journey. Another man named William Dawes set out on the overland route, with the idea being that perhaps one of them would be successful in warning the Patriots and the Colonial Congress that had been held in Lexington. Revere was wildly successful, getting to Lexington well ahead of the Lobsterbacks and warning Adams and Hancock to flee.
Both Revere and Dawes would later be captured, but a young Patriot doctor named Samuel Prescott would escape and get word to Concord.
The local Minutemen of Lexington-many of them elderly or underage-assembled on the town green at one a.m. to meet the best equipped, best trained, toughest army on the face of the Earth.
Nothing went well for the British. The river crossing left them soggy and cold, and their stunning uniforms looked wonderful but were ill-fitting and uncomfortable. They were marching at night-something they never did. The objective was murky at best. They got off to a late start, too, giving Revere and Dawes time to warn the surrounding countryside. Colonials from all over the area set off for Concord with muskets, powder, and ball.
In Lexington, Captain John Parker gave orders to his men to simply stand their ground and to not shoot. It would be folly, nay madness, to attempt to engage hundreds of British troops with just 77 men and some hunting weapons. At 4 a.m. the advance guard, lead by a marine volunteer Major Pitcairn, squared off against the Minutemen, ordering them to lay down their arms and quit the green. Pitcairn personally dismounted and advanced on the ragtag band of old men and simple farmers. Parker ordered his men to hold their fire and disband, which they began to do, but Parker neglected to tell them to lay down their arms. A few remained in violation of orders, but many complied. Pitcairn ordered his men to remain in ranks and not fire. He wanted them to surround the rebels and hold them.
But a shot rang out in the early April skies, and the nervous British troops opened with a terrible volley on the colonials. The Minutemen broke and ran, with British guns firing into their fleeing backs. In just minutes eight residents of the town of Lexington lay dead on the green. It was April 19, 1775.
This was the shot heard round the World!
The British had drawn first blood, and the winds of war blew throughout the Massachussets colony. By days end British blood would run like a river.
The British commander Colonel Smith sent a courier to General Gage for reinforcements; it was obviously going to be a long, long day.
As the Brits approached Concord, they were met by a contingent of Minutemen who smartly turned and escorted them into town as though they were an honor guard. This surprised Colonel Smith, but he hoped that it was a symbol of, well, not exactly cooperation, but at least that the Colonials would act reasonably. Smith`s orders were to secure the two bridges in Concord, so he sent parties to do just that. After securing the bridges, Smith`s troops went in search of contraband weapons and food. They made a mistake, setting fire to some of the contraband they found. The smoke rising from the town center enraged the Minutemen; they thought the Lobsterbacks were burning down houses. With guns loaded they marched on the one of the bridges being held by a Captain Laurie.
Laurie`s forces were on the wrong side of the bridge, and they had been tearing up planks to make the bridge useless. Laurie`s men panicked at the approaching militia, firing a volley into the angry townspeople. The orders to the Minutemen had been to avoid shooting unless shot at, and the shock of being fired upon with real bullets quickly gave way to wrath, and a massacre resulted as every Colonial fired in a massive volley, falling back behind shrubs or stonework to reload and fire again. Laurie`s men broke and ran for town.
And so it went; the British regrouped in the town square and attempted to rally, but were cut down by the endless firing of colonial hunting weapons. There was nothing to do but retreat, and the British managed to disengage fairly easily. But it was a long, long road back to Boston, one that had to pass through the town of Lexington. All along the way Patriots fought Indian-style, hiding in the brush in ambush. The horror and disgrace must have been unendurable for these paragons of British pride and power; they were reduced to running like rabbits by a bunch of uneducated hicks with squirrel guns! But each of those uneducated hicks held death in their hands, and those squirrel guns had cobra fangs.
It must have seemed a miracle when Smith`s men laid eyes on Hugh Percy; Gage had dispatched Percy late, but better late than never, as Smith was going to lose all of his men if he hadn`t been relieved. Percy was tactically a much shrewder man than Smith, and he had the advantage of cannon which he employed to great advantage. Scouts were sent into the hills above the road, and wherever they saw a group of Patriots cannon balls rained down on them. The Americans, largely fighting on instinct, had to withdraw, and the humiliated British scurried back to Boston.
Forty nine Americans died at Lexington and Concord, while the British lost 73. Thirty nine Americans were wounded, while the British had a whopping 174. Had the Americans any real leadership they would likely have annihilated His Majesty`s troops.
No British subject had ever dared fire on British troops until Concord, and the astonishing fact that the colonials were willing to do so meant the outbreak of war as George III could not submit to such an insult. This truly was the shot heard round the world; it began the inexorable rise of what would become the United States and would be imitated throughout the Western Hemisphere as well as in France and later (in a much distorted fashion) in Russia. The world would be a very, very different place had not those brave and indeed foolhearty sons of liberty not stood their ground in the face of guns and bayonets in the hands of the toughest, best army on Earth.
So remember them this evening, and remember that it was simple, ordinary people who rose against oppression, who fought it with their sweat, their fortunes, and their blood. All of the power arrayed against them was impotent in the face of free men determined to remain so.
