Disperse You Rebels; Damn You!
On this day in 1775, 75 Lexington militiamen faced a composite force of 900 British “regulars” and fired what has come to be known as the “shot heard ’round the world.”
Following the first shots, messengers called for neighboring militias to come out, and within hours over 4,000 minutemen responded from as far away as Salem and Marblehead and inflicted heavy casualties on the “lobsterbacks” as they retreated towards Boston.
At the end of the “Battle Road”, the regulars sustained 273 casualties (73 killed; 174 wounded; 26 missing), the various militias suffered 93 casualties (49 killed; 39 wounded; 5 missing), and the British commander, Thomas Gage, awoke to find Boston beseiged by a volunteer army that would in a few days number over 8,000.
Oh, and it’s worth noting this year, that the militiamen brought their own guns.
Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, third world county, The Random Yak, Faultline USA, stikNstein… has no mercy, Adam’s Blog, basil’s blog, Blue Star Chronicles, The Pink Flamingo, Planck’s Constant, Cao’s Blog, The Amboy Times, Conservative Cat, Conservative Thoughts, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
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Bio: I am currently a Professor of Security Studies, hold a BS in Management and an MA in National Security Studies, and am pursuing an MA in Systematic and Philosophical Theology. I've written for Navy Times, Proceedings, Armed Forces Journal and a number of blogs. As a 24-year veteran of the U.S. Navy and Navy Reserve, I attained the rank of Commander, deployed five times for four different conflicts and served as a Foreign Area Officer and a Surface Warfare Officer. During my 7 years in the private sector, I worked in the fields of information technology and publishing, and even ran for public office once.
