Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 5.djvu/134

120 killed eight of them. The English, on the other hand, declare that the Americans, in retiring, no sooner reached the shelter of a wall than they tired on the British; that the firing came also from some adjoining houses, and shot one man, and wounded major Pitcairn's horse in two places; that then the English were ordered to fire, that they killed several, wounded others, and put the body, about a hundred in number, to flight. The English then pushed on to Concord, the grenadiers having now come up. On approaching Concord they observed another body of minute-men drawn up on a hill near the meeting-house, but, as the regulars advanced, these retired across a bridge into the town.



The regulars advanced and took possession of the bridge, sending a number of soldiers into the town to destroy the stores there. They succeeded in throwing into the river five hundred pounds of ball, breaking to pieces sixty barrels of flour, part of which, however, was recovered, and spiking three guns.

By this time the alarm had spread, the minute-men came running from all places, and as the English, having executed their commission, began to retire, the Americans shouted, "The lobsters run!" The minute-men now rushed over the bridge after them, and firing from behind trees and walls, killed a considerable number of them. The Americans—excellent shots with their rifles could only be seen by the smoke of these rifles, and the English, tired with their long night march, instead of halting to hunt them out, kept on their way towards Lexington. The whole march was of this description: the English, unable to get a good shot at their enemies, the minute-men pressing on their rear, still sheltered by trees and walls. The result would have been more disastrous had not general Gage sent on to Lexington another detachment of foot and marines, consisting of about sixteen companies, under command of lord Percy. His lordship formed his troops into a hollow square, in which he received the exhausted soldiers, who flung themselves on the ground with their tongues hanging out of their mouths, like dogs after a chase.

After they were somewhat rested, lord Percy slowly marched back towards Boston, but the Americans, who had drawn back at the junction of these fresh troops, now hang again on their rear in increased numbers, and, carefully concealing themselves behind trees, walls, and in houses, kept up an almost incessant fire the whole way—the English scarcely ever being able to get a shot at them. As they approached the river, some Americans endeavoured to draw them, on pretence of showing them a ford, into an ambuscade, but lord Percy used his own judgment, and crossed safely. But the other side of the river was equally infested with rifle-men, who followed the troops to the very gates of Boston, which they entered, quite worn out, about sunset. In this first bloodshed betwixt the colonists and the mother country, the English found they had lost sixty killed, forty-nine missing, and one hundred and thirty-six wounded. The Americans admitted that they had a loss of sixty, of whom two-thirds were killed.

The Americans, elated with their success, styled it "the glorious victory in the battle of Lexington," for we shall