habitants mustered on the occasion; that the regular troops, on
their way to Concord, marched into the said town of Lexington,
and the said company on their approach began to disperse; that
notwithstanding this, the regulars rushed on with great violence,
and first began hostilities, by firing on said Lexington company,
whereby they killed eight, and wounded several others; that the
regulars continued their fire until those of said company, who
were neither killed nor wounded, had made their escape; that
Colonel Smith, with the detachment, then marched to Concord,
where a number of provincials were again fired on by the troops,
two of them killed and several wounded, before the provincials
fired on them; and that these hostile measures of the troops
produced an engagement that lasted through the day, in which many
of the provincials and more of the regular troops were killed and
wounded.

"To give a particular account of the ravages of the troops, as
they retreated from Concord to Charlestown, would be very
difficult, if not impracticable. Let it suffice to say, that a
great number of the houses on the road were plundered, and
rendered unfit for use; several were burnt; women in childbed
were driven, by the soldiery, naked into the streets; old men
peaceably in their houses were shot dead; and such scenes
exhibited as would disgrace the annals of the most uncivilized
nations.

"These, brethren, are marks of ministerial vengeance against this
colony, for refusing, with her sister-colonies, a submission to
slavery; but they have not yet detached us from our royal
sovereign. We profess to be his loyal and dutiful subjects, and
so hardly dealt with as we have been, are still ready, with our
lives and fortunes, to defend his person, family, crown, and
dignity. Nevertheless, to the persecution and tyranny of his
cruel ministry we will not tamely submit: appealing to Heaven for
the justice of our cause, we determine to die or be free.

"We can not think that the honor, wisdom, and valor of Britons
will suffer them to be long inactive spectators of measures in
which they themselves are so deeply interested--measures pursued
in opposition to the solemn protests of many noble lords, and
expressed sense of conspicuous commoners, whose knowledge a