Timeline of the Battle of Lexington & Concord

Pictures

 April 18, 1775

         We arrived of the outskirts on Boston on April 18, 1775. We were getting ready to get back to our headquarters when my assistant came galloping on a horse towards me and my crew. He was out of breath because he was running from British patrols. His mission had not been in vain though, and he had discovered that General Gage had secretly planned to surprise the Colonists by destroying their ammunition depot at Concord.  He also told us that General Thomas Gage sent out a cavalry patrol of twenty men to stop any messages from reaching the colonists. We decided to stay and pitch our camps because we knew that something big was going to happen.

        That night we saw a blur approaching my group and I. We looked closer and realized it was Paul Revere, William Dawes and Dr. Samuel Prescott. A sudden thought  struck me. Had these patriots realized that the redcoats were going to strike? I told my group to stay camouflaged so that nobody could see us. The riders raced past us. They had not gone far when we saw the three intercepted by a British patrol. We saw William Dawes escaped (he probably went to warn Boston just in case). Dr. Samuel Prescott also eluded the patrol appeared to be heading to Concord. We were wondering where Paul Revere was when we saw he had been captured by the British sentry. 

     It made sense the redcoats would march over the night so my team decided to get a little rest. Tomorrow's plans were undecided.

April 19,1775

It was 5:20 in the morning when we saw unknown forces marching to Lexington. It seemed like we were in the middle of all the action. As we crept closer to see who they were, we realized it was British regulars marching to Lexington! Then we saw the militia (lead by Captain Parker), and they were obviously not going to let Britain pass through. 
"Disperse, ye rebels, disperse in the name of the king! " Major Pitcairn yelled, "Lay down your arms." 
Captain Parker decided not to fight. We could barely hear Parker giving orders to his men to go home, but to remain armed. A few militia men stood their ground, but most left. All of a sudden we heard a shot! The first shot of the American Revolution! The redcoats opened fire on the helpless colonists. The patriots fought back, but in vain. The British defeated the militia in ten minutes and left eight colonists dead and ten wounded. We then saw the British proceeding to Concord to destroy the ammunition. We followed the British into Concord at a distance. At 7: 00 A.M the force commanded by Major Pitcairn and Colonel Smith reached Concord. The triumphant redcoats marched into Concord and destroyed their ammunition supply. The militia wait and watch the redcoats without interfering. I wonder why? At about 10:00 A.M, Colonel Barret, leading the Americans, directs his men towards the hundred redcoats guarding Concord' s North Bridge. The Americans were approaching the British regulars when the British fired on them. This time the Americans were not afraid and they did not run. The Americans returned fire and sent the British fleeing in time. Lord Percy, a British general, comes to their rescue with reinforcements of a thousand soldiers. The British finally retreat. We snatched our opportunity and managed to stop Lord Percy and Major Pitcairn. With much persuasion they agreed to be interviewed in Boston. We would like to give you some background information on the first person we interviewed.

Lord Percy, or otherwise known as Hugh Percy, 2^nd Duke of Northumberland was born in 1742 and is currently serving as General in the English army.  In 1759 he was sent to Boston as a Brigadier General, Colonel of the 85th Regiment of Foot. Lord Percy saved the British soldiers in the Battle Of Lexington and Concord when his brigadiers deputized for Colonel Smith’s men. He is one of the wealthiest men of his time. 

Please see the interview below.

In this interview you heard a strong loyalist opinion. Lord Percy is very angry at the patriots. We had the chance to interview another British general, Major Pitcairn. We were lucky as we normally only get one interview with the British. We will probably get only one interview from the Patriots.

Some background information.............

Major Pitcairn is the leader of the redcoats in Lexington and Concord. He was born on December 28, 1722. He joined the Marines and was given the position of a Lieutenant in 1746. In his early 20s, John Pitcairn married Elizabeth  Dalrymple, cousin of his father's old Colonel, the Earl of Stair.

Please see the interview below. 

My crew and I took a boat near Boston to travel to Russel House where we had seen militia stationed. A soldier gave me directions to where Paul Revere was (he gave them without questions as he probably saw I was a reporter). He told me Revere was at Lexington as he had been released at 2 A.M without a horse and walked back to Lexington. We traveled to Lexington from Russel House hopeful of an interview with Paul Revere. We reached Lexington in the evening when Paul Revere was about to leave. We asked him for an interview and he agreed immediately. 

 Paul Revere, one of my childhood friends, was born in late December of 1734. He was the third of twelve children and he married Sarah Orne and later Rachel Walker.  He was a silversmith and the messenger for the Patriots. Prior to the Battle of Lexington and Concord, he warned the militia of the impending British raid. If it were not for him, the British forces would have succeeded in their mission to destroy Concord's ammunition depots. 

Please see the interview below: