led two men dead on the fpot, and wounded feveral THADDEUS BANCROFT, Worcester, April 26, 1775: "Hannah Bradifh, of that part of Cambridge, called Menotomy, and daughter of Timothy Paine, of Worcester, in the county of Worcester, Elq; of lawful age, teftifies and fays, That about five o'clock on Wednesday laft, afternoon, being in her bed chamber, with her infant child, about eight days old, fhe was furprised by the firing of the King's troops and our people, on their return from Concord, She being weak and unable to go out of her house, in order to fecure herself and family, they all retired into the kitchen, in the back part of the house. She foon found the house surrounded with the King's troops; that upon obfervation made, at least feventy bullets were fhot into the front part of the house; feveral bullets lodged in the kitchen where she was, and one paffed through an eafy chair she had just gone from. The door of the front part of the house was broke open; she did not fee foldiers in the houfe, but fuppofed, by the noise, they were in the front. After the troops had gone off, the miffed the following things, which, the verily believes, were taken out of the houfe by the King's troops, viz. one rich brocade gown, called a negligee, one luteftring gown, one white quilt, one pair of brocade fhoes, three thifts, any F 2 eight eight white aprons, three caps, one cafe of ivory knives and forks, and feveral other fmall articles. HANNAH BRADISH." Province of the Massachusett's-Bay,} Worcester, f. April 26, 1775 "Mrs. Hannah Bradish, the above deponent maketh oath before us, the fubfcribers, two of his Majefty's Juftices of the Peace for the county of Worçefter, and of the quorum, that the above depofition, acording to her beft recollection, is the truth. Which depofition is taken in perpetuam rei memoriam. THOMAS STEEL, Concord, April 23, 1775. " I James Marr, of lawful age, teftify and say, that in the evening of the eighteenth inftant, I received orders from George Hutchinfon, Adjutant of the fourth regiment of the regular troops ftationed at Boston, to prepare and march: To which order I attended, and marched to Concord, where I was ordered by an officer with about one hundred men, to guard a certain bridge there; while attending that fervice, a number of people came along, in order, I fuppofe, to crofs faid bridge, at which time a number of the regular troops firft fired upon them. JAMES MARR." * Medford, April 25, 1775 "I Edward Thoroton Gould, of his Majefty's own regiment of foot, being of lawful age, do teftify and declare, that on the evening of the eighteenth inftant, under the orders of General Gage, I embarked with the light infantry and grenadiers of the line, commanded by Col. Smith, and landed on the marshes of Cambridge, from whence we proceeded proceeded to Lexington; on our arrival at that place, we faw a body of provincial troops armed, to the number of about fixty or feventy men; on our approach,. they difperfed, and foon after firing began, but which party fired firft I cannot exactly fay, as our troops rufhed on fhouting and hazzaing, previous to the firing, which was continued by our troops fo long as any of the provincials were to be feen. From thence we marched to Concord, on a hill near the entrance of the town, we faw another body of provincials affembled, the light infantry companies were ordered up the hill to difperfethem; on our approach they retreated towards Concord the grenadiers continued the road under the hill towards the town. Six companies of light infantry were ordered down to take poffeffion of the bridge which the provincials retreated over; the company I commanded was one, three companies of the above detachment went forward about two miles; in the mean time the provincial troops returned, to the number of about three or four hundred : We drew up on the Concord fide of the bridge, the provincials came down upon us, upon which we engaged, and gave the first fire; this was the firft engagement after the one at Lexington; a continued firing from both parties lafted through the whole day; I myself was wounded at the attack of the bridge, and am now treated with the greatest humanity, and taken all poffible care of by the provincials at Medford. EDWARD THOROTON GOULD." Lieut. King's own Regiment. Province of Maffachufett's-Bay Middlefex County, April 25, 1775.. "Lieut. Thoroton Gould, aforenamed, perfon-, ally ally made oath to the truth of the foregoing declaration by him fubscribed, before us, THAD. MASON, JOSIAH JOHNSON, SIMON TUFTS, Juftices of the peace, for the county aforesaid, Quorum unus. Province of Maffachufett's-Bay, Charlestown, ff. "I Nathaniel Gorham, Notary and Tabellion Public, by lawful authority, duly admitted and fworn, hereby certify, to all whom it doth or may concern, That Thadeus Maffon, Jofiah Johnson, and Simon Tufts, Efqrs. are three of his Majefty's Juftices of the peace (Quorum unus) for the county of Middlesex; and that full faith and credit is, and ought to be given to their transactions as fuch, both in court and out. In witnefs whereof, I have hereunto affixed my name and feal, this twenty-fixth day of April, Anno Domini, one thousand feven hundred and feventy-five. NATHANIEL GORHAM, Notary Public." (L. S.) (All the above depofitions are fworn to before Jufices of the Peace, and duly attested by Notaries Public, in manner of the last one.) In Provincial Congress, Watertown, April 26, 1775. To the Inhabitants of Great-Britain. "Friends and Fellow Subjects, "Hoftilities are at length commenced in this Colony by the troops under the command of Gen. Gage, and it being of the greatest importance, that an early, true, and authentic account of this inhuman proceeding fhould be known to you, the Congrefs of this colony have tranfmitted the fame, and from want of a feffion of the honourable Continental Congress, think it proper to address you on the alarmning occafion. By "By the cleareft depofitions relative to this transaction, it will appear that, on the night preceding the nineteenth of April inftant, a body of the King's troops, under the command of Colonel Smith, were fecretly landed at Cambridge, with an apparent defign to take or deftroy the military and other ftores provided for the defence of this colony, and depofited at Concord. That fome inhabitants of the colony, on the night aforesaid, whilft travelling peaceably on the road between Bofton and Concord, were feized and greatly abused by armed men, who appeared to be officers of Gen. Gage's army; that the town of Lexington by thefe means was alarmed, and a company of the inhabitants mustered on the occafion.-That the regular troops, on their way to Concord, marched into the faid town of Lexington, and the faid company on their approach began to difperfe. That notwithstanding this, the regulars rushed on with great violence, and firft began hoftilities, by firing on faid Lexington company, whereby they killed eight, and wounded feveral others.-That the regulars continued their fire until thofe of faid company, who were neither killed nor wounded, had made their escape.-That Col. Smith with the detachment then marched to Concord, where a number of provincials were again fired on by the troops, two of them killed and feveral wounded, before the provincials fired on them, and that these hoftile meafures of the troops produced an engagement that lafted through the day, in which many of the provincials, and more of the regular troops were killed and wounded. "To give a particular account of the ravages of the troops, as they retreated from Concord to Charlestown, would be very difficult, if not impracticable ; |