Why April 18th is an Important Date for Those Who Love Liberty
Tonight, in Boston, back in 1775 two men will ride out into the darkness to warn the sleeping people of Massachusetts that the British were intending to march by land through Lexington and capture the military stores at the armory at Concord. John Adams and John Hancock both were wanted by the British and were hiding there.
One of those two riders is Paul Revere, a silversmith, the other is William Dawes, who would later become the father by several removes, of a future Civil War hero, Rufus Dawes who stopped the Confederates on the first day of Gettysburg, and he will produce a son, Charles Dawes, who will become Vice President of the United States.
Tomorrow early in the morning, just at dawn a regiment of several hundred British regulars will arrive at Lexington Green and challenge a handful of American militiamen standing off the road in a small formation several lines deep. They were ordinary folk like you and me, all farmers, armed with assorted fowling pieces and hunting rifles commanded by an elected Captain—Captain John Parker, a man in his mid-forties suffering from consumption—tuberculosis— a man who had seen battle in the French-Indian War, and who loved his country, and therefore he would not stand down.
With the entire British Empire behind him, with the authority of the most powerful king in the world, George III, John Pitcairn, Major Royal Marines, will shout out across the morning grass, “Throw down your arms ye villains, ye rebels.” I am sure there was condescension in his voice. Contempt for these country yokels. His was the army that had defeated France a decade before.
Parker was related to almost a third of the men standing there at Lexington. It was a small village. And he’d have none of it. I am sure in his weak voice, he may have for a moment faltered. But this is what he said, “Men, do not fire unless fired upon, But if they intend to have a war…let it begin here!”
Remember his name: John Parker. He’s our first American Hero. And he, like so many others, will not survive the war. He will perish at camp near Bunker Hill later that year, doing his duty despite his growing illness.
There were 77 farmers assembled at Lexington that day. Seventy-seven happens to be my favorite number. Those who know me, know why. And there were about 400 redcoats. Not very good odds. I am sure there was a moment of hesitate, some shuffling. Apprehensive second thoughts.
And then came a shot from who knows where.
And America was born.
When the smoke cleared 8 Americans were dead, and about an equal number were wounded. Only one Brit fell. But by the end of the day, these country yokels will gain an unexpected esteem from their British rivals. The American militiaman will swarm by the angry hundreds to attack and harass the retreating British. He will show a ferocity utterly unanticipated by the professionals of British Empire. He will fire from behind trees and walls, chase and ambush and surround. And the British will just barely make it back to Boston. It was very bad day for King George.
Tonight, the first republic to come into existence for 1700 years will be born. A republic is a nation who laws are the product of the people and not a ruling class. Today, because of that moment back in 1775, much of the planet has followed our lead and is governed as constitutional republics.
And we were first. Don’t forget it.
“One if by land, two if by sea.”
America is still here, though many have tried to alter that fact. She is the oldest republic in the history of the world. She created and is still governed by the first written Constitution in history. Tonight came the birth pangs of freedom. Tomorrow morning, America will be born at dawn in the mists of Lexington.
