Shot Heard Round the World

Last month during Patriots Day weekend, I was able to see more reenactments of the Revolutionary war. Hooray! April 19th found me in Concord at the Old North Bridge. I already blogged about the history last time I was there, so I'll just describe a few things. The event was carried out in real time, as it happened in 1775, so my friends and I were up bright and early that morning. When we arrived, there was a colonist regiment preparing in the parking lot. It is quite a process to load their muskets (which were inspected to make sure no one was actually using a ball). At sunrise, there was a musket and cannon salute while a rider came through shouting that the Regulars were out (not "the British are coming," because everyone was British then). Two buglers played taps, echoing eachother from opposite sides of the river. The first time the cannons fired, it startled me so, even though I was a football field away. I jumped every time... I could feel it in my core, shaking my entire being. It didn't get any better until we were close enough to see them. I got a little taste of what it would be like to live during a time of war, being in constant fear and noise. It made me so grateful for those who have fought and died to make this country great. Though I don't know that I will never live through a war, I am also grateful that I haven't had to yet. The reenactment followed at 8:30 a.m. with the colonist militia chasing away the Queen's soldiers. As a side note... the British uniforms were red with a trim showing what company they were in. The musicians uniforms were opposite, like in the first picture, yellow with red trim, so they stood out and weren't fired upon. The musicians were essential to give commands, as the soldiers couldn't always hear the officers shouting.

Christina, Me, Rachel & Denise with a Redcoat

Later that afternoon, we assembled near the Hartwell Tavern at a place on the Battle Road back to Boston called the Bloody Angle. Here, at a bend in the road the retreating British were surrounded on three sides by colonists hiding behind walls, trees, fences and eight soldiers died. This may seem like a very small number, but only one in a hundred shots actually hit somebody. The muskets used were all different sizes, so the ammunition supplied was the smallest possible to fit all of them. However, if the ball was too small, it would bounce around the barrel and ricochet out in an unpredictable direction. It wasn't until later rifle technology that made shooting much more accurate. We met a family that had all come from New York to participate in the reenactment. I think that it would definitely be a fun family vacation in the future.