Two and a half centuries ago today, the shot heard round the world was fired on Lexington Green and Patriots launched a Revolution that would give birth to the United States of America.
By April 1775, as Donald Trump’s official message notes, “After years of intensifying frictions and escalating hostility between the British Crown and the American Colonies, all avenues to peace and diplomacy had been exhausted, and it became clear to the patriots that war was inevitable.” And on the night of April 18, 1775, Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott galloped to warn Sam Adams and other Patriot leaders, as well as volunteer militia, that the British soldiers were coming to seize them and their weapons. The next day, the militia were ready and waiting when the Redcoats arrived. The Revolution had begun.
There are many heroes of the fateful Battles of Lexington and Concord, including Dr. Joseph Warren, Peter Salem, John Buttrick, Isaac Davis, John Parker, Abner Hosmer, and Samuel Whittemore. Some of these men survived the day, others did not; some of the Patriots outlived the war, while others would go on to die in later engagements. Patriot leader Dr. Warren told his mother, “Where danger is, dear mother, there must your son be. Now is no time for any of America's children to shrink from any hazard. I will set her free or die.” Ultimately, he did both, dying at the Battle of Bunker Hill where slave-turned-minuteman Salem distinguished himself.
I would like to focus on the little-known story of one of the oldest Patriots who fought on April 19, 1775. The history account Journey with Murphy says that Whittemore was likely born in July 1696 in what was then Charlestown, Massachusetts Bay Colony. For context, he was born only a little over 70 years after the Pilgrims’ first Thanksgiving, a little over 60 years after Boston was founded, and within the same century that the first settlers arrived at Jamestown. But Whittemore lived not only to fight in the American Revolution, but also to see America gain her independence from Great Britain.
Whittemore had been in the military — on behalf of the British — in his younger days, as he served in King George’s War (1744-1748) and possibly also in the French and Indian War (1754-1763). Already by the latter war, in which a young George Washington learned to fight, Whittemore would have been in his 60s. Whether he fought in the French and Indian War or not, Whittemore was certainly a veteran long practiced in the use of weaponry (though that wasn’t unusual for the dangerous frontier).
Read Also: Lincoln’s Assassination and the Democrat War That Never Ended
In the years before the American Revolution began, Whittemore, not at all weakened, it would seem, by old age, was an active member of his local community and also an outspoken Patriot. Then the fateful 1775 day came:
In the afternoon of April 19th, the 78-year-old Whittemore was tending his fields in Menotomy when he spotted a column of British soldiers heading west[—]this was the relief force under command of Earl Percy. As the story goes, Whittemore armed up with his musket, two dueling pistols, and a sword. From behind a stone wall (the tactic of the day), Whittemore fired and killed one grenadier of the 47th Regiment of Foot, fired a second round and killed another, and mortally wounded a third before his position was overrun. Whittemore was bayoneted multiple times and even shot in the face, left in a pool of his own blood.
Remarkably, Samuel Whittemore survived this attack and lived to see America gain her independence. In fact, Whittemore lived until 1793! Today a marker stands along the side of Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington, dedicated to Samuel Whittemore.
Heroes of all ages fought, bled, and died in the American Revolution 250 years ago so that we today could enjoy freedom, equality, and prosperity.
Unlike unpatriotic leftist media, PJ Media is ready for another 250 years of American greatness! Join PJ Media VIP to support our work, and use the promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!
Join the conversation as a VIP Member