Chapter Nineteen

Lexington April 18 & 19, 1775

The townspeople were already awake and busily preparing for the British military long before the horseman galloped full speed up to the Hancock house. Fifteen-year-old Jacqueline Paige recognized the rider immediately. “That’s our neighbor Paul Revere,” she said to Colin.

“I suppose that maybe the rumors are true, the British are stirring. The Earl of Dartmouth’s order to disarm your friends is no longer a rumor,” Colin said, even though he knew the rumor was never a rumor. The order to send troops to Lexington and Concord to secure weapons the colonists had been stockpiling had come to Mr. Hancock days before it reached General Gage. John Hancock and Sam Adams had left Boston ten days ago for that very reason, leaving Revere behind with specific orders to warn the countryside when the British finally made a move.  The group set a warning system. There would be a lantern hung in the Old North Church. One lantern if the British moved by land, and two lanterns if by sea. Mr. Revere’s ride tonight was a clear indication that the British were on the move.

“I must see Mr. Hancock at once,” Paul said to the sentry on duty.

Colin and Jacqueline were close enough to the house to hear the conversation.

“The people have just retired for the night and have requested that they not be disturbed by any noise about the house,” the sentry said politely. Colin knew the Sentinel. He was a drinking friend of his named William Munroe.

“Noise!” exclaimed Paul. “You’ll have noise enough before long. The British regulars are out.” Paul sidestepped William, who did nothing to stop him and ran into the house.

Soon candles flickered in the house while the sound of movement inside echoed into the street. A man Colin knew to be Samuel Adams scurried into the house wearing nothing but rumpled night clothing. After about a half-an-hour Paul exited the house, leaped on his horse, and galloped toward Concord with two other men. Jacqueline identified the two men as William Dawes, the shoemaker, and young Doctor Samuel Prescott. A carriage rushed up as Revere was leaving. The door to the house burst open, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams rushed to the carriage, which left briskly after the two were on board.

Colonel John Parker ran up to the crowd that had formed and ordered them to make ready for a confrontation.

“Thus the 18th of April 1775 ended, and a new dawn began.”

“Is that the story of the midnight ride of Paul Revere?” asked Sally. “Henry Wadsworth Longfellow made it sound a little more exciting.”

Colin ruffled Sally’s hair. “I am sorry. That’s how it started. Paul sighted two lanterns in the Church that night, so he and two friends rowed across the Charles River, the best route for the warning. I am surprised that the British didn’t see them. The moon was so bright that night it cast shadows, and it was against the law to cross the River at night. Paul told me years after that night that he had tied petticoats on the oars to silence them. He said that they came dangerously close to a British Warship as they rowed.”

“At least he could warn the people of Concord,” Sally said, yawning.

Colin moved from the fireplace to the window. Pulling the frilly curtain to one side, he said, “Not exactly, Sally, Paul, and his friends ran into a British patrol that questioned them for some time. Doctor Prescott escaped and continued his ride to warn the people of Concord. The British patrol confiscated Paul and William’s horses and forced them to walk back to Lexington by foot.”

Minutemen in Lexington waited for the British soldiers. Colin hid behind a wall with Isaiah, his two sons, and Jacqueline, who refused to go home.  His perspiration soaked through his shirt. His heart felt as if it would leap from his chest at any time. The eerie silence of the unknown unraveled his nerves. He hated waiting for the inevitable. Time drew slowly. Almost as if, it no longer was relevant.

Jacqueline broke the silence. “What time is it, Daddy?”

“It’s time for you to go home to your mother,” Isaiah said looking at the moon. “I reckon it’s between one and two in the morning, now scat on home,”

“I want to see the soldiers, Daddy, I promise to go home after I see them.” Jacqueline clasped her hands as if praying, begging to stay. 

Isaiah shook his head, scrunching further into his bedroll.  “I am too tired to argue. Colin we should take turns sleeping. The boys and I will take first watch. Wake one of us up in one hour, and then you can get some rest. Girl if you are going to stay, you should get some sleep, too.”

Jacqueline stifled a yawn. “I will sleep in a moment, Daddy. I am not tired. I want to sit with Colin for a few minutes.”

“Suit yourself, just don’t bore him to death with your constant yammering,” Isaiah warned his daughter before turning over to rest.

“Colin?” Jacqueline said after she had known her father and brothers were asleep.

“Yes, Sunshine,” Colin said.

Colin always called her by the nickname she once cherished but now detested. “Colin, I am practically a woman now.”

“I reckon that’s so. You will make someone a lovely bride someday soon.” The moonlight was bright, and she was so beautiful highlighted by its glow. He had not taken the time to notice her until this moment.

I was hoping to be your bride someday,” Jacqueline said as she turned her head from him. She had developed a crush on Colin in the two years they had been in Lexington. He looked so young that she had forgotten Colin had fought in another war with her father twenty years earlier. “After all it isn’t uncommon for a woman, my age to marry someone twice her age,”

Shocked, Colin was speechless. “I’m much more than double your age. Remember I fought in the French and Indian War with your father almost twenty years ago. You weren’t even born then.”

“How old are you, Colin?” Jacqueline asked, trying hard not to cry.

“I’m older that’s all you need to know. No, get some sleep.” Colin focused his attention on a noise a few feet away. A mangy cat pounced at his shadow in the moonlight. Colin relaxed.

“How am I supposed to know how old you are? You look the same as you did the day Daddy brought you home. The day you said, you didn’t want to see lobsterbacks either. I love you. I can’t help who I fall in love with.” Tears flowed from her eyes.

Colin hugged Jacqueline, trying to comfort his friend. “I can’t tell you how old I am. You wouldn’t understand. Maybe one day I can tell you my story; this is not the place or time. I can’t marry you because you are my best friend’s daughter.” He thought of Alison, another best friend’s daughter he had married centuries ago who was not much older than Jacqueline was at the time. A tear came to his eyes. He always cried when he thought of Alison.

Jacqueline blotted her tears with her sleeves. “You promise to tell me the story of why you never age someday?” She laid her head on his shoulder, wrapped her arm around his middle, and kissed him on the cheek.

 “I’d like to hear that story myself,” Isaiah said without turning over. “Jacqueline get some sleep, you get some shut-eye, too, Colin. I’ll wake you in plenty of time for some fun.”

Jacqueline jumped up, stamped her feet, and glared at her father. “I think I will go home, Daddy.”

 

Isaiah tapped Colin on the shoulder. The sounds of drums beating cadence drifted in the air. "You don't want to miss all the fun?" his friend said after Colin's eyes opened. Isaiah drew his attention to the other side of the fence. "Our company is showing their red-coated faces."

Hundreds of redcoats lined the horizon their general’s barking orders. The sun was barely creeping over the British lines.

Colin blinked the sleep from his drowsy eyes. "Damn it. You were supposed to wake me hours ago Isaiah. How long have they been here?" He pointed at the enemy. He realized the drums were a call to arms for the Minutemen militia.

Isaiah licked his fingers and moistened his rifle’s sights. "Not long. The first of them bloody lobster-backs popped up just before sunrise. The wounded officers followed shortly afterward. Do you recognize any of them?"

Colin stared into the oncoming force, shielding his eyes with his hands. "The one on the left is Colonel Francis Smith. He is the officer in charge of grenadier companies; a force of special assault troops."

Colin stopped as Captain John Parker ran up and down the lines shouting, "Don’t fire until fired upon. But if they want war, let it start here."

A British officer galloped to join Colonel Smith. They had a short conversation, and the officer raced away. "I’d recognize that face anywhere that's Major Dunehirst." Colin ducked behind the wall, his breath wavering. He bit his upper lip and clutched his chest.

Isaiah peered over the wall. "So that's the son-of-a-bitch you been hiding from?"

"He will surely try to kill me if he sees me here," Colin gathered his composure, gathering his wits and courage. "The officer in the center is Major John Pitcairn, we have always gotten along well, but then, of course, we have always been on the same side." Colin’s mouth went dry. He knew he might have to fire on old friends.

The British soldiers began their march to the walls, fences, and bushes where the Colonist militia waited. As the rank and file inched closer, Major Pitcairn raised his right hand and ordered, "Halt," when his forces were no more than a stone's throw from the Colonists. The major glanced over the field at him before speaking. "Surrender your rifles and return to your homes."  A moment of intense silence followed the order as the two sides glared at each other. Major Dunehirst rode up to Major Pitcairn, whispered something in his ear and pointed in Colin's direction. For a brief moment, Colin's eyes met with those of the major. Pitcairn nodded at Colin and returned to staring at the opposing army.

A shot rang out. Major Pitcairn yelled, "Stop!" but his tired troops continued to fire. He then rode in front of his troops brandishing his sword in a downward position, a sign to a ceasefire.

Colin stared into space, his lips curled into a frown, before facing his guests. "No one knew who fired the first volley. The Americans blamed the British while the British blamed the Americans. Each side was so wild they couldn't hear the orders to cease fire on both sides. Many of the outnumbered colonists ran for their lives. I saw Jonas Parker, the captain's young son, gutted by a British bayonet. After the smoke had cleared, ten colonists lay dead, and ten others lie wounded. I learned later that the British suffered only one wounded and no dead. They weren't so lucky in Concord, or on their return to Boston. We prepared our Minutemen for the British to come back and harassed them most of the way back to Boston.

Colin knelt behind a small fence, reloading his musket. The British were on the run. He didn't hear the sounds of the rushing horseman until he was right on top of him. An urgent feeling to move saved his life as the sword whizzed over his head. Major Dunehirst began another attempt to hack at Colin with his sword, but his horse reared up, causing the Major to plummet from his saddle and fall butt first on the hard ground. He glared at Colin, who now wielded a knife in his hand, "Go ahead, Harcourt, finish me."

"I think not, Major," Colin said as he deftly scratched Dunehirst’s cheek with his knife, leaving a gash. Colin stared at his former commanding officer lying on his elbows and winked. "Maybe another day, sir, but it will not be today." He retrieved his musket from the ground and ran off with his Patriot friends toward the fleeing British soldiers.

"I will kill you if it's the last thing I do, Captain Harcourt," Dunehirst said rubbing his cheek.

“John Adams toured the battlefield the next day and uttered his famous. The die is cast words. George Washington, from his home in Mount Vernon, wrote, 'the once happy and peaceful plains of America are to be drenched in blood or inhabited by slaves. A sad alternative” Colin quoted from memory. “A group of hunters named their campsite Lexington when they heard of the battle. Their campsite became Lexington, Kentucky. Ralph Waldo Emerson said it best, “It was the shot heard around the world.” To me it was another battle; I swore I would never fight again. The scarab had other plans. Would you like some more coffee general?”