of the country people, but they were soon stopped by their officers.

Colonel Smith came up with the rest of the detachment, and they proceeded together to Concord, where they arrived about nine o'clock in the morning, and while he was putting his orders into execution, in destroying the magazine which was found there, he detached a party of six companies of Light-Infantry to secure a bridge at some little distance from the Town, and to destroy some ammunition which they were informed was in several houses thereabouts. This detachment was commanded by Capt. Parsons, of the Tenth Regiment, who, leaving three companies at the bridge, with the remainder went in search of and destroyed a quantity of powder, ball, and cannon-wheels, which he found. In the mean time a great number of the country people assembled about this party, and fired upon the three companies posted at the bridge—killed three men, wounded four officers, one sergeant, and four privates. The Troops returned the fire, and retreated towards their main body at Concord, and were soon followed by Captain Parsons and the other three Companies, who, in passing over the bridge, found three soldiers lying on the ground, one of whom had been scalped, his head much mangled, and his ears cut off, though not quite dead.

Lieutenant Colonel Smith being joined by this party, and having completed the business which had been the object of this design, quitted Concord on his return to Boston; but as soon as he had got without the place, he found himself attacked on all sides from the walls, houses, barns, trees, and every place that afforded cover, and a heavy fire continued upon the Troops until they were met by Lord Percy with his Brigade and two field-pieces, upon the firing of which the country people concealed themselves, and ceased. But as soon as the Troops put themselves in march they were again attacked as before, and without intermission, till the Troops reached Charlestown, from whence they were ferried over to Boston.

The Troops made several halts and returned the fire of the country people, who, however, kept themselves entirely covered and concealed, and did not make the least attempt to show themselves, or venture a close engagement. The Troops lost fifty men killed, and many more are wounded; the loss sustained by the others is not known; some accounts make it very considerable, others little or nothing.

ACCOUNT OF AN ATTACK ON THE INHABITANTS OF MASSACHUSETTS BY THE BRITISH TROOPS, ACTING UNDER THE ORDERS OF GENERAL GAGE, ON THE 19TH OF APRIL, 1775.

Worcester, Massachusetts, May 3, 1775.

Americans, for ever bear in mind the battle of Lexington, where British Troops, unmolested and unprovoked, wantonly, and in a most inhuman manner, fired upon and killed a number of our countrymen, then robbed them of their provisions, ransacked, plundered, and burnt their houses! Nor could the tears of defenceless women, some of whom were in the pains of childbirth, the cries of helpless babes, nor the prayers of old age, confined to beds of sickness, appease their thirst for blood, or divert them from their design of murder and robbery!

The particulars of this alarming event will, we are credibly informed, be soon published by authority, as a Committee of the Provincial Congress have been appointed to make special inquiry, and to take the depositions, on oath, of such as are knowing to the matter. In the mean time, to satisfy the expectation of our readers, we have collected from those whose veracity is unquestioned the following account, viz:

A few days before the battle, the Grenadier and Light-Infantry Companies were all drafted from the several Regiments in Boston, and put under the command of an Officer, and it was observed that most of the transports and other boats were put together, and fitted for immediate service. This manœuvre gave rise to a suspicion that some formidable expedition was intended by the soldiery, but what or where, the inhabitants could not determine; however, the town-watches in Boston, Charlestown, Cambridge, &c., were ordered to look well to the landing places. About ten o'clock on the night of the 18th of April, the Troops in Boston were discovered to be on the move in a very secret manner, and it was found they were embarking in boats (which they privately brought to the place in the evening) at the bottom of the Common; expresses sat off immediately to alarm the country, that they might be on their guard. When the expresses got about a mile beyond Lexington, they were stopped by about fourteen officers on horseback, who came out of Boston in the afternoon of that day, and were seen lurking in by-places in the country till after dark. One of the expresses immediately fled, and was pursued two miles by an officer, who, when he had got up with him, presented a pistol, and told him he was a dead man if he did not stop; but he rode on until he came up to a house, when, stopping of a sudden, his horse threw him off. Having the presence of mind to halloo to the people in the house, “Turn out! turn out! I have got one of them,” the officer immediately retreated as fast as he had pursued. The other express, after passing through a strict examination, by some means got clear.

The body of the Troops in the mean time, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Smith, had crossed the river, and landed at Phipps’s farm. They immediately, to the number of one thousand, proceeded to Lexnigton, six miles below Concord, with great silence. A Company of Militia, of about eighty men, mustered near the meeting-house; the Troops came in sight of them just before sunrise; the Militia, upon seeing the Troops, began to disperse; the Troops then sat out upon the run, hallooing and huzzaing, and coming within a few rods of them, the commanding officer accosted the Militia in words to this effect: “Disperse, you damn'd rebels! damn you, disperse!” Upon which the Troops again huzzaed, and immediately one or two officers discharged their pistols, which were instantaneously followed by the firing of four or five of the soldiers, and then there seemed to be a general discharge from the whole body. It is to be noticed they fired upon our people as they were dispersing, agreeable to their command, and that we did not even return the fire; eight of our men were killed, and nine wounded. The Troops then laughed, and damned the Yankees, and said they could not bear the smell of gunpowder. A little after this the Troops renewed their march to Concord, where, when they arrived, they divided into parties, and went directly to several places where the Province stores were deposited. Each party was supposed to have a tory pilot. One party went into the jail yard, and spiked up and otherwise damaged two cannon belonging to the Province, and broke and set fire to the carriages. They then entered a store and rolled out about a hundred barrels of flour, which they unheaded, and emptied about forty in the river; at the same time others were: entering houses and shops, and unheading barrels, chests, &c., the property of private persons; some took possession of the Town-House, to which they set fire, but was extinguished by our people without much hurt. Another party of the Troops went and took possession of the North bridge. About one hundred and fifty Provincials, who mustered upon the alarm, coming towards the bridge, the Troops fired upon them without ceremony, and killed two upon the spot! (Thus did the Troops of Britain’s King fire first at two several times upon his loyal American subjects, and put a period to ten lives, before one gun was fired upon them.) Our people then returned the fire, and obliged the Troops to retreat, who were soon joined by their other parties, but finding they were still pursued, the whole body retreated back to Lexington, both Provincials and Troops firing as they went. During this time an express from the Troops was sent to General Gage, who, thereupon, sent out a reinforcement of about fourteen hundred men, under the command of Earl Percy, with two field-pieces.* Upon the arrival of this reinforcement at Lexington, just as the retreating party had got there, they made a stand, picked up their dead, and took all the carriages they could find

* When the Second Brigade marched out of Boston to reinforce the First, nothing was played by the Fifes and Drums but Yankee Doodle, (which had become their favourite tune ever since that notable exploit, which did such honour to the Troops of Britain’s King, of tarring and feathering a poor countryman in Boston, and parading “with him through the principal streets, under arms, with their bayonets fixed.) Upon their return to Boston, one asked his brother officer how he liked the tune now? “Damn them, (returned he,) they made us dance it till we were tired.” Since which Yankee Doodle sounds less sweet to their ears.

*