• On this day in 1775, the “shot heard round the world” occurs at Lexington Green!
    It had been mere hours since Paul Revere ended his famous ride from Boston to Lexington (see yesterday’s post). Seven hundred British soldiers were en route to Concord. Their goal? They wanted to seize the weapons and supplies that Americans had stored at Concord, Massachusetts.
    In the early morning hours of April 19, the British troops ran into about 70 American minutemen on Lexington Green. These men were led by Captain John Parker, a veteran of the French and Indian War. As the British approached, the Americans stood firm. But then someone heard a British officer shout: “Lay down your arms, you damned rebels!” Others heard similar variations of the same comment: “Throw down your arms, ye villains, ye rebels” or “Ye villains, ye rebels, disperse, damn you, disperse!”
    In the meantime, Parker later testified that he “immediately ordered our Militia to disperse, and not to fire.” Most of the men began to disperse, as ordered, but some never heard the order. And NONE of the Americans put down their arms.
    No one really knows who fired the first shot that followed . . . the “shot heard round the world”!
    Some British officers were certain that it was a provincial hidden behind a hedge. Others thought the shot came from a nearby tavern. Some of the militia at Lexington were certain that British officers fired at them.
    Regardless, the first shot WAS fired. The British began firing at Americans, leaving eighteen Americans killed or wounded. Some Americans returned fire, but only one British soldier was mildly wounded.
    The British troops continued toward Concord. They searched for weapons without finding anything of note. Potentially, the British could have simply returned to Boston at that point but for one thing: A fire broke out. The source of that fire is unknown, but the American militia thought that the British were burning down buildings. They ran for North Bridge and a brief skirmish ensued, leaving 3 British and 2 Americans dead. The British began their retreat toward Boston.
    Americans fired upon British soldiers the entire way back to Boston, where they cornered them in the city. In all, nearly 300 British soldiers were killed or wounded during the retreat. By contrast, Americans lost less than 100.
    The Library of Congress summarizes: “By the end of the day, the colonists were singing ‘Yankee Doodle’ and the American Revolution had begun.”

    If you enjoy these history posts, please see my note below. :)
    Gentle reminder: History posts are copyright © 2013-2023 by Tara Ross. I appreciate it when you use the shar e feature instead of cutting/pasting.
    TDIH #OTD #AmericanHistory #USHistory #liberty #freedom #ShareTheHistory
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    On this day in 1775, the “shot heard round the world” occurs at Lexington Green! It had been mere hours since Paul Revere ended his famous ride from Boston to Lexington (see yesterday’s post). Seven hundred British soldiers were en route to Concord. Their goal? They wanted to seize the weapons and supplies that Americans had stored at Concord, Massachusetts. In the early morning hours of April 19, the British troops ran into about 70 American minutemen on Lexington Green. These men were led by Captain John Parker, a veteran of the French and Indian War. As the British approached, the Americans stood firm. But then someone heard a British officer shout: “Lay down your arms, you damned rebels!” Others heard similar variations of the same comment: “Throw down your arms, ye villains, ye rebels” or “Ye villains, ye rebels, disperse, damn you, disperse!” In the meantime, Parker later testified that he “immediately ordered our Militia to disperse, and not to fire.” Most of the men began to disperse, as ordered, but some never heard the order. And NONE of the Americans put down their arms. No one really knows who fired the first shot that followed . . . the “shot heard round the world”! Some British officers were certain that it was a provincial hidden behind a hedge. Others thought the shot came from a nearby tavern. Some of the militia at Lexington were certain that British officers fired at them. Regardless, the first shot WAS fired. The British began firing at Americans, leaving eighteen Americans killed or wounded. Some Americans returned fire, but only one British soldier was mildly wounded. The British troops continued toward Concord. They searched for weapons without finding anything of note. Potentially, the British could have simply returned to Boston at that point but for one thing: A fire broke out. The source of that fire is unknown, but the American militia thought that the British were burning down buildings. They ran for North Bridge and a brief skirmish ensued, leaving 3 British and 2 Americans dead. The British began their retreat toward Boston. Americans fired upon British soldiers the entire way back to Boston, where they cornered them in the city. In all, nearly 300 British soldiers were killed or wounded during the retreat. By contrast, Americans lost less than 100. The Library of Congress summarizes: “By the end of the day, the colonists were singing ‘Yankee Doodle’ and the American Revolution had begun.” If you enjoy these history posts, please see my note below. :) Gentle reminder: History posts are copyright © 2013-2023 by Tara Ross. I appreciate it when you use the shar e feature instead of cutting/pasting. TDIH #OTD #AmericanHistory #USHistory #liberty #freedom #ShareTheHistory Posted using ThiagoRe.com
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  • Visiting #ChimneyRock in the Western #NebraskaPanhandle. AlphaHippie really knows how to catch me at my most photogenic moments, doesn't he? Good thing I stopped caring about perfection long ago. I'm really not the most cooperative subject anyway.

    On our roadtrip to Utah a couple years backs one of our #boondocking sites as we were returning brought us close to this #NationalHistoricSite. I've visited it a few times way back in my life, so I wanted AlphaHippie to see it and to see how much it had eroded since my last visit. I was surprised to see how little erosion there was. The landscape out here in the Western part of Nebraska's Panhandle is quite flat and wide open. Because of this, not only do the winds and rains erode these fragile features, but lightning strikes take their toll as well. The spire itself used to rise into a sharp point, which is fully blunted now.

    What makes this feature a #NationalTreasure is that it was used as a #Landmark for travelers along not only the #MormonTrail, but the #OregonTrail and #CaliforniaTrail(s) as well. There is a plethora of mentions in historical writings and diaries mentioning it. The #HistoricSite itself is quite bland. It's a short drive up a dirt road where it dead ends into a small parking area with an cemetery on one side and the Rock on the other. There is a trail to it, but we didn't get that close. We wanted to get to our campsite before dark, so it was just a quick visit. There is a Museum, but it's a little further West.

    #SoMee #someeofficial #someeoriginals #originalcontent #AweSoMee #RVing #roadtrippin #boondocking #hiking #trail #travel #photography #myphoto #LandscapePhotography #nature #scenery #Nebraska #History #adventure #life #AmericanHistory
    Visiting #ChimneyRock in the Western #NebraskaPanhandle. [AlphaHippie] really knows how to catch me at my most photogenic moments, doesn't he? Good thing I stopped caring about perfection long ago. I'm really not the most cooperative subject anyway. On our roadtrip to Utah a couple years backs one of our #boondocking sites as we were returning brought us close to this #NationalHistoricSite. I've visited it a few times way back in my life, so I wanted [AlphaHippie] to see it and to see how much it had eroded since my last visit. I was surprised to see how little erosion there was. The landscape out here in the Western part of Nebraska's Panhandle is quite flat and wide open. Because of this, not only do the winds and rains erode these fragile features, but lightning strikes take their toll as well. The spire itself used to rise into a sharp point, which is fully blunted now. What makes this feature a #NationalTreasure is that it was used as a #Landmark for travelers along not only the #MormonTrail, but the #OregonTrail and #CaliforniaTrail(s) as well. There is a plethora of mentions in historical writings and diaries mentioning it. The #HistoricSite itself is quite bland. It's a short drive up a dirt road where it dead ends into a small parking area with an cemetery on one side and the Rock on the other. There is a trail to it, but we didn't get that close. We wanted to get to our campsite before dark, so it was just a quick visit. There is a Museum, but it's a little further West. #SoMee #someeofficial #someeoriginals #originalcontent #AweSoMee #RVing #roadtrippin #boondocking #hiking #trail #travel #photography #myphoto #LandscapePhotography #nature #scenery #Nebraska #History #adventure #life #AmericanHistory
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