A Day To Glorify American Patriots
Today, April 19, is Patriot’s day as celebrated in Massachusetts and Maine. It commemorates the day that Americans stood up against the English king and the army he sent to bind us. Last night, or actually on April 18, 1775, Paul Revere set out on his ride to warn patriots that the English were coming. By the morning next, the battles of Lexington and Concord broke out, and a nation was born.
There are several sites that are reveling in the history of this day, so I’ll just link to one I find most impressive. Jules Crittendon has an awesome collection of letters and testimonials of the day the revolution started. I’ll use this account by Mary Hartwell of Concord as a link:
‘Your grandfather, who was sergeant, left the house, joining the neighbors as soon as the alarm reached us. I did up the chores at the barn, and cared for the children as well as I could in my anxiety. When thus occupied, a colored woman who lived near us came in to spread the news of the approach of the British, but was afraid to go farther; so I said, “If you will take care of my baby, I will go and give the warning.” I started for a neighbor’s house, glancing down the road, and saw such a sight as I can never forget. The army of the king was coming up in fine order, their red coats were brilliant, and their bayonets glistening in the sunlight made a fine appearance; but I knew what all that meant, and I feared that I should never see your grandfather again, although I then knew nothing of their bloody work at Lexington.
“‘I saw an occasional horseman dashing by, going up and down, but heard nothing more until I saw them coming back in the afternoon, all in confusion, wild with rage, and loud with threats. I knew there had been trouble, and that it had not resulted favorably for that retreating army. I heard the musket-shots just below, by the old Brooks Tavern, and trembled, believing that our folks were killed. Some of the rough, angry soldiers rushed up to this house and fired in; but fortunately for me and the children, the shots went into the garret, and we were safe. How glad I was when they all got by the house, and your grandfather and our neighbors reached home alive!’”
Although Mrs. Samuel Hartwell had good reason for entertaining vindictive feelings towards the invading army, her actions proved that her better nature soon prevailed. She said, “I could not sleep that night, for I knew there were British soldiers lying dead by the roadside; and when, on the following morning, we were somewhat calmed and rested, we gave attention to the burial of those whom their comrades had failed to take away. The men hitched the oxen to the cart, and went down below the house, and gathered up the dead. As they returned with the team and the dead soldiers, my thoughts went out for the wives, parents, and children away across the Atlantic, who would never again see their loved ones; and I left the house, and taking my little children by the hand, I followed the rude hearse to the grave hastily made in the burial-ground. I remember how cruel it seemed to put them into one large trench without any coffins. There was one in a brilliant uniform, whom I supposed to have been an officer. His hair was tied up in a cue.” For more than a century this common grave remained unmarked, until the people of the town, considering the events of that day with a forgiving spirit, have within a few years erected a memorial stone over the resting-place of the unknown dead.
I agree with Pope Benedict – God Bless America!
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