Lexington Town (part 17 of 25)

Tiie subject of education and tlie organization of the sch.ool system being a subject of deep interest, in 1820 Lexington appointed a committee to consider and report upon the whole subject. This committee, at a subsequent meeting, submitted a full and able report, and to their honor it may be said, that not only the town accepted their report ^vith great unanimity, but that seven years after, when the subject had been agitated and discussed by the legislature, they enacted a general school law, embracing substantially every provision which had been reported by the Lexington committee seven years before. In 1821, an academy was established in Lexington, which was well sustained a few years, and at length the building was occupied by the first normal scliool established in New England, if not in tlie country. This school was well sustained, and met public approbation, but was in a few years removed to Newton on mere local considerations. The proprietor of the " Lexington House," a large and popular hotel, became embarrassed, and after the property passed out of his hands, it was purchased by Dr. Dio Lewis, who opened what he denominated a movement school, in which physical development received a large share of attention. This school was confined to females, and was patronized by young ladies from all parts of the free states. The school was well sustained and conducted, and continued about three years, when the devouring element reduced the edifice to ashes, and so broke up this flourishing and successful school, to the regret of the people. Lexington cannot boast of her learned or distinguished men. Since the days of Hancock and Clarke she has had her full share of men of respectable standing for ability, but none of worldwide fame. The only exception to this is Tiieodore Parker, who was born in Lexington, and whose eccentric, sceptical tendencies have given him a strong hold upon those whose speculations run in the same channel. A marble bust of him may be seen in our library.

Like most other towns, Lexington has about the usual variety of religious societies : one Unitarian, one Calvinistic, one Baptist, one Union, - composed of Unitarians and Universalists, - and one Roman Catliolic. All have good houses of worship; the two first named have houses tastefully finished ; and all are supplied with faitliful ministers, and are in a good condition.

Our churches, school-houses, and the dwellings generally are well painted, and are in a state of good repair; and in tiiese respects Lexington will compare favorably with the neighboring towns. We have one building which is worthy a special notice, "The Massaciuisetts House," A\hicli is open for public entertainment. It is tlie identical building erected at Pliiladelphia for the visitors from this commonwealth at the great centennial exhibition in 1876. The building was purchased, taken down, and brought to Lexington, and here set up and put in good order. It is a building of a peculiar structure, and makes a singular but pleasant appearance. It is situated in the centre of the town, near the town-hall. Its history and the manner in which it is conducted commend the house to public patronage.

The town-hall in Lexington is an edifice highly creditable to the town. It is a brick building, ninety-five feet by fifty-eight, and is thirty-eight feet in height above the basement, with a double Louvre roof. The building furnishes a large audience hall, with suitable anterooms, apartments for the town officers, a memorial hall, and a library hall. The memorial hall is an octagon, with suitable corridors, containing four niches, filled with four marble life-size statues : two of soldiers, one a minute-man of 1775, and tlie other a Union soldier of 1861. The other two niches are filled with the statues of Samuel Adams, the organizer of the American Revolution, and of John Hancock,

To The Memory Op The

The library hall is a large, commodious room, appropriately fitted uj) for the purpose. The library was established in 1SG8, and now contains six thousand two hundred volumes, besides maps and charts, and is constantly increasing. As its resources furnish about !!})5.'J1) aniuuilly, and public institutions and individuals are liberal in their donations, we trust tiie librarv \\\\\ soon be worthv of th.' historic t.i\Mi of l>exin,-l,.n. The library hall also coiilaius wymw iiilerestiii'' relics of the

Revolution, such as swords, guus, powder-liorns, etc. Among the relics the most interesting are the identical pistols carried by JIajor Pitcaim ou the memorable 19th of April, 1775. One of these pistols broke the peaceful relation between the colonies and the mother country, being the first gun of the Eevolution. For these valuable relics we are indebted to the patriotism of ^Irs. Putnam, wife of the grandson of the old patriot. General Israel Putnam, the hero of two wars. The walls are adorned with portraits and engravings. Like most towns, Lexington lias a considerable corporate debt. Her town-hall, though built on very favorable terms, cost at least S 43,800, and her centennial celebration some $10,000 more. These items, with her war debt, etc., had amounted in 1876 to $ 64,000. But with a true spirit of economy the town has reduced the debt to $51,800, and has a surplus of at least $6,000, which might have been held as a sinking-fund to pay the notes as they become due. The assessors estimate tlie corporate property of the town, without including tlie library, the cemeteries, statues, etc., at $91,200; so that no alarm arises from the indebtedness of the town. Her rate of taxation last year was $13 on -S 1,000, and tt^ill probably not exceed $10 in future.

Lexington, as w-e have already seen, is w-ell supplied with railroad, post-office, and telegraph accommodation. She lias two daily exjjresscs, an organized fire department, a gas company which supplies an excellent article, and, - a doubtful appendage to the institutions of a small country town, - a weekly newspaper, edited by a non-resident and printed out of town. She has her roads in good repair, her streets kept clean by day and well lighted by night.

The people of Lexington have always felt that they were ])laced by Providence in a jieculiar si( nation. To be acknowledged throughout the country as tiie birtliplace of American liberty - the spot where tlie first organized ]-esistance was made to the king's troops, where tlie first blood was shed and the first martyrs fell, - had given to Lexington a historic character which impressed upon them a sacred regard for the free institutions of the country. Not only the twenty-two municipalities which have taken our name, but the people in every section of the broad domain, virtually ask us to be true to our ancient fame.

the day to which we have so often referred, Lexington felt called upon to open her doors, and invite the friends of freedom from every part of the country to meet on her consecrated soil, that we might join our bands and our voices in gratitude to the memory of the patriots who achieved and have sustained our glorious independence; and to renew our vows to make our republic an example to the world. Our invitations were sent to the president and suite, to the governors of all the states, officers of tlie army and navy, members of congress, judges of the courts, members of our state government, and gentlemen of distinction of every profession in all sections of the country. Nor were our invitations confined to this coutitry. Tiiey were sent across the Atlantic, and brouglit cordial responses from our ministers abroad and from two distinguished members of the Britisli jiarliament.

We saw that we were destined to lead off in a series of centennial celebrations, wiiich, thougli confined to this country, would exert an influence abroad ; and wo resolved that we would set an example that sliould be followed in harmony with the general design of these commemorative rejoicings ; and, without jvaiting for otliers, we, as our fatiiers did of old, acted on our own judgment. And knowing that we had a country to harmonize, we extended our invitations to those who had been estranged from us, to show them that we, like the father in the parable, would " meet a great way off " all those who liad come to themselves, and were willing to return to the pareiital mansion. We intended that all our proceedings should be strictly national, and calculated to remove mistrust and restore iiarmony between the different sections of tlie country. Our speakers were selected with reference to this design, and llie tone ;iiid spirit of their speeches were of a highl\ jwlriotic and con- ciliatory character ; and -(vhile we have heard with pleasure the tone of hiter celebrations, and the voice of the press, we can congratulate ourselves that the fraternal, forgiving manifestation here displayed was touching the key-note which has proved acceptable to all the lovers of national harmony.

The attendance at our celebration vastly exceeded our expectations. The President and his cabinet, and distinguished guests from every section of the country, honored us with their presence; and legions - for they were many - flocked to our town, and so blocked our streets that they were for a great part of the day impassable for carriages. It was estimated by the best judges that there were in the town that day at least a hundred thousand people. The day was unusually cold for the season, - the thermometer ranging from 24 to 28° above zero. Such numbers disappointed most of our guests and greatly mortified us at the time, because we could not accommodate them as we desired. But on further reflection we, and we believe the intelligent portion of our guests who were incommoded, rejoiced rather than otherwise that the crowd was so great. Though this was rejoicing in tribulation, this gatliering by thousands showed that the spirit of 1775 was not extinct. And it became manifest to all that the story of the 19th of April, and the results and associations connected therewith, had produced such a grand swell of patriotism, such a feeling of gratitude to our Revolutionary fathers, such a deep sense of the worth of our institutions, as would insure the perpetuity of the Republic.

We have endeavored to show the interest taken by the citizens of Lexington in the events connected with tlie opening scene of the American Revolution; and to claim the honors justly due to her for the part which occurred in our town. But we do not rely upon the locality of the occurrences. It is not the soil that imparts glory to the transactions of the day. If the honor was territorial, then Acton and Danvers, whose gallant citizens performed so conspicuous a part on that day, would be robbed of tlie honor so justly their due. No ; the honor is due to the deeds and to the brave men who performed them, and not to the town in which they happened to occur. There need be no jealousy between any of the towns through which the British passed, or whicli participated in the affairs of that day; the glory is sufficient for each locality and for every actor on the occasion, and cannot rightfully be monopolized by any one town.

to us by the public ; and we cannot better close our remarks than by sliowing the appreciation at the close of the eighteenth century of the fame of Lexington by the state legislature, which made an appropriation for the Jirst monument in lionor of t\\e first eff'ort by ihe first martyrs of Libertv.

Source changes here: from History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, by Drake, Samuel Adams, published 1880; 15,963 words in this source stream.

Bt Hok. Ch1.&Leb Hudbov

V EXTNGTON is ritnated in latitude 42" « 26' 50' north, and in longitude 71" 13' 65 " west ; and is about eleven miles wesUnorthwest from -\ Boston. It has ^Vinchester, Wof,')\ bum, and Burlington on the r>*. northeast; Burlington and Bed- ,--. - - ford OH the north ; Lincoln on ^*^- "" the west ; Waltham on the southwest ; and Belmont and Arlington on the southeast. The shape of the tovnship, like that of the neighboring towns, is somewhat irregular. I^ie town contains about twenty square miles, or about thii^ teen thousand acres. Lexington as a whole is more elevated than anj of the adjoining towns, unless it be Lincoln ; and hence the water from her territory finds its way to the ocean through the Shawshine, the Mystic, and Charles riven. The water-power in the town is inconsiderable; and wiiat there is, is remote from the centre. There is at present but one mill in the town, tliat being in the easterly part, at the outlet of the Great Meadow, so called. On or near the site of this mill was erected the first mill in the township, probably aa early as 1650. It was owned by Edward Winship of Cambridge, and was given by his will to his son Edward, and remaiiied more than a century in the family.

Tlie township is rather uneven, furnishing a pleasant variety of hill and dale. Thongh the surface is sometimes broken, the soil for the most part is productive. The rock formation through a great part of the township is a species of greenstone i and though it frequently crops out of the ground, the rock is so irregubr, and the sides so precipitotu, that the soil is deep, and often capable of bdng cultivated ap to tbe very face of the ledges. Tlie presence of this rock generally indi* cates a hard, but at the same time a warm and productive soil, well adapted to gnat, grain, and fruit trees of ever; sort, and in £ut to ererj vegetable production.

There are many good farms in the town, and tlteir value is greatly enhanced by the peat swamp* which are found in almost every neighborhood. Tliese swamps, when properiy drained, constituta some of the most valuable land for cultivation; and at the same time tlie material taken from the drains sen'es to fertilize the rest of the cultivated land. Tliese reclaimed swamps, when properly cultivated, are found to be very productive, jielding bi^ cro|>s of hay, com, potatoes, and every variety of garden vegetables. Lexington may be regarded as a good agricultural township. She hns heretofore been somewhat noted for the haj and fruit she lias sent to market; but at the present time milk may be regarded as her great staple, ^lany of our farmers keep from twelve to thirty cows, and a few of them keep from thirty to sixty, or even seventy. It appears by the retonu of the assessors, published by the authority of the state, that the whole number of milch cows kept in tonn the last year was 1,081, - a bi^ number than tliat kept by any town in the county, with one single exception; and by the census return for 1875, it appears tluit Lexington furnished for the market 510,551 gallons of milk annually, a lai^r amount than is produced by any city or town in the state, except AVorcester.

Lexington has not been able to boast of bei . mineral treasures. Within the last few years, however, a granite quarry has been discovered in the northern pert of the town, which, when prop- erij opeoed, maf prove raluable for bailding purposes. In tlie same general nei^iborhood a paint mine has been diacorered, of wliicli the State Assayer says, " Tlie comiwsition, from its enduring nature, confers great value upon tliis pigment. In mixing Trith oil, a partial combination takes place, vhicli produces an ehutic and mechanically excellent paint, like wliite lead. It baa nothing of a perishable nature." "nieie ia a spring in the valley of Vine Brook, vliicfa .has been thouglit by some to possess medicinal properties, having indications of sulphur and iron. It has never been analyzed. Hiere is, however, a spring recently bronght to public attention, which bids fair to rival the popular springs which are commended for tlieir curative properties. It is lituated in the southeasterly part of Lexington^ near the line of Waltham, on the farm of Alden Jameson^ Esq. ; and is about three miles distant from the centre of each of the towns. It is a copious spring, and is so protected by a granite curb as to secure it from all surface water ; the flow being free from th^ source. The water is highly recommended by those who have used it^ as being valuable in a variety of complaints. Professor Hayes^ after an analysis of the water, classes it favorably with the Poland, Allandale, and Vienna waters, which have a high reputation. He adds, " It is naturally aerated or charged with carbonic acid, oxygen, and nitrogen gases. It is alkaline, and free from any appreciable organic matter. It is a remarkably pure water.'^ It is highly recommended in cases of dyspepsia, diabetes, stone, gravel, and the whole class of kidney, and bowel complaints. Many who haVe used it Speak strongly of the curative properties of the water.

The village of Lexington is pleasantly situated on land comparatively level ; and though it is elevated more than two hundred feet above tide water, being surrounded by hills more or less distant, and having meadows on either hand, it has the appearance of being rather low. In the centre of the village is the Common, a triangular plot of ground, situated at the junction, and lying between the roads leading to Concord and Bedford. It contains about two acres, and is nearly level, with the exception of a gentle swell, rising some five or six feet on the southerly side, on which is the monument erected to the memory of the first Bevolutionary martyrs. The diagram on page 10 will show the premises as they were in 1775, and will illustrate the history of that day. The borders of the Common are skirted by rows of elm, ash, and other ornamental trees; some of them having braved the blasts of more than a hundred winters, while others are glorying in youthful beauty. Tliere is one young tree on the Common which merits notice, as it is designed for posterity. In 1875, when President Grant was in Lexington, at our Centennial, he at our request planted a young elm upon this consecrated ground, that those who caine after us might mark the succession of years; and recall the events which have made the spot memorable. This green is consecrated by the first blood' of the Revolution ; and the sacred associations which surround the spot render it a place of considerable resort, and many a passer-by pauses to contemplate the scene which renders it classic.

2,510, which may be distributed through the town as follows : 1,100 in tlie centre village, 750 in the east village, M-hile the remaining population ia scattered over the rest of the townsliip.

Both nllages, the centre and the east, are situ-' ated on the Main Street, a road leading to Boston ; and the line of separation between them must be somewhat arbitrary, as the settlement on the Main Street is almost continuous and uninterrupted. Both villages are embowered in ornamental trees, which give a rural appearance to the place; and the large, spreading elms liave ever attracted the passers-by. While the roads in Lexington are far from being hilly, there are in different jwrts of the town swells of land rising from a hundred to a hundred and twenty-five feet above the ordinary level of the surrounding country, giving an extensive view of the regions around. There is a range of high lands on tlie southerly side of the main or Boston road, commencing a little southerly of the centre of the town, which, though interrupted by one local depression, extends into Arlington. The si^'ell above the old Munroe Tavern is considerably elevated, and overlooks the main village and a large portion of the town. It was on the northem declivity of this hill that Lord Percy placed one of his field-pieces on the 19th of April, 1775. The elevated portion of this range, southwesterly of the village hall in East Lexington, commands a prospect of great extent and rare beauty. Not only the northeasterly portion of the town, but the village of Medford, with its numerous dwellings and public buildings, are displayed to view. Nor does the prospect end liere; the more distant city of Lynn, and the dark-blue ocean beyond, whitened by the sails of her hardy fishermen and her enterprising merchants, give variety and grandeur to the scene.

Mount Independence, near the East village, rises about one hundred and thirty feet above the main street. This is but a continuation of the range of which we have spoken. It is nearly opposite the church, and commands a full view of the village and the high lands on the opposite side of the broad meadows which spread out pn each side of MiU Brook. But while Main Street, on which are situated the principal houses in the village, lies at the foot of this eminence, and the eye of the beholder on the summit can obsen'C every movement in the village, a more distant prospect attracts attention, and in tliQ openings among the liills in Arlington the growing village of ^fedford rises in full view. The prospect from this hill is truly delightful ; and the people in this part of the toirn have shown their goo(l sense and good taste in giving this hill a name worthy of its diaracter and the town wliere it is situated.

Farther to the south this elevated range rises still higher, with a more extensive prospect, particularly to the south and east, enabling the eye to take iu the village of Newton, and to a great extent the beautiful country intervening. At the lower end of the East village this range is considerably depressed, but soon rises again as' it approaches Ihe Ariington line, giving a good -view towards the north.

But the most celebrated elevation in town, and the one which affords the grandest prospect, is Hancock Height. It is situated some hundred and twenty rods from the railroad station. Tliis general swell or elevation commences near the centre railroad station, and continues in aneasteriy direction, culminating in a rocky summit, which terminates in a precipitous descent of about one hundred and eighty feet, to the intervale of Vine Brook. Standing on the summit, you have almost the whole northern andeastem part of the town in full view. At the base, and almost under your feet, is spread out the valley of Vine Brook, showing its broad meadows, - here in a high state of cultivation, and there covered with a growth of oak, birch, and ittaple ; while on the other hand is the village in its leafy beauty. Beyond, you liave the' plains waving with grass or grain, hillsides adorned with orchards or crowned with forests, - the whole dotted over with farm-houses and bams, to show the presence of industry and thrift. Here, too, you behold the streamlets meandering through the meadows, the roads winding among the hills, together with the school-houses and churches, showing that the mind and the heart, no less than the &ce of the earth, arc designed for cultivation and improvement. Nor is the prospect confined to the township. The villages of Wobum and Burlington, with the high lands beyond, bound your prospect "on the northeast. On the east you liave the hills in Winchester, Mount Gilboa, and the other elevations in Arlington in view ; and bet^reen these a part of Somerville, the towering shaft on Bunker Hill, and a portion of tlie city of Boston may be seen, reflecting the rays of the rising and setting son. To the southeast vou behold the Blue Hills in Milton, the elevated land in Newton, Prospect Hill in Waltham, and the high grounds in Weston.

Fussing over the village of Bedford, the high lands of Wcstford, Groton, and the intermediate towns, the prospect towards the west and northwest is almost unbounded, interrupted by the lofty Wachusett in Princeton, tlie first land which gkds the eye of the mariner as he approaclies the coast. Farther north you behold the Watatic in Ashby, and the hills in New Ipswich; and still farther tlie Grand Monadnock, ** with brow half seen and half concealed in clouds, fixes and bounds the view.'**

This hill was known to the inluibitants by a low and insignificant name, but the citizens in town* meeting assembled, in November, 1867, gUve it the more worthy name of Hancock Height. The summit of this hill, like almost every other in town; is capped with green-stone, ground off smooth at the top ; thus sustaining the theory of the g^logists that, during wliat they denominate tlw drift period, vast mountains of ice passed over our country, and in their steady prepress, with their enormous weiglit, composed as they are thought to be of rocks of r.U kinds which they have accumubted in their grand march, ground off tlie tops of rocks over which they passed.

The general topography of the township, tlie rolling surface of the gromid, present desirable sites for dwellings, giving wliat is becoming a very important element in building lots, a good opportunity for sewerage. We have a railroad passing through the villages, furnishing us with five passenger stations within the township, and so accommodating every locality. Wc have two post-ofiiccs, with a daily mail morning and evening, a telegraph and telephone office. I know of no town so near the city of Boston, and enjoying such facilities of com-' munication, so rural as Lexington. Though our main village presents all the variety of a thickly settled place, having its school-houses, churches, English and West India goods stores, a capacious town-hall, public bouses, livery stables, post-office, and the usual variety of mecliauics' shops, and the railroad station in the centre of the vilbge, - yet if you take a carriage to enjoy any of the pleasant drives which' our gb6d roads afford, in five minutes from the village you are in a scene as quiet and as rural as though yoti were a hundred miles froin the city.

Lexington has always been r^rded as one of the most healthy towns in the region. Situated a dozen miles from the coast, with high lands intervening, those unpleasant, raw, and unhealthy east winds which annoy the inhabitants nearer the sea, and convert a goodly portion of the pleasant months of May ajid June into an uncomfortable season^ are in a great degree avoided, or rather that these winds are so far modified as to be rendered comfortable. At the same time we are so far removed from the snow-capped liills at the north and west as to be measurably exempt from the drifting snows of winter, and the cliilling air of spring. These are among the causes which tend to save us in a degree from that ])lague of New England which brings to an untimely end so many of our young people. The altitude of our township gives a salubrity to our atmosphere, and the absence of slow slu^sh streams saves us in a measure fi'om the malignant diseases so fatal to children. And it can be easily sliown by tlie bills of mortality that licxington lias furnished a larger proportion of deaths at an advanced age than most of the towns around us. The healthfulness of Lexington is so well known that many invalids by the advice of their physicians liave come to Lexington to regain their health.

Lexington was originally a . part of Cambridge, and was known by the designation of ''Cambridge Farms,'' supplying the main village with wood and hay. It is difficult to say when the settlement proper began. Several persons spent most of the farming season here, and still retained their residence in Cambridge. There was no permanent settlement at the "Farms'' till about 164.0. The early settlers came mostly from Cambridge and AVatertown ; but at first thev were few in number. Without attempting to state the. onler in which the first settlers came to the place, we must be content with saying that the Bridges, Winships, Cutlers, Fisks, Stones, Bowmans, Merriams, and Busselb were among the eariiest and the most numerous families. It was not till after the close of Philip's War that there was any considerable increase of. population. In 1670 there could not have been over eighty-five or ninety inhabitants M tlie Farms ; but in 1690 there was probably three times that number^ Among tlie first wants of every New Enghind settlement were those of churcli privil^es. In 1682 the settlers petitioned the. General Court to be set off as a distinct precinct. The old parish in Cambridge opposing, it was not till 1691 that the court granted the Farms a sc])- arate corporate existence. Tlieir first object after being m^de a precinct was to provide permanently for religious instruction. Tliey had liad preachmg Bomewhi^. regularly before.^ But in 1693 they had erected a 'meeting-house and employed a minister.

But unfortunately their minister, Bev. Benjamin Estabrook, who had preached for them, and was permanently settled in 1606, died within a year of his ordination, Tlie parish, after some delay, in 1698 settled John HamxK^, a graduate from liarvard, a young man of good promise. He remained with his people till his death in 1752. He proved to be a man of superior talents, of great usefulness, and probably exerted more influence than any clergyman in the county. If any difficulty arose in any of the churches, and a council was called, Mr. Hancopk was always on the council, where jbe was generally made moderator ; and often l^scame the comicil itself. In those days, when the chnrclies were much fewer than at present,. and when, ministers remained long with their people, being settled for life, lie gave the solemn oliarge to twenty-one ministers at their induction into their saci)ed offijoe. He was as influential at home as abroad, and always managed to keep his people miited af|d happy. ,He was the counsellor and guide of Ms parishioners, not pnly in their spiritual, but m their temporal aflairs. Tlieir title-deeds a.nd their accounts were generally in his handwriting. If any difficulty or misunderstanding arpse between any members of his flock, he . would . invite the ]xirties before him, and by4iis good sense and<good humor, would generally reconcile them. But when he failed in this, he would often act the part<of the arbiter, though self-appointed, and decide the ques* tion between them ; and such was their confidence in liim, and such their respect for his judgment and purity of intention, that they generally; acquiesced with cheerfulness in his decision.

Mr. Hancock had three sons : first, John, wlio was settled a minister in Braintree, and was the fatlier of John Hancock of the Eevolution ; second, Thomas, a, successful mercliant of Boston, who adopted and educated his nephew John, who wa& left an, orphan at the tender age of seven years; and to whom he bequeathed his large fortune; third, Ebenezer, who was settled as a colleague with his father, and died in 1 740, after a brief and very acceptable ministry of six years. John Hancock, the elder, built a house on what is now known as Hancock Street, soon after his ordination in 1698, and about 1735 his son Thomas built an addition to the house. Both the original and the addition are still standing, each showing the architectural taste of the age in whicli they were erected \ and they are subjects of interest at the present day. The house has recently been purchased by a gentle- man of means and patriotic sympathy^ who has caused the same to be painted and put in a state of good presenration^ so that this relic of the past mar remain an object of veneration many years to com^.' Mr. Hancock was succeeded in the ministry by Jonas Clarke^ who was inducted into the pastoral office in 1755. He married Lucy Bowes^ a granddaughter of his predecessor^ £ev. John Hancock. Mr. Clarke purchased and resided in the house erected by his predecessor^ so that the old building, still an object of attraction, has been the ministerial mansion for more than a century. Mr. Clarke was a man of distinguished ability, and has left his mark upon his country's history. During the later years of the French and Indian wars, Mr. Clarke, though comparatively a young man, encouraged a warm devotion to his country; but when the English ministry firat attempted to imp(»e taxes upon the colonies, he ifkA among the first to raise his voice against it. It was customaiy in those days for towns, when they elected representatives, to instruct them how to vote on important public questions. When Lexington had elected its representative, if there was any particular question before the people, he was not simply advised how to act, but he was presented with an able, elaborate state paper, altering into the merits of the question, and teaching the duty of mien, and the rights and privileges of the ruled.

Lexington records contain a number *of those valuable papera, all prepared by Mr. Clarke, which would do honor to any statesman in the country. The practice of giving instructions to its delegates was not peculiar to Lexington ; but, though I have seen the instructions given by quite a number of towns, I have seen none so full and able as those upon our town-book. In fact, if all other records wiere destroyed, and all traditions were ignored, a historian wishing to ascertain the cause of the Bevolution, and the exact points of the controversy, - the demand on the one side and the answer on the other, - would be able from these papers to obtain information which would enable him to fill this chapter of his history witli facts of an undoubted character, which could be relied on. Mr. Clarke was well read in the science of civil government, and in his masterly documents he met the particular issues of the dav, and showed in the clearest manner that as English subjects we were deprived of the rights and privileges of British freemen which were granted to us by our charter, and confirmed by the constitution of Great Britain ; and that during the whole controversy we were fai the right and the parliament in the wrong ; that thej^ in truth, and not we, were the rebels, ignoriogi disregarding, and trampling u|xm the fundament principles of their own organic law. These papers not only instructed our own peo]^e, and so prepared them for the events of the 10th of April, 1775, but by their publication they enlightened the public mind, and prepared the peopte generally to tesist the encroaclmients of Great Britain, and also to establish free governments and to perform all the duties of republican citizens. Mr. Clarke possessed a clear, vigorous, and well-balanced mind, and was always actuated by high moral principles, whether acting as the divine or i<s the statesman. He was, in fact, religiously political and politically religious, and so was progressive and conservative at the same time. He was the friend, the adviser, the compeer of Adams, Hancock, and Warren, who frequently found a home under his roof and received wise instruction from his lips.

Lexington* was peculiarly fortunate in being blessed with two such miuisten as Hancock and Clarke, whose united ministry exceeded a century, and whose wisdom and prudence guided the people in the arts of peace and in the perils of war. Their lives, their teachings, and their charactera were so blended with the afiaira of the town that they are as necessarily a part, and an important jiart, of the history of Lexington as Washington is of the American Bevolution. Mr. Ckrkc was not a politician in the popular sense of the word ; he was a statesman, and his teaching was not calculated to make men partisans, but undentanding, patriotic citizens. He regarded civil government as a divine institution, necessary for the well-being of society and being designed for the whole people, the whok people should have a voice in the form of government. He regarded government, #hen established, as a social compact, where the people enter into a solemn contract to abide by its provisions, until they are annulled by the terms of the compact itself. He regarded the consent of the people as essential to the validity of government, and sus« tained this doctrine by divine authority. He says, in his election sermon preached before the state government : ** The laws of nature give men the right to select their form of government. Even Gk)d himself, the Supreme Ruler of tlie world, whose government ia absolute and imcontroUable, that eyer paid a sacred attention to this important right, - hath ever patronized this interesting claim in the sons of men. Hie only constitution of civil government that claims its origin direct from heaven is the theocracy of the Hebrews ; but even this form of government, thougKdictated by infinite wisdom, and written by the finger of God, was laid before the people for iieir consideration, and was ratified, inirodueed, and established by common consent.^ *

Both Hancock and Clarke were very popular with their flocks, and possessed great influence over them in all things. Mr. Clarke's patriotic views were instilled into the hearts of his fellow-citizens, so that t^ey could with propriety be addressed by him as fellow-patriots. And, no doubt, his aideut love of liberty and devotion to the interest of the colony tended to produce that firmness and selfsacrificing spirit displayed in the opening scene of our Bevolutionary drama. Among the important services rendered by Mr. Clarke may be mentioned his influence upon Colonel Hancock in preparing him for the Bevolutionary struggle. Young Hancock was an ardent, impressible man, fond of society and show. He had been abroad, and was present at the funeral of George U. and at the coronation of George III. Coming at once, as he did at the death of his uncle, into the possession of a princely fortune, would naturally make a young man vain. His position of course attracted attention, and the royalists sought to secure him in their interest. .The security of his large property and the chance of promotion were held up to him. In weighing them against his natural love of liberty and devotion to his country it is believed that, for a time, he faltered. But, fortunately for the country and for his reputation, there were other influences brought to bear upon him. Samuel Adams was ever ready to strengthen the weak, and his influence with Hancock was in the right direction. But there was another influence, more silent perhaps, but quite as controlling. His connection with Mr. Clarke's family, his respect for Mr. Clarke, and his confidence in his judgment, brought him frequently to his house. The well-kno^vn patriotism of Mr. Clarke, his courtly and persuasive manner, and his commanding talents, could notiail to impress the mind of Hancock, and it is believed that he was highly influential in inducing tlie young mercliant.of Boston to take an open and decided stand in support of the rights of the colonies. And it is due to the memory of Hancock to say that if tiiere ever w^ a time when he faltered.

But Lexington has a civil and military history as well as an ecclesiastical one. Lexington was made a precinct in 1691, and was incorporated as a town in 1713. As a municipal corporatiou she laidont highways, provided for the support of the poor, and established that indispensable institution ol New England, - free schools. The town being entirely agricultural, and lying near the neighborhood of manufactures and commerce, her young men too frequently have been induced to quit the primitive calling of tilling the soil, and to seek more lucrative business in other callings elsewhepe; and lience the population of Lexington has been of a slow growth. And her population received another check in 1754, when a thousand acres of her territory with the inhabitants thereon were^ taken from her to help form the town of lancoln. The people of Lexington have been too unwilling, to encourage manufactures and the mechanic arts; and hence she has not increased in population like some of her neighboring towns. But more of this history hereafter. . . \

Lexington lias, of course, a military history, anil one which reflects no dishonor upon the place. In the French and Indian wars Lexington acted no insignificant part. The rolls of that day are so. imperfect that no full and accurate account can be given of the number of soldiers that were sent into the field from this town. From 1755 to 1763, inclusive, taking the number of men each year^ will give a total of one hundred and sixty-eight men, who were found on every battle-field, - at Louisburg, Quebec, Crown Point, Ticonderoga, Fort William Henry, and wherever a foe was to be encountered or a daring deed to be performed. Some of the Lexington men were attached to the famous corps known as "Rogers' Bangers,*' - a corps in which Stark served his military apprenticeship; a corps whose name was expressive of the life tliey led, ranging through the wilderness, seeking, their wary foe by day and by night, in silent glens or secret ambush ; a corps whose winter-quarters were in tedious marchings amid drifted snows and ice-clad hills, relying sometimes upon snow-shoes and sometimes upon skates for locomotion, and carrying their only arsenal and commissariat in their packs.

oontinuous from tlie passage of the Stamp Act in 1785^ to the opening of the Bevolution^ Tliis controveisy^ ^hich excited the atteution of every town and village, was in no place better understood by the mass of the people than in Lexington. The clear and elaborate instructions of Parson Ckrke> the frequent visits of Hancock and Adams, kept these questions constantly before the people ; and the whole subject was discussed, not merely in a declamatory and passionate way, but on its merits. So that when our fathers resorted to arms, they rallied, not as an ignorant and infatuated mob, but 'as a band of patriots knowing their rights, and resolved to defend them; to resist by arms unjust oppression, nrhether they acted under the command of superior officers, or on their own responsibility, always keeping . in mind the oft-repeated, popular prohibition not to commence a war : '' Not to fire until they were fired upon.''

We claim foe Lexington no natural courage or p^riotism beyond that possessed by the citizens of other towns. We know that tlie whole community was alive to the subject ; and we have no doubt th^t if the British had moved in hostile array in any other direction, or through any other town, they would have met with firm resistance.

The peculiar relation which subsisted between Hancock and Lexington was such that her citizens came to regard Hancock as a Lexington man. It was here that liis grandfather spent his days. It was here that his father was bom ; and it was in Lexington that he spent his boyhood with his grandfiither, his father having died and left him an orplian at the age of seven years. There were other causes which attracted him to Lexington. Parson Clarke was a college acquaintance, and had married a cousin of bis; and as Mr. Clarke resided in the house built by hii grandfather and uncle, - the house where he had spent years of his boyhood, - Hancock would naturally feel attached to the place ^nd the people to him.^ This attachment was sho\iii on < his part by the frequent visits to Lexington, and several presents made to the people ; and on their part by the cordiality with which he was received, and the respect they were always ready to manifest to the President of the Provincial Congress, and chairman of the Committee of Safety,

^ Thb venerable old mansion, where Hancock, the elder, and Clarke resided, making it a ministerial residence for more than a centurr, - the resort of Adams and Hancock, at the opening of the Revolution, - has been the resort of crowds of people, the attraction of the place teems to increase with jrean.

ex-officio chief magistrate of the province and commander of her military forces. Not only John Hancock, but that stem patriot Samuel Adams, who was in fact the oi:gani2er of the American Bevolution, - the man who stood firm when other honest patriots {altered, - he too ^-as a warm friend of Mr^ Clarke, and a frequent visitor at his house. He, with his friend Hancock, had been singled out by the British ipinistry, as victims to be arrested and sent to England for trial, that is, for execution. They were bpth staying at Mr. Clarke^ not caring to trust themselves to the tender care of Governor Gage, who had advised their arrest. They were both at Lexington on the 19th of April; and the people seem^ to regard their safety as a sort of sacred trust; and consequently they posted a guard around the hou^Q on the night of the 18th, in consequence of an apprehended attempt to seize them, and deliver them over to Governor Gage.

All these circumstances would naturally tend to awaken tlie feelings, warm the patriotism, and call out the military spirit of the people. These causes and others had operated, some of them for years, to keep the citizens of Lexington alive to the interests of the colonies, and ready to make any sacrifice in the cause. In 1772, when things seemed approaching a crisis, and indications not to be mistaken were visible that the oppressive policy of Britain was to be enforced by military power, there was a pause, a faltering, even in Boston. John Adams had retired from the service of the people ; Cushing, Philips, Church, and others, who had been active before, hesitated, or declined to serve on the committee of correspondence. But there was one master spirit, who, like all other truly great men, was sure to rise >nth the occasion. Samuel Adams stood firm a^t his post. He saw in prospect the independence of the colonies, and conceived the plan of opening a correspondence with all the towns in the province ; and though this measure was but feebly seconded in Boston, Adams and others sent out a circular to the different towns to ascertain their feelings, and see how far the true patriotar could be sustained in decisive measures of opposition to the arbitrary acts of the royal governor. Lexington, in response to this circular, gave this patriotic reply: ''We trust in God, that should the state of our affairs require it, we shall be ready to sacrifice our estates and ever}'tliing dear in life, yea, and life itself in support of the common

Sndi a pfedge given in religions tmst three years before hostilities commenced^ indicated a fixed, firm, infiexible reliance upon Providence; and a determination to make any sacrifice in the c^nse of freedom. Nor was this an empty boast The final event showed that tliey were as good as their word. Li 1774 the Provincial Congress, in view of the threatened danger, recommended to the people throiighout the province to organize themselves into companies, elect their ofiicers, and be ready for any emergency. Tliis was the origin of the oiganization known as minute-men. Lexington, which had given such an assurance of devotion to the cause of human rights, was ready to adopt this proposed military organization; and she appears to have been free from an incumbrance existing in some of the neighboring towns, that of existing companies whose ofiicers were commissioned by the royal governor ; and who felt a kind of allegiance to the officers of the crown. Lexington felt no restraint of this sort. She was free to and looked only to the Provincial Congress for authority. Her company of minute-men included nearly every citizen, except the aged and infirm, who associated themselves as what was denominated the "alarm list.^' The minute-men elected their officers agreeably to the recommendation of the Provincial Congress, so that Captain John Parker was the lawful commander of a regularly organized company, clothed with power by the only government which the people recognized. No town, therefore, could have a military force more legal, more in conformity with the new order of things than Lexington; and no company had in its ranks men better instructed in their duty as soldiers and citizens, or men more devoted to the sacred cause of liberty.

The town had pledged itself to the province, and it was not found wanting, at the threat of danger. After forming their military organization, they strove to make that organization efficient, so far as their limited means would allow. Tliey voted in open town-meeting, " To supply a suitable quantity of Jlints,'' " to bring two pieces of cannon from Watertown wid mount them," " to provide a pair of drums for the use of the military company in town,'' " to provide bayonets at the town's cost for one third of the training soldiers/' " to have the militia and alarm-list meet for a review of their arms*, etc." Tliey also voted to pay the soldiers for the time they spent in drilling and preparing for active service; and in order that these votes should not become a mere dead letter, committees were chosen to carry them into eflect; all of which showed that the people were in earnest, and expected that war would ensue.

It is due to the patriots of Lexington and to our fathers generally, to correct an error which has prevailed extensively, that they took up arms ratlier than pay a threepenny tax upon tea. This is a narrow view of the subject. They did object to taxation; because they had no representation in parliament. But the claim 'of Great Britain was not limited to taxation. She claimed the right of legislating for us in "all cases whatsoever," - a right to deprive us of all our cvnl privileges, such as of trial by jurj', of suffrage, of holding property, - a doctrine by which they could compel us to serve in her army and navy, and to fight her battles in any part of the world; in a word, the right to make us slaves. And, in fact, befofe we took up arms, her parliament reduced some of these arbitrary principles to practice. The art changing the cliarter of Massatrhusetts practically deprived ns of trial by jury, and other domestic rights and unmunities, which we all hold dear'*; and it was the first bold step of exercising absolute control over the colonies. Tliey had passed such laws, and had sent a governor, backed by military power, to enforce them. The resolution on their part was taken, their purpose was fixed. Their laws, however oppressive or cruel, should be executed even at the point of the bayonet. Nor were the colonies undecided. Old Middlesex had been in council, and from a full view of the subject her people said: "Life and death, or what is more, freedom or slavery, are in a peculiar sense, now before us ; and the choice and success under God depend greatly upon ourselves." And*after asserting that the late acts of parliament are unconstitutional, and ought not to be obeyed, but resisted if need be unto death, they assert "that he can never' die too soon who lays down his life in support of the laws and* liberties of his country."

*Such was the sentiment and resolution of the county, and Lexington was not a whit behind the foremost in pitriotic self-devotion. And now when to all appearance the crisis was at hand she had taken measures to meet it heroically. The issue was virtually made up, and nothing was wanting but an occasion to try tlie same. Gage had practically said that the late acts of ])arliament should be enforced, and the people said they should not

The order of time and the succession of occurrences bring us to an event of the most interesting, deUcate, and important cliaracter, - to what the oountij, vith great unanimity, has denominated the '^Battle of Lexington.'^ While we cannot claim that any baitU otjighty in the broadest sense of that term, occurred at any particular point on the 19th of April, 1775, since the battle, if such it be called, extended from Coiicord to Charlestown Neck, yet it becomes convenient and highly -necessary to give a local name to the skirmish of ^t eventful day. And to no localij^ could it Jbe given with as much propriety as .to Lexington. It* was here that the first encounter in arms occurred ; it was here that the first organized Oj^position to the King's troops waf/'^made; it was here that the first blood on eacn-^side was shefl, and here the first martyrs to liberty fell ; and it was in Lexington that the first i^.Bi^ti^h prisoners were made ; it was here thSt Percy met the fugitive forces of Smith, and sieved them from^ perfect ruin ; and it was here that the British soldiers commenced their system of vanoalism, by firing the houses they hadr jj^undered ; and k was from Lexiugton that the intelligenoe went fbi:th which broke the spell of neutrality and called' the natipu tcrarms. And, besides, Lexington made greater sacrifices of men and property than any town in the pi^yince on that occasion. To iHiat place, ^tben, could^ the ts^ents of the day be ascr^ed with as much propriety aa io Lexington? While <we would not detract ttpm the honors claimed by anyother town, we'wiil h6t ignore the honors bestowed upon 6ur$ by the whole country, as being the ^birthplace «bC' American liberty; and the praise -bestowed upon obr patriot fiithers whose acts hs^t contributed to mkke our town historic and our country f ree^

Hancock and Adams were stopping with their friend Clarke, at Lexuigton, and from the position they occupied they would naturally be possessed of all the facts known, and the rumors afloat,Jtjebtive to the designs of the British; they muifti.haYe known that threats had been thrown "dut by ^e ministry of having them arrested and sent to England for trial. Tliey, of course, kept their friends Clarke and Captain Parker well informed on all these subjects. There was, therefore, in Lexington, a perpetual watchfulness of the movements of the British. They knew that the few stores deposited at Concord had attracted Gage's attention; and

Hancock knew that Colonel Barrett, to whose custody they were committed, liad been apprised of the danger, and had been directed to scatter and secrete them. With a knowledge of these facts the people of Lexington would have an eye to the safety of Hancock and Adams, and of the stores at Concord.

There was, in fact, a general belief in the spring of 1775 that some hostile movement would be made by Gagei it was known that his troops were desicous of action, and that Gage himself was anxious to make some demonstration before the arrival of Howe, Clinton,, and Bui^oyne, who were on their way to Boston to supersede him. Every kno>ni fact And reasonable suspicion kept the patriots of Lexijigton^on the watch. On the 18th of April they saw^>i^ number of strangers on horseback pass up the road to^rd Concord. Tliis created %^suspicion tliat they.might be British officers sent on some hostile expedition. They had seen British ofBcera makipg excuraions in the country somewhat frequently, but they always returned towards Boston as the day drew towards a close, but in this particular case they passed up the road as the shades of evening were gathering round them. This circumstance went far to convince them that these strangers were British officera, bent on some hostile mission. Meanwhile, Solomon "^rown of Lexington, who had been to market at Boston, returned late in the afternoon and informed CoIonc^lMuuroe, then orderly sergeant of Captain F^tfker's company, that he had seen nine British ofiicera, dressed in blue great-coats, passing leisurely* up the roads, sometimes before and sometimes behind him, armed, as he discovered by the occasional blowing aside of their great-coats. Aunroe, suspecting tliat their design was to seize Hancock and Adams, immediately collected a guard of eight men, well armed and equipped, and placed them, himself at their head, at the house of Mr:« Clarke, which was nearly a quarter of a mile from ^ the main road leading to Concord. After some oonsultation, it was decided by the Lexington men to send threie of their number, Sanderson, Brown, and Loring, towards Concord, to watch the British ofiicers, and endeavor to ascertain and give information of their movements. In the borders of Lincoln, these men were taken prisoners by the British officers, who were paraded across the road.

Soon after, Mr. Devens, a patriot of Charlestown, sent to Lexington intelligence that the British in Boston were in motion, and were preparing to leave town on some secret expedition, and tliat probably Ocmcoid was the pkce of their destination. In view of the fancied danger^ Captain Parker despatched messengers calling the members of his company to meet forthwith at the Common.

The evening passed in comparative quiet at Lexington. Hancock and Adams had retired for the night. A little past midnight a stranger arrived^ post haste^ at Mr. Cbrke's house, which he found guarded by Sei^eant Munroe and eight men ; and on requesting to be admitted to Mr. Clarke's house he was told that the family had just retired, and requested that they might not be disturbed by any noise about the house. " Noise ! '^ exclaimed Bevcre, "you will have noise enough before long! Tlie regulars are coming out!^' He was then permitted to pass. On his knocking at the door> Mr. Clarke opened a window and inquired who was there. Bevere, without answering the question, said he wished to see Mr. Hancock. Mr. Clarke, ever deliberate and watchful, was intimating that he did not like to admit strangers to his house at that time of night, without knowing who they were and the character of their business, when Hancock, wlio had retired to rest but not to sleep, recognizing Eevere's voice, cried out, " Come in, Bevere, we are not afraid of you ! '* Shortly after, Dawes, who came out through Boxbury, arrived, bringing the same intelligence, that a large number of British troops had left Boston, and it was suspected that they were destined to Concord to destroy the military stores there.

After refreshing themselves at Lexington, Bevere and Dawes, not knowing the fate of the three men who had been sent up the road from Lexington, set off for Concord to alarm the people. Soon after they were overtaken by a young gentleman of Concord, who had been spending the evening in Lexington in no hostile array, with a special female friend. Being an ardent patriot, he entered heartily into their design, and proceeded with them, alarming the people on the road. Before reaching Concord they were suddenly met by a party of British officers, armed and mounted, who immediately surrounded and captured Bevere, who was in advance of his companions. Tlie young man from Concord, being a little in tlie rear and mounted on a spirited horse, eluded tliem by leaping a stone wall, made his escape, and arrived safely in Concord, where he gave the alarm. Tlie same officers had already taken the three men from Lexington, and had them in custody. These prisoners were all subjected to a rigid examination. Presenting their pistols, the officers threatened to blow oat the brains of the captives if they did not give true answers to their questions. They interrogated the Lexington men relative to Hancock and Adams^ and inquired where they could be found. They questioned Bevere, who at first gave them rather evasive answers, but finding himself in their keeping, and seeing no way of escape, said to them, firmly, *' Gentlemen, you liave missed your aim 1 '* One of the officers said, "What aim?'' Bevere replied, '' I came out from Boston one hour after your troops left, and if I had not known that messengers had been sent out to give information to the countr}', and must have had time enough to carry it fifty miles, I would liave ventured one shot from you before I would have suffered you to stop me.'' Startled at this, they pushed their inquiries further, when, on hearing the sound of a distant bell, one of the Lexington prisoners said to them, ''The bell is ringing, the town is alarmed, and you are all dead men ! " These declarations frightened th^ British officers, who, after a brief consultation aside, started on their return towards Lexington. They kept possession of their prisoners till thejr came within about a hundred rods of the meetinghouse, when, taking Bevere's horse from him, and cutting the girths of the saddles and the bridles of the other prisoners, the officers left them, and rode off at full speed toward Boston. This was about three o'clock on the morning of the 19th.

While these things were occurring on the road towards Concord, the alarm was spread rapidly throughout Lexington, and the minute-men were assembling on the Common. At two o'clock on the morning of the 19th Captain Parker caused the roll of his company to be called, and ordered every man to load his gun with powder and ball, so as to be ready for any emergency ; and gave the wellknown and well-concerted order, " Not to fire unless they were fired upon ! " After remaining some time upon parade, and no certain intelligence being received of the approach of the regulars, as the king's troops were generally at that time called, and tlie evening being cool, the company was dismissed, with orders to assemble again at the beat of the drum, the ringing of the bell, and the firing of the alarm guns. Some, who resided in the neighborhood, repaired to their own homes, but a greater part, ])erliaps, went to Buckman's tavern, near the ])lace of parade.

anderstand the events of which we most speak to make oar history perfect^ it must be known that Bevere and Dawes, of whom we have spoken, were sent out by that vigilant patriot. Dr. Warren, the one by way of Chariestowu and the other by way of Boxbury; that Gage had detailed eight hundred men, under the command of Colonel Smith, to march liastily upon Concord to destroy the military stores collected there ; that this corps left Boston about ten o'clock on the evening of the 18th of April ; and, moreover, that Grage and Smith at the time deemed the movement a perfect secret, not knowing that messengers had already passed out from Boston to give the alarm, and that the bntem from Christ Church was flashing intelligence of the movement with the rapidity of light ; and that they supposed the officers, who had dined at Cambridge, would intercept all travel upon the road, so as to prevent any spread of intelligence at Concord of the approach of this expedition. But Smith liad not marclied far before tlie ringing of the church bells and the firing of alarm guns convinced him that their design was known, and tliat he felt the danger, and sent back for a reinforcement, wliich brought Percy to Lexington and saved Smith's force from utter destruction; and Smith i^ the mean time despatched Pitcaim, with the light troops, to move as rapidly as practicable to Concord and take possession of the bridges. These wellestablished facts are deemed necessary to a full understanding of what transpired in liCxington; and are mentioned here thus briefly, so as not to anticipate what properly belongs to the history of . the county, or of other towns.

We have already stated that Parker had allowed his company a recess, as they had learned nothing with certainty of the approach of the regulars. It was subsequently learned tliat the messengers sent to ascertain the movements of the British were captured and held iu custody, for the very, purpose of rendering their movement a secret. Their course was to send two or more of tlieir men ahead, and, if they discovered tlie approach of any i)erson to secrete themselves, and permit him to pass, and then turn upon him and make him a prisoner. The kst messenger sent from Lexington was Tliaddeus Bowman, who was riding down the road rapidly, when about a mile and a half from the Common, his horse became suddenly frightened, stopped, and refused to go forward. In a moment he discovered the cause. The light of the morning appearing in some degree, he perceived just ahead, sitting on opposite sides of die way, two British soldiers ; ami while he was attempting to urge his horse forward, not suspecting their plan to entrap him, he caught a glimpse of the British troops, then about thirty rods off. He instantly turned his horse, and rode with all possible speed' to the meeting-house, and gave (^ptain Parker the first certain knowledge of the approach of the king's troops. There was no longer a doubt that the British were near at hand. It was now about half past four in the morning. Captain Parker immediately ordered the alarm guns to be fired, the bell to be ruDg, and the drum^ to beat to arms. Sergeant William Munroe was directed to form the company, which he did with all possible despatch, a few rods north of the meeting* house, which stood near where the present hay scales now stand. About fifty of the militia had formed, or rather weiie forming, while there were some thirty spectators near by, a few of whom liad arms. But what was to be done? Wlmt could this little devoted band do in the face of what they then believed to be twelve or fifteen hundred veteran troop ? To attack them would, in a military point of view, be the height of folly, and contrary to the moral resolve of the province, not to commence any act of war; and to stand their ground in case they were attacked by such overwhelming numbers would be exposii^ themselves to certain destruction without any justifiable motive. Captain Parker and his men not only knew their danger, but they knew the great responsibility which rested upon them. Tliey stood their ground, not merely as soldiers, but as citizens, nay, almost as statesmen, having the destiny of the country in their hands.

But this was not the time or the place to deliberate. They must act, and that speedily, from principles imbibed and res6lves taken before tliat trying morning. Knowing his duty as a soldier, and feeling the full weight of his responsibility as a citizen, Captain Parker gave strict orders that no man leave his post until he was ordered, and he gave the well-concerted command, "not to fire until they were fired upon."

At a short distance from the parade ground. Major Pitcaim, who, with his light troops, was a little in advance of Smith, halted his men, and ordered them to fix their fiints, and see that their gims were properly loaded and primed, and so fitted for action. The British then rushed forward with a shout, led on by Major Pitcaim, who exckimed^

** Di9per8e^ ye lebek ; \kj down yov anns and disperse!'' The Americans stobd firm; when he repeat^ his exclamation with an oath, rushed forward^ discharged his pistol, and commanded his men to fire, A few guns were discharged/ but as no execution was done, the Ameiicans supposing that bknk cartridges only were fired, remained unmoved, but did not return the fire. The command was repeated by Pitcaim, zaaA a general discha^ from the front rank followed, deeifliating the American line. The Americans, seeing^ that some of their number were killed and othenr wounded, hesitated no longer as to their right to resist, and several of them immediately returned the fire of the British. Jonas Parker, John Mimvoe, Ebenezcr Munroe, Jr., and some others returned the fire before leaving the line. Captain Plu^er, seeing several of his men fall, and the British rushing upon the little band from both sides of the meeting-house, as if to surround them, ordei%d his men to disperse. They did so ; but as the British continued firing, several of the Americans returned the fire when leaving and after living the field. The firing on the part of the. Americans, and also on the part of the British, after the first two rounds, was scattering and irr^ular. As Major Pitcaim led the van, the responsibility of the first attack rests solely upon him. From the best information that can be obtained, it is not probable that Colonel Smith was upon the ground until after or about the moment of the f&tal volley. Most of the accounts, and especially those of the British^ which are the best authority on the question as to who was then in command, ascribe it to Pitcaim^ who, I believe, never attempted to shun the respcmsibility.^

The depositions taken in 1775, a few days after the events transpired, and subsequently, have pre- .aerved many interesting facts, relative to the firmness and gallantry of individuals on that occasion.

^ The (blknrtng extnet from lientenaDt-Colonel Smith's report to Geaenl Gage coadufiFe^ iliowt that Smith was not with the txoopt who began the firing.

" I think it proper, to ohterre, that when I had got some miles on the march from bbston, I detached six light infantry companies to march widi all expediiion to seixe the two bridges on different roada bcjond Concord. On these companies' arrival at Lexington, I understand from the report of Major Pitcaim, who was with them, and from many officers, that they found on a green elose to the road a body of the conntnr people drawn up in military order, with arms and accontremeBts, and, as appeared after, loaded; and that they had posted sooietnen in a dwelling and meeting hoose. Our troops advanced towards them, without any intention of iiynri^ng them, further Uma to inquire the reason

Jedediah Mnnroe was wounded in the morning; but nothing daunted by the danger he luitd encountered and the wound he had received, instead of quitting the field, when his wound was dressed, he mounted his horse, alid rode to a neighboring town giving the alarm, and rallying the citizens; and when Parker's company went forward to meet the British returning from Concord, ^lunroe joined the company and was killed in the afternoon. On the first fire of the British in the morning, John Munroe, seeing no one fall, said coolly to his namesake, Ebenezer Munroe, Jr., that they had fired nothing but powder. On the second discharge Ebenezer replied, "They have fired something besides powder this time; for I am wounded iii the arm/' He then discharged his gun at the British, receiving two balls in retr^nm, one of which grazed his cbedc, the other passed between his arm and his bo^^Ji leaving its mark in his garment. John Munroe, after firing in the line, loaded his gun with two balls, and on leaving the Common discharged it at his pursuers ; the strength of the chai^ carrying away eight or ten inches of the muzzle of his 'gun; the gun has been presen-ed, and may be seeri'with the relics in our Librar)* Hall. "William Tidd, Captain Parker's lieutenant, when retreating from- the Common, was pursued by an officer on horseback, supposed to be Pitcaim, up the Bedford road, with repeated cries : *' Stop, or you are a dead manP' Tidd turned from ihe road into the lot, where he made a stand, and dischaiged his gun at his puirsuer, who in turn sought safety in flight. John Tidd remained upon the field so long that, as he was leaving the Common, a British ofiicer on horseback rushed upon him, and struck him down with his cutlass ; and while he remained insensible from the effect of the blow upon the head, they despoiled him of his arms, taking away his gun, cartridgebox and powder-horn.

of their being thns assembled, and, if not satisfactory, to haTe secured their arms ; bnt they in confusion went off, principally to the left, only one of them fired bf fore he went off, and three or four more jumped over a wall and fired from behind it among the soldiers ; on which the troops returned it and kiUed several of them. They likewise fii-ed on the soldiers from the meeting and dwelling house. We had one man wounded and Major Pitcairn's horse shot in two places."

Upon this report, and the statement of Major Pitcaim, who alwavs asserted that the Americans fired first, the letter of General Gage to Governor Trumbull, in which is an account of the action of the 19th of April, is based. Stedman repeats, with considerable detail, this distinct charge, in which he has becyi followed by a long line of successors. See Vol I. p. 120. - Ed.

Joshua Simonds, mtli three otters, on the approach oF the British, had gone into the church where Uieir imimunition was kept, to obtaiit a supply of powder. Tliey had succeeded in getting two quarter-casks from the upjwr loft info the gallerv, when the British reachi-d the meeting-liouse. Two of them, Caleb Harrington and Joseph Comee, resolved at every hazard to escape from the Iiouse, and join the companj. Harrington wna killed in the attempt at the west end of the meeting-house, Comee, finding himself cut off from the company, ran under a shower of halls, one of which struck liim in the arm, to the Munroe iiouse, (now occupied by the widow of the hitc Jolm Hudson) and passing through the house, escaped at the bock door. When this house was rp]Ktired some rears ago, they found several bullets lodired in the timbers, being those fired at Comee. Tiie third secreted himself in the opposhe frallery, white Simonds loaded and cocked his gun, and lying down, placed the muzzle upon the open cask of jwwder, determined to blow up the British, if they should enter the gallery, choosing tu destroy his own life ratlier than fall into their hands.

"History, Eoman history," said Evcnv address delivered in Lexington, "does run an example of bravery that outshines t!j;ii i Parker. A truer heart did not blueil ; mopylie. He was next-door neighbor Clarke, and had evidently imbibed a di>U' tion of his lofty spirit. Parker was otiiu '. say that, be the consequences what thoy iii-, let others do wliat t1iey might, he would :. from the enemy. He was as good as his . better. Having loaded his musket, he \-\ hat, containing his ammunition, on the gv. tween his feet, in readiness for the secoUii At the second fire from the enemy he was v . and sunk upon his knees, and in thiscotui!- charged his gun. While loading it ^-s-: his knees, and striving in the agonies of ^' redeem his pledge, he was rushed upon :ii, fixed by a bayonet, and thus died on tlii' .-;- he first stood and fell." In addition ; Parker, whose death was thus remark.iM. Muzzy, Eobert Munroe, and Jonath.in 11^. were killed on or near the Common, \\\wru > paiiy were paraded. Bobert Munroe, v.':.- ncrifice to the lawless oppression of Great Britain, liad on a former occasion perilled his life in her defence, liaving served in the French War, and been standard-bearer at the capture of Louisburg. Harrington's was a cruel fate. He fell in front of his own house, on the north of the Common. His wife at the window saw him fall, and then start up, the blood gushing from his breast. He stretched out his hands towards her, as if for assistance, and then fell again. Rising once more upon his hands and knees, he crawled towards his dwelling. Slie ran to meet him at the door, but it was to see him expire. Samuel Hadley and John Brown were killed after they left the Common, and Caleb Harrington in attempting to esoape from the meetinghouse. Asahel Porter of Wobum was not under arms. He had been captured on the road by the British that morning on their approach to Lexington, and in attempting to make his escape, about the time the firing commenced, was shot down a few rods from the Common.

The Lexington men killed on or near the Common in the morning, were Ensign Robert Munroe, Jonas Parker, Samuel Hadley, Jonathan Harrington, Jr., Isaac Muzzy, Nathaniel AVyman, Caleb Harrington, and John Brown, - eight in number; and the wounded were Ebenezer Munroe, Jr., John Tidd, John Bobbins, Solomon Pierce,^ Joseph Comee, Thomas Winship, Natiianiel Farmer, Jedediah Munroe, and a colored man called Prince. Francis Broun was wounded in the afternoon, and Jedediah Munroe was wounded in the morning and killed in the afternoon. John Baymond was killed in the afternoon. Here is a heavy loss ! The number of ten killed and ten wounded of the Lexington men is a larger proportion than the loss in the most deadly battles recorded in history. Li the famous battles of Napoleon, where the enemy were defeated, overwhelmed, and destroyed, twelve or fifteen per cent would cover their loss. In this case, if we should allow that Lexington had a hundred men in the field that day, which is a high estimate, her loss would be twenty per cent.

After the British had driven the Americans from the phice of parade, and pursued them as far as they deemed expedient, tbey drew up on the Common and gave three cheers as a token of rejoicing at their supposed success. They then commenced their march to Concord, to which the intelligenpe of their killing some half a dozen men at Lexington had preceded them, as appears from the depositions of John Hoar and eleven others of Lincoln, and Captain Nathan Barrett and sixteen others of Concord, who testified that they had assembled near the meeting-house in Concord, in consequence of the approach of the British, who, they learned, liad fired upon the citizens of Lexington and killed six of their men.

Expresses were sent forth in every direction, and considering the state of the roads at that day, it is remarkable that intelligence of the attack upon the militia at Lexington could have reached distant places in so short a time. The intelligence reached Newbury port at 12 m. on the 19th, and Portsmouth, N. H., early on the 20th; Worcester before noon on the 19th ; Newport, E. L, on the 20th; Fairfield, Conn., at 8 a. u. on tjie 22d; New York, at 12 m. on the 23d; Phikdelphia, at 12 H. on the 26th ; Baltimore, at 10 a.-m. ^n the 27th, and so on. Every town within ten or fifteen miles of Lexington must have liad the intelligence of the slaughter at Lexington before nine o'clock that day. The military operations in Lexington in the morning being in almost every respect different from what occurred in the afternoon, we wiR embrace the interval between them, when Smith is absent at Concord, to state some incidents which in Lexington, and to review the scenes of the morning.

After the British left Lexington in the morning, several of their soldiers who had strayed from the main body, and probably had entered some of the houses in search of refreshments (for in the thcQ existing state of things, every house near the Cpmmon was open and in a state of confusion), werp captured and delivered over to James Beed of Burlington, who, in his deposition, admits tliat five or six were entrusted tQ his care in the morning, and a larger number in the afternoon. These prisoners were sent the next morning to Chelmsford for safe keeping. Another prisoner, who from fatigue qr. other cause, was found resting by the ii-ay side, near the Viles Tavern in Lexington, was taken . soon after the main body Lid passed. His gun is believed to be the one given to Captain Parker, and by his grandson, the hite Theodore Parker, presented to the Commonwealth, and is now in the senate chamber at the state house at Boston,

The men of Lexington had declared, two yean before, their trust in God to prepare them to sacrifice property and life in the cause of the countn* ; and they felt themselves ready to meet the exig^y; and their, conduct on that eventful day was such as to redeem the pledge then given. Tliey had resisted British tyranny, and prudently refrained from the premature act of commencing hostilities, by firing before they were fired upon.

But for this prudent observance of the voice of the public, they have been accused of cowardice, of not returning the fire at all I But as all the £Eicts connected with the events of the day go to show that the fire was returned, that some halfdozen participants have testified that they did return the fiipe, that Parson Clarke, Dr. Warren, Hancock> and Gordon, at that day, testified to the £Eict, and that it was asserted by Smith and Gage, and has had the sanction of Everett, Bancroft, and Frothingliam, and in fact has gone into history on both continents, we deem the mere assertion of jealous interested indinduals, made half a century after the event, and totally unsustained by any proof, unworthy of any labored refutation. But tJien it has been said that if individuals did file, they did it without orders. Such an assertion only shows that the privates in Captain Parker's company knew their duty - knew what the public xequired and what the orders of their captain implied; and like skirmishers in the discharge of their duty, and sentinels on their post, they were sensible that they were required to act on general principles, and not wait for a superior to come and give the order to fire.

.On the other hand, it has been said that it was nshness in Parker to parade liis handful of men in the &ce of such a superior force. What could he expect to accomplish ? Parker knew his duty. He was sensible that the demand of the patriots throughout the province was to assume an exemption from the requirements of the late acts of parliament; and to make this manifest whenever and wherever an opportunity presented itself. Here was an opportunity, and though attended with (preat danger, he knew that disinterested patriotism xequired the hazard. But to depreciate the importance of the acts of Lexington on that trying morning, it has been often repeated that the resistance, whatever it may have been, was not '* oi^nized *' resistance. Nothing can be farther from the feet. To say nothing of the public voice, the moral organization, which was understood and realized in Lexington as fully and as sensibly as in any other town, every movement, and even each preparatory step had the sanction of the only authority which the people at the time acknowledged. Parker's company was recruited and organized in conformity with the requirements of the Provincial Congress ; and Parker was legally chosen their commander. Tlie troops were duly paraded, and that with the knowledge and under the eye of John Hancock, who, as chairman of the Committee of Safety, was commander-in-chief of all the military force of the province. He was near by, and knew what was going on; and he was anxious to go upon the Common and take command of the minute-men, but reluctantly yielded to the remonstrance of Adiims and Clarke. Surely here was organization more perfect than anything which occurred on that day. Besides, there were some half-dozen prisoners taken that morning, and delivered over to Mr. Beed, who were kept as prisoners of war. Here was military, physical, organized resistance; and the prisoners were the first taken in the B^volution.

When Smith was on his retreat from Concord and was severely pressed in passing the woody defiles in Lincoln, Captain Parker, who had collected his company, met him ; and, taking a position in the open field to avenge the outrage of the morning, poured a full volley into his fiying ranks; and from that time hung upon his flank, giving him great annoyance. As Smith approached tl;ie line of Lexington, his retreat was Uttle less than a rabble rout. To save himself from disgrace, he threw a detachment of his men upon a rocky bluff which almost overhung the road near the old Viles Tavern, to hold his pursuers in check till he could arrest the flight of his men on wliat is known as Fiske Hill. Taking advantage of the woods and a narrow defile, he brought the front of his fugitive^ to a stand, and attempted to form a line, where he could, temporarily at least, hold the provincials in check. But before his line was fully formed, his rear, stationed on the bluff, was driven in upon liis halfformed column, creating great confusion. In the mean time aconsiderable number of the provincials, avoiding the troops on the bluff, liad passed through the woods, and secreted themselves behind a lot of split rails near the road where Smith was attempting to form his men ; and when his rear was driven in, and the Americans were gathering around him and picking off his men, the Americans, from their hiding-place behind the rails, poured a well-directed enfilading fire into his ranks, creating perfect confusion and dismay. Here Smith was severely wounded, and Pitcaim was also wotmded and thrown from his horse, which, in his snddeii flight, bounded from the rond and nith all his tmppings became an easy prey to Ilie pursuers. Tlic liorse and tlie accoutrements wL-rc sent to Concord, wliere they vere sold at auction. Captain Natlian lliirtttt pnrchas^ tlie holsters and pistols marked with Pitcairn's iiame, and offen-d them to (jeiicnd AA'ashington, ulio declined them. They wen; afterwards presented to Geiieml Putnam, wliu carried them tlirough the remainder of his active service in the war. They were long in the jxisscssioii of his family, but have recently been presented to Lexington by Mrs. Elizabeth I^itnam of Omibridge, N. Y.

of note. The gallantry' of the .\cton men on that day is proverbial. Tliey were the first to attack at Concord, and among the last to give o^'e^ the pursuit. James Hcywood, one of her brave sous, a young man of twenty -two years, being one of tlie foremost in pn>ssiiig u))oii the enemy, at the easterly foot of Fiskc flill came in contact wit& a British soldier, who had stop|)cd to slake his thirst at a well. The Uritoii presented liis musket and said defiantly, " You arc a dead nuin ! " " .\nd so are you ! " retorted young Ileywood. Both fired and both fell, the Briton dead, and Hcywood mortally wounded.

rounded, lie made no further attempt to check his pursuers, but gave himself up to inglorious flight. By their own confession, " they were driven jiko sheep " through Lexint^ton vilkge, where in the iDoniing they had shown sucli a proud step and brazen front ; and when they met their reinforcement, their own historian, wlio was ])resent, says, "they threw tliemselves upon the ground with their tongues running out of their mouths like i1<^ after a chase." The long-expected reinforcement met Smith's fugitive troops about twp o'clock on the pbin about three fourths of a mile below l^\ington Common. It consisted of eleven hundred men, and two pieces of artillery, under the command of Ixinl I'erey. This Smith an opportunity to lialt, and irivc his wcarj- troops a short time to rest and seek refreslimcnt ; which they improveil hy enterins into the houses ou the plain, and demanding food, which was readily given them. But after they Itad obtained all the house afforded^ they wantonly commenced a system of pillage and plmider, and in several cases set fire to ^e hoose they had plundered. Tlie officers with Percy resorted to Mui^roe's tavern just below. The occupants of the house left the place in affright^ leaving only John Baymond, an aged man^ who was at the time one of the family. Tlie intruders ordered him to supply them with all the good things the house afforded^ which he readily did. But after they liad imbibed too freely^ they became noisy and so alarmed Raymond that he sought to escape from the house ; but was brutally fired upon and killed in his attempt to flee from danger. While the troops were resting here^ the fieldpieces were put in requisition ; and wherever any gathering of Americans was discovered, they were saluted by a cannon-ball. One gun posted on a mound then existing where the present high-school house now stands threw several shots into the vila lage^ one of which entered the meeting-house, passed out pf the pulpit window, and lodged in the northein part of the Common. The large reinforcement with their artillery kept the provincials at bay while they remained at Lexington. In the mean time Qeneral Heath came over from Watertown, and took the command of the provincials, and in a manner directed their movements during the remainder of the day; General Warren accompanied him. After resting here about an hour and a quarter, Percy, as commanding officer, commenced his retreat. The surrounding hills for the first two or three miles protected his flanks, and his cannon guarded his rear. The provincial troops « kept up their pursuit, and when lie arrived at Arlington, he was met by the military which had gat)iered from the towns below, who readily escorted him, to his great annoyance and mortification, to Charlestowu.

We have seen that the capture of Hancock and Adams, who were known to be at Clarke's, was probably one of the objects of the expedition. When Severe and the Lexington men who had been taken prisoners by the British officers were liberated, Hancock and Adams were apprised of their danger, and they left Mr. Clarke's house. Being desirous of Avitnessing wliatever might occur, they repaired, to the rising ground in front of Mr. Clarke's, then covered with a thick growth of wood, where they could overlook the Common, and feel themselves secure. They remained there till the British left for Concord. It was here that the patriotic Adams, foreseeing the result of the

British oppression, when lie heard the report of their fatal volley, exclaimed, ^'What a glorious morning for America is this ! '' Far-seeing patriot} thy \dsion has been realised with exaltation I After the British left for Concord, Hancock and Adams were conducted first to Burlington and then to Chelmsford.

Lexington's patriotic zeal did not expire with the 19th of April. During the siege of Boston she fumislied men, wood, and other supplies for the army. On the 6th of May, Captain Parker with a detail of forty-five men repaired to the headquarters of the army at Cambridge, and remained several days guarding the lines. And on the memorable 1 7 th of Jmie of that year, the gallant Parker with sLxty-one of his company reported for duty at Cambridge; but they were deprived of the honor of participating in the struggle on Bunker Hill, by being kept at Cambridge, from an apprehension that the British might cross the' our troops were engaged at Charlestowu. Lexing-, ton also furnished her (^uota in the different campaigns at New York, Ticonderoga, Wliite Plains, the Jerseys, Beimington, Providence, and other places, on the shortest notice ; and in the Continental army of the Bevolutiou she had over one hundred men who enlisted for three years or during . the war. And more recently, in the late Rebellion, she furnished, including re-enlistments, two hundred and forty-four men, which was something more than her quota. Slie also sustained her soldiers liberally, expending §27,000 in the late war. Nearly §2,000 of this sum was furnished by tlie ladies, who provided clothing and hospital supplies for tlie gallant men who were exposing their lives for their country.

But Lexington has a civil, as well as a military, history. Her population, for reasons already stated, has not advanced rapidly, but her growth has been gradual and healthy, her population at this time being 2,510. But by industry her wealth has increased more rapidly than her population. Within the last twenty years her valuation has arisen, from 81,815,799 to §2,979,711, a gain of sixty-four per cent in twenty years. Lexington has not been behind her sister towns in providing for the education of her children. As soon as she was clothed with corporate powers, slie erected a school-house in the centre of the town, and provided for what was known at that day as. ''a moving school,'^ which was kepi alternately in different parts of the town. After the close of the Revolution, in 1795, three new school-houses were erected, and $333 were appropriated to sustain the schools. Though this sum may appear insignificant, when i^e reflect upon the low rate of wages at that day, and the fact that the fuel was given, and the board of the teacher was gratuitous, we see that this sum would sustain a school much longer at that day than at this. The sum here mentioned has been increased from time to time. In 1819 the town appropriated S900, in 1830 $1,000, in 1837 §1,400, in 1850 9M00, in 1860 §3,400, in 1870 §6,000, in 1875, 110,000; amounting to S21.72 to each scholar in town between the ages of five and fifteen; and making Lexington stand tenth in a list of three hundred and thirty-eight cities and towns in the state; and sixth in the county of fifty cities and towns, - a distinction highly creditable to Lexington. She has now seven good school-houses, in two of which we have graded schools. Lexington also supports a high scliool, and has paid her teacher more tlian almost any town in the state oif the same number of scholars.