列克星敦和康科德

介绍

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Sensing the town's rising temperature, Gage decides to defuse New England's military arsenal. 九月一日, he sends 260 soldiers to seize 250 barrels of gunpowder from the powder house at Charlestown. Colonists, convinced they are under attack, raise a 粉报警, which mobilizes thousands of local militia, some as far away as Connecticut. Gage fortifies Boston against possible attack, while the Provincial Congress establishes a network of alarm riders and rapid-response militia units. Many fear that civil war is imminent and pray, “上天会避开暴风雨的!"

An astute general, Gage needs to understand the lay of the land. In January, he issues orders for Captain John Brown and Ensign Henry de Berniere. The spies are to travel west through Suffolk and Worcester Counties and take 乡村写生, noting tactical opportunities and obstacles. 三月在米德尔塞克斯郡进行勘察, Brown and Berniere discover a store of weapons and supplies in Concord. 离波士顿只有20英里, and a meeting place of the suspended—and thereby illegal—Provincial Congress, Concord is the site of Gage's next strike. Reinforcing his decision is a secret letter from Lord Dartmouth, the Secretary of State for the American Colonies, who encourages Gage to arrest Whig leaders, 没收叛军的武器, 实施戒严令.

On the night of 18 April, British grenadier and light infantry companies gather in Boston's Back Bay. They are ferried across the Charles River basin to Cambridge, and from there they begin their march into Concord. Paul Revere and others sneak out of Boston and ride through the countryside 敲响警钟. When the Regulars arrive in Lexington, minutemen are waiting. 一场血腥的对抗爆发了. After the British push on, eight colonists lie dead on the green; ten more are wounded. In Concord, the Regulars are met by an even greater force, which repels them at North Bridge. The Regulars, in retreat, are pursued by a growing militia force, drawn by widely rippling alarms. In time, both sides accuse each other of 血腥的屠杀.

To prevent Gage's troops from making any more forays into the countryside, 20,000个省的人围攻波士顿. From the safety of its meeting place in Watertown, Dr. 约瑟夫•沃伦, president of the Provincial Congress in John Hancock's absence, 道出了许多人的心声. To “保卫我们的妻子和孩子”, he declares, each Massachusetts town should enlist men to form an army. But Gage soon strikes a deal: he issues 通行证 in and out of Boston so long as Bostonians first surrender their weapons. It seems further bloodshed is averted, at least for the time being.

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