Revisiting Battles of Lexington & Concord
1923 Retrospective Titled Nineteenth of April 1775
Sep 25, 2009
The subtitle of The Nineteenth of April 1775 gives its thesis: “Exhibiting a fair and impartial account of the engagement fought on that day, chiefly in the towns of Concord, Lexington, and Menotomy between a detachment of His Brittanick (sic) Majesty’s Regular Troops & the Militia of the Province of Massachusetts Bay with candid remarks upon certain relations of that sanguinary event as set forth by other hands.”
Are Lexington and Concord More Myth Than Fact?
Author Harold Murdoch, a Boston banker, says the Battle of Lexington has become a myth, a legend which has been romanticized to awaken patriotism in Americans. Indeed, on that memorable day, something very different may have happened. Did the British or the Americans fire "the shot heard round the world?" Did hot-headed patriots deliberately plan for American martyrs to be sacrificed that day?
In 1930, a few years after Murdoch’s book, the papers of British General Thomas Gage arrived in the United States and are now in the custody of the University of Michigan. They support Murdoch’s views and give additional evidence that can be used to explode the heroic myth surrounding the minutemen’s performance on April 19, 1775, a day which is often cited as the beginning of the Revolutionary War.
Doubts About Lexington and Concord Battles
The Nineteenth of April 1775 consists of three papers. The first, “Historic Doubts on the Battle of Lexington,” was read before the Massachusetts Historical Society in 1916. The second, “The British at Concord," was read before the same group in 1922. “Earl Percy’s Retreat to Charlestown,” the third paper, was read before the Colonial Society in 1921.
These retrospectives differ from traditional textbook versions of the American Revolution. Teachers and scholars who wish to present an additional perspective of these famed battles will find this work of interest.
Nineteenth of April 1775 Reprinted in 1987
The original 1923 printing of The Nineteenth of April 1775 was limited to 575 copies. For decades, it could be found only in a few libraries. The 1987 facsimile reprint by Heritage Books, Inc., was made from book number 573.
This edition includes the original map of “Boston Town and Harbour” and all of the copperplate illustrations found in the first edition. Some of those illustrations suggest that the patriot soldiers rapidly dispersed after they realized how outnumbered they were.
A helpful every-name index has been added to the reprint by Helen Solomon.
Internet booksellers are currently offering used copies of The Nineteenth of April 1775 at less than $15.00 per copy.
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