History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts - citizen hylbom blog

probably Concord was the place of their destiua-
tiou. In view of the fancied danger. Captain Par-
ker despatched messengers calling the members of
his company to meet forthwith at the Common.
Tiie evening passed in comparative quiet at Lex-
ington. Hancock and Adams had retired for the
night. A little past midnight a stranger arrived,
post haste, at Mr. Clarke's house, which he fomid
guarded by Sergeant Munroe and eight men ;
LEXINGTON. 19
and
on requesting to be admitted to Mr. Clarke's house
he was told that the family had just retired, and
requested that they might not be disturbed by any
noise about the house. " Noise ! " exclaimed Re-
vere, " you will have noise enough before long
The regulars are coming out !
" He was then
permitted to pass. On his knocking at the door,
Mr. Clarke opened a window and inquired who was
there. Eevere, without answering the question,
said he wished to see Mr. Hancock. Mr. Clarke,
ever deliberate and watchful, was intimating that
he did not like to admit strangers to his house at
tliat time of night, without knowing who they
were and the character of their business, when Han-
cock, who had retired to rest but not to sleep,
recoguizhig Revere's voice, cried out, "Come in.
Revere, we are not afraid of you ! " Sliortly after,
Dawes, who came out through Roxbury, arrived,
bringing the same intelligence, that a large number
of British troops had left Boston, and it was
suspected that they were destined to Concord to
destroy the military stores there.
After refreshing themselves at Lexington, Re-
vere and Dawes, not knowing the fate of the three
men who had been sent up the road from Lexing-
ton, set off for Concord to alarm the people. Soon
after they were overtaken by a young gentleman
of Concord, who had been spending the evening in
Lexington in no hostile array, with a special female
friend. Being an ardent patriot, he entered heart-
ily into their design, and proceeded with ihem,
alarming the people on the road. Before reaching
Concord they were suddenly met by a party of
British officers, armed and mounted, who immedi-
ately surrounded and captured Revere, who was in
advance of his companions. Tiie yoimg man from
Concord, being a little in the rear and mounted on
a spirited horse, eluded them by leaping a stone
wall, made his escape, and arrived safely in Con-
cord, where he gave the alarm. The same officers
had already taken the three men from Lexington,
and had them in custody. These prisoners were
!
their pistols, the officers threatened to blow out
the brains of the captives if they did not give true
answers to their questions. They interrogated the
Lexington men relative to Hancock and Adams,
and inquired where they could be found. They
questioned Revere, who at first gave them rather
evasive answers, but finding himself in their keep-
ing, and seeing no way of escape, said to them,
"
firmly, " Gentlemen, you have missed your aim !
One of the officers said, " What aim ? " Revere
replied, " I came out from Boston one hour after
your troops left, and if I had not known that mes-
sengers had beeii sent out to give information to
the country, and must have had time enough to
carry it fifty miles, I would have ventured one shot
from you before I would have suffered you to stop
me." Startled at this, they pushed their inquiries
further, when, on hearing the sound of a distant
bell, one of the Lexington prisoners said to them,
" Tlie bell is ringing, the town is alarmed, and you
are all dead men " ! These declarations frightened
the British officers, who, after a brief consultation
aside, started on tlieir return towards Lexington.
They kept possession of their prisoners till they
came wdthin about a hundred rods of the meeting-
house, when, taking Revere's horse from him, and
cutting the girths of the saddles and the bridles of
the other prisoners, the officers left them, and rode
off at full speed toward Boston. Tliis was about
three o'clock on the morning of tlie 19th.
While these things were occurring on the road
towards Concord, the alarm was spread rapidly
throughout Lexington, and the minute-men were
assembling on the Common. At two o'clock on
the morning of the 19th Captain Parker caused the
roll of his company to be called, and ordered every
man to load his gun with powder and ball, so as
to be ready for any emergency ; and gave the wellknown
and well-concerted order, " Not to fire unless
they were fired upon " ! After remaining
some time upon parade, and no certain intelligence
being received of the approach of the regulars, as
the king's troops were generally at that time called,
and the evening being cool, the company was dis-
missed, with orders to assemble again at the beat
of the drum, the ringing of tlie bell, and the firing
of the alarm guns. Some, who resided in the
neighborhood, repaired to their own homes, but a
greater part, perhaps, went to Buckman's tavern,
near the place of parade.
In order to comprehend fully the events in Lex-
all subjected to a rigid examination. Presenting ington which we have partially narrated, and to