Boston. As a measure of further insurance,
Smith’s second in command was Maj. John
Pitcairn, a steely veteran known for coolness
under fire.
Smith began assembling the men on
Boston Common that evening. After a short
march to the beach, they were rowed by boat
to Lechmere Point, a mile and a half away.
The soldiers then waded ashore and waited
several hours for provisions and ammunition
to arrive, soaking wet and shivering cold. It
was nearly 2:00 A.M. before Smith arrayed his
column in marching order, then forded a deep
stream to avoid the noise created by crossing
a plank bridge. All during the march, the
countryside was alive with the peal of church-
bells and booming signal cannons—signs that
the colonials knew what was afoot. Smith,
now convinced that the element of surprise
had been lost, sent a messenger back to Gage
requesting reinforcements. Toward dawn,
Smith dispatched Pitcairn and six light com-
panies ahead of the main force to seize the
bridges at Concord and hold them. En route,
the British encountered a company of militia
at Lexington Green, where firing ensued and
the Americans were dispersed. Once Smith fi-
nally caught up with Pitcairn, both men then
pushed forward into Concord. Their objective
was seized, some supplies were captured and
burned without incident, and Smith granted
his exhausted troops one hour’s repose be-
fore marching back. It was now about noon.
Shortly before departing, a light company
under Capt. Lawrence Parsons exchanged
shots with a militia force at North Bridge and
several lives were lost. A minor exchange, but
a precursor of what would follow. Smith’s col-
umn then marched over the bridge in good
order until they reached Meriam’s Corner.
There they encountered hundreds of colonial
militia, flanking the road and hiding behind
trees, who commenced a desultory fire upon
the closely packed British ranks. Taking seri-
ous losses, Smith deployed his light troops to
scour the road in advance as the scarlet mass
threaded its way through a gauntlet of gunfire.
Shooting continued as they approached Fiske
Hill, where Pitcairn’s horse bolted from under
him, and Smith was wounded in the leg. Order
started disintegrating under the relentless on-
slaught, and the British began breaking ranks
and running toward Lexington to escape their
antagonists. Disaster seemed imminent save
for the timely arrival of a relief column
headed by Col. Hugh Percy. That officer col-
lected the exhausted remnants of Smith’s
force and allowed them to rest while fresh
troops held the rebels at bay. More fighting
ensued as the column drew closer to Boston,
but at length the last British soldier trudged
into Charlestown at nightfall. It had been a
momentous day for the British Empire, its im-
port underscored with the blood of its sol-
diers. No less than 73 were killed and 250
wounded; American losses were approxi-
mately half that. After two decades of impe-
rial friction between England and its colonies,
the American Revolution began at Concord
with the shot heard ’round the world. Smith’s
clumsy handling of a preemptive surgical
strike had precipitated a war.
Despite the near disaster, brought about
largely by Smith’s inability to anticipate a rap-
idly changing situation, Gage praised him in
his official dispatches and tendered him the
local rank of brigadier general. He also be-
came a full colonel and aide-de-camp to the
king, a ceremonial distinction. Smith’s
wounds precluded his participation in the
even more disastrous Battle of Bunker Hill on
June 17, 1775, but he was back on his feet
within a few months. The recent experience
of combat apparently did little to shake off his
reputation for lethargy, for during the siege of
Boston, when soldiers pointed out the Ameri-
can occupation of Dorchester Heights, he
failed to report it to superiors. Smith then ac-
companied Gen. William Howeon the army’s
exodus to Halifax, where he assumed com-
mand of a brigade. During the August 1776
campaign against Gen. George Washington on
Long Island, Smith was committed to battle,
but his slovenly performance helped theSMITH, FRANCIS