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CT•Ranger
Recruit
USA
Status: offline |
 Posted - July 22 2003 : 6:30:27 PM
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"I saw, and heard, a gun fired, which appeared to be a pistol. Then I could distinguish two guns, and then a continual roar of musketry." -Paul Revere, Deposition, 1775
"a few guns which we took to be pistols, from some of the Regulars mounted on horses."
"the second of these Officers fired a pistol towards the militia as they were dispersing." -Jonas Clarke, Lexington Minister
"Which party fired first I cannot exactly say, as our troops rushed on shouting and huzzaing." -Lieutenant Edward Gould, King's Own Lights
"Some of the villians were got over the hedge, fired at us, and it was then and not before that the soldiers fired." - Lietenant Sutherland, 38th Foot
"some of the Rebels who had jumped over the wall, fired 4 or 5 shott at the soldiers...upon this, without any order or regularity, the Light Infantry began a scattered fire." Major Pitcairn, Royal Marines
In his excellent book on the Battle of Lexington and Concord titled "Paul Revere's Ride," historian David Hackett Fischer proposes a theory where several shots were fired nearly simultaneously by a British officer on horseback and a militiaman/men near Buckman's Tavern. Few were able to see the entire field, and most men were watching only their opponents and would not have seen a shot from their own side. Nearly everyone agreed, the first shot did NOT come from Parker's militiamen on the common, nor the Light Infantry rank and file before them.
Personally I think a British officer riding on horseback with his finger foolishly on the trigger was the most likely cause of the incident. It was not unknown in the 18th century for British military arms to have very light trigger pulls, making an accidental discharge quite possible. |
YMHS,
CT•Ranger
Israel Putnam's Co. of Connecticut Rangers |
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Who Fired First? 
