Battle of Lexington and Concord Part 1: Road to War

By 1774, colonial Americans had spent decades governing themselves. They were ingrained with a spirt of independence that strengthened with each new generation.  Local legislatures were chosen by regional landowners. Provincial assemblies made laws, oversaw magistrates to enact laws, ruled over disputes, levied penalties, and saw to the daily needs of their communities. They organized their own military for protection through militias that were commanded by community leaders. America prospered under this system of self-government, becoming one of the most prolific and financially secure subjects of all British colonies; in fact, more so than most countries.

Whereas much of England’s citizens in Great Britain etched a minimal existence, with many living in squalor, colonials, from wealthy landowner to single household farmers, enjoyed a superior life-style of financial soundness and good health.  They developed to a remarkable degree the resources of their country and increased its commercial and political importance. As such, prior to the outbreak of hostilities, if you had asked Americans what they wanted most from their mother country of Great Britain, the answer would have been pretty much, “to be left alone.”

But England would have none of it.  The progress of her most wealthy and successful colonies was held with apprehension and for some, jealousy. They feared that the industrial enterprise of the colonists should compete too successfully with that of the mother country and invite them to assert political independence.  Therefore, England sought ways to reel in her defiant offspring and in doing so, like a spoiled child, Americans revolted.  One act after another was levied to reduce American manufacturing and reinforce its dependence on England.  Also, many in England decided it was high time that their most productive colonies begin to pay their fair share of the tax burden weighing down English subjects in Great Britain.  All this ramped up after the French and Indian War (Seven Years War in Europe) ended with the Peace of Paris in 1763.  This was especially true in 1764 after William Pitt was replaced with George Grenville who was far less tolerant of insolent Americans.

Soon, the British navy cracked down on smuggling, agents reinforced duty payments on imports and exports, and revenue acts, in the form of taxes were imposed against a whole range of items. Rather than pacify America and generate revenue, it only inflamed the colonists. They ignored and outright refused to adhere to British law as Parliament saw fit to enact.

Patriot propaganda experts sought ways to cash in on British ‘blunders’ and excite the masses in America to their way of thinking. Each and every act passed in England, and any atrocities committed by her soldiers and agents in America, became a rallying point to instigate more remonstrations. Protests soon became violent. British agents and vocal loyalists were attacked.  All this further strengthened the ‘patriot’ position that ‘we, the subjects of England,’ were being treated unfairly and whose rights were being tread upon.  Rebellious leaders sought justifications that their actions were necessary, not only to force England to deal with colonial demands, but to accept her colonies as self-governed entities of the empire. And if England would not listen, than by gathering arms and organizing for possible war, America would force them to listen.

Boston, center of rebellion. Though protests were common throughout the colonies, the epicenter of rebellion, that which provided the fuel and passion which breathed fires of revolt from north to south, was Boston, Massachusetts. Here leaders emerged who would continually fan the flames of discontent while pressuring England to withdraw her efforts to impose her might over miscreant subjects.  By 1768, when Samuel Adams, the chief instigator and rabble rouser called for unified resistance by all colonies, England and her agents struck back. The Massachusetts governor, Francis Bernard, dissolved the state’s legislature and British troops arrived in Boston. From the very beginning, Americans favored militias and were highly suspicious of standing armies.  After the French and Indian War, they tolerated a permanent presence of troops in New York City, but additional forces stationed throughout the colonies was going too far.  As self-ruling governments, they did not need a regular army to police the laws that were legislated and enacted locally. It was up to elected officials of each providence to decide how monies were raised and spent, including financing the military. By the next year, 1769, Virginia’s House of Burgesses passed resolutions that stated only Virginia could tax its citizens. This in turn forced the hand of Virginia’s Royal Governor, Norborne Berkeley, to dissolve Virginia’s legislature.

Things came to a head in 1770 when violence broke out in New York City and Boston between colonists and British soldiers. The result was injuries on both sides and in Boston, several deaths that was seized upon by the rebellious propaganda; the slaughter of patriot martyrs in what became known as the Boston Massacre. With no end of the protests in sight and the acts having the opposite effect – they did not generate revenue, but instead resulted in a universal boycott of British goods – England decided to remove the Townsend Act. This greatly relieved the tension that had been building and for the next two years, it was relatively quiet. Two things occurred in 1772 that renewed previous grumblings.

First, the Gaspee Incident, in which colonists (angered by the navy’s crack down on smuggling) boarded and burned the HMS Gaspee British ship, and England decided to move the trial of accused instigators to Great Britain. The second involved Samuel Adams (once again stirring things up), who called for a Boston town meeting to create Committees of Correspondence.  Every colony soon had these powerful committees of like-minded patriots who would share information from Georgia to New Hampshire.  These Provincial Assemblies would later morph into state legislatures who would eventually elect delegates for a single-minded organization to speak for all the colonies – the Continental Congress, which first met in September, 1774.

Boston Tea Party and birth of Coercive Acts.  All this renewal of tensions occurred during what would be referred to as the 1772 credit crisis in London, England that spread throughout Europe. Major companies faced financial ruin including the powerful British East India Company. In the spirit of “too big to fail,” magistrates, with the King’s blessings, decided to help prop up this all-important company while exerting England’s rights over her colonies in America.  A tax on tea was imposed. Though is was so slight as to barely affect the cost of tea that was still cheaper in the Americas than Great Britain, a tax was a tax and the ‘Sons of Liberty’ once more had an issue they could rally behind. And on a cold night in December, 1773, Boston ‘patriots’ took it upon themselves to dump over three hundred cases of the hated tea into the harbor.  This symbolic bluff by a New England band of instigators was not to be tolerated and those in power in England took drastic measures to see that this would not go unpunished. A set of coercive acts were being considered and then needed just the right person to assure they be implemented properly.

The King’s Ear. However, right up to and even after the first shots fired that sparked the American rebellion, patriots, for all their banter and bluster, continued to see themselves as loyal to the crown. It was Parliament, not the King, for whom they leveled their criticisms. They thought it right to disavow any adherence to laws enacted by a branch of government deaf to their demands.  When England sent an army to America, it was not referred to by colonists as a Royal Army, but a Ministerial Army. A force under the wing of England’s ministers who were dispatched to stiff arm Parliament’s influence over a reluctant sibling. As such, the army answered to Parliament.  And even after blood was drawn in Lexington that eventful day, April, 19, 1775, most Americans still believed that if only they could have an audience with the King, all this misunderstanding could be resolved.  Their sovereign, King George III, would set Parliament right and force the ministers to sit down to the negotiating table. If only…   It would prove a vacant, futile effort, for the King became one of the driving forces that demanded his subjects in America comply with British law.  More so, he was more than willing to wield all the power at his command necessary that they do so.

The Last Straw.  As far as England and her conservative government was concerned, the Boston Tea Party was the last straw. The die was cast. On February 4^th, 1774, General Thomas Gage, recently having returned from America where he had been stationed for nearly twenty years, was summoned to an audience with King George III.  Who better to discuss affairs in America than one who, in the last war, had fought alongside many of the rebellious American leaders and had served as Commander-in-Chief of all British forces in America for twelve years.  Well respected throughout the colonies, he had also married Margaret Kemble Gage, a wealthy New Jersian who was related to many of New York City’s most prodigious families.  According to the king, at this meeting, Gage expressed “his readiness though so lately come from America to return at a day’s notice if the conduct of the colonies should induce the directing coercive measures…”  Also, again, according to the monarch, Gage said that the Americans would be “lions, whilst we are lambs”; that if government took “the resolute part,” they would be “very meek”; and that he thought four regiments intended for relieving troops in America would be enough to keep order in Boston while its inhabitants were being punished for their conduct. As the king put it, Gage’s “language was very consonant to his character of an honest determined man.” The king was sufficiently impressed to urge Prime Minister, Lord Frederick North to see Gage and to “hear his ideas as to the mode of compelling Boston to submit to whatever may be thought necessary…”

Coercive Acts.  Even prior to this meeting with Gage, it appears Lord North and the king were of similar mind and action, which including military intervention. They would make an example of Boston and punish those who had openly defied England’s authority. These four punitive ventures took shape as the Coercive Acts of 1774; to Americans they became known as the Intolerable Acts.  The four acts were the Boston Port Act, the Massachusetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act, and the Quartering Act. The Quebec Act of 1774, which was basically designed to pacify Catholic subjects in Canada, which was a bane to American Protestants, is sometimes included as one of the Coercive Acts, although it was not related to the Boston Tea Party.

The Boston Port Act was the first of the Coercive Acts. Parliament passed the bill on March 31, 1774, and King George III gave it royal assent on May 20^th.  The act authorized the Royal Navy to blockade Boston Harbor because “the commerce of his Majesty’s subjects cannot be safely carried on there.”  The blockade commenced on June 1, 1774.

The Massachusetts Government Act proclaimed that Massachusetts was under mob rule, and to preserve “the peace and good order of the said province,” Parliament passed the act on May 20, 1774.  It received royal assent on the same day.  No longer would the Massachusetts Council be constituted as an elected body with the governor’s approval, but would be appointed by the crown. Additionally, the act gave the new royal governor the ability to choose judges and county sheriffs without the Council’s approval   Also town meetings were to be restricted to but once per year.

The Administration of Justice Act gained the king’s approval on the same day as the Massachusetts Government Act. This law sought to further increase the power of the governor by allowing him to move a trial to another colony or Great Britain.  This eliminated a fair trial by one’s peers which had been a cornerstone of the Magna Carta.

The Quartering Act was the fourth and final of the main Coercive Acts.  It breathed new life into a former gem that was hated throughout the colonies. The act received royal assent on June 2, 1774. The only act of the four to apply to all of the colonies, it allowed high-ranking military officials to demand better accommodations for troops and to refuse inconvenient locations for quarters. 

Needless to say, these measures did not go well among the colonies.  In fact, it inflamed those leading the revolt. Patriots rose as one voice in angry remonstrances throughout the land.  They rallied around the injustice to one of their own and Boston and its inhabitants became martyrs.  Empathy was expressed throughout.  Words of support were sent to Boston’s patriots, but it did not stop there. Food and supplies were shipped both by sea and land to the relief of the city’s citizenry. But most importantly, the acts united the colonies to one mind, that they were indeed one people who faced a singular problem that only through a united Congress, could the matter be settled.  Even as the new royal governor of Massachusetts was preparing his troops in England for his arrival back in America, colonial leaders were beginning to decide who among them would convene later that year in what was to be called the First Continental Congress.

General Thomas Gage as England’s Savior.  While the Coercive Acts were coming together to be presented to both houses of Parliament, someone had a bright thought: why not send General Thomas Gage back over the Atlantic as both governor of Massachusetts and commander in chief of the military? As an administrator, he is patient and prudent. He is well liked by loyalists and more importantly, rebellious ‘patriots’. Though stationed mainly in New York City, he had spent several weeks in Boston during times of growing tension, and had helped to quell disputes. But most importantly, he is considered the most familiar with the situation brewing in the colonies.

Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson, who had held the post since 1758, was despised by both sides of the issue.  He was readily used as a dartboard by Sons of Liberty leaders while Lord North blamed Hutchinson for having allowed the tensions in New England with subsequent violence, to get out of hand. Since Andrew Oliver, Lt. Governor of Massachusetts, was reportedly dying, Gage would be the next natural choice to take over for Hutchinson.  The British cabinet readily adopted the idea on or before March 31, 1774 and it was announced on April 2^nd. He would serve as governor only until affairs in Massachusetts had been put in order, in which Hutchinson would resume office. Gage would remain in his post as Commander-in-Chief of British forces in America.  Also, of importance, Gage would get his four regiments to quell rebellious passions as well as use his digression to concentrate in Boston other forces stationed in America.

Did Gage want to put his head back in the lion’s mouth by returning to America? Would he assume such an important and sensitive role as chief arbitrator between two obstinate forces in which compromise seemed far from each party’s agenda?  It was highly unlikely.  Most probably he would have preferred to return to America not as an agent for his government, but as a private citizen. Either the offer he made to his King was delivered in the heat of the moment or was dictated by noble intentions.  He certainly did not do so out of a desire to become involved in a litany of accusations hurtled at England’s next target, or ready-made scapegoat for both British political failures and patriot propaganda.  One thing was certain, he knew what he was getting into.

This was the man who, in 1770, after his time in Boston, had written that “America is a mere bully, from one end to the other, and the Bostonians by far the greatest bullies.” He also declared that, “Democracy is too prevalent in America, and claims the greatest attention to prevent its increase.”  He would now be in a position to do just that.  In many aspects it was a lose-lose situation for the proud general. If bets were to be laid prior to Gage’s departure for America, the final, preordained outcome, was a near sure thing.  If all went wrong, he would take the blame. If America succumbed to force, then the cabinet and King would take the credit, however Americans, particularly the many friends he acquired over all his years in the colonies, would forever regard him as a vile tyrant.  Gage moved rapidly and consulted the British cabinet on April 7^th regarding technical aspects of his powers and nine days later, on April 16^th, he set sail on Captain Thomas Bishop’s 20-gun post ship H.M.S. Lively.  His wife, Margaret, departed separately on May 9^th aboard The Lady Gage, and after a stay to visit relatives in New York, she arrived in Boston on September 12^th.  She found her husband and his forces virtually besieged and royal authority outside Boston almost nonexistent.

Boston Martyrdom.  Scholars, historians, and no doubt contemporaries of the time were in full agreement, the Boston Port Bill destined to go into effect on June 1, 1774, was a stupid measure. The bill was unnecessarily harsh and its execution would most surely be considered a tyrannical attempt to subjugate Bostonians.  It created an outpouring of sympathy from the other colonies who viewed it as an attack upon one of their own and banded together in support.  If Parliament sought to punish and subjugate Massachusetts, all they did is create a readymade martyr which was fodder for the rebellious leaders’ propaganda.

Gage arrives in Boston on May 17^th and was met by civil and military officers and escorted with due formality before the throngs of citizens to the provincial council chamber where he took the oath of governor.  Afterwards, he enjoyed a great banquet in Faneuil Hall. Though his arrival was met with some hope and therefore dignity and respect, Bostonians were thrilled with the departure of the hated Governor Hutchinson.

Almost immediately, the very next day, at a Boston town meeting, the notion that the tea should be paid for was soundly rejected. Instead focus was placed on actions necessary to alleviate the sufferings of those who would be most seriously hurt by the Port Bill.  Though a faction of conservatives offered to work with Gage in paying for the tea and abolish the Boston Committee of Correspondence, a radical propaganda machine that was proven to be highly effective, the majority of New Englanders would have none of it.  They were determined to fight fire with fires.

• An American boycott of all British goods was called for until the Port Bill should be repealed. This “Solemn League and Covenant” was issued on June 5^th and was supported throughout the colony to begin on October 1^st.
• The Massachusetts assembly, meeting now in the new capital in Salem, urged a plan to convene a new Continental Congress of all colonies on September 1^st to defend American rights.
• They were successful in convincing the masses that the Port Bill was directed against the whole of America.
• When troops began to arrive in mid-June, the began a campaign to induce them to desert.
• Through Committees of Correspondence, a call went out to send food and supplies to Boston to nullify the effect of the closed port.

When Gage learned of the Massachusetts assembly’s call for a Continental Congress, he dissolved the New England body on June 17^th.  It was an ill-advised attempt to keep the rebellious zealots in Boston from infecting other colonies. Nearly two weeks later, on June 29^th, he issued a proclamation denouncing the “Solemn League and Covenant” as illegal and ordered the arrest of all those who would circulate or sign it. No one dared to enforce his edict. He also sought legal action against some of the patriot leaders, but was informed by the provincial attorney general that the time was not ripe for such action.

He issued arrest warrants, but was successful in only one instance; a Samuel Dyer was arrested for actively persuading troops of the 4^th Regiment to desert. Dyer was sent to England, but was ultimately released for lack of evidence.  Gage also stripped the title of “Colonel” from the wealthy smuggler and leader of the ‘cadets’, John Hancock, but even there, his efforts were fruitless; the cadets disbanding in protest.  He even tried to bribe Samuel Adams which became a farce, quickly seized by the Sons of Liberty fanatic for propaganda purposes. Gage was getting desperate as he knew by August 1^st, the other acts passed by Parliament were scheduled to go into force and trouble would surely escalate.

By the end of July, he had five regiments in Boston, four from Great Britain, one from New York, including a couple companies of artillerymen. On July 14h, he ordered another regiment from Halifax and another from New York, both reached Boston in late August.  He believed that the Americans were stockpiling arms and he needed to take every precaution for violence.  He told General Frederick Haldimand, commanding officer of British troops in New York City, that “we are threatened here with an open opposition by arms every day, but tho’ I don’t credit it, I would be prepared against it.”

Patriots flex their muscle.  By August, the Port Bill was having its effect. Businesses in Boston had slackened and unemployment was high. However, there was no shortage of food for throughout New England and the colonies, supplies poured in and was distributed to those in need.  On August 6^th, the other punitive provisions of the Coercive Acts arrived.  Gage announced that they had his full approval, though he knew they would be an ugly affair to enforce, if they even could.  Nonetheless, he actively went to work to revise the system of government in Massachusetts to adhere to the new acts.  He called a General Court in Salem and a new regime of officers were appointed by Gage.  The Sons of Liberty, patriot leaders, and particularly their rising star, Doctor Joseph Warren, president of the Committee of Correspondence and outspoken patriot, prevented several men appointed to the new council from taking office. He and his organization used threats of ostracism, economic reprisals, and physical violence while forcing others to resign.

The ‘radicals’ announced that they would not allow the courts to open with defenders of royal authority serving as judges and sheriffs. They urged the populace to gather arms throughout the region, swearing that they would, by any means including violence, oppose any troops who might be sent to support the civil officers.  By August 27^th, the situation became grave. Gage was warned that he was personally in danger if he remained in Salem. He soon left for Boston where he would remain until his command in America ended a year later.

That same day Gage fled to the safety of Boston, he argued that there would be no peace in America until the radical leaders were arrested and sent to England. As far as the First Continental Congress, which was scheduled to meet in Philadelphia on the 1^st of September, he recommended that that ‘motley crew’ be ignored for they could only talk and threaten economic warfare. He told his superiors there was no need for worry, that the middle and southern colonies could not be seduced into open warfare.  Southerners, “talk very high… but they can do nothing, their numerous slaves in the bowels of their country and the Indians at their backs will always keep them quiet.”  However, once back in Boston and in council with his agents and officers, he learned the grave news of colonials actively arming themselves along with increased rhetoric that leaned more and more toward open hostilities.  He therefore decided to gather as much strength as possible in Boston and to make that place a refuge for those friendly to royal authority.

Powder Alarm, Somerville, Massachusetts, September 1, 1774 – A ‘near thing’.  What began as a design to reclaim and transfer Crown property to Boston, almost ignited a war seven months before the first shots were fired on Lexington Green.  Gage, in preparation for a possible outbreak of hostilities, was active in accounting for all British munition supplies stockpiled throughout the colony.  On August 27^th, William Brattle, a leader of provincial militia, informed General Gage that the only remaining gun powder in the storehouse, or powder house in Winter Hill (today Somerville) near Charlestown, was the ‘King’s powder’.  The towns had previously removed all of theirs. Gage thought it best to move this powder to Boston for safekeeping.  Brattle turned the keys over to the sheriff David Phips and Gage assembled a force to retrieve the powder.

Before dawn, September 1^st, approximately 260 troops from the 4^th Regiment, under command of Lieutenant Colonel George Maddison, rowed up the Mystic River from Boston. They landed near Winter Hill and from there, marched a mile to the Powder House. Phips met Maddison and handed over the keys.  Without fanfare or incident, the soldiers moved quickly and removed the casks of powder and by sunrise, they were ready to return to Boston. A small detachment broke off and marched to Cambridge where they removed two field pieces and continued south through Roxbury and crossed Boston Neck into the city. The entire act was done peacefully without episode however, what occurred next alerted the region and nearly erupted in bloodshed.

The alarm system put into place by the Committees of Correspondence went into high gear. Riders fanned out in all directions with the news that the regulars were out of the city in force. And with their cries of impending attack, rumors were rampant. Provincial powder had been seized. Six people had been killed in an attempt to stop them. His Majesty’s warships had begun to bombard Boston. The news of a blatant attack by British troops against her countrymen was widespread, as far as Connecticut. People were shocked and fearful that war was at hand. They grabbed what arms they had and streamed towards Boston. By the next day, thousands of men gathered around the city. Gage wisely played down the incident by keeping his troops within Boston. After a while, these farmers and merchants began to filter home, however several expressed their outrage by harassing loyalists and member of the governor special council.  Benjamin Hallowell, the hated Commissioner of Customs, had to flee to Boston after firing his pistol at his pursuers.

Gage was alarmed by the enormous outpouring of armed citizens and on Sept. 3^rd, took action.  He began to fortify Boston Neck so to meet a possible attack from the mainland. He ordered General Haldimand in New York to join him with all available troops of the city. Word was sent to Colonel Valentine Jones at Quebec ordering the tenth and fifty-second regiments to man ships for Boston. He also began to build barracks for his troops as it was clear that his growing regiments would remain in Boston for several weeks, perhaps months.  Patriot leaders approached Gage and asked that he refrain from fortifying Boston.  Dr. Joseph Warren, leader of the Committee of Correspondence assured Gage that there was no thought of attacking the British troops. Gage was skeptical and feared his seven regiments confined to the city would not be safe unless he reinforced his defense.

Suffolk Resolves.  The Suffolk County Convention that met on September 9^th, only confirmed Gage’s worst fears. These accords, scholarly written by Dr. Joseph Warren, boldly declared that force should, if necessary, be used to prevent the enslavement of America and even hinted that the patriots would take the aggressive if it were required for their own safety.  These Suffolk Resolves advocated a continuation of the boycott on British goods until the hated Intolerable Acts (Coercive Acts) were repealed.  Paul Revere rode hard and delivered a copy of the Resolves to the First Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia.  It was read and readily endorsed on Sept. 17^th as a show of colonial solidarity. John Adams, delegate from Massachusetts, was emphatic as he wrote, “This day convinced me that America will support Massachusetts or perish with her.”

The First Congress, which Gage had predicted would do nothing, was far more vigorous in defending what they conceived as American rights.  They not only adopted the accords within the Suffolk Resolves, but demanded that Parliament abandon its attempt to tax America. Furthermore, all legislation, electing officials, and selecting agents of the government, regarding domestic affairs, be fully within the rights of the colonists. It called for an absolute cessation of all commerce between America and Great Britain and the nonuse of British goods until Parliament repealed its obnoxious acts.  It were up to John Adams who, it was reported, forwarded a petition from Boston requesting to attack and destroy Gage’s forces in Boston, hostilities would have begun then and there.  But most of the members of this first Congress wished to pursue an aggressive course through propaganda and economic warfare. They preached a purely defensive policy in which they continued to organize, stockpile arms, and be prepared militarily. By the end of 1774, there would be no war unless the British started it.

Gage the Diplomat.  With tensions brewing around Boston, and all indications pointed toward the eruption of open hostilities, Gage took great care to muffle any British response that might ignite violence.  He had no desire for a clash of arms. Besides preparing his forces for the possibility of war, he reported the situation to England, offering his advice, and then displayed the prudence and coolness for which he had become so well known. He was polite and gracious to delegations of Americans who sought an audience and demonstrated a sincere interest in listening to their grievances.  He reassured all local patriot leaders, including Peyton Randolph, president of the First Continental Congress, that he had no intention of attacking the Americans. As tensions continued to simmer, he did all he could to keep his men under strict discipline and worked with townspeople to prevent and resolve disputes between his troops and citizens.

Gage the Warrior.  While showing a calm face in America, Gage’s pen spoke of gloom and doom.  All that fall and winter of 1774 – 1775, he wrote frankly and with growing alarm. The Coercive Acts, meant to challenge Massachusetts, did in fact draw in all of America. That the only way to deal with this growing revolt was by conquering. He recommended twenty thousand regulars and a large body of irregulars, such as German Huntsmen along with Canadians, light horse, and sufficient artillery.  Later, he became convinced that New England would fight and the rest of the colonies would join them.  He told his superiors that his small army would only provoke, rather than frighten the Americans. “If ten thousand men sufficient, send twenty, if one million is thought enough, give two… A large force will terrify, and engage many to join you, a middling one will encourage resistance, and gain no friends. The crisis is indeed an alarming one, and Britain had never more need of wisdom, firmness, and union than at this juncture.”   By the new year, Gage opened his heart to the need for military action to bring about a resolution writing, “I hope you will be firm, and send me a sufficient force to command the country, by marching into it, and sending off large detachments to secure obedience thro’ every part of it; affairs are at a crisis, and if you give way it is forever.”

While rattling the sword to his superiors, Gage offered some advice that might bring both parties to reconsider.  He wrote to London stating that it was too late to arrest the principal American radicals as it would only lead to direct hostilities. He asked that they suspend the Coercive Acts and require Massachusetts to send emissaries to London.  However, he was among the first to recommend hiring a powerful army from Hanoverians and Hessians to subdue America, if it was decided subjugation was the correct course. He suggested a complete naval blockade of the American coast.  He continued to advise his ministers that the colonists would not bend before Parliament and that New England would rather fight than yield. And if so, that the colonies to the south would come to their assistance. If England insisted on the supremacy of Parliament, then they must be prepared for war.

Gage’s army.  Gage’s military position in Boston improved as winter progressed.  He had his original four regiments that arrived with him from England in 1774; 4^th Regiment of Foot or ‘King’s Own’, 5^th Regiment of foot or Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, 38^th Regiment of Foot or 1^st Staffordshire, and 43^rd Regiment of Foot or Monmouthshire.  Quebec sent the 10^th and 52nd Regiments as he had requested.  From New York, the 18^th and 47^th arrived.  From Newfoundland, two companies of the 65^th were sent by Commodore Molyneux Shuldham, who did so on his own initiative. On December 12^th, the warships Asia and Boyne arrived from Great Britain. They brought about four hundred Royal Marines. He also had six companies of artillery. These numbers would increase through the beginning month of 1775 with the arrival of the: 17^th Foot, 22^nd Regiment, 23^rd Regiment, (having arrived America in 1773 and joining Gage in Boston), 44^th Foot, 59^th Regiment, 63^rd Regiment, and the 64^th (which was stationed at Castle William in the Harbor. Additional marines arrived with war ships sent to aid in the port blockade – this totaled eight companies of approximately 460 marines under Major John Pitcairn.

An Armed Truth Existed.  For the most part, outside a few extreme zealots, neither side wanted war, right up to and even after the first major clash of arms between the American colonies and English forces at Lexington on April 19^th. Throughout the fall and winter of 1774 – 1775, several encounters between colonists and regular troops might have cascaded into violence, sparking the War of Independence.  Events such as: an attack upon British troops during their excursions out beyond the city, physical confrontation by enraged citizens in Boston, or through aggressive acts on the part of the British army, either in Boston, or during one of the many ‘marches’ into the countryside. Scholars agree that one of the reasons war did not break out before the Battle of Lexington and Concord, was in due part to the good sense and caution of General Gage.  Also, it became obvious that the more prominent patriots in New England would not sanction a large-scale attack upon the British. Many still believed that it was still possible that the British government would bend and give into American demands. Also, the patriot leaders did not want to assume the responsibility for being the aggressor.  An attack by New Englanders might jeopardize support from the middle and southern colonies. When it was learned that in early December, 1774, the Crown forbid the export to America of guns and ammunition, Sons of Liberty leaders took steps to raid British stockpiles and forts throughout the New England region. This might have erupted in war; had not Gage kept a firm yet calm hand on his forces and continued his discourse with patriot leaders.

American Committees of Safety and Supplies.  After the Powder Alarm, rebellious leaders saw the need to organize a military response if and when the moment came that they had to defend their rights. A system of ‘first responding’ militiamen and munition storage sites needed to be established. To this day, we tend to believe that all colonials owned a gun. That there was this incredible gun culture that continues to this day in the United States.  The facts don’t support this.  A detailed analysis of probate records that recorded the property ownership of early America show only about 13 % of colonials throughout New England owned a gun. And nearly half of those were ancient fowling pieces or doorstops that didn’t work. Therefore, it became apparent that if one was going to have a rebellion, then best start gathering and protecting arms and ammunition that would be readily handed out when hostilities erupted.  Massachusetts Committees of Safety, the military arm of the Provincial government, was formed on October 20^th, 1774. 

The first committee was lead by the president of the Provincial government and rebel rouser, Dr. Joseph Warren.  Their role was to “keep careful watch of any person attempting the destruction, invasion, detriment, or annoyance of the province.”  Whenever they judged the safety of the people required action, they were authorized to call out the militia to such places as they saw fit, and to see that the men were well armed.  This committee also enlisted minutemen, young men who could march at a moment’s notice when the committee deemed it necessary. Along with this was the Committee of Supplies which supported the militias.  They purchased, for the colony, cannon, small arms, and ammunition. Under the Committee of Safety and Supplies, from November, 1774 and throughout the winter into the spring, arms and ammunition were purchased and stashed at Concord and other regional areas.

Ministers in England demand action.  It can be safely speculated that had the British government left Gage to his own accords in dealing with the rebellious ‘radicals’ in New England, hostilities may have been avoided, perhaps until saner minds averted open warfare.  However, passions were running too high and each side’s position was too firmly embedded in obstinate principals for reconsideration or compromise to be considered.  Lord Dartmouth (William Legge), Secretary of State for the Colonies, demanded that Gage do something about the reported number of arms the colonials were stockpiling.  It was in the interest of correspondence from England calling for action that Gage, starting with the new year, took the initiative which ultimately led to the clash at Lexington on April 19, 1775.  

• Late in January, Gage sent one hundred men to Marshfield and Scituate, 30 miles along the coast south of Boston.  Accordingly, the Tories petitioned Gage for protection. Nothing came of it except a show of force before the regulars returned to Boston.
• February 26, 1775.  Lieutenant Colonel Leslie is dispatched to Salem, around 40 miles north, with two hundred regulars to destroy cannon which supposedly had been shipped there from Europe for use against the British army. Minutemen gathered to oppose Leslie who with a cool hand, wisely held off confronting the armed colonials. He found no cannon and peacefully returned to Boston.
• By March, Gage frequently sent out large detachments into the countryside supposedly for purposes of training.  At times they would march as much as eight miles from town before returning to Boston. The colonials only observed their actions and the detached commanders kept a tight leach on their men against any possible looting or incidents.
• Gage also sent mounted officers into the countryside to question locals and gather information as to patriot military preparations. Captain Stephen Kemble, Gage’s wife brother, was in charge of intelligence. Under his orders a network of ‘spies’ were continually dispatched outside the city:  Lt. John De Berniere, Maj. Thomas Pitcairn, John Howe – to name a few.  Also, traitor Dr. Benjamin Church, patriot leader, supplied Gage with much of his information as to movements, actions, and meetings of rebellious colonial leaders.
• By April 5^th, Gage called upon Admiral Samuel Graves to plan the best route to move a large number of troops across the bay.  This in turn inspired the admiral to prepare a large number of small boats to be readied as transport whenever Gage required them.

Gage expected open conflict.  By the new year, 1775, letters arriving from Great Britain indicated that the government would not bow before the colonists as they did with the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts.  By February 10^th, Gage expected that his next instructions from home would require him “to make many preparations to act offensively” and to move from Boston into the interior. He could only hope that the Americans would not offer too much of a resistance. He expressed sanguine expectations that the Americans would not form a united front and that the New York delegation would earn the distinction of “the Loyal Province,” to become “the Saviors of America,” by blocking any military move to counter his movements.  His optimism did not endure.

The curtain rises.  Bending to reality, by March 8, 1775, he declared that a firm stand by the British government would likely be followed by the “horrors of a civil war.” On his last letter to England, penned on March 28^th to Secretary of War, Lord William Barrington, Gage wrote: “It is beyond my capacity to judge what ought to be done… If you yield, I conceive that you have not a spark of authority remaining over this country. If you determine on the contrary…it should be done with as little delay as possible, and as powerfully as you are able, for its easier to crush evils in their infancy than when grown to maturity.” With information confirming a strong cache of arms and ammunition stored at Concord, and after preparing the countryside for frequent excursions by large detached regular forces from the city, Gage was ready to ‘test the waters’ of patriot determination. He would raid the rebel stockpile of arms at Concord in a direct stab at patriot resolution and ability to offer armed resistance.  The die was cast and within a fortnight of his last correspondence to England, Gage struck out from Boston and as such, expected and got the worst.

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RESOURCES

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