Leksington va Konkord janglari - Battles of Lexington and Concord

Leksington va Konkord janglari
Qismi Amerika inqilobiy urushi
Tomonidan Leksington jangining tasviri Uilyam Barnes Vullen, 1910
Sana 17-aprel, 19-aprel; 245 yil oldin (1775-04-19) Manzil Midlseks okrugi, Massachusets shtati Leksington: 42 ° 26′58,7 ″ N. 71 ° 13′51,0 ″ V / 42.449639 ° N 71.230833 ° Vt / 42.449639; -71.230833 (Leksington)Koordinatalar: 42 ° 26′58,7 ″ N. 71 ° 13′51,0 ″ V / 42.449639 ° N 71.230833 ° Vt / 42.449639; -71.230833 (Leksington) Konkord: 42 ° 28′08,54 ″ N 71 ° 21′02.08 ″ V / 42.4690389 ° N 71.3505778 ° Vt / 42.4690389; -71.3505778 (Konkord) Natija Amerikaning strategik g'alabasi Britaniya kuchlari Konkorddagi to'p va jihozlarni yo'q qilishga muvaffaq bo'lishdi Militsiya inglizlarni muvaffaqiyatli ravishda orqaga qaytaradi Boston Ning boshlanishi Amerika inqilobiy urushi
Urushayotganlar
Massachusets ko'rfazi	Buyuk Britaniya
Qo'mondonlar va rahbarlar
Jon Parker Jeyms Barret Jon Buttrik Jon Robinson Uilyam Xit Jozef Uorren Isaak Devis  †	Frensis Smit Jon Pitkarn  (WIA ) Xyu Persi
Kuch
Leksington: 77[1] Konkord: 400[2] Jangning oxiri: 3,960[3]	Bostondan jo'nab ketish: 700[4] Leksington: 400[5] Konkord: 100[6] Jangning oxiri: 1,500[7]
Yo'qotishlar va yo'qotishlar
49 kishi o'ldirilgan 39 kishi yaralangan 5 kishi bedarak yo'qolgan[8]	73 kishi o'ldirilgan 174 kishi yaralangan 53 kishi bedarak yo'qolgan[8]

The Leksington va Konkord janglari ning birinchi harbiy harakatlari edi Amerika inqilobiy urushi.^[9] Janglar 1775 yil 19 aprelda bo'lib o'tgan Midlseks okrugi, Massachusets ko'rfazi viloyati, shaharlari ichida Leksington, Konkord, Linkoln, Menotomiya (hozirgi Arlington) va Kembrij. Ular o'rtasida qurolli to'qnashuv boshlanganini ta'kidladilar Buyuk Britaniya qirolligi va uning o'n uchta koloniya Amerikada.

1774 yil oxirlarida mustamlaka rahbarlari Suffolk hal qiladi ga qarshilikda Massachusets shtatidagi mustamlakachilik hukumatiga kiritilgan o'zgartirishlar Britaniya parlamenti tomonidan quyidagilar Boston choyxonasi. Mustamlakachilar yig'ilishi bunga javoban Patriot nomli vaqtinchalik hukumatni tuzdi Massachusets shtati kongressi va mahalliy militsiyalarni mumkin bo'lgan jangovar harakatlar uchun mashq qilishga chaqirish. Mustamlaka hukumati Britaniya nazorati ostidagi Boston tashqarisidagi mustamlakani samarali nazoratini amalga oshirdi. Bunga javoban Britaniya hukumati 1775 yil fevralda Massachusets shtatini isyon ko'targan davlat deb e'lon qildi.

Taxminan 700 Britaniya armiyasi doimiy Bostonda, ostida Podpolkovnik Frensis Smit, Massachusets shtatida saqlangan kolonial harbiy materiallarni qo'lga olish va yo'q qilish bo'yicha maxfiy buyruqlar berildi militsiya Konkordda. Samarali orqali aql yig'ilish, Vatanparvar rahbarlar ekspeditsiyadan bir necha hafta oldin o'zlarining etkazib berishlari xavf ostida bo'lishi mumkinligi haqida xabar berishgan va ularning aksariyatini boshqa joylarga ko'chirishgan. Jang oldidan bir kechada ingliz ekspeditsiyasi haqida ogohlantirish Bostondan ushbu hududdagi militsiyalarga tezda, shu jumladan, bir nechta chavandozlar tomonidan yuborilgan edi. Pol Revere va Samuel Preskott, Britaniya rejalari haqida ma'lumot bilan. Armiyaning suv bilan kelishining dastlabki tartibi Eski Shimoliy cherkov Bostonga Charlstaun chiroqlardan foydalanib, "biri quruqlikda bo'lsa, ikkitasi dengizda" muloqot qilish uchun.

Dastlabki o'qlar xuddi Leksingtonga ko'tarilayotgan paytda otilgan. Sakkiz militsioner, jumladan Ensign o'ldirildi Robert Munro, ularning uchinchi buyrug'i.^[10] Inglizlar faqat bitta jabr ko'rdi. Militsiya soni kam bo'lib, orqaga yiqilib tushdi va oddiy askarlar Konkordga yo'l olishdi, u erda materiallarni qidirish uchun kompaniyalarga bo'linib ketishdi. Da Shimoliy ko'prik Konkordda taxminan 400 militsioner soat 11:00 ga yaqin qirol qo'shinlarining uchta kompaniyasining 100 nafar doimiy xizmatchilarini jalb qilishdi am, natijada ikkala tomon ham qurbonlarga olib keladi. Ko'p sonli muntazam odamlar ko'prikdan orqaga qaytib, Konkorddagi ingliz kuchlarining asosiy tarkibiga qo'shildilar.

Buyuk Britaniya kuchlari Bostonga qaytish yurishini harbiy materiallar qidirishni tugatgandan so'ng boshladilar va qo'shni shaharlardan ko'proq militsionerlar kelishda davom etishdi. Ikki tomon o'rtasida yana otishma otilib chiqdi va kun bo'yi doimiylar Bostonga qarab yurishdi. Leksingtonga qaytib kelgach, podpolkovnik Smitning ekspeditsiyasi ostidagi qo'shimcha kuchlar yordamida qutqarildi Brigada generali Xyu Persi, kelajak Northumberland gersogi uslubda bu vaqtda xushmuomalalik unvoni Graf Persi. Taxminan 1700 kishilik birlashgan kuch a. Da kuchli olov ostida Bostonga qarab yurishdi taktik chekinish va oxir-oqibat Charlestown xavfsizligiga erishdi. Keyin to'plangan militsiyalar Charlestown va Bostonga boradigan tor yo'llarni to'sib qo'yishdi Bostonni qamal qilish.

Ralf Valdo Emerson Shimoliy ko'prikda vatanparvarlar tomonidan birinchi otilgan otishni tasvirlaydi "Konkord madhiyasi "sifatida"otish dunyo bo'ylab eshitildi ".^[11]

Fon

Tomas Geyj

The Britaniya armiyasi piyoda askarlariga laqab qo'yildi "qizil paltolar "va ba'zan mustamlakachilar tomonidan" shaytonlar " egallab olingan Boston 1768 yildan beri kengaytirilgan dengiz kuchlari kuchlar va dengiz piyodalari mustamlakachilar The deb nomlagan narsani amalga oshirish uchun Chidab bo'lmaydigan harakatlar tomonidan o'tgan edi Britaniya parlamenti jazolash Massachusets ko'rfazi viloyati uchun Boston choyxonasi va boshqa norozilik aktlari.

Umumiy Tomas Geyj harbiy edi Massachusets shtati gubernatori va Bostonda garnizon qilingan 3000 ga yaqin ingliz harbiy kuchlarining bosh qo'mondoni. U Massachusets ustidan Bostondan tashqarida hech qanday nazoratga ega emas edi, ammo aktlarning bajarilishi Patriot o'rtasidagi ziddiyatni kuchaytirdi. Whig ko'pchilik va inglizparastlar Tori ozchilik. Geyjning rejasi kichik, yashirin va tezkor zarbalar yordamida vig militsiyalaridan harbiy yuklarni olib chiqib, nizolardan qochish edi. Ta'minot uchun kurash britaniyaliklarning birida va "Patriot" ning bir qator qandsiz to'qnashuvlarda bir nechta yutuqlariga olib keldi Kukun signallari. Geyj o'zini erkinlikning do'sti deb hisoblardi va mustamlaka gubernatori va bosqinchi kuchning generali sifatida o'z vazifalarini ajratishga urindi. Edmund Burk Geyjning Massachusets shtati bilan ziddiyatli munosabatlarini parlamentda "Angliyalik boshqa bir inglizni qullik haqida bahslashadigan Yer yuzidagi eng yaroqsiz odam" deb aytgan.^[12]

Mustamlakachilar mustamlakachilikni boshidanoq mudofaa maqsadida militsiyalar tuzib kelmoqdalar Hind hujumlar. Ushbu kuchlar ham harakatni ko'rdilar Frantsiya va Hindiston urushi 1754 yildan 1763 yilgacha ular ingliz oddiy askarlari bilan jang qilganlarida. Har bir Yangi Angliya mustamlakasining qonunlariga binoan barcha shaharlar 16 yosh va undan katta bo'lgan barcha erkaklardan tashkil topgan militsiya kompaniyalari tuzishi shart edi (ba'zi toifalar uchun imtiyozlar mavjud edi) va a'zolarning to'g'ri qurollanganligini ta'minlash. Massachusets militsiyalari rasmiy ravishda viloyat hukumati tasarrufida bo'lgan, ammo Yangi Angliya bo'ylab militsiya kompaniyalari o'zlarining zobitlarini saylashgan.^[13] Geyj viloyat hokimiyatini amaldagi shartlariga binoan tarqatib yubordi Massachusets shtati to'g'risidagi qonun va ushbu mavjud aloqalar ostidagi mustamlakachilar tomonidan ishlatilgan Massachusets shtati kongressi Britaniyaning harbiy tahdidiga qarshilik ko'rsatish maqsadida.^[14]

Britaniya hukumatining tayyorgarligi

1775 yil fevraldagi manzil Qirol Jorj III, parlamentning ikkala palatasi tomonidan isyon holati mavjudligini e'lon qildi:

Biz ... Massachusets ko'rfazidagi provinsiyadagi janob hazratlarining sub'ektlarining bir qismi shu paytgacha oliy qonun chiqaruvchi hokimiyatning hokimiyatiga qarshi turish uchun harakat qilganligini aniqladik, bu vaqtda isyon aslida ushbu viloyat ichida mavjud; va biz ularning boshqa bir qancha mustamlakalarda o'zlarining gunohsiz hamkasblari jarohati va jabr-zulmiga duchor bo'lganligi sababli, sizning janoblaringiz sub'ektlari tomonidan boshqa bir qator mustamlakalarda tuzilgan noqonuniy kombinatsiyalar va kelishuvlar bilan yuzma-yuz kelganlarini va rag'batlantirganlarini juda xavotir bilan ko'rib turibmiz. Buyuk Britaniya Qirolligi va sizning ulug'vorligingizning qolgan dominionlari ... Biz ... oldimizda turgan har qanday haqiqiy shikoyatlarga e'tibor beramiz va e'tiborga olamiz; va har qanday koloniyalar bizga munosib murojaat qilganlarida, biz ularga har qanday adolatli va oqilona lazzat berishga tayyor bo'lamiz. Shu bilan birga, biz ... Oliy Qonunchilik palatasining qonunlari va vakolatiga bo'ysunishni majburiy ravishda amalga oshirishingizni so'rab, Janobi Oliylaridan yolvoramiz. va ... hayotimiz va mol-mulkimiz tahlikasi ostida, Oliy Majlisi va Parlamentning ikki palatasining adolatli huquqlarini himoya qilishdagi har qanday isyonkor urinishlarga qarshi Oliy Majoziyning yonida turish bizning qat'iy qarorimizdir.^[15]

1775 yil 14-aprelda Geyg ko'rsatmalar oldi Davlat kotibi Uilyam Legj, Dartmut grafligi, qo'zg'olonchilarni qurolsizlantirish va qo'zg'olon rahbarlarini qamoqqa olish uchun, ammo Dartmut Geygga o'z buyruqlarida katta ixtiyor bergan.^[16] Geyjning zudlik bilan qaror qabul qilishiga, 15 aprelda, viloyat Kongressi ichidagi ayg'oqchidan olgan ma'lumoti ta'sir qilgan bo'lishi mumkin, garchi Kongress hali ham qurolli qarshilik ko'rsatish zarurati to'g'risida ikkiga bo'lingan bo'lsa ham, delegatlar boshqa Yangi shaharga yuborilmoqda. Angliya mustamlakalari 18000 mustamlakachi askarlardan iborat yangi Angliya armiyasini tarbiyalashda hamkorlik qilishlarini bilish uchun.^[17]

Frensis Smit, harbiy ekspeditsiya qo'mondoni, 1763 yil portretida

18-aprel kuni ertalab Geyg Mayor Mitchell boshchiligidagi 20 ga yaqin odamni patrul xizmatiga buyurdi. 5-oyoq polki otliqda bo'lishi mumkin bo'lgan xabarchilarni ushlab qolish uchun atrofdagi mamlakatga.^[18] Ushbu patrul o'tmishda Bostondan yuborilgan patrullardan boshqacha yo'l tutgan, qorong'i tushgandan keyin tashqarida qolib, sayohatchilarning joylashishini so'ragan. Samuel Adams va Jon Xenkok. Bu ko'plab aholini xavotirga soladigan va ularning tayyorgarligini oshiradigan kutilmagan ta'sirga ega edi. Leksington militsiyasi, xususan, o'sha kuni kechqurun, Bostondan xabar olishdan bir necha soat oldin to'plana boshladi. Ma'lum bir hikoyada aytilishicha, tundan keyin bir dehqon Josiah Nelson mustamlakachilar uchun ingliz patrulini xato qilib qo'ygan va ulardan: "Siz doimiylar qachon chiqayotgani haqida biron bir narsa eshitganmisiz?" ustiga qilich bilan bosh terisiga mixlangan. Biroq, bu voqea haqidagi voqea bir asrdan ko'proq vaqt o'tgach nashr etilmadi, bu uning oilaviy afsonasidan biroz ko'proq bo'lishi mumkinligini taxmin qiladi.^[19]

Podpolkovnik Frensis Smit 18 aprel kuni tushdan keyin Geygdan buyruq oldi, u o'z qo'shinlari harakatga kelguniga qadar ularni o'qimasligi kerakligi haqida ko'rsatma berdi. U Bostondan "juda ekspeditsiya va maxfiylik bilan Konkordga borishi kerak edi, u erda siz barcha harbiy do'konlarni olib qo'yasiz va yo'q qilasiz ... Ammo siz askarlar aholini talon-taroj qilmasligi yoki shaxsiy mulkiga ziyon etkazmasligi uchun ehtiyot bo'lasiz." Geyg o'z xohish-istagidan foydalangan va isyonchilar rahbarlarini hibsga olish to'g'risida yozma buyruq bermagan, chunki u bu qo'zg'olonni qo'zg'atishi mumkinligidan qo'rqgan.^[20]

Amerika tayyorgarligi

Margaret Kemble Gage qo'zg'olonchilarga harbiy razvedka ma'lumotlarini bergan bo'lishi mumkin.

1775 yil 30 martda Massachusets shtati kongressi quyidagi qarorni chiqardi:

Qachonki general Geyj qo'mondonligidagi armiya yoki uning bir qismi besh yuz kishiga qadar bo'lsa, artilleriya va bagaj bilan Boston shahridan chiqib ketsa, uni kechiktirilgan harakatlar majburiy ravishda amalga oshirish uchun dizayn deb hisoblash kerak. parlament, bunga urinish, hurmatli marhumning qarori bilan Kontinental Kongress, qarshi turish kerak; va shuning uchun viloyatning harbiy kuchini to'plash kerak va zudlik bilan kuzatuv armiyasi tuzilishi kerak, faqat aql va o'zini saqlab qolish tamoyillari asosida oqlanishi mumkin bo'lgan mudofaada harakat qilishi kerak.^[21]

Qo'zg'olon rahbarlari - bundan mustasno Pol Revere va Jozef Uorren - 8-aprelga qadar Bostondan ketishdi. Ular Dartmutning general Geygga bergan maxfiy ko'rsatmalari haqida manbalardan xabar olishdi. London ular Geyjga etib kelishidan ancha oldin.^[22] Adams va Xenkok Bostondan qochib ketishgan uy Xankokning qarindoshlaridan biri, Jonas Klark, ular o'zlarini hibsga olish tahdididan xavfsiz deb o'ylashgan joyda.^[23]

Massachusets militsiyasi chindan ham Konkordda va undan g'arbdagi qurol-yaroq, chang va materiallar zaxirasini yig'ib olgan edi. Vester.^[24] Bostondan Konkordgacha ekspeditsiya kutilgan edi. Muntazamlarning katta kontingentidan so'ng Bostondan ekspeditsiya qishloqni qo'rqitdi Watertown 30 mart kuni, Pensilvaniya jurnali, Filadelfiyadagi bir gazetada "Ular Konkordga borishi kerak edi, u erda viloyat kongressi hozirda. Bu erda provinsiyalar va jangovar do'konlar joylashtirilgan .... Bu ... ular borishni niyat qilganliklarini aytdilar. tez orada yana chiqadi.^[25]"

18 aprelda Pol Revere inglizlar ekspeditsiyani rejalashtirayotgani haqida aholini ogohlantirish uchun Konkordga "yarim tunda yurishni" boshladi. Safar tugadi Samuel Preskott. Preskottning yangiliklarini eshitgan shahar aholisi do'konlarni olib tashlab, yaqin atrofdagi boshqa shaharlarga tarqatishga qaror qilishdi.^[26]

Shuningdek, Geyg barcha ingliz mansabdorlaridan va hatto missiyani boshqaradigan zobitlardan tafsilotlarni yashirishga harakat qilganiga qaramay, kolonistlar 19 aprel ekspeditsiya sanasi bo'lishini bilishgan. Ushbu razvedkaning maxfiy manbasi bo'lganligi haqida asosli taxminlar mavjud Margaret Gage, General Gage's Nyu-Jersi - mustamlakachilik tarafdori bo'lgan va Uorren bilan do'stona munosabatda bo'lgan tug'ilgan xotini.^[27]

1775 yil 18-aprelga o'tar kechasi soat 9 dan 22 gacha Jozef Uorren Revere va Uilyam Deys Britaniya qo'shinlari Bostondan Kembrijga va Leksington va Konkordga boradigan yo'lga qayiqlarga tushmoqchi edilar. Uorrenning razvedkasi shuni taxmin qiladiki, odatdagilarning harakatlari shu kecha kechqurun Adams va Xenkokni qo'lga olishdir. Ular doimiy ravishda Konkord tomon yurish ehtimoli haqida tashvishlanmadilar, chunki Konkorddagi ta'minot xavfsiz edi, lekin ular Leksingtonda o'z rahbarlari o'sha kecha yuzaga kelishi mumkin bo'lgan xavf haqida bilmagan deb o'ylashdi. Revere va Douus ularni ogohlantirish va yaqin atrofdagi shaharlarda mustamlakachilarni ogohlantirish uchun yuborilgan.^[28]

Militsiya kuchlari yig'iladi

Dawes janubiy quruqlik yo'lini ot bo'ylab bosib o'tdi Boston bo'yni va ustidan Ajoyib ko'prik Leksingtonga.^[29] Revere avval Bostonning eshigiga osilgan chiroqlar yordamida Charlestownga signal yuborish bo'yicha ko'rsatma berdi. Eski Shimoliy cherkov. Keyin u og'zidan o'tib, shimoliy suv yo'li bo'ylab sayohat qildi Charlz daryosi qayiqda qayiqda, Britaniya harbiy kemasi yonidan o'tib ketdi HMS Somerset langarda. O'sha paytda o'tish joylari taqiqlangan edi, ammo Revere xavfsiz tarzda Charlestownga qo'ndi va g'arbiy tomon Leksingtonga qarab yo'l bo'ylab deyarli har bir uyni ogohlantirdi.^[30] Charlestowndan shimolga qo'shimcha chavandozlar yuborildi.

Kumushchi Pol Revere va yana bir necha otliq xabarchilar odatdagilar Bostonni tark etishayotgani to'g'risida signal berishdi.

Ular Leksingtonga kelganlaridan so'ng, Revere, Deyvz, Xenkok va Adams u erda to'plangan militsiya bilan vaziyatni muhokama qildilar. Ular shaharni tark etayotgan kuchlar ikki kishining hibsga olinishi uchun juda katta ekanligiga va asosiy maqsad Konkord ekanligiga ishonishgan. Leksington odamlari chavandozlarni atrofdagi shaharlarga jo'natishdi va Revere va Dawes hamrohligida Konkord tomon yo'lda davom etishdi. Samuel Preskott. Yilda Linkoln, ular mayor Mitchell boshchiligidagi ingliz patruliga duch kelishdi. Revere qo'lga olindi, Dawes otidan tashlandi va faqat Preskott Konkordga etib borish uchun qochib ketdi.^[31] Konkorddan qo'shimcha chavandozlar yuborildi.

The Revere safari, Dawes va Preskott mustamlakachilarning kuchsiz ta'siriga javoban bir necha oy oldin puxta ishlab chiqilgan moslashuvchan "ogohlantirish va yig'ish" tizimini yaratdi. Kukunli signal. Ushbu tizim favqulodda vaziyatlarda foydalanish uchun eski bildirishnoma tarmog'ining takomillashtirilgan versiyasi edi. Mustamlakachilar mustamlakada hind urushlarining dastlabki yillarida uni ishlatilmay qolguncha vaqti-vaqti bilan ishlatishgan Frantsiya va Hindiston urushi. Xabarlarni etkazib beradigan boshqa tezkor chavandozlardan tashqari, shaharlardan shaharga tezkor aloqa qilish uchun qo'ng'iroqlar, barabanlar, signalizatsiya qurollari, gulxan va karnay ishlatilgan bo'lib, o'nlab sharqiy Massachusets qishloqlaridagi isyonchilarga o'z militsiyalarini to'plashlari kerakligi haqida xabar berishgan. Bostonni tark etish. Ushbu tizim shu qadar samarali ediki, Bostondan 40 km uzoqlikdagi shaharlarda yashovchilar Kembrijda qayiqlarni tushirish paytida armiya harakatlari to'g'risida xabardor edilar.^[32] Ushbu dastlabki ogohlantirishlar kun bo'yi Britaniyalik doimiy kuchlarga katta zarar etkazish uchun etarli miqdordagi mustamlakachilik militsiyasini to'plashda hal qiluvchi rol o'ynadi. Oxir oqibat Adams va Xenkok xavfsizlikka, avvalgi holatga ko'chirildi Burlington va keyinroq Billerika.^[33]

A Milliy park xizmati boshlang'ich yo'nalishlarini ko'rsatadigan xarita Vatanparvar xabarchilar va ingliz ekspeditsiyasi

Britaniya kuchlari oldinga siljiydi

Kech tushguncha general Geyg o'zining katta ofitserlarini yig'ilishga chaqirdi Viloyat uyi. U ularga mustamlakachilarga qarshi choralar ko'rishni buyurgan lord Dartmutdan ko'rsatmalar kelganini xabar qildi. Shuningdek, u ularga o'z polklarining katta polkovnigi podpolkovnik Smit mayor bilan birga buyruq berishini aytdi. Jon Pitkarn uning ijrochi xodimi sifatida. Uchrashuv soat 20:30 atrofida to'xtatildi, shundan so'ng Erl Persi shahar aholisi bilan aralashdi Boston Umumiy. Bir xabarga ko'ra, u erda odamlar o'rtasidagi munozaralar shaharchadagi ingliz askarlarining g'ayrioddiy harakatiga aylandi. Persi yana bir odamni so'roq qilganida, erkak: "Xo'sh, doimiy odamlar o'z maqsadlarini sog'inishadi", deb javob berdi.

"Nima maqsad?" - deb so'radi Persi. "Nega, Konkorddagi zambarak" deb javob berishdi.^[27] Buni eshitgan Persi tezda viloyat uyiga qaytib keldi va bu ma'lumotni general Geygga etkazdi. Hayratda qolgan Geyj messenjerlarning Bostondan chiqib ketishining oldini olish uchun buyruqlar chiqardi, ammo Deyv va Reverning ketishiga yo'l qo'ymaslik uchun bu juda kech edi.^[34]

1775 janglar xaritasi va Bostonni qamal qilish

Britaniyalik doimiylar, taxminan 700 ta piyoda askar, Geyjning egallab olgan 13 piyoda polkining 11 tasidan jalb qilingan. Mayor Pitcairn o'nta elitaga qo'mondonlik qildi engil piyoda askarlar kompaniyalari va podpolkovnik Benjamin Bernard 11 ga buyruq bergan granata podpolkovnik Smitning umumiy qo'mondonligi ostida bo'lgan kompaniyalar.^[35]

Ekspeditsiyaga tayinlangan qo'shinlarning 350 nafari grenader kompaniyalaridan jalb qilingan 4-chi (shohning o'zi), 5-chi, 10-chi, 18-chi (Irlandiya qirolligi), 23-chi, 38-chi, 43-chi, 47-chi, 52-chi va 59-chi Oyoq polklari va 1-batalyon Ulug'vorning dengiz kuchlari. Grenadeyer kompaniyalarini himoya qilish taxminan 320 edi engil piyoda askarlar 4, 5, 10, 23, 38, 43, 47, 52 va 59 polklaridan va dengiz piyodalari birinchi batalyonidan. Har bir rota o'z leytenantiga ega edi, lekin ularga qo'mondonlik qilgan kapitanlarning aksariyati Bostonda joylashgan barcha polklardan tortib olingan so'nggi daqiqada ularga biriktirilgan ko'ngillilar edi. Qo'mondon va rota o'rtasida tanishlikning yo'qligi jang paytida muammolarni keltirib chiqaradi.^[36]

Inglizlar 18 aprelga o'tar kechasi soat 21 da o'z qo'shinlarini uyg'otishni boshladilar va ularni kechki soat 10 gacha Boston-Komonning g'arbiy qismida suv qirg'og'iga yig'dilar. Polkovnik Smit kechikib keldi va qayiqda yuk tashish operatsiyasi uyushtirilmadi, natijada sahna maydonida tartibsizlik yuzaga keldi. Amaldagi qayiqlar dengiz barjalari bo'lib, ular shu qadar mahkam o'ralgan ediki, o'tirishga joy yo'q edi. Ular Kembrijdagi Phipps fermasi yonidan tushganlarida, yarim tunda u suvning beliga tushgan. Uzoq vaqt to'xtab, uskunalarini tushirish uchun odatdagilar 27 km uzoqlikdagi Konkord tomon yurishni tungi soat 2 da boshlashdi.^[35] Kutish vaqtida ularga qo'shimcha o'q-dorilar, sovuqqonlik berildi cho'chqa go'shti va qiyin dengiz pechenesi. Ular yukxalta ko'tarmasdilar, chunki ular qarorgohda bo'lmas edilar. Ular o'zlarini olib ketishdi shlyuzlar (oziq-ovqat paketlari), oshxonalar, mushkitlar va qo'shimchalar va nam, loyli poyabzal va nam kiyimda yurishdi. Ular o'tib ketayotganda Menotomiya, butun qishloq bo'ylab mustamlakachilik signallarining tovushlari, o'zlarining vazifalari to'g'risida xabardor bo'lgan oz sonli ofitserlarning ajablantiradigan narsalarini yo'qotib qo'yganliklarini anglashlariga sabab bo'ldi.^[37]

Taxminan ertalab soat 3 da polkovnik Smit maydan Pitkarni oltita yengil piyoda qo'shinlari bilan tezda Konkord tomon yurish buyrug'i bilan jo'natdi. Ertalab soat 4 larda Smit oqilona, ​​ammo kechikib qaror qabul qilib, Bostonga yordam so'rab xabar yubordi.^[38]

Jang tartibi

Qit'alar

Kontinental kuch tarkibiga 4000 ga yaqin militsiya va mahalliy minuteman kompaniyalari kirgan.^[39] Viloyat Kongressi mahalliy kompaniyalarni tayinlangan komandirlari bo'lgan polk va brigadalarga aylantirgan bo'lsa-da, kun davomida bo'linmalar qismlarga bo'linib chiqdi. Atrofdagi o'ttizta shahar odamlarni jangga yuborish uchun yo'lga tushdi. Kunning ikkinchi yarmiga qadar ko'plab polk buyruqlari mavjud bo'lib, kelishilgan holda harakat qilishdi. Bir necha viloyat generallari kun davomida jangga ketayotgan edilar, ammo umumiy qo'mondonlikni tayinlay olmaydilar. Massachusets shtatidagi Roksberi shtatidan general Uilyam Xit kun oxirigacha janglar bosqichini boshqargan.^[40]

Britaniya kuchlari

Britaniya kuchlari quyidagicha tashkil etilgan:^[39]

• Ustun
  • Qo'mondon, Podpolkovnik Frensis Smit
  • Supernumeraries (6 ofitser)
  • Mitchell partiyasi (8+ ofitser)
  • Flank kompaniyalari (Grenaderlar va engil piyoda askarlar):
    • 4-chi (Qirolning o'zi) Oyoq polki
    • 5-oyoq polki
    • 10-oyoq polki
    • 18-chi (Irlandiya qirolligi) piyoda polk (Faqatgina grenaderlar)
    • 23-piyoda polk (Royal Welch Fusiliers)
    • 38-oyoq polki
    • 43-oyoq polki
    • 47-oyoq polki
    • 52-oyoq polki
    • 59-oyoq polki
    • 1-batalyon, Qirol dengiz piyodalari
• Relief Force
  • Qo'mondon, Brigada generali Uning Greys Xyu Persi, Nortumerlandning 2-gersogi
  • 4-batalyondan 6 ta qurolli ikkita qurol, Qirollik artilleriyasi
  • Batalyon kompaniyalari (7 ta oddiy kompaniya, ularga yon kompaniyalar kirmagan):
    • 4-chi (Qirolning o'zi) Oyoq polki
    • 23-piyoda polk (Royal Welch Fusiliers)
    • 47-oyoq polki
    • 1-batalyon, Qirol dengiz piyodalari

Janglar

Leksington

BEP o'yib yozilgan vinyetka Leksington jangi paydo bo'lgan $ 20 Milliy bank eslatmasi

Leksington jangi, 1775 yil 19 aprel, Nyu-York ommaviy kutubxonasi

Garchi ko'pincha jangni bezab tursa-da, aslida Leksingtonda qatnashish kichik cho'tka yoki to'qnashuv edi.^[41] 1775 yil 19-aprel kuni Pitkairn ostidagi oddiy askarlar Leksingtonga quyosh chiqqanda kirib kelishganda, 80 ga yaqin Lexington militsionerlari paydo bo'ldi. Bakman tavernasi va ularni kuzatib turgan qishloqning oddiy qatorlarida turdilar va 40 dan 100 gacha tomoshabinlar yo'l chetidan tomosha qildilar.^[1][42] Ularning rahbari kapitan edi Jon Parker, azob chekayotgan Frantsiya va Hindiston urushi faxriysi sil kasalligi va ba'zan eshitish qiyin bo'lgan. Safda turgan militsionerlardan to'qqiztasi Xarrington, ettita Munro (shu jumladan, kompaniyaning tartibli serjanti) familiyasiga ega edi. Uilyam Munro ), to'rtta Parker, uchta Tidd, uchta Lokk va uchta Rid; to'liq to'rtdan biri kapitan Parker bilan qandaydir tarzda bog'liq edi.^[43] Ushbu militsionerlar guruhi Leksingtonning tarkibiga kirgan "o'quv guruhi", mahalliy militsiyalarni tashkil etish usuli Puritanlar, va nima uslubda emas edi a minuteman kompaniyasi.^[44]

Tunning ko'p qismini biron bir ingliz qo'shinlari belgisiz kutib o'tirgandan so'ng (va Pol Reverening ogohlantirishlari rostmi yoki yo'qmi degan savol bilan), taxminan ertalab soat 4:15 da, Parker o'z tasdig'ini oldi.^[45] Thaddeus Bowman, Parker yuborgan so'nggi skaut chaqqonlikka minib, ular nafaqat kelayotganlarini, balki kuchga kirayotganlarini va ular yaqinligini aytdi.^[46] Kapitan Parker qarama-qarshilikda ustun kelganini va o'z odamlarini behuda qurbon qilishga tayyor emasligini aniq bilar edi. U Konkordagi kolonistlarning ko'pgina chang va harbiy ta'minotlari allaqachon yashirilganligini bilar edi. Hech qanday urush e'lon qilinmagan. (The Mustaqillik deklaratsiyasi kelajakda bir yil edi.) Shuningdek, u inglizlarning bundan oldin Massachusetsda bunday ekspeditsiyalarga borganini bilar edi, hech narsa topolmadi va Bostonga qaytib ketdi.^[47]

Parkerda bu yana sodir bo'lishini kutish uchun barcha asoslar bor edi. Muntazamlar Konkordga yurish qilib, hech narsa topolmay, charchagan, ammo bo'sh qo'l bilan Bostonga qaytib kelishadi. U o'z kompaniyasini diqqat bilan joylashtirdi. U ularni joylashtirdi parad-zamin shakllanishi, Lexington Common-da. Ular ko'z oldida (devorlar orqasida yashiringan emas), lekin Konkordga boradigan yo'lni to'sishmagan. Ular siyosiy va harbiy qat'iyatni namoyish qildilar, ammo Regular yurishini oldini olish uchun hech qanday harakat qilmadilar.^[48] Ko'p yillar o'tgach, ishtirokchilardan biri Parkerning hozirgi jang joyida toshga o'yib yozilgan so'zlarini esladi: "O'z o'rnida turing; agar o'q otilmasa, o'q otmang, ammo agar ular urush qilmoqchi bo'lsa, ruxsat bering. shu yerdan boshlang. "^[49] Parkerning jangdan so'ng olingan qasamyodiga ko'ra:

Men ... Militsiyamizga nima qilish kerakligi haqida maslahatlashish uchun ushbu Leksingtonda umumiy yig'ilishni buyurdim va bizni haqorat qilmasalar yoki haqorat qilmasalar, topilmasligimiz, aytilgan oddiy qo'shinlarga aralashmasligimiz yoki aralashmasligimiz kerak degan xulosaga keldim; va ularning to'satdan yondashishlariga qarab, men darhol militsiyamizni tarqatib yuborishni va o'q otmaslikni buyurdim: - Darhol qo'shinlar paydo bo'lib, g'azab bilan yugurdilar, o'q otdilar va bizdan hech qanday provokatsiya olmasdan partiyamizning sakkiz kishini o'ldirdilar.^[50][51]

— Jon Parker

Dengiz leytenanti Jessi Adair Konkord tomon chapga burilish o'rniga, avtoulovning boshlig'i bo'lib, o'z-o'zidan ingliz kolonnasining qanotini himoya qilish uchun avval o'ngga burilib, so'ngra kompaniyalarni Commonning oldiga olib bordi, chalkash harakatlarda militsiyani o'rab olish va qurolsizlantirish. Mayk Pitkarn avans kuchlarining orqasidan kelib, uchta kompaniyasini chap tomonga boshlab borib, ularni to'xtatdi. Polkovnik Smit boshchiligidagi qolgan kompaniyalar Boston tomon yo'lni bosib o'tdilar.^[52]

Birinchi zarba

Britaniyalik ofitser (ehtimol Pitcairn, lekin hisob-kitoblar noaniq, chunki bu ham bo'lishi mumkin) Leytenant Uilyam Suterland ) keyin qilichini silkitib oldinga otlandi va yig'ilgan militsiyani tarqatib yuborishga chaqirdi, shuningdek ularga "qurollaringizni qo'yinglar, la'nati isyonchilar!"^[53] Kapitan Parker o'z odamlariga tarqatib yuboringlar va uyga ketinglar, deb aytdi, ammo chalkashliklar tufayli atrofdagi baqir-chaqir va Parkerning tuberkulyar ovozining noto'g'riligi tufayli kimdir uni eshitmadi, ba'zilari juda sekin ketdi va hech kim o'z joyiga yotmadi qo'llar. Parker ham, Pitkarn ham odamlariga o't qo'yishni buyurdilar, ammo noma'lum manbadan o'q otildi.^[54]

To'rt gravyuradan birinchisi Amos Doolittle 1775 yildan. Dolittl jang maydonlariga tashrif buyurdi va askarlar va guvohlar bilan suhbatlashdi. Tortishuvli elementlarni, ehtimol noaniqliklarni o'z ichiga oladi. Militsiyadan yong'in sodir bo'lishi mumkin, ammo tasvirlanmagan.

[A] t 5 da biz [Leksingtonga] etib keldik va men 200 dan 300 gacha bo'lgan shaharning o'rtasida joylashgan odamlarni ko'rdim; Biz hujumni davom ettirishni davom ettirar edik, ammo ularga hujum qilishni xohlamagan holda; Ammo bizning ularga yaqinlashayotganimizda ular bizga ikkita o'q uzishdi, ularning ustiga bizning odamlar hech qanday buyruqlarsiz ularga hujum qilishdi, o'q otishdi va ularni uchib ketishdi; ularning bir nechtasi o'ldirildi, biz ularning qanchaligini aniqlay olmadik, chunki ular devor orqasida va o'rmonda edilar. Bizda 10-chi engil piyoda askar yaralangan edi, boshqa hech kim zarar ko'rmadi. So'ngra biz Kommandada tuzilgan edik, ammo ba'zi qiyinchiliklar bilan erkaklar shunchalik vahshiy edilarki, ular hech qanday buyruqlarni eshitmaydilar; u erda ancha vaqt kutdik va uzoq vaqt Konkordga yo'l oldik.^[55]

— Leytenant Jon Barker, 4-oyoq polk

Parker militsiyasining bir a'zosining so'zlariga ko'ra, amerikaliklarning hech biri mushkini bo'shatmagan, chunki ular kelayotgan ingliz qo'shinlariga duch kelishgan. Britaniyaliklar bitta jabrlanuvchiga duchor bo'lishdi, engil jarohat olishdi, xususan, kapital Jon Munro tomonidan cho'kindi yotqizish bilan tasdiqlangan. Munro ta'kidladi:

Muntazamlarning birinchi yong'inidan so'ng, men o'yladim va chap tomonda mening yonimda turgan Ebenezer Munroga shunday dedim: ular changdan boshqa narsa otishmagan; Ammo ikkinchi o'q otish paytida Munro ular kukundan ko'proq narsani otishganini aytdi, chunki u qo'lidan yara olgan; va endi, dedi u, o'z so'zlarini aytganda, "Men ularga miltig'imning ichagini beraman". Keyin ikkimiz ham ingliz qo'shinlarining asosiy qismini tutunni tutib, ularning ba'zi otlarining boshlaridan boshqa hech narsa ko'rmasligimizga to'sqinlik qildik va bo'laklarimizni bo'shatdik.^[56]

Muntazamlar orasida bo'lgan ba'zi guvohlarning aytishicha, birinchi o'qni mustamlakachi qarovchi to'siq orqasidan yoki tavernaning burchagidan otgan. Ba'zi kuzatuvchilar, avval otib tashlangan ingliz zobiti haqida xabar berishdi. Ikkala tomon ham, odatda, dastlabki zarba erdagi odamlarning darhol bir-biriga qarama-qarshi tomondan tushmaganiga rozi bo'lishdi.^[57] Keyinchalik Leksingtonda Sulaymon Braun ismli kishi tavernaning ichkarisidan yoki devor orqasidan birinchi o'qni otgan degan taxminlar paydo bo'ldi, ammo bu obro'sizlantirildi.^[58] Ba'zi guvohlar (har ikki tomonda) qarshi tomondan kimdir oldin o'q uzganini da'vo qilishdi; ammo, yana ko'plab guvohlar bilmasligini da'vo qilishdi. Yana bir nazariya shundan iboratki, birinchi o'q otish Britaniyaliklar tomonidan otilgan, bu qochib ketayotgan mahbus Asaxel Porterni o'ldirgan (unga yurish kerakligi aytilgan va u qo'yib yuboriladi, garchi u vahimaga tushib, yugura boshlagan bo'lsa ham). Tarixchi Devid Hackett Fischer haqiqatan ham bir vaqtning o'zida bir nechta tortishish bo'lishi mumkinligini taxmin qildi.^[59] Tarixchi Mark Urbanning ta'kidlashicha, inglizlar militsiyaning bir nechta tarqoq o'qlarini qo'zg'atib, intizomsiz tarzda tayyor süngülerle oldinga ko'tarilgan. Bunga javoban ingliz qo'shinlari buyruqsiz halokatli o'q uzdilar voleybol. Ingliz qo'shinlari o'rtasida bu intizomning etishmasligi zo'ravonlikning kuchayishida muhim rol o'ynadi.^[60]

Voqea joyida bo'lgan guvohlar, oddiy askarlar safi buyruq olmagan holda voleybollarni otishni boshlashdan oldin har ikki tomondan ham bir necha marta o'q uzilganligini tasvirlab berishdi. Militsionerlarning bir nechtasi avval oddiy askarlar faqat koptoksiz kukun otayotganiga ishonishgan, ammo haqiqatni tushunib etishganida, agar militsiyadan birortasi yuk ko'tarib, o'tni qaytarishga muvaffaq bo'lsa, ozchilik. Qolganlari jon saqlash uchun yugurishdi.^[61]

Biz Nataniel Mulliken, Filipp Rassel va [va boshqa 32 kishi ...] guvohlik beramiz va e'lon qilamizki, ertalab o'n to'qqizda ... muntazam odamlar tanasi Bostondan Konkord tomon yurishayotgani haqida ... Beshga yaqin ertalab soatlab, bizning davulni urganimizni eshitib, biz parad tomon yo'l oldik va tez orada ko'p sonli qo'shinlar biz tomon yurayotganini, bizning kompaniyamizning bir qismi paradga kelayotganini, boshqalari unga etib kelganini aniqladik. vaqt o'tib, kompaniya tarqala boshladi, bizning orqamiz qo'shinlarga o'girilib, ular bizni o'qqa tutdilar va bir qator odamlarimiz zudlik bilan o'ldirildi va yaralandi, bizning kompaniyamizdagi biron bir kishi tomonidan muntazam ravishda qurol otilmadi. Bizni o'qqa tutishdan oldin va bizning qochishimizga qadar o'q uzishda davom etishdi.^[50]

Keyin oddiy odamlar süngü bilan oldinga qarab yurishdi. Kapitan Parkerning amakivachchasi Jonas yugurib o'tdi. Leksingtonning sakkiz kishisi halok bo'ldi, o'n kishi yaralandi. Britaniyaliklarning yagona qurbonlari sonlaridan yaralangan askar edi. Sakkizta mustamlakachi Jon Braun, Semyuel Xedli, Xolib Xarrington, Jonaton Harrington, Robert Munro, Isaak Muzzey, Asaxel Porter va Jonas Parkerlar. Britaniyalik mushket to'pi bilan o'ldirilgan Jonathon Xarrington o'z uyiga qaytib borishga muvaffaq bo'ldi va o'z ostonasida vafot etdi. Bitta yarador, Shahzoda Estabrook, militsiyada xizmat qilgan qora tanli qul edi.^[62]

Pitkarn qo'mondonligidagi kompaniyalar qisman o'zlarining ofitserlari nazorati ostidan chiqib ketishdi, chunki ular kunlik missiyaning asl maqsadidan bexabar edilar. Ular turli yo'nalishlarda o'q uzishdi va xususiy uylarga kirishga tayyorgarlik ko'rishdi. Qolgan odatdagilar bilan hozirgina kelgan polkovnik Smit mushketning otashinini eshitdi va harakatni ko'rish uchun grenader kolonkasidan oldinga otildi. U tezda barabanchini topdi va unga yig'ilishni mag'lub etishni buyurdi. Ko'p o'tmay Grenadyerlar etib kelishdi va askarlar o'rtasida tartib o'rnatilgandan so'ng, engil piyoda askarlarga g'alaba voleybolini otishga ruxsat berildi, shundan so'ng ustun isloh qilindi va Konkord tomon yo'l oldi.^[63]

Konkord

To'rt gravürün ikkinchisi Amos Doolittle 1775 yildan boshlab inglizlarning Konkordga kirishini tasvirlaydi

Ko'tarilgan signalga javoban, Konkord va Linkoln militsionerlari Konkordda to'planishdi. Ular Leksingtonni o'qqa tutishgani haqida xabar olishdi va ular yaqin atrofdagi shaharlarning qo'shinlari tomonidan kuchaytirilguncha kutish kerakmi yoki shaharni himoya qilish uchun yoki sharqqa ko'chib o'tib, ingliz armiyasini yuqori erlardan kutib olish uchun kutishlarini xohlamadilar. Militsiya kolonnasi inglizlar bilan uchrashish uchun Leksington tomon yo'l bo'ylab yurib, taxminan 2 km masofani bosib o'tib, odatdagilar kolonnasi bilan uchrashguncha. Muntazamlar soni 700 ga yaqin bo'lgan va militsiya bu vaqtda atigi 250 ga yaqin bo'lganligi sababli, militsiya kolonnasi orqaga burilib, Konkord tomon yurib, odatdagilarning oldidan taxminan 500 yard (457 m) masofani bosib o'tdi.^[64] Militsiya shaharga qaragan tog 'tizmasiga chekindi va ularning zobitlari bundan keyin nima qilishni muhokama qilishdi. Ehtiyotkorlik g'alaba qozondi va Polkovnik Jeyms Barret shahar markazidan chekinib, odamlarni Shimoliy ko'prik bo'ylab shimol tomon milga yaqin tepalikka olib bordi, u erda ular inglizlarning qo'shin harakatlari va shahar markazidagi tadbirlarni kuzatishda davom etishlari mumkin edi. G'arbiy shaharlardan kelgan minuteman kompaniyalari bu erga qo'shilishgani sababli militsiya safi o'sishda davom etar ekan, bu qadam muvaffaqiyatga erishdi.^[65]

Militsiya ta'minotini qidiring

Ingliz qo'shinlari Konkord qishlog'iga etib kelganida, podpolkovnik Smit Geyjning buyruqlarini bajarish uchun ularni ikkiga ajratdi. 10-polkning grenaderlar kompaniyasi kapitan Mundy Pole boshchiligidagi Janubiy ko'prikni, kapitan Parsons boshchiligidagi 100 ga yaqin yengil piyoda qo'shinlari esa Shimoliy ko'prikni xavfsiz holatga keltirdilar, ular tozalangan maydonlar bo'ylab yig'ilayotgan militsiya kompaniyalariga ko'rinib turardi. Kapitan Parsons 5-chi, 23-chi, 38-chi va 52-chi polklardan to'rtta kompaniyani qidirib topish uchun Shimoliy ko'prikdan 3,2 km narida (3,2 km) ko'tarildi. Barrett fermasi, qaerda razvedka ma'lumotlari topilishini ko'rsatdi.^[66] 4-chi va 10-polklardan ikkita rota o'zlarining qaytish marshrutini qo'riqlash uchun joylashtirilgan va 43-chi bitta rota ko'prikning o'zini qo'riqlash uchun qolgan. Kapitan Uolter Laurining nisbatan tajribasiz qo'mondonligi ostida bo'lgan ushbu kompaniyalar ularning soni 400 nafardan ortiq militsionerlar tomonidan sezilarli darajada oshib ketganligini bilishgan. Xavfli kapitan Lori podpolkovnik Smitga yordamchi so'rab xabarchi yubordi.^[67]

Sadoqatli ayg'oqchilar tomonidan taqdim etilgan batafsil ma'lumotdan foydalanib, grenader kompaniyalari kichik shaharchani harbiy materiallar uchun qidirdilar. Ular Efrayim Jonsning tavernasiga, Janubiy ko'prik yo'lidagi qamoqxona yoniga etib kelishganida, eshik yopiq holda topilgan va Jons ularni kirishni rad etgan. Mahalliy sadoqat tarafdorlari tomonidan berilgan xabarlarga ko'ra, Pitkairn to'pning ko'milganligini bilar edi. Jonsga qurol qaerga ko'milganligini ko'rsatish uchun qurol bilan buyruq berildi. Ular Boston shahrini yaqin materikning boshqa qismlaridan bombardimon qilish uchun etarli masofaga ega bo'lgan mudofaa qilish uchun juda og'ir, ammo mudofaaga qarshi juda samarali bo'lgan 24 funtlik otishni o'rganish uchun uchta katta qism bo'lib chiqdi.^[68] The grenadiers smashed the trunnionlar of these three guns so they could not be mounted. They also burned some qurol-yarog 'vagonlari found in the village meetinghouse, and when the fire spread to the meetinghouse itself, local resident Martha Moulton persuaded the soldiers to help in a chelak brigadasi binoni saqlab qolish uchun.^[69] Nearly a hundred barrels of flour and salted food were thrown into the millpond, as were 550 pounds of musket balls. Of the damage done, only that done to the cannon was significant. All of the shot and much of the food was recovered after the British left. During the search, the regulars were generally scrupulous in their treatment of the locals, including paying for food and drink consumed. This excessive politeness was used to advantage by the locals, who were able to misdirect searches from several smaller caches of militia supplies.^[70]

Barrett's Farm had been an arsenal weeks before, but few weapons remained now, and according to family legend, these were quickly buried in furrows to look like a crop had been planted. The troops sent there did not find any supplies of consequence.^[71]

Shimoliy ko'prik

The reconstructed North Bridge in Minute Man National Historical Park, Concord

Colonel Barrett's troops, upon seeing smoke rising from the village square as the British burned cannon carriages, and seeing only a few light infantry companies directly below them, decided to march back toward the town from their vantage point on Punkatasset tepaligi to a lower, closer flat hilltop about 300 yards (274 m) from the Shimoliy ko'prik. As the militia advanced, the two British companies from the 4th and 10th Regiments that held the position near the road retreated to the bridge and yielded the hill to Barrett's men.^[72]

Five full companies of Minutemen and five more of militia from Acton, Concord, Bedford and Lincoln occupied this hill as more groups of men streamed in, totaling at least 400 against Captain Laurie's light infantry companies, a force totaling 90–95 men. Barrett ordered the Massachusetts men to form one long line two abreast on the highway leading down to the bridge, and then he called for another consultation. While overlooking North Bridge from the top of the hill, Barrett, Podpolkovnik Jon Robinson ning Vestford^[73] and the other Captains discussed possible courses of action. Kapitan Isaak Devis of Acton, whose troops had arrived late, declared his willingness to defend a town not their own by saying, "I'm not afraid to go, and I haven't a man that's afraid to go."^[74]

Barrett told the men to load their weapons but not to fire unless fired upon, and then ordered them to advance. Laurie ordered the British companies guarding the bridge to retreat across it. One officer then tried to pull up the loose planks of the bridge to impede the colonial advance, but Major Buttrick began to yell at the regulars to stop harming the bridge. The Minutemen and militia from Concord, Acton and a handful of Westford Minutemen, advanced in column formation, two by two, led by Major Buttrick, Lt. Col. Robinson,^[75] then Capt. Davis,^[76] on the light infantry, keeping to the road, since it was surrounded by the spring floodwaters of the Konkord daryosi.^[77]

The third of four engravings by Amos Doolittle from 1775, depicting the engagement at the North Bridge

Captain Laurie then made a poor tactical decision. Since his summons for help had not produced any results, he ordered his men to form positions for "street firing" behind the bridge in a column running perpendicular to the river. This formation was appropriate for sending a large volume of fire into a narrow alley between the buildings of a city, but not for an open path behind a bridge. Confusion reigned as regulars retreating over the bridge tried to form up in the street-firing position of the other troops. Lieutenant Sutherland, who was in the rear of the formation, saw Laurie's mistake and ordered flankers to be sent out. But as he was from a company different from the men under his command, only three soldiers obeyed him. The remainder tried as best they could in the confusion to follow the orders of the superior officer.^[78]

Otish ovozi eshitildi. It was likely a warning shot fired by a panicked, exhausted British soldier from the 43rd, according to Captain Laurie's report to his commander after the fight. Two other regulars then fired immediately after that, shots splashing in the river, and then the narrow group up front, possibly thinking the order to fire had been given, fired a ragged volley before Laurie could stop them.^[79]

Two of the Acton Minutemen, Private Abner Hosmer and Captain Isaac Davis, who were at the head of the line marching to the bridge, were hit and killed instantly. Rev. Dr. Ripley recalled:

The Americans commenced their march in double file… In a minute or two, the Americans being in quick motion and within ten or fifteen rods of the bridge, a single gun was fired by a British soldier, which marked the way, passing under Col. Robinson's arm and slightly wounding the side of Luther Blanchard, a fifer, in the Acton Company.^[80]

Four more men were wounded. Major Buttrick then yelled to the militia, "Fire, for God's sake, fellow soldiers, fire!"^[81] At this point the lines were separated by the Concord River and the bridge, and were only 50 yards (46 m) apart. The few front rows of colonists, bound by the road and blocked from forming a line of fire, managed to fire over each other's heads and shoulders at the regulars massed across the bridge. Four of the eight British officers and sergeants, who were leading from the front of their troops, were wounded by the volley of musket fire. At least three privates (Thomas Smith, Patrick Gray, and James Hall, all from the 4th) were killed or mortally wounded, and nine were wounded.^[82] In 1824, Reverend and Minuteman Joseph Thaxter wrote:

I was an eyewitness to the following facts. The people of Westford and Acton, some few of Concord, were the first who faced the British at Concord bridge. The British had placed about ninety men as a guard at the North Bridge; we had then no certain information that any had been killed at Lexington, we saw the British making destruction in the town of Concord; it was proposed to advance to the bridge; on this Colonel Robinson, of Westford, together with Major Buttrick, took the lead; strict orders were given not to fire, unless the British fired first; when they advanced about halfway on the causeway the British fired one gun, a second, a third, and then the whole body; they killed Colonel Davis, of Acton, and a Mr. Hosmer. Our people then fired over one another's heads, being in a long column, two and two; they killed two and wounded eleven. Lieutenant Hawkstone, said to be the greatest beauty of the British army, had his cheeks so badly wounded that it disfigured him much, of which he bitterly complained. On this, the British fled, and assembled on the hill, the north side of Concord, and dressed their wounded, and then began their retreat. As they descended the hill near the road that comes out from Bedford they were pursued; Colonel Bridge, with a few men from Bedford and Chelmsford, came up, and killed several men.^[83]

The regulars found themselves trapped in a situation where they were both outnumbered and outmaneuvered. Lacking effective leadership and terrified at the superior numbers of the enemy, with their spirit broken, and likely not having experienced combat before, they abandoned their wounded, and fled to the safety of the approaching grenadier companies coming from the town center, isolating Captain Parsons and the companies searching for arms at Barrett's Farm.^[81]

Jangdan keyin

Statue memorializing the battle at the North Bridge, inscribed with verse from Emerson's "Konkord madhiyasi "

The colonists were stunned by their success. No one had actually believed either side would shoot to kill the other. Some advanced; many more retreated; and some went home to see to the safety of their homes and families. Colonel Barrett eventually began to recover control. He moved some of the militia back to the hilltop 300 yards (274 m) away and sent Major Buttrick with others across the bridge to a defensive position on a hill behind a stone wall.^[84]

Lieutenant Colonel Smith heard the exchange of fire from his position in the town moments after he received the request for reinforcements from Laurie. He quickly assembled two companies of grenadiers to lead toward the North Bridge himself. As these troops marched, they met the shattered remnants of the three light infantry companies running towards them. Smith was concerned about the four companies that had been at Barrett's since their route to town was now unprotected. When he saw the Minutemen in the distance behind their wall, he halted his two companies and moved forward with only his officers to take a closer look. One of the Minutemen behind that wall observed, "If we had fired, I believe we could have killed almost every officer there was in the front, but we had no orders to fire and there wasn't a gun fired."^[85] During a tense standoff lasting about 10 minutes, a mentally ill local man named Elias Brown wandered through both sides selling qattiq sidr.^[85]

At this point, the detachment of regulars sent to Barrett's farm marched back from their fruitless search of that area. They passed through the now mostly-deserted battlefield and saw dead and wounded comrades lying on the bridge. There was one who looked to them as if he had been scalped, which angered and shocked the British soldiers. They crossed the bridge and returned to the town by 11:30 a.m., under the watchful eyes of the colonists, who continued to maintain defensive positions. The regulars continued to search for and destroy colonial military supplies in the town, ate lunch, reassembled for marching, and left Concord after noon. This delay in departure gave colonial militiamen from outlying towns additional time to reach the road back to Boston.^[86]

Return march

Concord to Lexington

A Milliy park xizmati Konkorddan chekinishni va Persini qutqarishni ko'rsatadigan xarita

Lieutenant Colonel Smith, concerned about the safety of his men, sent flankers to follow a ridge and protect his forces from the roughly 1,000 colonials now in the field as the British marched east out of Concord. This ridge ended near Meriam's Corner, a crossroads about a mile (2 km) outside the village of Concord, where the main road came to a bridge across a small stream. To cross the narrow bridge, the British had to pull the flankers back into the main column and close ranks to a mere three soldiers abreast. Colonial militia companies arriving from the north and east had converged at this point and presented a clear numerical advantage over the regulars.^[87] The British were now witnessing once again what General Gage had hoped to avoid by dispatching the expedition in secrecy and in the dark of night: the ability of the colonial militiamen to rise and converge by the thousands when British forces ventured out of Boston. As the last of the British column marched over the narrow bridge, the British rear guard wheeled and fired a volley at the colonial militiamen, who had been firing irregularly and ineffectively from a distance but now had closed to within musket range.^[88] The colonists returned fire, this time with deadly effect. Two regulars were killed and perhaps six wounded, with no colonial casualties. Smith sent out his flanking troops again after crossing the small bridge.^[89]

On Brooks Hill (also known as Hardy's Hill) about 1 mile (1.6 km) past Meriam's Corner, nearly 500 militiamen had assembled to the south of the road, awaiting an opportunity to fire down upon the British column on the road below.^[90] Smith's leading forces charged up the hill to drive them off, but the colonists did not withdraw, inflicting significant casualties on the attackers. Smith withdrew his men from Brooks Hill, and the column continued on to another small bridge into Lincoln, at Brooks Tavern, where more militia companies intensified the attack from the north side of the road.

This statue is known as Lexington minuteman is commonly believed to depict Captain John Parker. Bu tomonidan Genri Xadson Kitson and stands at the town green of Leksington, Massachusets.

The regulars soon reached a point in the road now referred to as the "Bloody Angle" where the road rises and curves sharply to the left through a lightly-wooded area.^[91] At this place, the militia company from Voburn had positioned themselves on the southeast side of the bend in the road in a rocky, lightly-wooded field. Additional militia flowing parallel to the road from the engagement at Meriam's Corner positioned themselves on the northwest side of the road, catching the British in a crossfire, while other militia companies on the road closed from behind to attack. Some 500 yards (460 m) further along, the road took another sharp curve, this time to the right, and again the British column was caught by another large force of militiamen firing from both sides. In passing through these two sharp curves, the British force lost thirty soldiers killed or wounded, and four colonial militia were also killed, including Captain Jonathan Wilson of Bedford, Captain Nathan Wyman of Billerika, Lt. John Bacon of Natik, and Daniel Thompson of Voburn. The British soldiers escaped by breaking into a trot, a pace that the colonials could not maintain through the woods and swampy terrain. Colonial forces on the road itself behind the British were too densely packed and disorganized to mount more than a harassing attack from the rear.^[92]

As militia forces from other towns continued to arrive, the colonial forces had risen to about 2,000 men. The road now straightened to the east, with cleared fields and orchards along the sides. Lt. Col. Smith sent out flankers again, who succeeded in trapping some militia from behind and inflicting casualties. British casualties were also mounting from these engagements and from persistent long-range fire from the militiamen, and the exhausted British were running out of ammunition.^[93]

When the British column neared the boundary between Lincoln and Lexington, it encountered another ambush from a hill overlooking the road, set by Captain John Parker's Lexington militiamen, including some of them bandaged up from the encounter in Lexington earlier in the day. At this point, Lt. Col. Smith was wounded in the thigh and knocked from his horse. Major John Pitcairn assumed effective command of the column and sent light infantry companies up the hill to clear the militia forces.^[94]

The light infantry cleared two additional hills as the column continued east—"The Bluff" and "Fiske Hill"— and took still more casualties from ambushes set by fresh militia companies joining the battle. In one of the musket volleys from the colonial soldiers, Major Pitcairn's horse bolted in fright, throwing Pitcairn to the ground and injuring his arm.^[95] Now both principal leaders of the expedition were injured or unhorsed, and their men were tired, thirsty, and exhausting their ammunition. A few surrendered or were captured; some now broke formation and ran forward toward Lexington. In the words of one British officer, "we began to run rather than retreat in order. ... We attempted to stop the men and form them two deep, but to no purpose, the confusion increased rather than lessened. ... the officers got to the front and presented their bayonets, and told the men if they advanced they should die. Upon this, they began to form up under heavy fire."^[96]

Only one British officer remained uninjured among the three companies at the head of the British column as it approached Lexington Center. He understood the column's perilous situation: "There were very few men had any ammunition left, and so fatigued that we could not keep flanking parties out, so that we must soon have laid down our arms, or been picked off by the Rebels at their pleasure—nearer to—and we were not able to keep them off."^[97] He then heard cheering further ahead. A full brigade, about 1,000 men with artillery under the command of Earl Percy, had arrived to rescue them. It was about 2:30 p.m., and the British column had now been on the march since 2 o'clock in the morning.^[98] Westford Minuteman, Rev. Joseph Thaxter, wrote of his account:

We pursued them and killed some; when they got to Lexington, they were so close pursued and fatigued, that they must have soon surrendered, had not Lord Percy met them with a large reinforcement and two field-pieces. They fired them, but the balls went high over our heads. But no cannon ever did more execution, such stories of their effects had been spread by the tories through our troops, that from this time more wont back than pursed. We pursued to Charlestown Common, and then retired to Cambridge. When the army collected at Cambridge, Colonel Prescott with his regiment of minute men, and John Robinson, his Lieutenant Colonel, were prompt at being at their post.^[83]

In their accounts afterward, British officers and soldiers alike noted their frustration that the colonial militiamen fired at them from behind trees and stone walls, rather than confronting them in large, linear formations in the style of European warfare.^[99] This image of the individual colonial farmer, musket in hand and fighting under his own command, has also been fostered in American myth: "Chasing the red-coats 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."^[100] To the contrary, beginning at the North Bridge and throughout the British retreat, the colonial militias repeatedly operated as coordinated companies, even when dispersed to take advantage of cover. Reflecting on the British experience that day, Earl Percy understood the significance of the American tactics:

During the whole affair the Rebels attacked us in a very scattered, irregular manner, but with perseverance & resolution, nor did they ever dare to form into any regular body. Indeed, they knew too well what was proper, to do so. Whoever looks upon them as an irregular mob, will find himself much mistaken. They have men amongst them who know very well what they are about, having been employed as Rangers against the Indians & Canadians, & this country being much covered with wood, and hilly, is very advantageous for their method of fighting.^[101]

Percy's rescue

The fourth of four engravings by Amos Doolittle from 1775, showing Percy's rescue in Lexington

General Gage had anticipated that Lt. Col. Smith's expedition might require reinforcement, so Gage drafted orders for reinforcing units to assemble in Boston at 4 a.m. But in his obsession for secrecy, Gage had sent only one copy of the orders to the adjutant of the 1st Brigade, whose servant then left the envelope on a table. Also at about 4 a.m., the British column was within three miles of Lexington, and Lt. Col. Smith now had a clear indication that all element of surprise had been lost and that alarm was spreading throughout the countryside. So he sent a rider back to Boston with a request for reinforcements. At about 5 a.m., the rider reached Boston, and the 1st Brigade was ordered to assemble: the line infantry companies of the 4th, 23rd, and 47th Regiments, and a battalion of Royal Marines, under the command of Earl Percy. Unfortunately for the British, once again only one copy of the orders was sent to each commander, and the order for the Royal Marines was delivered to the desk of Major John Pitcairn, who was already on the Lexington Common with Smith's column at that hour. After these delays, Percy's brigade, about 1,000 strong, left Boston at about 8:45 a.m., headed toward Lexington. Along the way, the story is told, they marched to the tune of "Yanki Dudl " to taunt the inhabitants of the area.^[102] Tomonidan Bunker tepasidagi jang less than two months later, the song would become a popular anthem for the colonial forces.^[103]

Percy took the land route across Boston Neck and over the Great Bridge, which some quick-thinking colonists had stripped of its planking to delay the British.^[104] His men then came upon an absent-minded tutor at Garvard kolleji and asked him which road would take them to Lexington. The Harvard man, apparently oblivious to the reality of what was happening around him, showed him the proper road without thinking. (He was later compelled to leave the country for inadvertently supporting the enemy.)^[105] Percy's troops arrived in Lexington at about 2:00 p.m. They could hear gunfire in the distance as they set up their cannon and deployed lines of regulars on high ground with commanding views of the town. Colonel Smith's men approached like a fleeing mob with the full complement of colonial militia in close formation pursuing them. Percy ordered his artillery to open fire at extreme range, dispersing the colonial militiamen. Smith's men collapsed with exhaustion once they reached the safety of Percy's lines.^[106]

Against the advice of his Master of Ordnance, Percy had left Boston without spare ammunition for his men or for the two artillery pieces they brought with them, thinking the extra wagons would slow him down. Each man in Percy's brigade had only 36 rounds, and each artillery piece was supplied with only a few rounds carried in side-boxes.^[107] After Percy had left the city, Gage directed two ammunition wagons guarded by one officer and thirteen men to follow. This convoy was intercepted by a small party of older, veteran militiamen still on the "alarm list", who could not join their militia companies because they were well over 60 years of age. These men rose up in ambush and demanded the surrender of the wagons, but the regulars ignored them and drove their horses on. The old men opened fire, shot the lead horses, killed two sergeants, and wounded the officer. The British survivors ran, and six of them threw their weapons into a pond before they surrendered.^[108]

Lexington to Menotomy

Percy's return to Charlestown (detail from 1775 map of the battle)

Percy assumed control of the combined forces of about 1,700 men and let them rest, eat, drink, and have their wounds tended at field headquarters (Munro tavernasi ) before resuming the march. They set out from Lexington at about 3:30 p.m., in a formation that emphasized defense along the sides and rear of the column.^[109] Wounded regulars rode on the cannon and were forced to hop off when they were fired at by gatherings of militia. Percy's men were often surrounded, but they had the tactical advantage of ichki chiziqlar. Percy could shift his units more easily to where they were needed, while the colonial militia was required to move around the outside of his formation. Percy placed Smith's men in the middle of the column, while the 23rd Regiment's line companies made up the column's rearguard. Because of information provided by Smith and Pitcairn about how the Americans were attacking, Percy ordered the rear guard to be rotated every mile or so, to allow some of his troops to rest briefly. Flanking companies were sent to both sides of the road, and a powerful force of Marines acted as the vanguard to clear the road ahead.^[109]

During the respite at Lexington, Brigadier General Uilyam Xit arrived and took command of the militia. Earlier in the day, he had traveled first to Watertown to discuss tactics with Joseph Warren, who had left Boston that morning, and other members of the Massachusets Xavfsizlik qo'mitasi. Heath and Warren reacted to Percy's artillery and flankers by ordering the militiamen to avoid close formations that would attract cannon fire. Instead, they surrounded Percy's marching square with a moving ring of skirmishers at a distance to inflict maximum casualties at minimum risk.^[110]

A few mounted militiamen on the road would dismount, fire muskets at the approaching regulars, then remount and gallop ahead to repeat the tactic. The unmounted militia would often fire from long range, in the hope of hitting somebody in the main column of soldiers on the road and surviving, since both British and colonials used muskets with an effective combat range of about 50 yards (46 m). Infantry units would apply pressure to the sides of the British column. When it moved out of range, those units would move around and forward to re-engage the column further down the road. Heath sent messengers out to intercept arriving militia units, directing them to appropriate places along the road to engage the regulars. Some towns sent supply wagons to assist in feeding and rearming the militia. Heath and Warren did lead skirmishers in small actions into battle themselves, but it was the presence of effective leadership that probably had the greatest impact on the success of these tactics.^[110]

The Jeyson Rassell uyi Arlingtonda

The fighting grew more intense as Percy's forces crossed from Lexington into Menotomy. Fresh militia poured gunfire into the British ranks from a distance, and individual homeowners began to fight from their own property. Some homes were also used as sniper positions, turning the situation into a soldier's nightmare: house-to-house fighting. Jason Russell pleaded for his friends to fight alongside him to defend his house by saying, "An Englishman's home is his castle."^[111] He stayed and was killed in his doorway. His friends, depending on which account is to be believed, either hid in the cellar or died in the house from bullets and bayonets after shooting at the soldiers who followed them in. The Jeyson Rassell uyi still stands and contains bullet holes from this fight. A militia unit that attempted an ambush from Russell's orchard was caught by flankers, and eleven men were killed, some allegedly after they had surrendered.^[111]

Percy lost control of his men, and many regulars began to commit atrocities to repay for the supposed scalping at the North Bridge and for their own casualties at the hands of a distant, often unseen enemy. Based on the word of Pitcairn and other wounded officers from Smith's command, Percy had learned that the Minutemen were using stone walls, trees and buildings in these more thickly settled towns closer to Boston to hide behind and shoot at the column. U buyurdi qanot kompaniyalari to clear the colonial militiamen out of such places.^[112]

Many of the junior officers in the flank parties had difficulty stopping their exhausted, enraged men from killing everyone they found inside these buildings. For example, two innocent drunks who refused to hide in the basement of a tavern in Menotomy were killed only because they were suspected of being involved with the day's events.^[113] Although many of the accounts of ransacking and burnings were exaggerated later by the colonists for propaganda value (and to get financial compensation from the colonial government), it is certainly true that taverns along the road were ransacked and the liquor stolen by the troops, who in some cases became drunk themselves. One church's birlik silver was stolen but was later recovered after it was sold in Boston.^[112] Aged Menotomy resident Samuel Uittemor killed three regulars before he was attacked by a British contingent and left for dead. (He recovered from his wounds and later died in 1793 at age 98.)^[114] All told, far more blood was shed in Menotomy and Cambridge than elsewhere that day. The colonists lost 25 men killed and nine wounded there, and the British lost 40 killed and 80 wounded, with the 47th Foot and the Marines suffering the highest casualties. Each was about half the day's fatalities.^[115]

Menotomy to Charlestown

The British troops crossed the Menotomy River (today known as Alewife Bruk ) into Cambridge, and the fight grew more intense. Fresh militia arrived in close array instead of in a scattered formation, and Percy used his two artillery pieces and flankers at a crossroads called Watson's Corner to inflict heavy damage on them.^[116]

Earlier in the day, Heath had ordered the Great Bridge to be dismantled. Percy's brigade was about to approach the broken-down bridge and a riverbank filled with militia when Percy directed his troops down a narrow track (now Beech Street, near present-day Porter maydoni ) and onto the road to Charlestown. The militia (now numbering about 4,000) were unprepared for this movement, and the circle of fire was broken. An American force moved to occupy Prospect Hill (in modern-day Somervil ), which dominated the road, but Percy moved his cannon to the front and dispersed them with his last rounds of ammunition.^[112]

A large militia force arrived from Salem va Marblehead. They might have cut off Percy's route to Charlestown, but these men halted on nearby Winter Hill and allowed the British to escape. Some accused the commander of this force, Colonel Timoti Pickering, of permitting the troops to pass because he still hoped to avoid war by preventing a total defeat of the regulars. Pickering later claimed that he had stopped on Heath's orders, but Heath denied this.^[112] It was nearly dark when Pitcairn's Marines defended a final attack on Percy's rear as they entered Charlestown. The regulars took up strong positions on the hills of Charlestown. Some of them had been without sleep for two days and had marched 40 miles (64 km) in 21 hours, eight hours of which had been spent under fire. But now they held high ground protected by heavy guns from HMS Somerset. Gage quickly sent over line companies of two fresh regiments—the 10th and 64th—to occupy the high ground in Charlestown and build fortifications. Although they were begun, the fortifications were never completed and would later be a starting point for the militia works built two months later in June before the Bunker tepasidagi jang. General Heath studied the position of the British Army and decided to withdraw the militia to Cambridge.^[117]

Natijada

The Siege of Boston 1775–1776

Ertalab, Boston was surrounded by a huge militia army, numbering over 15,000, which had marched from throughout New England.^[118] Dan farqli o'laroq Kukunli signal, the rumors of spilled blood were true, and the Revolutionary War had begun. Now under the leadership of General Artemas palatasi, who arrived on the 20th and replaced Brigadier General Uilyam Xit,^[119] they formed a siege line extending from "Chelsi", around the peninsulas of Boston and Charlestown, to Roksberi, effectively surrounding Boston on three sides. In the days immediately following, the size of the colonial forces grew, as militias from Nyu-Xempshir, Rod-Aylend va Konnektikut voqea joyiga etib keldi.^[120] The Ikkinchi qit'a Kongressi adopted these men into the beginnings of the Qit'a armiyasi. Even now, after open warfare had started, Gage still refused to impose harbiy holat Bostonda. He persuaded the town's selectmen to surrender all private weapons in return for promising that any inhabitant could leave town.^[121]

The battle was not a major one in terms of tactics or casualties. However, in terms of supporting the British political strategy behind the Chidab bo'lmaydigan harakatlar and the military strategy behind the Powder Alarms, the battle was a significant failure because the expedition contributed to the fighting it was intended to prevent, and because few weapons were actually seized.^[122]

The battle was followed by a war for British political opinion. Within four days of the battle, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress had collected scores of sworn testimonies from militiamen and from British prisoners. When word leaked out a week after the battle that Gage was sending his official description of events to London, the Provincial Congress sent a packet of these detailed depositions, signed by over 100 participants in the events, on a faster ship. The documents were presented to a sympathetic official and printed by the London newspapers two weeks before Gage's report arrived.^[123][124] Gage's official report was too vague on particulars to influence anyone's opinion. Jorj Germeyn, no friend of the colonists, wrote, "the Bostonians are in the right to make the King's troops the aggressors and claim a victory".^[125] Politicians in London tended to blame Gage for the conflict instead of their own policies and instructions. The British troops in Boston variously blamed General Gage and Colonel Smith for the failures at Lexington and Concord.^[126]

The day after the battle, Jon Adams left his home in Braintree to ride along the battlefields. He became convinced that "the Die was cast, the Rubicon crossed ".^[127] Tomas Peyn yilda Filadelfiya had previously thought of the argument between the colonies and the Home Country as "a kind of law-suit", but after news of the battle reached him, he "rejected the hardened, sullen-tempered Fir'avn of England forever".^[128] Jorj Vashington received the news at Vernon tog'i and wrote to a friend, "the once-happy and peaceful plains of America are either to be drenched in blood or inhabited by slaves. Sad alternative! But can a virtuous man hesitate in his choice?"^[128] A group of hunters on the frontier named their campsite Lexington when they heard news of the battle in June. It eventually became the city of Leksington, Kentukki.^[129]

Meros

Gravemarkers along Battle Road in Lexington are maintained with Britain's 1775 version of the Ittifoq bayrog'i.

It was important to the early American government that an image of British fault and American innocence be maintained for this first battle of the war. The history of Patriot preparations, intelligence, warning signals, and uncertainty about the first shot was rarely discussed in the public sphere for decades. The story of the wounded British soldier at the North Bridge, hors de battle, struck down on the head by a Minuteman using a hatchet, the purported "scalping", was strongly suppressed. Depositions mentioning some of these activities were not published and were returned to the participants (this notably happened to Paul Revere).^[130] Paintings portrayed the Lexington fight as an unjustified slaughter.^[130]

The issue of which side was to blame grew during the early nineteenth century. For example, older participants' testimony in later life about Lexington and Concord differed greatly from their depositions taken under oath in 1775. All now said the British fired first at Lexington, whereas fifty or so years before, they weren't sure. All now said they fired back, but in 1775, they said few were able to. The "Battle" took on an almost mythical quality in the American consciousness. Legend became more important than truth. A complete shift occurred, and the Patriots were portrayed as actively fighting for their cause, rather than as suffering innocents. Paintings of the Lexington skirmish began to portray the militia standing and fighting back in defiance.^[131]

Ralf Valdo Emerson immortalized the events at the North Bridge in his 1837 "Konkord madhiyasi ". The "Concord Hymn" became important because it commemorated the beginning of the American Revolution, and that for much of the 19th century it was a means by which Americans learned about the Revolution, helping to forge the identity of the nation.^[132]

After 1860, several generations of schoolchildren memorized Genri Uodsvort Longflou she'ri "Pol Reverining safari ". Historically it is inaccurate (for example, Paul Revere never made it to Concord), but it captures the idea that an individual can change the course of history.^[133]

In the 20th century, popular and historical opinion varied about the events of the historic day, often reflecting the political mood of the time. Isolationist anti-war sentiments before the World Wars bred skepticism about the nature of Paul Revere's contribution (if any) to the efforts to rouse the militia. Anglofiliya in the United States after the turn of the twentieth century led to more balanced approaches to the history of the battle. Davomida Birinchi jahon urushi, a film about Paul Revere's ride was seized under the 1917 yilgi josuslik to'g'risidagi qonun for promoting discord between the United States and Britain.^[134]

Davomida Sovuq urush, Revere was used not only as a patriotic symbol, but also as a capitalist one. In 1961, novelist Xovard tez nashr etilgan Aprel tongi, an account of the battle from a fictional 15-year-old's perspective, and reading of the book has been frequently assigned in American o'rta maktablar. A film version was produced for television in 1987, starring Chad Lou va Tommi Li Jons. In the 1990s, parallels were drawn between American tactics in the Vetnam urushi and those of the British Army at Lexington and Concord.^[135]

The site of the battle in Lexington is now known as the Lexington Battle Green. Bu ro'yxatda keltirilgan Tarixiy joylarning milliy reestri va a Milliy tarixiy yo'nalish. Several memorials commemorating the battle have been established there.

The lands surrounding the North Bridge in Concord, as well as approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) of the road along with surrounding lands and period buildings between Meriam's Corner and western Lexington are part of Minuteman milliy tarixiy bog'i. There are walking trails with interpretive displays along routes that the colonists might have used that skirted the road, and the Park Service often has personnel (usually dressed in period dress) offering descriptions of the area and explanations of the events of the day.^[136] Bronza asosiy relyef of Major Buttrick, designed by Daniel Chester frantsuzcha va tomonidan ijro etilgan Edmond Tomas Kvin in 1915, is in the park, along with French's Daqiqali odam haykal.^[137] The American Battlefield Trust and its partners have saved one acre of the battlefield at the site of Parker's Revenge.^[138]

Four current units of the Massachusetts National Guard units (181st Infantry,^[139] 182nd Infantry,^[140] 101st Engineer Battalion,^[141] and 125th Quartermaster Company^[142]) are derived from American units that participated in the Battles of Lexington and Concord. There are only thirty current units of the U.S. Army with colonial roots.^{[iqtibos kerak ]}

Ning bir nechta kemalari Amerika Qo'shma Shtatlari dengiz kuchlari shu jumladan ikkitasi Ikkinchi jahon urushi samolyot tashuvchilar, were named in honor of the Battle of Lexington.

Xotiralar

Daniel Chester frantsuzcha "s Minut odam, 1874

Vatanparvarlar kuni, an observed qonuniy ta'til is celebrated annually in honor of the battle in Massachusetts. It is recognized by that state, as well as by Konnektikut, Meyn va tomonidan Viskonsin public schools, on the third Monday in April.^{[143][144][145]} Re-enactments of Paul Revere's ride are staged, as are the battle on the Lexington Green, and ceremonies and firings are held at the North Bridge.

Yuz yillik yubiley

On April 19, 1875, Prezident Uliss S. Grant and members of his cabinet joined 50,000 people to mark the 100th anniversary of the battles. Tomonidan haykal Daniel Chester frantsuzcha, Minut odam, located at the North Bridge, was unveiled on that day. Rasmiy to'p took place in the evening at the Agricultural Hall in Concord.^[146]

Sesquicentennial commemoration

1925 yil aprel oyida Amerika Qo'shma Shtatlari pochta aloqasi issued three stamps commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Battles at Lexington and Concord. The Lexington—Concord commemorative stamps were the first of many commemoratives issued to honor the 150th anniversaries of events that surrounded America's War of Independence. The three stamps were first placed on sale in Washington, D.C. and in five Massachusetts cities and towns that played major roles in the Lexington and Concord story: Lexington, Concord, Boston, Cambridge, and Concord Junction (as G'arbiy Konkord keyin ma'lum bo'lgan).^[147] This is not to say that other locations were not involved in the battles.

Vashington Kembrijda

Shot heard round the World
Birth of Liberty, tomonidan Genri Sandxem

Minut odam
tomonidan Daniel Chester frantsuzcha

Issues of 1925

The events were also commemorated on the 1925 Leksington-Konkord sekventsentennial yarim dollar.

Bicentennial commemoration

1970 Franklin Mint medallion commemorating Lexington and Concord 1775

The Town of Concord invited 700 prominent U.S. citizens and leaders from the worlds of government, the military, the diplomatic corps, the arts, sciences, and humanities to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the battles. On April 19, 1975, as a crowd estimated at 110,000 gathered to view a parade and celebrate the Ikki yillik in Concord, President Jerald Ford delivered a major speech near the North Bridge, which was televised to the nation.^[148]

Freedom was nourished in American soil because the principles of the Mustaqillik deklaratsiyasi flourished in our land. Ushbu tamoyillar, 200 yil oldin bayon qilinganida, haqiqat emas, balki orzu edi. Bugungi kunda ular haqiqiydir. Amerikada tenglik pishib yetildi. Bizning ajralmas huquqlarimiz yanada muqaddas bo'lib qoldi. Bizning zaminimizda hech qanday hukumat yo'q boshqariladiganlarning roziligi. Boshqa ko'plab mamlakatlar Mustaqillik Deklaratsiyasida erkinlik va erkinlik tamoyillarini erkin qabul qildilar va o'zlarining mustaqil respublikalarini yaratdilar. Aynan mana shu tamoyillar, erkin qabul qilingan va erkin baham ko'rilgan, dunyoda inqilob qildi. Ikki asr oldin bu erda Konkordda o'q otish, "o'q butun dunyoga eshitildi", bugungi kunda ham ushbu yubileyda yangramoqda.^[149]

— Prezident Jerald R. Ford

Prezident Ford bazasiga gulchambar qo'ydi Minut odam haykali va keyin hurmat bilan Ser sifatida kuzatilgan Piter Ramsbotham, Buyuk Britaniyaning AQShdagi elchisi jangda halok bo'lgan ingliz askarlari qabriga gulchambar qo'ydi.^[150]

Fuqaro Acton va "Acton Fife" va "Drum Corps" a'zolari yurish qilishdi Konkord ustida Isaak Devis Trail 2016 yillik davomida Vatanparvarlar kuni bayram.

Shuningdek qarang

• Amerika inqilobiy urushi janglari ro'yxati
• Amerika inqilobiy urushi # Dastlabki kelishuvlar

Izohlar

Adabiyotlar

Qo'shimcha o'qish

• Grinvalt, Fillip S. va Robert Orrison. Yagona zarba: Leksington va Konkord janglari va Amerika inqilobining boshlanishi, 1775 yil 19 aprel.. Rivojlanayotgan inqilobiy urush seriyasi. El Dorado Hills, Kaliforniya: Savas Beatie, 2018. ISBN  978-1-61121-379-9.

Janglar yaqinida nashr etilgan gazetadagi maqolalar

• "Viloyat Kongressida / Konkord, 1775 yil 24 mart". Virjiniya gazetasi. Uilyamsburg, Virjiniya. 21-aprel, 1775. p. 15. — Massachusets shtati kongressi mustamlakani "to'liq mudofaa holatiga" o'tkazish to'g'risida qaror

• "Viloyat Kongressida / 1775 yil 3-aprel". Merilend gazetasi. Annapolis, Merilend. 1775 yil 20-aprel. - qo'ng'iroq qilmoqda Jon Xenkok Massachusets shtati kongressi "Buyuk Britaniyadan so'nggi kemalardan olingan razvedka" va shunga o'xshash hodisalarni hisobga olgan holda yig'ish.

• "Quyidagilar kecha, qo'l qog'ozi, ekspress / Filadelfiya tomonidan 1775 yil 24 aprelda qabul qilingan". Merilend gazetasi. Annapolis, Merilend. 1775 yil 27-aprel. - Janglarning dastlabki tavsifi va o'qilgan qo'shinlarning kuchli tomonlari va qurbonlar to'g'risida dastlabki hisobotlar.

Tashqi havolalar

• Minute Man National Historical Park uchun Milliy Park xizmati sayti
• Bakman tavernasi - Leksington tarixiy jamiyati
• Nega biz Leksington va Konkordni eslaymiz va 19-aprel
• Qutqarilgan to'p Concordga qaytadi
• Leksington va Konkord janglari
• Concord Fight haqida maqolalar Concord jurnali
• Leksington va Konkord janglarining animatsion tarixi
• Massachusets shtatidagi Konkord
• Merriam burchagi
• Van Gorden-Uilyams kutubxonasidagi Leksington signalizatsiyasi xati va arxivlar
• "Mustamlakachilik shaharlari, raqamlar bo'yicha". Arxivlandi asl nusxasi 2011-05-13 kunlari. Olingan 2010-04-25. O'sha davrdagi Acton, Bedford, Concord va Lexington haqidagi faktlar va raqamlar, shu jumladan shaharlarning "Minutli erkaklar va militsiya" ro'yxati.
• Leksington va Konkorddagi amerikalik jangchilarning bayonotlari to "Leksington va Konkorddagi to'qnashuvlar to'g'risida rasmiy hujjatlar" qo'shimchasida keltirilgan Xususiy askarlarning harbiy jurnallari, 1758–1775, Abraham Tomlinson tomonidan Poughkeepsie uchun, Nyu-York muzeyi, 1855 yil.