April 19s - Two Rebellions

 

April 18-19, 1775 

Paul Revere had helped mount the lantern in the old North Church tower. He hadn't seen it from across the river it as the Longfellow poem says, but he did ride out to notify the farmers and shopkeepers in the Lexington/Concord area that General Gage was sending his troops to search for stolen cannons. 

William Dawes also rode through the countryside, but never appeared in a poem. I suspect they did not scream, "The British are coming," but knocked on doors and those occupants rounded up their friends and headed to the old North Bridge.

The Redcoats slogged their way  through the 13 miles between Boston and Concord, some of it through a swamp. Their uniforms were muddy not pristine and their feet must have been wet.

The locals were ready for them. They were fed up with the government's taxes and tariffs be it on tea, stamps or anything else London imposed.

No one knows who fired the first shot. It doesn't really matter. It started a revolution the effects of which are still felt today by the way governments around the world. Powerful kings ruling on whim are in short supply, a good thing.

The initial Minutemen, locals who formed a militia and named because they could be ready in a minute, were about 400 in number against 100 Redcoats. Reinforcements from surrounding towns, villages and Boston joined both sides during the day. 

My ancestor John Sargent was one of the revolutionary soldiers. That's all I know about him. I wish I could talk to him and learn about his life. My three main questions would include what made him finally pick up his musket, what did he think of how America evolved and would he demonstrate against Trump, Musk and today's government.

April 19, 2025

A second demonstration against the government is planned for April 19, 2075. The first April 5th had according to most estimates over a million people, so many times more than the almost 200,000 people living in the colonies in 1775. No muskets this time. No AR-15s. just signs and angry people. 

Angry at how the government was taking away their rights, making life more difficult for them, hurting their pocketbooks, destroying programs that support parts of life that make life better for all such as science research and libraries. 

I don't know what King George III's reaction was when he heard about the rebellion many months later. News was by ship not internet. I know Trump played golf, his version maybe of Nero's fiddling while Rome burned.

If you marched April 5, please come out again. One demonstration won't solve the problems. If you didn't demonstrate April 5, please do on April 19.

S A V E   A M E R I C A 

Note: Minuteman National Park has had a year of programs to commemorate the 250 anniversary of the battles of Concord and Lexington. An reenactment will be held April 19 at Minuteman National Park. Continue what the forefathers started, rebel for freedom and rights.