The shot heard around the world

[JoJo]

 

By the rude bridge that arched the flood
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled Farmers stood
And fired the shot heard round the world.

The foe long since in silence slept;
Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.

On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set to-day a votive stone;
That memory may their deed redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.

Spirit, that made those heroes dare
To die, and leave their children free
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to them and thee.
(Ralph W. Emerson)

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/04/19/odonnell-history-matters-the-battles-of-lexington-and-concord/

rofessional army in the world.

April 19, 1775 marked the beginning of an epic journey for a band of brothers who risked EVERYTHING for a nation yet to be born. Over the course of nearly eight years, many of these Americans marched thousands of miles, often shoeless, unpaid, and starving, to fight for freedom and liberties most Americans today take for granted. Their resolute stand matters in light of multiple current events and threats to that American liberty.

In November 1774, King George III told Lord North, the Prime Minister of Great Britain that “blows must decide whether they [colonists but hereafter referred to as the Americans] are to be subject to this country, or independent.” The Crown moved toward using force. For years, friction had been building in the provinces. Throughout the fall of 1774, General Gage’s forces conducted a number of so-called powder alarms aimed at seizing gunpowder and munitions. Black powder in the colonies was precious and had to be imported since virtually no organic production existed in North America. The Crown put in place a ban on the importation of powder and firearms.

Mercilessly, they leveled a number of hard economic measures, closed the port of Boston throwing thousands out of work, and passed several acts aimed to destroy the colonies’ economic will. Americans fought back by boycotting British products. In early 1775, after declaring the colonies in a state of rebellion, the Crown ordered General Gage, the commander-in-chief of British forces in North America and military governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, to use a “vigorous exertion” of that force and “seize the principal actors and evaders” as well as disarm the Americans. During the previous several months, most colonists had hoped for peace and still considered themselves Englishmen as they prepared to defend themselves. The British had demonstrated throughout the history of their empire that without powder and cannon to support a standing army, any rebellion could be easily crushed. Until reinforcements arrived, however, Gage must conduct the disarmament raids with surgical precision, knowing the colonists could recruit potentially overwhelming forces. He spent weeks preparing for the operation to seize rebel munitions that Americans had amassed at Concord.

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