Paul Revere's Ride (66 page)

John Jones, Jr., captain of minutemen, Princeton, Mass.: Letter on the alarm, muster, and aftermath, published in Frank Smith,
History of Dover, Mass.
(Dover, 1897), 93.

John Kettell: Diary, 1775, MHS, a Charlestown source, good for the siege of Boston.

John Leach: “Journal Kept … During his Confinement by the British in Boston Gaol, in 1775,”
NEHGR
19 (1865): 255.

Paul Litchfield: Diary, ms., MHS, published in part in
MHSP
19 (1882): 377-79; the alarm in Scituate, Mass.

Israel Litchfield: “Diary,”
NEHGR
129 (1975): 152.

Jeremiah Loring: Letter, n.d. [Oct. 1876], on the signal lanterns; Wheildon,
Paul Revere’s Signal Lanterns,
34—36.

Benjamin Lynde: Diary, 1775, MHS; events in Salem.

David McClure: Diary,
MHSP
16 (1878): 155-61, includes an interview after the battles with British Lieutenant Edward Hull.

Isaac Mansfield, Jr.: Thanksgiving Sermon in Camp at Roxbury, Nov. 23, 1775, in J. W. Thornton (ed.),
Pulpit of the American Revolution
(Boston, 1860), 236; includes material on the battles of Lexington and Concord.

John Marrett, minister in Woburn: Interleaved almanac diary entries from Jan. 1, 1775, to Dec. 31, 1776, published in part in Samuel Dunster (ed.),
Henry Dunster and His Descendants
(Central Falls, 1876). Extracts are also printed in Hurd,
Middlesex County,
674-80. The entry for April 19 was omitted by Hurd, as it had been published previously in Samuel Sewall’s
History of Woburn,
363, 78, 573.

Thompson Maxwell, a Medford teamster: Narrative published in Drake,
History of Middlesex County
I, 244-45; on the Boston Road, April 18, 1775.

Joseph Merriam, militiaman: Diary, 1775, BPL.

Timothy Merriam: Narrative of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, 1830, MHS.

Martha Moulton, Concord: Petition to General Court, Feb. 4, 1776, published in Frothingham,
History of the Siege of Boston,
369-70.

Thomas Newell: Diary, 1773-74, MHS.

Timothy Newell: Diary, 1775-78, published as “A Journal During the Time Yt Boston
Was Shut Up in 1775-76,”
MHSC4
1 (1852): 260-76; an important source on Boston affairs.

Peter Oliver:
Origin and Progress of the American Revolution
(Palo Alto, 1961); a Tory polemic. Its story of the “remarkable heroine” who fired at a “house door” and was killed by British troops on the Battle Road,” is often reprinted as fact (e.g.,
Boston Globe,
April 19, 1993), but appears to have no foundation. Oliver’s account is more useful for its insight into the mind of an American Loyalist. The manuscript of the work, and the Oliver Letter Book, are in the British Library, Egerton ms. 2670.

Harrison Gray Otis, a Boston schoolboy: Memoir of April 19, 1775,
Boston Advertiser,
April 19, 1858; it was reprinted in Edward Everett Hale,
One Hundred Years Ago
(Boston, 1875), 156-57.

Robert Treat Paine: Papers,
ca.
1743-1814, MHS; include material on Whig activities at the beginning of the American Revolution.

James Parker: Diary, published as “Extracts from the Diary of James Parker of Shirley, Mass.,”
NEHGR
69 (1915): 117-27.

Henry Pelham: Family Correspondence, a large body of materials especially strong on events in Boston and Newton, Mass., is in “Intercepted Copley-Pelham letters,” PRO, C05/39.

Timothy Pickering: Papers, MHS. In 1775, Pickering was a colonel of militia whose reluctance to march or engage allowed Percy to escape. His papers include two letters describing events of April 19; published in part in French,
Day of Concord and Lexington,
261.

Robert Pierpont: Record of interview with General Gage, March 20, 1775, Adams Mss, NYPL.

Levi Preston: Interview by Mellen Chamberlain, published as “Why Captain Preston Fought,”
Danvers Historical Collections
8 (1920): 68—70.

Dorothy Quincy, John Hancock’s fiancee: Narrative to William H. Sumner, 1825, published as “Reminiscences by Gen. William H. Sumner,”
NEHGR
8 (1854): 188—91; colorful details of the Clarke parsonage and the rescue of Hancock and Adams.

Experience Wight Richardson, Sudbury: Diary, 1775, microfilm, MHS; useful for the alarm and Great Fear.

Jacob Rogers: Petition, Oct 10, 1775, MA.

John Rowe, Boston merchant: Diary, ms., MHS; published in part as
Diary of John Rowe
(Cambridge, 1895); and Anne Rowe Cunningham (ed.),
Letters and Diary of John Rowe, Boston Merchant
(Boston, 1903). Published editions are incomplete; the manuscript should be consulted for any serious purpose.

Samuel P. Savage II: Papers, MHS; include 3 letters and a memorandum on April 19, 1775.

Hezekiah Smith, Haverhill, Mass.: Diary, 1773-74, MHS.

Luke Smith, son of Acton militiaman Solomon Smith:
Boston Globe,
April 18, 1893; Kehoe, “We Were There!” I, 308-9.

William Smith: Petition and Account, MA, vol. 182, 199—300, published in Hudson,
History of Lexington,
189; pagination varies in other editions.

James Stevens: Journal, April 19, 1775; published as “Journal of James Stevens,”
EIHC
48 (1912): 41.

Nathan Stow: Journal, 1776-80, Stow Family Papers, CFPL; “Sergeant Nathan Stow’s Orderly Book,”
Putnam’s Monthly Magazine
1 (1892—93): 307—8. William Tay, Woburn: Petition Sept. 20, 1775, published in Frothingham,
History of the Siege of Boston,
368-69.

Joseph Thaxter: Letter dated Nov. 30, 1824,
Historical Magazine
15 (2nd ser. V: 206— 7); also in
United States Literary Gazette
1 (1825): 264.

John Tudor: Diary, typescript, MHS, on the alarm in Cambridge; published as William Tudor,
Deacon Tudor’s Diary
(Boston, 1896).

Mary Palmer Tyler:
Grandmother Tyler’s Book; The Recollections of Mary Tyler [Mrs.
Royall Tyler],
ed. Frederick Tupper and Helen Tyler Brown (New York, 1925). She was the daughter of Revere’s friend Joseph Palmer.

Artemas Ward: Papers, MHS. The general who wasn’t there, but his manuscripts hold much material about the Massachusetts militia.

Dr. John Warren: Diary, April 19, 1775-May 11, 1776, reported in private hands many years ago; not found.

Samuel Weld, Roxbury: Diary, 1773-76, Rhode Island Historical Society.

John Whiting: Diary, 1743-84, ms., Dedham Historical Society.

Stephen Williams, minister in Longmeadow, Mass.: Diary, 1775, in Castle
et al.
(eds.),
The Minute Men,
147.

Hannah Winthrop: Letter (n.d.) to Mercy Warren,
MHSP
14 (1875): 29-31; a good source on the Great Fear.

Anna Green Winslow: ed.,
Diary of Anna Green Winslow: A Boston School Girl of 1771.
ed. George Francis Dow (Cambridge, Mass., 1894).

Personal Records of British Participants

Many British soldiers who marched to Concord left written accounts of their experiences. Some were published immediately after the event. Others were found in British archives by American Anglophiles; a remarkable number are still coming to light. Among the most useful are the following (in alphabetical order):

Anonymous officer in the 5th Regiment: Letter of July 5, 1775, published in Frothingham,
History of the Siege of Boston,
75.

Anonymous officer of the 59th Regiment: Undated letter in Ezra Stiles, Literary Diary, II, 575 (June 22, 1775).

Anonymous officer who marched to Concord: Letter dated April 20, 1775,
Farley’s Bristol Journal,
June 17, 1775; Willard (ed.), American
Letters on the Revolution,
76-77; Kehoe, “We Were There!” I, 165.

Anonymous officer: Diary 1775-77, reported sold Jan. 10, 1921, by the Anderson Auction Co. to a private collector; said to include an account of the capture of Paul Revere (Forbes,
New England Diaries,
334). Not found.

Anonymous seaman? on board a British ship in Boston harbor: Letter dated April 21, 1775,
Letters of the American Revolution,
77-79; Kehoe, “We Were There!” I, 184.

Anonymous soldier, 23rd Foot (Welch Fusiliers): Letter, April 30, 1775, published in
Essex Gazette,
May 12, 1775; rpt.
AA4,
II, 440-41.

Anonymous soldiers (3?), units unknown: Intercepted letters,
AA4,
II, 439—40.

Anonymous soldier’s wife: Letters,
AA4,
II, 439—40.

Lt. Col. James Abercrombie, 22nd Foot: Letter to Colden, May 2, 1775,
MHSP2, 11
(1897): 306.

Lt. John Barker, 4th (King’s Own) Foot: Diary, published in part as “A British Officer in Boston,”
Atlantic Monthly
39 (1877): 389—401, 544—54; a more complete transcription appears in Harold Murdock and Elizabeth E. Dana (eds.),
The British in Boston
(Boston, 1924); a most important first-hand account of the Concord expedition.

Major William Basset, 10th Foot?: Letter April 23, 1775, published with Lister, narrative; a few helpful vignettes.

Pvt. John Bateman, 52nd Foot: Deposition after capture, April 23, 1775,
AA4,
II, 496.

Lt. William Carter, 40th Foot: Letters dated 1775—76, published as
Genuine Detail …
(London, 1784), copy in Houghton Library, Harvard University.

Col. Samuel Cleveland, Royal Artillery: Narrative; Kehoe, “We Were There!” II, 179, citing MSS Royal Artillery Record Office.

Gen. Sir Henry Clinton: William B. Willcox (ed.),
The American Rebellion
(New Haven, 1954). Clinton did not arrive in America until after the battles, but had interesting comments on Gage’s performance.

J[ohn?] [Crozier?], master of British transport
Empress of Russia:
Letters dated April 23, 1775,
et seq.,
in Rockingham Mss., City Library, Sheffield, published as “An Account of Lexington in the Rockingham Mss. at Sheffield,” ed. J. E. Tyler,
WMQ3
10 (1953): 99-107.

Ens. Henry De Berniere, 10th Foot: Narrative, published as
Narrative of Occurrences,
(Boston, 1779), rpt
MHSC2,
4 (1816): 204-15;
idem, General Gage’s Instructions
(Boston, 1779), a very full account of the reconnaissance missions and the Concord expedition.

Major Robert Donkin:
Military Collections and Remarks
(New York, 1777).

Capt. W. Glanville Evelyn, 4th Foot: Letter, April 23, 1775, published in
Memoir and Letters of Captain W. Glanville Evelyn, of the 4th Regiment (“King’s Own”) from North America, 1774—1776,
ed. G.D. Scull (Oxford, 1879), 53-55; valuable for the life of a junior officer in Boston.

Lt. Edward Thoroton Gould, 4th (King’s Own) Foot: Deposition after capture, April 25, 1775, published in
AA4,
II, 500-501.

Vice Admiral Samuel Graves, Royal Navy, commanding at Boston: “The Conduct of Vice Admiral Samuel Graves in North America in 1774, 1775 and January 1776,” a defense of his acts, with copious extracts from his papers by his flag secretary, George Gefferina, dated Dec. 11, 1776, and signed Dec. 1, 1777; two ms. vols., British Library, add. m. 14038-39; transcripts in MHS; published in part in
NDAR,
1, 193, 206; his official correspondence is in the Public Record office, ADM 1/485.

Frederick Haldimand: Papers, British Library, add. ms., 21665-97; Gage’s second in command, an exceptionally full and revealing correspondence, Haldimand writing in French, Gage in English. See also Allen French, “General Haldimand in Boston,”
MHSP
66 (1942): 91.

Capt. George Harris, 5th Foot: Stephen R. Lushington,
The Life and Services of General Lord Harris, GCB
(London, 1840), colorful details.

John Howe, alleged British spy: Journal, published as
The Journal Kept by John Howe, as a British Spy
(Concord, N.H., 1827). The authenticity of this source is very doubtful. No use of it has been made in this inquiry.

Ens. Martin Hunter, 52d Foot:
The Journal of General Sir Martin Hunter
(Edinburgh, 1894), vignettes.

Lt. Edward Hull, 43rd Foot: Narrative,
MHSP
16 (1878): 155-58.

Lt.-Col. Stephen Kemble: Deputy Adjutant General to Gage, Journals, published in
The Kemble Papers,
N-YHS
Collections for the Year 1883
(New York, 1884), offers many insights into the operation of Gage’s staff.

Capt. Walter S. Laurie, 43rd Foot: Letter to Gage, April 26, 1775, published in
General Gage’s Informers
(Ann Arbor, 1932), 95-98; another letter, dated April 21, in
Manuscripts of the Earl of Dartmouth,
III,
American Papers
(London, 1887-96), 292; Historical Manuscripts Commission, Fourteenth Report, Appendix, part 10; a letter about his living arrangements in Boston is in the Copley-Pelham Papers, PRO.

George Leonard: Loyalist volunteer with Percy’s brigade: Deposition, May 4, 1775,
General Gage’s Informers,
57.

William Lewis: see Gordon.

Ens. Jeremy Lister, 10th Foot: Narrative, 1782, published as
Concord Fight,
ed. Harold Murdock (Cambridge, 1931), rpt. Spartanburg, S.C, 1969; rpt. in
The Nineteenth of April, 1775,
ed. Clement Sawtell (Lincoln, Mass., 1968), a major narrative of the expedition by an officer in the lead company. His account of the battles of Lexington and Concord and other letters are in the Lister Family Papers, Shibden Hall Folk Museum of West Yorkshire, Halifax.