t of the red-coats, under Lord Percy, coming
along the Roxbury road, and we had to hold off awhile. You ought to have
seen those royals, how they lay stretched on the ground, with their
tongues hanging out of their mouths. I got on the top of a stone barn,
and saw Percy's men form a hollow square about Smith's troops, in order
to protect them while they got a little breath. But they could not halt
long. The woods were swarming with minute-men; and, if they waited,
their retreat would have been cut off. Well, they started again, and our
men followed as before, picking off men from the flanks and rear. At
West Cambridge, we met Dr. Warren with a party of our men, and attacked
the enemy boldly. But their bayonets kept us off, and we only roused 'em
so much that they plundered and burnt some houses along the road, and
butchered some women and children. Well, after a hard struggle, the
enemy reached Charlestown, and then General Heath called us from the
pursuit."

"I've read," remarked Mr. Hand, "that the British loss during that day
was nearly three hundred--that is, including wounded and prisoners."

"It amounted to that, at least," replied Kinnison; "and our loss was
less than one hundred men. I think the royals got a taste of our spirit
that day."

"Here's a man can tell you something about the retreat of the enemy,"
said Pitts, pointing to one of the old men, named Jonas Davenport.

"Yes," said Jonas; "I know a little about it. I lived near Lexington. My
house stood on the road. I joined the minute-men when I heard of the
comin' of the British troops, and left my wife and two children home,
under the care of my father, then about sixty. I told 'em to keep as
quiet as possible and they would be safe. Well, as I said, I joined the
minute-men, and, when the rascals retreated from Concord, followed and
did some execution with my firelock. But one of 'em shot me in the
shoulder, and I couldn't point my gun any more. I waited till the enemy
had got a considerable distance on the road towards Boston, and then
managed to reach my house--but such a house as I found it! The windows
were broken in, the doors torn off their hinges, and the furniture
broken and thrown about in heaps. I called for my father and wife, but
received no reply. I crawled up stairs, for I was nearly exhausted from
loss of blood, and there I found my father and oldest child stretched on
the floor dead. The old man had his gun still clenched in his hand,