Lexington Bridge, THE SHOT HEARD AROUND THE WORLD.

Thank you for that reminder, Yankeee. A brave lot our forebearer's. I can only hope that we, as a nation, never lose sight of the principles that they were ready and willing to lay down their lives for.

Especially remember the courage of these gents. Militia, part time soldiers who were really farmers, shop keepers, coopers, cobblers, laying everything they'd ever worked for, including their lives to fight what was the best and most powerful army in the world at that time!
How many today would be willing to do that?

quote:

Originally posted by JPope:
Especially remember the courage of these gents. Militia, part time soldiers who were really farmers, shop keepers, coopers, cobblers, laying everything they'd ever worked for, including their lives to fight what was the best and most powerful army in the world at that time!
How many today would be willing to do that?

To take your question one step further, Darryl, how many even know or care these days about it? I'd hate to see the answers some might give to questions about Lexington Bridge; probably something along the lines of 'it's that bridge across the Ohio River in Cincinnati'.

Unfortunately you are right shipmate. Sometimes it makes me wonder what country I'm really living in these days. It sure isn't the one I remember..............

I recall in Elementary School, well, way too far back, the contest to memorize the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem. Longfellow was a summer resident of my hometown during the 19th century. The winner got to recite it at the school assembly. Lexington and Concord were in the local area.

"Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.


He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,--
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."


Then he said "Good-night!" and with muffled oar
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war;
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon like a prison bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide.


Meanwhile, his friend through alley and street
Wanders and watches, with eager ears,
Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
And the measured tread of the grenadiers,
Marching down to their boats on the shore.


Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry chamber overhead,
And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the sombre rafters, that round him made
Masses and moving shapes of shade,--
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,
To the highest window in the wall,
Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town
And the moonlight flowing over all.


Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,
In their night encampment on the hill,
Wrapped in silence so deep and still
That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread,
The watchful night-wind, as it went
Creeping along from tent to tent,
And seeming to whisper, "All is well!"
A moment only he feels the spell
Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread
Of the lonely belfry and the dead;
For suddenly all his thoughts are bent
On a shadowy something far away,
Where the river widens to meet the bay,--
A line of black that bends and floats
On the rising tide like a bridge of boats.


Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
Now he patted his horse's side,
Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,
Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry tower of the Old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns.


A hurry of hoofs in a village street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet;
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders that skirt its edge,
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.


It was twelve by the village clock
When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the ****,
And the barking of the farmer's dog,
And felt the damp of the river fog,
That rises after the sun goes down.


It was one by the village clock,
When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock
Swim in the moonlight as he passed,
And the meeting-house windows, black and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast
At the bloody work they would look upon.


It was two by the village clock,
When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadow brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket ball.


You know the rest. In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,---
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.


So through the night rode Paul Revere;=
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,---
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo for evermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere."

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I was there .. . . . . . 200 years after the fact. I was stationed in Massachusetts during the BiCentenial and enjoyed retracing the Lexington & Concord battles.

The orignal post is slightly in error. The bridge was the Old North Bridge at Concord ---- not Lexington.
Of course, it was at Lexington where the British 10th Light Infantry Regiment marched into the town at dawn while the Rebels formed up on the green.
It was at Concord where the minutemen from Acton & Bedford fired on the British at the North Bridge, resulting in the first British casualties of the Revolution.

Also, the poem "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" had some errors or poetic license.

"And I on the opposite shore will be,"
Actually, Paul Revere met at the Old North Church when the decision was made to go warn the "rebels" in Concord(where the leaders were meeting) and Lexington(where arms were stored).

"And the measured tread of the grenadiers, "

The British force consisted primarily of the 10 Light Regiment with Marine Major Pitcarin in command, who was later killed at Bunker Hill. Ironically, Major Pitcarin is buried at the Old North Church.

"A second lamp in the belfry burns."

The 2 lanterns were a signal to the surrounding community and not for those carrying the message. In order to ensure the warning was delivered, a second rider, William Dawes, was sent along the land route, which was across the narrow strip of land that connected Boston to the west. Both riders arrived at Lexington at about the same time.


It was two by the village clock,
When he came to the bridge in Concord town.

Paul Revere never made it to Concord. He was intercepted by a British patrol. Just after leaving Lexington, Revere and Dawes met with a local Doctor who had been out courting. When they were stopped by the British, the Doctor galloped off into the dark and carried the warning to Lexington. Revere traded his horse for his freedom. The British suffered most of their casualties while passing through Medford, mentioned in a verse further up.


Steve

The best book on this is The Minute Men By Gen. John R. Galvin. Its not just about the Battles of Lexington & Concord but goes on to the make up and history of both Minute Men and militia, the events leading up to the battles and the aftermath. Great read!

quote:

Originally posted by USNVet940:

quote:

Originally posted by JPope:
Especially remember the courage of these gents. Militia, part time soldiers who were really farmers, shop keepers, coopers, cobblers, laying everything they'd ever worked for, including their lives to fight what was the best and most powerful army in the world at that time!
How many today would be willing to do that?

To take your question one step further, Darryl, how many even know or care these days about it? I'd hate to see the answers some might give to questions about Lexington Bridge; probably something along the lines of 'it's that bridge across the Ohio River in Cincinnati'.

Those of us who are patriotic do still care. It's the younger generations who have either no interest or very little interest in this country's history that scare me. As to what is currently going on compared with what happened in the 'good ole days,' policies and politics have changed. Here in Texas, Army National Guard units ARE NOT permitted to either deploy on the border areas with Mexico, or assist the Border Patrol units (on the border) and help to stem the tide of illegal immigration. The tide of illegal immigrants into the US could very well be labeled an invasion in it's own right. The best the ANG can do, is to give 'communications' assistance to the BP units, if they see illegal's inside the 'border zone,' the zone being several miles into Texas proper from the actual border with Mexico. It is considered 'politically incorrect' to have a US military presence on the border, as it "might insult" the Mexican government, according to our own govt.

So gentlemen, things have changed a lot since the time of Lexington and Concord. The modern day volunteer "minutemen," who do assist in 'watching' the border, may be disbanded, as Mexico doesn't like them either. Such are the times we are living in......

Nicely articulated and so very true - THANK YOU!!

Sgtleo