Diary of John Barker- Excerpt

(Diary account of the march to Lexington and Concord) 

19th. At 2 o’clock we began our march by wading through a very long ford up to our middles. After going a few miles we took three of four people who were going off to give intelligence. About 5 miles on this side of a town called Lexington, which lay in our road, we heard there were some hundreds of people collected together intending to oppose us. At 5 o’clock we arrived there and saw a number of people, I believe between 200 and 300, formed in a common in the middle of the town. We still continued advancing, keeping prepared against an attack though without intending to attack them. But on our coming near them they fired one or two shots, upon which our men without any orders, rushed in upon them, fired and put them to flight; several of them were killed…

(Diary account of the return to Boston)

We set out upon our return; we were fired on from Houses and behind Trees, and before we had gone ó a mile we were fired on from all sides, but mostly from the Rear, where People had hid themselves in houses ‘till we had passed and then fired; the Country was an amazing strong one, full of Hills, Woods, stone Walls, &c. which the Rebels did not fail to take advantage of, for they were all lined with People who kept an incessant fire upon us, as we did too upon them but not with the same advantage, for they were so concealed there was hardly any seeing them: in this way we marched between 9 and 10 miles, their numbers increasing from all parts, while ours was reducing by deaths, wounds and fatigue, and we were totally surrounded with such an incessant fire as it’s impossible to conceive, our ammunition was likewise near expended.