nials and advocated
harsh measures to keep
them in line. He person-
ally felt that burning sev-
eral towns “will forever
convince those foolish
bad people that England
is in earnest.” Neverthe-
less, he was personable
and quite charming in
dealing with civilians.
When quartered in the
home of Francis Shaw, an
anti-British tailor, Pit-
cairn won the respect
and affection of the en-
tire family through sin-
cerity and personal diplo-
macy. At length, he
became renowned in Bos-
ton for honesty and in-
tegrity, and he became one of few British offi-
cers to enjoy cordial relations with the public
at large.
All this changed in April 1775, when Gover-
nor Gage felt impelled to prevent the onset of
hostilities by force. He was intent upon seizing
colonial cannons and ammunition secretly
stored at Concord, about 16 miles distant,
thereby divesting the militia of heavy ord-
nance. On the evening of April 18, 1775, he dis-
patched 800 soldiers under Lt. Col. Francis
Smith to seize the rebel supplies, destroy
them, and return to Boston. Feeling that the
lethargic Smith would benefit from a well-
grounded subordinate, he ordered Pitcairn to
accompany the column. Throughout their
march, the British heard churchbells and alarm
cannons pealing in the distance, as riders like
Paul Revere alerted the countryside of their ap-
proach. It also rained all night, increasing the
soldiers’ discomfiture. Shortly before dawn, as
Smith approached Lexington, he dispatched
Pitcairn with six light companies to secure two
bridges that the main column would have to
cross. It was in the act of fulfilling these orders,
on the morning of April 19, 1775, that the
British encountered Capt. John Parker’s com-
pany of American Minute-
men assembled on Lex-
ington Green. Pitcairn
quickly deployed his men
to face them, and several
tense moments ensued.
Beforehand, the strict offi-
cer issued positive in-
structions that the sol-
diers were not to fire
under any circumstances
without orders. Several
British officers then ha-
rangued the militia and or-
dered them to disperse
and lay down their arms.
Parker’s men were in the
act of dispersing—still
armed—when a shot sud-
denly rang out of no-
where. The British sol-
diers, wet, exhausted, and now perceiving
themselves under fire, started shooting at the
Americans. It took several minutes for Pitcairn
to restore order, but irretrievable damage had
been wrought. Eight Americans lay dead, and
several more were wounded. British losses
were one wounded soldier, while Pitcairn’s
horse had been grazed by a bullet. Pausing
only long enough for Smith to arrive, both offi-
cers then pushed on to their final objective.
The column reached Concord without fur-
ther incident, destroyed some colonial sup-
plies, and promptly executed an about-face.
However, news of the “battle” at Lexington
had inflamed colonial passions, and militia-
men began lining the roadways, sniping at the
British soldiers. As Smith and Pitcairn herded
their command along, several thousand Amer-
icans showed up to take potshots at the red-
coats, inflicting serious losses. Order nearly
collapsed by the time Lexington was reached,
and only the appearance of a relief column
under Gen. Hugh Percysaved Smith from de-
struction. At this juncture Pitcairn’s horse
panicked and threw him, and he walked the
remaining distance. In this manner he lost his
brace of fine pistols—still preserved at thePITCAIRN, JOHN
John Pitcairn
Lexington Historical Society