THE SHOT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD

By Bob Walsh

 

April 19, 1775 – The Shot Heard Around the World

 

April 19, 1775.  In some ways that is when the United States came into being.  There is some disagreement as to when and where the actual shot was fired, and by who, despite what Ralph Waldo Emerson said in his famous poem, "Concord Hymn", written in 1837.

What is known is that in the very early pre-dawn hours of April 19 a group of British regular's moved out towards Concord and Lexington, Massachusetts.  They were going to seize arms that had been purchased and stashed in anticipation of the fight to come.  

The first encounter happened on the Lexington Green when Captain John Parker and a group of Minutemen stood in opposition to the British.  It is generally agreed that neither side there was ordered to fire but the British did let loose a ragged volley followed by a bayonet charge.  The Americans quit the field, never having been ordered to fire.  Eight Americans died.  One British soldier was slightly wounded and may have been shot by a marksman who was not with the other Americans on the Green.  Nobody knows.  

The British then continued on to Concord where the arms were hidden.  They were opposed by the Americans at the old North Bridge.  At that time and place the first DELIBERATE shots were fired by Americans acting under orders.  British soldiers died, and the British beat feet.  A running battle continue for miles with the Americans taking pot shots at the British all along the road.  The revolution had started. 

President Grant seriously considered NOT attending the Centennial Celebrations in the area to avoid the conflict over where the first American shot was actually fired.  The two cities had been fighting over the issue since at least 1824 when the Marquis de Lafayette visited both cities.  

I have been there.  About 13 years ago I took a long road trip cross-country.  I visited some family and some general interest places but mostly Revolutionary War and Civil War battlefields.  I was at the park in Concord at dawn.  Nobody there but me and a dog walker.  I could almost feel the history oozing up from the ground.  It was close to a religious experience.  I tried to picture in my mind's eye what happened there.  The parked cars broke my focus a bit, but it was still a very moving thing.