Two Hundred Fifty Years Ago Today
"This marker is on the lawn of the Sacred Heart near 2001 Mass Ave. [in Lexington, Massachusetts]."
Two hundred fifty years ago today, 31-year-old blacksmith & dairy farmer Benjamin Wellington -- a married man and father -- left his homestead at what is now the corner of Concord Avenue & Pleasant Street in Lexington, Massachusetts, to answer the call of the Minute Men. Setting out on foot before dawn and "armed with his musket and bayonet," he headed for the Lexington Common, a little more than three miles up Pleasant Street from his home, to joint Captain John Parker's company.
Less than halfway to his destination, British Lt. William Sutherland, on horseback, accosted Wellington and ordered him "to give up his firelock and bayonet." As other British troops were approaching, Wellington surrendered. "The British officers took his weapons.... Thus it was claimed ... that he was the first belligerent or armed man captured by the British." "But for some reason, he was allowed to depart.... He started toward home but when out of [the British troops' sight], he turned" toward "the village common and [-- arriving ahead of the British troops -- he] warned others that the British troops were about to arrive. He rearmed himself with another musket from the town’s supply of weapons stored in the meetinghouse."
As for the "some reason" the Brits did not hold Wellington, there were two. One, they had no means to detaining him, as they were headed off to the Common. Two, when Sutherland questioned Wellington as to what he was doing walking around with a musket of an early spring morning, Wellington claimed he was just out "shooting rabbits." This I know because years ago I read an account that Wellington himself gave many years later.
In a slightly different account which I found online, an unknown writer says of the elderly Wellington,
"Benjamin Wellington comes before my memory at an advanced age, being 32 at the time of the battle. I remember his vigorous and well-knit frame; and that, though of moderate stature, he bore a commanding presence. He had the distinction of being the first prisoner taken within the town that day. He was captured early in the morning, at the foot of what is now called 'Mount Independence,' in East Lexington. The British officer who took him asked, 'What are you going to do with that firelock? Where are you going now?' He replied, 'I am going home.' 'I thought within myself,' he used to say, 'but not till I have been upon the Common.' The officer took his firelock from him and soon passed on. Mr. Wellington then left the main road, waded through swamps, and reached the Common in time to join Capt. Parker's company before the engagement...."
The Battle of Lexington itself lasted only about five minutes. "The British sustained only three light injuries. Yet, the toll was very heavy for the Lexington Training Band. Eight men were killed and ten more were wounded in the brief encounter."
Benjamin Wellington went on to serve sporadically throughout the war -- as was common in the revolutionary army -- and "was at the taking of Burgoyne in 1777." That is, Wellington fought in another decisive battle: the second Battle of Saratoga, in which the revolutionary armies led by General Horatio Gates defeated British forces under General John Burgoyne. The victory persuaded France to enter the war on the Americans' side. Wellington was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1780.
If you'd like to know more about what happened on April 19, 1775 -- "the opening day of the War of the American Revolution" -- the Congressional Record for 1959, starting at page 13606, provides a remarkable timeline.
Several of my forebears joined the American Revolution against the British king. One -- Benjamin Wellington -- was in it from the get-go. I doubt he could have imagined just how his revolutionary project would develop and evolve. Whatever Wellington's motives, whatever his hopes -- the result, after a couple of centuries, was likely far grander than his vision.
Contributor Akhilleus told us yesterday that he "was at the Old North Church for the 200th anniversary celebration" of the sexton's signal that British troops were coming across the Charles River ("by sea"). As Akhilleus asked rhetorically, "Who could have predicted that fifty years LATER we’d have to fight our way past another tyrannical, demented king?" Yet here we are, with the grand project ready to collapse. Unless we save it. ~~~
~~~ Michael Moore on Substack: "This Saturday — April 19th — there are nationwide protests being organized EVERYWHERE. In state capitols, major cities, in the town square, and outside the county courthouse. There is a protest near you. If for some reason you cannot find one — start one. Do not sit this out! Here are the links to help you find one near you:
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FiftyFifty.one — the folks who started the movement.
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Reader Comments (1)
The anniversary of the Battle of Lexington brought to mind this novel and its author.
The novel, “April Morning” was written by Howard Fast, a name prominent in America’s storytelling world in the middle of the last century.
I think I first encountered Fast in a SF magazine, likely in the early 1960’s. I later suggested (don’t know if I assigned it) “April Morning” to some of my students. I know I inherited a classroom set of the novel when I was doing my teaching internship at a Bay Area high school that no longer exists. Others know Fast from “Spartacus,” a film I never saw, but likewise about another storied rebellion.
A prolific author, Fast’s fascination with the history he often mined was paired with his politics. He was the son of immigrants and for a while a member of the American Communist Party.
Now forgotten, our detestable present strongly suggests that many of his stories merit a resurrection
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Fast
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Morning