British Disaster After Failing Secret Mission
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR - The Battle of Concord and Lexington
Three days ago, 700 British soldiers marched from Boston to Concord. Their mission was to capture the patriot leaders and seize a patriot arsenal filled with guns and powder. When they arrived Lexington, they met 77 so called “minutemen”. The minutemen were easily outnumbered. At the North Bridge in Concord, the 700 regulars had to retreat after being attacked by American reinforcements. “We had no other choice, but to flee and abandon our mission,” said Lieutenant Francis Smith, the leader of the 700 regulars. Has the British government and the Patriots come to a breaking point?
We talked to Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith who led the 700 regulars to find out more about the incident. He did not expect this outcome at all: “Our mission was supposed to be a secret; the goal was to stop a possible revolution. Yet it seemed like they knew we were coming. We had no other choice, but to flee and abandon our mission. Still, we were able to destroy some of the arsenal they had in Concord, but most of it was moved away to a safer place.”
“How did you and your army manage to escape?” “We were lucky, when we arrived back in Lexington, we were met by allied reinforcement. However, I lost many men during the battle.
“Who spoiled the mission to the patriots?” Francis smith snorted; “His name is Paul Revere. Luckily, our scouts were able to catch him in time before he reached Concord. Unfortunately his words of warning were brought to Concord by someone else.”
Lieutenant Francis Smith ended the conversation by saying that the war is not over yet; his deceased soldiers will be avenged in future battles.
Later we visited General Thomas Gage. Thomas was the one that sent the soldiers to Concord. He told us that they also planned to arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock, two of the key leaders of the patriot movement. They do have tips about the leaders’ position in Concord. “I heard rumours about the Americans escaping, probably because the patriots found out about the British plan to attack them and capture their arsenal.” he added.
The first encounter with the patriots was in Lexington, 700 regulars against 77 minutemen. The minutemen were easily outnumbered and they had to command a retreat. Eight minutemen died and ten were badly injured.
The British regrouped and headed towards Concord, but when they arrived The North Bridge, they met 500 minutemen in open battle. More minutemen arrived the battle and hit the British regulars hard. The only option the British had was to flee. The patriots were victorious.
When Francis Smith and his remaining army arrived in Lexington, the soldiers were in a bad condition. Luckily, Hugh and Lord Percy reinforced them. Together they managed to escape to Boston without any major problems. On their way to Boston, local farmers and townspeople supporting the patriots attacked them, but it caused minimal damage to the fleeing British.
As the situation is now: the British have failed to keep the mission a secret. As many as 300 regulars were killed or injured. It is unknown what the patriots are planning to do next.
SOURCES:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_of_Lexington_and_Concord (18.01.2015) Writer: Unknown
http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slagene_ved_Lexington_og_Concord (18.01.2015) Writer: Unknown
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-american-revolution-begins (18.01.2015)
Author: Unknown
http://www.kidport.com/reflib/usahistory/americanrevolution/lexingtonbattle.htmn (19.01.2015) Author: Unknown
