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Lexington and Concord collection, 1775
22 items
The Lexington and Concord collection contains 20 depositions given by eyewitnesses of the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. The depositions were ordered by the Massachusetts Provincial Congress for the purpose of establishing the claim that the British fired first. The collection also contains a list of the men killed and wounded in the conflicts.
The Lexington and Concord collection (22 items) contains 20 depositions given by participants and spectators of the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. The depositions were ordered by the Massachusetts Provincial Congress for the purpose of establishing the claim that the British fired first. The committee made several signed copies of the depositions. One set was dispatched to the Massachusetts agent in London, while other sets were sent to neighboring colonies.
This set of 20 depositions, signed by 94 men between April 23 and 25, was sent by the Cambridge Committee of Safety to the Albany Committee. Thirteen of the depositions relate to Lexington and the other seven relate to Concord. Chairman of the Cambridge Committee, Richard Devans, enclosed the depositions in a letter dated May 7, 1775. Also present is a list of men killed and wounded in the conflicts. Commissioned by the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, the document lists the casualties' names, residences, and conditions (killed or wounded).
. Richard Devans, ALS cy to Committee of the city of Albany; Cambridge [Massachusetts]., 1775 May 7
2 pages
Box 1
Copy of a letter sent from the Committee of Safety of Cambridge to the Committee of Safety, Correspondence, and Inspection in the County of Albany. Devans looks forward to prospect of unanimity among the colonies against the tyranny and oppression of British rule, and pledges to support Albany in the cause of liberty. Letter introduces the following account of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, supported by signed affidavits.
Deposition No. 1: . Solomon Brown, Jonathan Loving, Elijah Sanderson; Lexington, Massachusetts., 1775 April 25
2 pages
Box 1
Testifying that all three were on the road between Lexington and Concord at 10pm on April 18 when stopped by British Regular officers and forced to surrender. They were kept captive until 2am and questioned about military supply and guards at Concord. They were then taken back to Lexington, where their horses were turned loose and they were set free. Elijah Sanderson further testifies that he was on the Lexington common on the morning of April 19, and saw a body of Regular Troops fire first upon the Lexington Company.
Deposition No. 2: . Thomas Rice Willard; Lexington, Massachusetts., 1775 April 23
1 page
Box 1
Willard testifies he was in Daniel Harrington’s house in Lexington before sunrise on April 19, when he saw a company of four hundred Regulars come down the road and onto the Common behind the meeting house. There, they charged the Lexington militia (of about one hundred men), who dispersed. The British did not fire until after the militia had dispersed.
Deposition No. 3: . Simon Winship; Lexington, Massachusetts., 1775 April 25
2 pages
Box 1
Winship testifies he was stopped by Regular troops at around 4am on the road to Lexington and forced to dismount from his horse. They asked him if he had been warning Minute Men, after which he was forced to March with the troops to Lexington. There, the commanding officer gave the order to fire on the militia on the Commons; Winship is positive that neither side fired until then.
Deposition No. 4: . John Parker; Lexington, Massachusetts., 1775 April 25
1 page
Box 1
Parker, commander of the Militia in Lexington, testifies that at around one o'clock in the morning on April 19, he was informed that Regular officers were riding up and down the road and insulting passers-by. He was also notified that a number of Regular Troops were on the March from Boston. He gathered his men on the Lexington common and ordered them to disperse and not to fire if they were approached by the Regulars. The British "rushed furiously, fired upon and killed eight of our party, without receiving any provocation therefor from us."
Deposition No. 5: . John Robbins; Lexington, Massachusetts., 1775 April 25
1 page
Box 1
Robbins testifies he was with Captain John Parker’s company on the Green Common at Lexington before sunrise on April 19. He was in the front rank when he saw what he thought was about a thousand King’s troops charging them with three officers at the head. One officer called for them to drop their weapons, then ordered the troops to fire. Robbins was wounded and several around him killed, and he believes none of Parker’s men had yet fired.
Deposition No. 6: . Benjamin Tidd and Joseph Abbot; Lexington Massachusetts., 1775 April 25
1 page
Box 1
Tidd and Abbot testify they were on horseback on the Lexington Common around 5am on April 19, and saw Regular Troops March up to the Lexington Company, which was dispersing. Some of the Regulars fired a volley from pistols at the Lexington company, before they had fired any shots.
Deposition No. 7: . [34 individuals]; Lexington Massachusetts., 1775 April 25
3 pages
Box 1
All 34 testify that at 1 or 2am April 19, they were informed several British officers had been riding up and down the road, and detaining and insulting passing inhabitants. They also understood that there was a company of Regulars marching from Boston to Concord to take their stores. The testifiers had gathered at the place of their Company's Parade and were dismissed by Captain John Parker, with orders to assemble at the beat of the drum. At 5am, the same company was still assembling on the parade ground when they saw a body of troops marching towards them. Some had already begun to disperse and had turned their backs when they were fired upon. British fire continued until all had either been shot or escaped.
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