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Praetorium Honoris

Sunday, October 1, 2023

Lexington and Concord - Day of Battle (A Repeat, for Which I Beg Your Pardon)

(Source)
Tom and Will Clark were brothers, Tom being the older by a year. Both had been farm hands in a small village in Essex, had been until they were old enough to escape that life and take the King's Shilling,

They were big lads, and strong from all that farm work growing up, so big and strong that they were made grenadiers. Elite soldiers, so they were told, who now stood shivering with the rest of their company on the shore of Boston's Back Bay. Waiting for the boats which would take them to the "mainland" as their company sergeant major, Bill Lewis, called it.

Neither brother knew whether it was very early in the morning or very late at night (both being damned near the same thing Tom thought). They only knew that while Spring had technically arrived, the nights and mornings still bore a sharp chill.

"Alright lads, steady, our boat's right there, let's go sailing!" Sergeant Major Lewis called out.

"Sarn't Major, haven't ye had enough of boats for the time being?" Will joked, all were well aware that the sergeant major had been sick as a dog the entire Atlantic crossing.

"That's enough out of you Will Clark! Move laddies, let's get aboard!"

The crossing was uneventful, the grenadiers stood quietly as the sailors rowed them across the water. When the boat finally grounded on the opposite shore, the men scrambled over the sides, into the cold water, and formed up quickly.

"My bloody boots are soaked through, this army life will be the death of me yet." Will grumbled to his older brother, hoping that the sergeant major hadn't heard him.

"Jesus Will, keep your voice down..." Tom Clark began, only to be interrupted by Sergeant Major Lewis, who missed nothing and heard everything in "his" company.

"So Will Clark, chattering like a magpie again are we? The army might not be the death of ye, but I swear that I will kill you myself if you don't shut your gob!"

"Yes, Sarn't Major, sorry Sarn't Major."

As Lewis turned and walked to the front of the company, to make sure the leftenant didn't make a complete hash of things, Will Clark stuck his tongue out.

"Stick it out again Clark and I'll have you flogged."

With that Will shut his mouth, wondering if the sergeant major was some sort of demon, the man never missed a trick.


The sun was just coming up as the assembled troops moved off, whereas it had been quite brisk before, as the dew evaporated in the bright sun it was growing warmer. Nothing like a brisk march and a wool coat to warm a fellow up!

A small village green was just ahead, from his position near the flank of the column, Tom Clark could see there was a small body of men formed upon the green. In civilian clothing but he could see that these men were armed. "What deviltry is afoot this fine morning?" he wondered.

An officer rode out ahead of the column and directed the men to their left, ordering them from march column to line formation. When that maneuver was completed, the officer ordered the men to halt. The command rippled down the column behind them as well, repeated by each commander in turn.

Then the mounted man faced the grenadier company and ordered...

"Company will fix bayonets!"

The grenadiers reached back and gripped the sockets of their bayonets. Tom could see that his brother Will looked very pale, obviously he had seen the armed men as well.

"Fix!"

A ripple of movement down the line ...

"BAYONETS!"

With bayonets now fixed, the grenadiers stood like statues, the officer wheeled his horse towards the men on the green and ordered them to lay down their arms and disperse at once, in the name of the King!

The armed civilians seemed to waver, ever so slightly. Tom could not understand how these few civilians, armed with what appeared to be older versions of the musket the grenadiers carried and not a few fowling pieces as well, thought they could withstand the might of the British Army.

Tom watched the officer turn his horse again and trot back to where the company was formed.

"Charge your BAYONETS!"

With a yell, the grenadiers threw one foot forward and leveled their muskets, bayonets at the ready. At that moment, Tom saw a puff of smoke, powder smoke, by a stone wall off to the right of the green. Then he heard the sharp buzz of a ball pass nearby. Dear Lord, they're shooting at us. Are they insane?

A number of men, Will included, fired off their muskets in the general direction of the slowly disappearing smoke.

"Hold your fire, hold your fire!" Sergeant Major Lewis screamed as he used his spontoon to slap some of the men's muskets up. Tom had never seen the man so furious. In an instant, the command was given to advance.

As the drums rolled, the grenadiers stepped off. A single, ineffective volley was fired by the civilians, many of them began to run.

"Company, HALT!"

"Present your firelocks!"

"FIRE!"

A volley rang out from the company line. Tom felt the big musket kick back against his shoulder as he immediately began to reload. As the smoke rolled away, he could see a number of the civilians down on the ground, some writhing in agony, some as still as the grave.

"Company will advance!"

The drums rolled and the grenadiers moved forward again. Many of the civilians had vanished into the houses surrounding the green. Some still stood, reloading.

"At them lads! Give 'em cold steel!" The officer on horseback shouted.

With a yell the grenadiers rushed forward. One or two of the civilians were bayoneted where they stood. Will pursued one man right to the door of one of the houses and bayoneted the man in the lower back. Will watched in shock as the man fell, Will's bayonet still in his back. There was so much blood.

Tom Clark rushed up and pushed Will aside. Grabbing his brother's musket, he placed a foot on the civilian's back and yanked back on Will's musket. As the man groaned and tried to rise, Tom handed Will's musket back to him, then pushed the wounded man back down.

"Stay still laddie, your fight's over."

The man tried to sit up, groaning, "Damned lobsterback bastard, rot in Hell!"

Shocked, Tom hit the man in the face with the butt of his musket, killing the wounded civilian.

"You had your chance mate, come on Will, we need to rejoin the company."

Will Clark was in shock, he had stabbed a man, then watched his brother kill him. What in the world was going on? This couldn't be happening, it's such a beautiful day. Why are we killing our fellow Englishmen?


The company quickly reformed and stepped off in march column once more. All along the road Tom could see men off in the distance, seemingly in a hurry to get somewhere. The march continued unopposed as the day grew hotter. Tom was worried about Will, he was quiet and seemed to be staring off into the distance, following the man in front of him without really paying attention.

They went into Concord, smashed up a number of cannon carriages and caissons, a couple of the lads set fire to a haystack. It all seemed like great fun, though Tom was wondering what they were going to do next. The officers all seemed angry, apparently what they had marched out of Boston for was not to be found, at least not in the quantities the officers seemed to expect.

Reforming, the column moved off down the road they had come into Concord on. Not far away Tom heard musket fire, serious musket fire, volleys were being exchanged close by, though he couldn't see where.

Tom began seeing bodies of formed men on the nearby ridge lines and moving parallel to the road they were on, some of the older men, the veterans. were looking a bit worried. It seemed to Tom that a war might be starting this very day, were these men insane?

As the company rounded a bend in the road, a volley rang out from behind a nearby stone wall. As Tom looked in that direction, he heard a high-pitched scream and saw their young leftenant pitch from his horse, blood staining the man's trousers nearly the same color as his jacket. The young man died before he hit the ground.

Sergeant Major Lewis quickly took control and ordered the men to face right and present their firelocks. As he ordered a volley, Tom saw nothing but smoke from where the civilians had fired from, they had vanished as quickly as they had appeared.

"Reload lads, quickly now!"

As ramrods rattled down barrels, as men bit off cartridges, another volley came from the opposite side of the road. More men in the company went down, some were unmoving, some were helped onto their feet as the Sergeant Major got the men moving again. They had to get out of this enclosed space and get to where they could form up properly and hit back.

The day went on like that, agonizing hour after hour, until they met up with more British troops coming up from Boston. The civilians, the rebels as one officer had called them, had faded back into the countryside. Leaving the King's troops battered, bloodied, and exhausted.

Tom and Will marched back to Boston, wondering what the day had meant. Wondering how their fellow Englishmen could hate them so. Will was changed, he was quieter, life wasn't so funny any more.

While Will had been shocked at how he had bayoneted a fellow human being earlier in the day, along the march he had gone from being confused to grimly determined. He had expended nearly all of the rounds from his cartridge box. Tom remembered watching his brother calmly load and fire throughout the long day, had remembered his brother's grunt of satisfaction as he saw at least one man go down when he fired.

Will was no longer the frightened boy he had been that morning, he was now a soldier.

War had come to the King's American possessions, again.

(Source)




Author's Note: I have my reasons for repeating this post. It has everything to do with my growing concern for the direction this country is taking. I have come to believe that politicians are incapable of learning from the past. All they seem to be concerned with is growing their wealth, their power too, if they can pull it off. A pox on both houses. This was originally posted in April of 2019.

40 comments:

  1. I share that concern also Sarge. All I wish to say on a Sunday.

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    1. The fact that what were once blatantly communist ideals are now being taught in our colleges scares the hell out of me. They don't think it's communist, but clearly is.

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  2. There is a large percentage of our population who do not see anything except what the corporate/cabal media puts out. They stole the election and have not stopped saying that the theft did not happen... they are writing the history right now...
    There is a reason that during a coup troops are sent to take the radio & television stations at the same time as others are taking the leadership.
    I don't have any answers...

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    1. Prayer is all I've got, will it be enough?

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    2. I guess we'll find out...

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    3. Sarge, I fear that it will not be; we've already had our sidebar about prayer and work.
      I commend to you the book "The Minute Men" by MAJ John R. Galvin USA which dispels the myth that the Militia were not well trained and equipped. Of course David Hackett Fischer's outstanding "Paul Revere's Ride" is THE book for this event IMO.
      Our rulers (they are NOT "leaders") have committed offenses graver than George III and continue to do so; I'm afraid the choice between Liberty and our Oath or poverty, disease and enslavement will soon be upon us.
      Boat Guy

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    4. Just read through the "Source" blog; pretty good stuff, albeit a bit smug about " people outside Massachusetts " not knowing or appreciating the history of April 19th. I would submit that there are rather more outside MA than inside that place correctly referred to as the "Cradle and Grave of American Liberty" who possess the "American Spirit".
      BG

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    5. BG - The Americans drilled and practiced regularly, hunted often, were often veterans of wars and skirmishes or veterans of the English military.

      And they often had more than one gun per person.

      Sounds familiar?

      And, yeah, only in deepest and darkest Massachusetts does the Spirit of Liberty live. Sadly, the civic centers are far far gone to the national socialists.

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    6. BG #1 - Their offenses are far graver, they make George III seem positively pro-American. At least the taxes his government levied on the Colonies were to pay for the French and Indian War, something we benefitted from, not the Russo-Ukraine Fiasco, from which we benfit noy one iota.

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    7. BG #2 - I think that blog was referring to the details of the day itself. I wonder if that is taught anywhere at all these days.

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    8. Beans - Your deepest, darkest Massachusetts is anywhere outside of Route 128 (which is a ring road around Boston). The city itself has too many left-wing idiots.

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    9. Beans, certainly DOES sound familiar. The political purges of the military have resulted in most of the pipe-hitters leaving the service to the trannies and quislings
      BG

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    10. Certainly feels that way at times.

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  3. "Never again." has several meanings.

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  4. Have a friend who did AmerRev reenacting. He said to me that the Brown Bess was designed to look good in a rack, and was a beast to shoot, while the Charleville (French musket, of which the Colonials preferred) looked better on the shoulder and fired better and more accurate (probably due to a better shoulder weld to the stock.)

    Good story.

    And, yes, bad times.

    And now we have a congresscritter pulling a fire alarm to stop voting on a bill that made his party look bad.

    Bad times, and worse coming.

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    1. Brown Bess had a heavier ball, always makes one of those old smoothbores kick like a mule. More accurate? For what, intentionally trying to hit someone twenty yards away? Both were a product of their times, intended to be used en masse.

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    2. Less flinching with the Charleville style, which aided in accuracy. Supposedly. According to my friend who shot both regularly.

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    3. Wouldn't hurt, but the ball is still bouncing down the barrel when it shoots.

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    4. Undersized ball was because of fouling of the black powder. In our reenactment live shoots we've done the basic load rapid fire by the numbers. An 18 round pack of ready to tear with the teeth ammo was a normal loadout. 18 rounds got a little tough to ram the last few down.

      I notice from the story the first group of Rebels tried to form up like the British and got their heads handed to them.

      The rest of the story was sniping from one side and then the other as the British were in marching order and fleeing before they formed up.

      Might be a lesson in there? The Swamp Fox Marion knew that lesson well.

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    5. Yup, if the ball fit the bore too closely, you'd be needing a mallet to load after the first few rounds.

      We did eventually learn to fight in the European manner, the weapons of the time weren't accurate enough for individual fire. But we didn't beat them in stand-up fights, no, we wore them down, made it not worth the candle. And once the French came in, it was all over.

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  5. Is the reason those in power are rapidly arming agencies from the IRS to the Post Office is that they don't believe the men and women of the Army, and especially the Marines, will fire on their fellow citizens (even with some isolated Kent state incidences)? The FBI and BATFE have consistently demonstrated they will.

    The stupidity of it is sickening. Do they also believe our foreign enemies won't take advantage of our domestic turmoil. I seem to recall learning France didn't mind fanning the flames of the American Revolution in order to weaken the British elsewhere.

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    1. It is the way of National Socialists to basically create internal armies against the people. The Exrement-hits-the-fan moment is when all of them get balled up into one national agency. Probably right before all the state and local LEO agencies get 'nationalized.'

      You know, like in Nazi Germany.

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    2. WSF - You have the right of it.

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    3. Beans - Internal armies are also for use against others who have their own little armies. Dog eat dog in that world.

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    4. Beans, 17 June 1935 isn't that far off. I remember a few years ago, there were people on the Left, that wanted isolation camps for Vivid sufferers. With the mindset of the current administration toward everyone not on their side, if they are reelected, how big of a jump is it, from camps, to Camps? Starting with reeducation ones first, of course.

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  6. Well written Sarge - and interesting, from the British point of view.

    The point at which civil disagreements spiral into civil wars are usually only seen from the rearview mirror of history. At the time, nothing seemed inevitable. And then comes the moment, and then the whole history leading up to that point is clear.

    Caesar's rise to power, seen as given thing afterwards, was no given thing leading up to the crossing of the Rubicon.

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    1. It's those small moments in history, when even a small event can bring momentous change, which fascinate me.

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    2. The later Emperors found that their legions were loyal as long as he paid better than the other pretenders.

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    3. Mercenaries, can't trust them.

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  7. The events of Lexington and Concord, admirable told by Sarge above in fictional form are a vital pivot point in the history of our nation.
    But, the events of April 19th, 1775 MUST be understood in context of the larger events in the Colonies, and indeed the entire British Empire, and not just at the individual level as seen by Tom and Will above.

    I cannot overemphasize the impressive scholarship, and writing found in Rick Atkinson's "The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777."

    It is exceptionally readable, enjoyable and understandable, providing that vital big picture context, as well as individual viewpoints from many stratas of society, geographically diverse, and very insightful. One important point not often discussed is the trevails of General Washington trying to wage war with an all volunteer force, mostly part time militia, whom were very poorly trained as soldiers contrary to what some have stated above, although many had familiarity with firearms, hunting and survival skills. But, those same men has to provide for their families, and tended to show up for soldier duty when they felt like it. Officers with any leadership or military knowledge were extremely scarce. Logistics was more an unmet need than any sort of consistent system of getting even minimal amounts of food, clothing, camp supplies, ammunition or weapons delivered to soldiers in camps. Nor were there many places in the colonies which could provide these needed items, even if the Continental Congress had funds to purchase them, and there was a lack of transportation to move what little could be bought.

    Atkinson also covers the social and political attitudes and debates (on the Brit, Patriot, Tory, and "just leave me alone" factions).

    Get the book and read it!

    Yeah, there are a lot of similar currents in our world today. But, we live in a different world, with different friends and foes, and a very different culture than the colonial society of 1775 steeped in the frontier spirit of self reliance, personal liberty, and fatalist acceptance of life and death in a time when many children died in infancy, accidental deaths and disease regularly killed people, and medical knowledge was scant and infection or diseases had few viable treatment options other than bleeding, mercury bearing medicines and amputation.

    Our freedom was won by a hardy group of patriots, at great personal and collective sacrifice, and bitterly divided patriots, loyalists and those struggling to subsist who jut wanted to be left alone.

    Read the book!
    This the first of a 3 volume set, with publication of volumes 2 and 3 in the future, and used copies are on ABEbooks for under $10.00

    And, try to get to Lexington and Concord and ponder the events of that day by the rude bridge. And the boldness of hundreds of pissed off farmers unwilling to bow to tyrannical government from far away, who risked their lives fortunes and sacred honor (as some would later write) for the cause of freedom.
    John Blackshoe

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    1. Brother Blackshoe,
      I will indeed get the book! Been a fan of Atkinson for some time.
      However...you should also get MAJ Galvin's book; it's the source upon which I base my comment on militia training. Certainly not all militia trained well or rigorously; but according to Galvin, the Mass Militia had been training regularly all winter before the April confrontation.
      Boat Guy

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    2. JB - Rick Atkinson's book is outstanding, I grabbed a copy as soon as it came out, can't wait for the rest of the trilogy.

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    3. BG - Sounds like I need to pick up a copy of Galvin's book as well. The Massachusetts militia companies had been drilling prior to the events of April 1775. Drilling as independent companies, which is a hard distinction from drilling in larger units. The men of the militia had jobs and were not a full time military so their training would be less than that of the British regulars. But their motivation was far better than that of the British, at least in my estimation.

      Also those drills were infrequent at best, I'd be surprised if they drilled more than once a week. Be surprised if they even did that much. But I want to read Galvin's take on it for sure.

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    4. I just ordered MAJ GEN Galvin's book, and look forward to learning from it. While I have not done any detailed research on pre-Revolution militias, I have done a lot of reading on federal period through 1900 miiltias, (especially their arms) and in that era, the common militias pretty well deserved the stereotypical caricatures of disinterested, reluctant, ill-trained, ill-equipped groups, who attended the annual muster under duress of law, and the incentive of ample refreshments from prospective officers seeking votes. There were of course, some exceptions among the volunteer militia companies, usually from higher social classes in urban areas.

      No doubt, the entirely voluntary "Committees of Safety" and some of the very active militias, likely mostly concentrated around Boston where anti-British sentiment had been building may have been much more motivated and better trained in view of likely hostilities than their post-Revolution successors. During and after the Siege of Boston, they were probably better than most of the volunteers who showed up, "although a cynic would note that the competition was not keen." ( Phrase from my old professor, a former CMH historian, who had a special interest in militia.)
      John Blackshoe

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    5. I ordered it as well. Looking forward to reading it.

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