Orders from General
Thomas Gage
to Lieut. Colonel Smith, 10th Regiment 'Foot
about the British action at Concord
| Boston, April 18, 1775 |
| Lieut. Colonel Smith, 10th Regiment 'Foot, Sir, Having received intelligence, that a quantity of Ammunition, Provisions, Artillery, Tents and small Arms, have been collected at Concord, for the Avowed Purpose of raising and supporting a Rebellion against His Majesty, you will March with a Corps of Grenadiers and Light Infantry, put under your Command, with the utmost expedition and Secrecy to Concord, where you will seize and distroy all Artillery, Ammunition, Provisions, Tents, Small Arms, and all Military Stores whatever. But you will take care that the Soldiers do not plunder the Inhabitants, or hurt private property. You have a Draught of Concord, on which is marked the Houses, Barns, &c, which contain the above military Stores. You will order a Trunion to be knocked off each Gun, but if its found impracticable on any, they must be spiked, and the Carriages destroyed. The Powder and flower must be shook out of the Barrels into the River, the Tents burnt, Pork or Beef destroyed in the best way you can devise. And the Men may put Balls of lead in their pockets, throwing them by degrees into Ponds, Ditches &c., but no Quantity together, so that they may be recovered afterwards. If you meet any Brass Artillery, you will order their muzzles to be beat in so as to render them useless. You will observe by the Draught that it will be necessary to secure the two Bridges as soon as possible, you will therefore Order a party of the best Marchers, to go on with expedition for the purpose. A small party of Horseback is ordered out to stop all advice of your March getting to Concord before you, and a small number of Artillery go out in Chaises to wait for you on the road, with Sledge Hammers, Spikes, &c. You will open your business and return with the Troops, as soon as possible, with I must leave to your own Judgment and Discretion. I am, Sir, |
| Your most obedient humble
servant Thos. Gage. |
Newsgroups: talk.politics.guns
Subject: Lexington & Concord
Date: Sun, 1 Dec 1991 02:22:38 GMTThere has been some discussion, of late, on t.p.g about the purpose of the British action at Lexington & Concord which triggered the American Revolution. Some state that it was an attempt to enforce British decrees on Gun Control. Others have stated that it was an attempt to arrest various Revolutionaries. I don't know if this has been posted. I tend to miss quite a bit of the to-and-fro on t.p.g. I am attaching a copy of the order which sent the British on their errand. It seems to mention quite a bit about guns, ammunition, tentage and foodstuffs. I don't see any reference to arresting anyone. Not that wouldn't have happened if the opportunity had presented itself.
It should be noted, that when the British arrived, the Patriots were burying much of their supplies in a recently plowed field at Barrett's farm. Thus arose the time-honored traditional American response to attempts at gun confiscation.
Donald Newcomb
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