The Handy Boston Answer Book. Samuel Willard Crompton

Both men had already escaped the area. Tradition has it that Adams, hearing the guns at Lexington from a distance, turned to Hancock to observe that it was a beautiful day. Hancock replied that it was. Adams pressed his point, saying it was a great day in the history of America.

      What the British did not realize was how many American militiamen were now converging on them. Thousands of men had been alerted, and, true to their nickname as “Minutemen,” they were hastening to Concord. By 11 A.M., there were more than one thousand militiamen on the west side of the narrow bridge that spanned the Concord River. Seeing a pall of smoke, and fearing the British had set fire to the town, these men began to move on that bridge.

      Could the British have held the North Bridge?

      Only if their entire force had been present. Most British soldiers were in the town of Concord, however, and not on hand to fight for the bridge. A sharp skirmish ensued with about equal casualties on the two sides, but it was the British that gave way. By noon, the Americans had the bridge, and Colonel Smith decided it best to turn his men for home. He had already sent word to Boston, asking for reinforcements.

      What was the retreat like?

      The British, naturally, did not describe it as a retreat. To them it was an orderly withdrawal, conducted after having achieved virtually all their goals. What they did not realize is they had stirred up a hornets’ nest. On their way back to Boston, the British were attacked, time and again, by groups of Americans who fought in a very disorganized fashion. The British were accustomed to opponents who fired and moved in orderly ranks, and who played by the “rules” of civilized warfare. The American militia, by contrast, fought in ways similar to the American Indians, from whom they had learned much over the previous century.

      Around the time they reached Lexington, the British were met by Hugh, Lord Percy, and nearly 1,200 British soldiers. These reinforcements came in the nick of time: lacking them, Smith’s detachment might have been wiped out. And even with Lord Percy, the British still had a devil of a time on their way back: the Americans kept coming. Just as the sun went down, the British reached the Charlestown peninsula, where they found safety under the guns from the fleet. By then they had suffered 273 men killed, wounded, or missing. American losses were about one-third of that number.

      Is it safe to say that Lexington and Concord were American victories?

      Lexington was a minor loss, but it led to the victory at the North Bridge. By the time the sun rose on April 20, 1775, there was little doubt that the Americans had done extremely well. Thanks to Paul Revere and other riders, the Americans had been warned. Thanks to the alacrity of their response, the Americans prevailed over the British on the first day of the Revolutionary War.

      When did the Siege of Boston begin?

      As early as April 20, 1775, there were thousands of Americans in a ring around Boston, but it took a week or so before they were organized into regiments and companies that took up their respective tasks. By about the first of May, the siege began in earnest.

      Roughly twenty thousand American militiamen, most of them from within one hundred miles of Boston, arrived to take up the siege, but it was by no means certain how many of them would remain. In the early days of the siege, there was not even a general commander. Most of the New England men voted their own lieutenant and captains, and good discipline did not prevail. About the only thing the men agreed on was that General Artemas Ward of Shrewsbury, who was a veteran of the French and Indian War, would be the commanding general.

      How did the Bostonians themselves respond to the situation?

      Some Bostonians liked being under the protection of British rule, but many did not. Hundreds of them promptly asked permission to depart, and General Gage made a bargain, under which people who turned in all their weapons (for which they received an official receipt) were allowed to leave. More than one thousand muskets, hundreds of blunderbusses, pistols, and bayonets were surrendered by those that were eager to get out of town.

      What kind of shape were the British in, at this early stage of the siege?

They were truly shocked by the American performance on April 19, 1775, but with each week that passed, the British became more confident that it was a one-time affair: that the Americans would not be as successful in the future. General Thomas Gage was still in overall command, but he knew three major-generals were on their way to act as his closest subordinates. Anyone that met General Gage in May 1775 was impressed with how resigned he was to the situation. Gage had never been keen about shedding American blood; he now worried that it was British blood that would flow. During May, Gage remained on the defensive, allowing the Americans to take up positions in Cambridge, Watertown, and Roxbury. All that remained to the British was the peninsula itself, the place the Indians had once called Shawmut.

      The same cannot be said of the British naval commander, Admiral Thomas Graves. Almost immediately following the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the admiral asked General Gage to allow him to bombard Charlestown and the surrounding area, to be certain the Americans could not take up position on the heights to the north of Boston. General Gage refused, but Admiral Graves remained the most aggressive of the British leaders, eager to attack the Americans.

      Why were whaleboats so important in the Siege of Boston?

      Whaleboats were already one of the most innovative American contributions to the maritime world. The first ones were built late in the seventeenth century, and by 1775, the state of building was so advanced that the Americans, using whaleboats, outsailed their British opponents in Boston Harbor. It was the use of whaleboats that allowed the patriots to (twice!) attack Boston Light, on Little Brewster Island.

      This illustration shows American soldiers, led by Henry Knox, transporting artillery to Cambridge, where it will be used in the final segment of the Siege of Boston.

      What was the build-up to the Battle of Bunker Hill?

      In the early days of June 1775, both the British and Americans cast their eyes on the Charlestown peninsula. If the Americans could take and hold it, they could bombard Boston. Likewise, if the British could take the heights, they could control all the northern approaches to Boston. But neither side wished to tip its hand, and the action waited till the third week of the month.

      In the meantime, HMS Cerberus arrived, carrying three major-generals to Boston. General Sir William Howe was senior of the three; General Sir Henry Clinton the middle; and General John Burgoyne was the junior of the three. All three men thought themselves superior to General Gage in terms of ambition and aggressive spirit, but he remained their commanding officer for the next three months. Burgoyne was especially loud among the three, declaring that they had arrived in time to carve out more “elbow room.”

BUNKER HILL AND BREED’S HILL

      One usually hears of Bunker Hill, but sometimes of Breed’s Hill, as well. Are they connected?

      The Charlestown peninsula was pretty much where the Anglo history of Boston had commenced in 1630. This is where the Puritans first landed. In 1775 Charlestown looked a good deal as it had in 1630 with one major difference, a pretty town of about four hundred houses now existed on the southwest corner of the peninsula. Battle of Bunker Hill is actually a misnomer because nine-tenths of the fighting occurred on Breed’s Hill. Bunker Hill was about half a mile up the peninsula, heading toward the mainland, while Breed’s Hill was much closer to the mouth of the Charles River.

      Learning that the British would soon move against these heights, the various American commanders took action of their own. On the night of June 16–17, 1775, almost two thousand men, under the command of General Israel Putnam, moved from Cambridge onto the Charlestown peninsula. Their original intent was to dig in and fortify the crown of Bunker Hill. During that night, however, the lead units of the American force realized that Breed’s Hill afforded an even better view of Boston, and that cannon placed on its crest would have a devastating effect. Leaving a small rear guard to hold Bunker Hill, the main forces