American Leaders and Heroes Part 17

Pitcairn ordered his men to fire, and eighteen of the minute-men fell dead or wounded, before the remainder sullenly retired to wait for a hand in the struggle later in the day.

Before the arrival of Pitcairn the British officers who had captured Revere and Dawes returned with them to Lexington, where, commanding Revere to dismount, they let him go. Running off at full speed to the house where Samuel Adams and John Hanc.o.c.k were staying, he recounted what had happened, and then guided them across the fields to a place of safety at Woburn. On their way they heard the guns firing on Lexington Common, and the sound stirred the soul of Adams, who exclaimed with enthusiasm, "Oh, what a glorious morning is this!"

[Ill.u.s.tration: Stone in Front of the Harrington House, Lexington, Marking the Line of the Minute-Men.]

From Lexington, Colonel Smith hastened to Concord, arriving there at seven o'clock in the morning, about six hours after Dr. Prescott had given the alarm. The British could not find the military stores, most of which the people of Concord had hidden, but they cut down the liberty pole, set fire to the court-house, spiked a few cannon, and emptied some barrels of flour.

About 200 of them stood guard at the North Bridge, while a body of minute-men gathered on a hill beyond. When the minute-men had increased to 400 they advanced upon the British, and brought on a fight which resulted in loss of life on each side. Then continuing their advance they crossed the bridge, and forced the British to withdraw into the town.

By noon Colonel Smith could see that by reason of the ever-increasing body of minute-men, swarming into Concord from every direction, it would be unwise to delay his return to Boston. His men had marched eighteen miles with little or no food for fourteen hours, and were tired and hungry.

But when the British started back on their return march, the minute-men followed and began a deadly attack. It was an irregular fight. The minute-men, trained to woodland warfare, slipped from tree to tree, shot down the tired British soldiers, and then retreated only to return and repeat the annoying attack. The wooded country through which they marched favored this kind of fighting.

But even in the open country every stone wall and hill, every house and barn, seemed to the exhausted British troops to bristle with the guns of minute-men. The retreating army pushed wearily forward, fighting as bravely as possible, but on the verge of confusion and panic.

When they reached Lexington Common, at two o'clock, they met 1,200 fresh troops under Lord Percy, whose timely arrival saved the entire force from capture. The dismayed British troops, half-dead with exhaustion, entered the square Lord Percy had formed for their protection, and fell upon the ground, "with their tongues hanging out of their mouths like those of dogs after a chase."

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE RETREAT OF THE BRITISH FROM THE CONCORD.]

After resting for an hour, the British again took up their march to Boston. The minute-men, increasing in numbers every moment, kept up the same kind of running attack that they had made upon the British between Concord and Lexington. A British officer, in speaking of the minute-men, said, "they seemed to have dropped from the clouds." The condition of the British soldiers was pitiable until, late in the day, they got under the protection of the guns of the war-vessels in Boston Harbor.

The British had failed. They had been driven back, almost in a panic, to Boston, with a loss of nearly 300 men. The Americans had not lost 100.

It was a great day for the patriots, for they had not only defeated the regular troops, but they had tested their own strength and given fresh inspiration to their cause. Farmers, mechanics, men in all walks of life, now flocked to the army. Within a few days the Americans, 16,000 strong, were surrounding the British in Boston.

The Americans, eager to drive them out of Boston, threw up breastworks on Bunker Hill, which overlooked the town. But the next day--June 17th--after they had twice driven the redcoats down the hill--they had to retreat because their powder had given out. This was the battle of Bunker Hill, in which the British lost in killed and wounded 1,000 men; the Americans, 450.

Although Paul Revere took part in no important battle, he was active in the patriot cause, and became lieutenant-colonel of a Boston regiment of artillery. After the war he returned to his old business, and established a foundry in which church-bells and bronze cannon were cast.

He died in Boston in 1818, eighty-three years of age, held in high esteem by his countrymen.

REVIEW OUTLINE

PUNISHMENT FOR THE "BOSTON TEA PARTY."

THE PROVINCIAL CONGRESS AND THE "MINUTE-MEN."

PAUL REVERE AND OTHER PATRIOTIC YOUNG MEN SPY OUT THE BRITISH PLANS.

PAUL REVERE STARTS ON HIS "MIDNIGHT RIDE."

HE SPREADS THE ALARM.

SIGNS OF THE THREATENING STORM.

THE FIGHT AT LEXINGTON.

PAUL REVERE ACTS AS GUIDE TO ADAMS AND HANc.o.c.k.

THE BRITISH AT CONCORD; THE FIGHT AT THE NORTH BRIDGE.

THE BRITISH RETREAT FROM CONCORD TO LEXINGTON.

LORD PERCY'S TIMELY ARRIVAL.

THE BRITISH DRIVEN BACK TO BOSTON.

PAUL REVERE AFTER THE REVOLUTION.

TO THE PUPIL

1. What were Gage's secret plans, and how did Paul Revere and his band of patriots try to thwart them?

2. Draw a map, locating Boston, Medford, Lexington, and Concord.

3. Impersonating Paul Revere, write an account of the famous "midnight ride."

4. Imagine yourself as a boy living in Concord at the time of the battle, and tell your experiences.

5. Describe the retreat of the British.

6. When did this battle take place?

CHAPTER XV

Benjamin Franklin and Aid from France

[1706-1790]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Benjamin Franklin.]

American independence, the beginnings of which we have just been considering, was accomplished after a long struggle. Many brave men fought on the battle-field, and many who never shouldered a musket or drew a sword exerted a powerful influence for the good of the patriot cause. One of these men was Benjamin Franklin.

He was born in Boston in 1706, the fifteenth child in a family of seventeen children. His father was a candle-maker and soap-boiler.

Intending to make a clergyman of Benjamin, he sent him, at eight years of age, to a grammar-school, with the purpose of fitting him for college. The boy made rapid progress, but before the end of his first school-year his father took him out on account of the expense, and put him into a school where he would learn more practical subjects, such as writing and arithmetic. The last study proved very difficult for him.

Two years later, at the age of ten, he had to go into his father's shop.

Here he spent his time in cutting wicks for the candles, filling the moulds with tallow, selling soap in the shop, and acting the part of errand-boy.

Many times he had watched the vessels sailing in and out of Boston Harbor, and often in imagination had gone with them on their journeys.

Now he longed to become a sailor, and, quitting the drudgery of the candle-shop, to roam out over the sea in search of more interesting life. But his father wisely refused to let him go. His fondness for the sea, however, took him frequently to the water, and he learned to swim like a fish and to row and sail boats with great skill. In these sports, as in others, he became a leader among his playmates.

With all his dislike for the business of candle-making and soap-boiling, and with all his fondness for play, he was faithful in doing everything that his father's business required. His industry, together with his liking for good books and his keen desire for knowledge, went far toward supplying the lack of school-training. He spent most of his leisure in reading, and devoted his savings to collecting a small library.

His father, noting his bookish habits, decided to apprentice Benjamin to his older brother, James, a printer in Boston. Benjamin was to serve until he was twenty-one and to receive no wages until the last year. In this position he was able to see more of books, and made good use of his opportunities. Often he would read, far into the night, a borrowed book that had to be returned in the morning. He also wrote some verses and peddled them about the streets, until his father discouraged him by ridiculing his efforts.

About this time, in order to get money for books, he told his brother that he would be willing to board himself on half the money the board had been costing. To this his brother agreed, and Benjamin lived on a very meagre diet. Remaining in the printing-office at noon, he ate such a simple lunch as a biscuit or slice of bread and a bunch or two of raisins. As a meal like this required but little time, young Franklin could spend most of the noon hour in reading. By living thus he easily saved half of what his brother allowed him, and at once spent his savings in books.

This youth was never idle, because he put a high value upon time; he was never wasteful of money, because he knew the easiest way to make money was to save what he had. These were qualities which helped Benjamin Franklin to get on in the world.

But during this period of his life he had great hards.h.i.+ps to bear, for his brother was a stern taskmaster, and was so hot-tempered that he would sometimes beat Benjamin cruelly. No doubt the young apprentice was sometimes at fault. Be that as it may, the two brothers had so many disagreements that Benjamin determined to run away and seek his fortune elsewhere.

Having sold some of his books to get a little money, at the age of seventeen, he secured a pa.s.sage on board a sloop for New York. Upon his arrival, friendless and almost penniless, he began to visit the printing-offices in search of work. But failing to find any, and being told that he would be more likely to succeed in Philadelphia, he decided to go to that city.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Franklin's Journey from New York to Philadelphia.]

To-day, the journey from New York to Philadelphia, a distance of ninety miles, can be made in two hours. But, of course, in Franklin's time there were no railroads, and it was a more difficult undertaking.