On my recent visit to my daughter in Rhode Island, Julie wanted to know what activity might interest me on my birthday, it being Saturday.

Since my birthday is the same day as George Washington’s, Feb. 22, and I’m a patriotic soul, it only seemed fitting to visit Lexington and Concord in nearby Massachusetts, where the American Revolution began.

By 1775, tensions between the colonies and Great Britain had escalated to the point the alarmed British government ordered Gen. Thomas Gage, British governor of Boston at the time, to march on the two towns and seize all the arms and powder reportedly stored there by the Americans. They were also to capture Samuel Adams and John Hancock, known to be hiding at Lexington.

The colonies had already formed behind-the-scenes government of their own, dissatisfied with the high-handed, arrogant treatmment at the hands of the British. Adams and Hancock were known to be influential leaders in that subversive government. Accordingly, Gage’s troops left Boston on April 18 at 2 a.m.

The patriots of Boston knew full well British military intervention would eventually become unavoidable and, guessing their intentions, planned to prevent the British from achieving their goals by surprise. Two routes were available for the British to move a force out of the city. Boston Neck by land or by crossing the Charles River by boats. As you should know, their route would be signaled by lanterns hung in Boston’s Old North Church, the highest vantage point in the city. One lantern signaled their route would be Boston Neck, two lanterns the Charles River.

Two lanterns shone out and the alarm was given.

To make sure the American Minutemen would have ample warning that the British were advancing, two patriots volunteered to spread the alarm, William Dawes and Paul Revere. Taking separate routes in case one were captured, Dawes left by Boston Neck and Revere crossed the Charles by boat.

Revere arrived at Lexington just before Dawes and warned Hancock and Adams. However, on the way they met up with Samuel Prescott, who joined them. Soon after a British patrol captured Revere and subjected him to some rough questioning for an hour or two. When the patrol heard firing as their force approached Lexington, they released Revere and returned to the main body.

In his haste, Dawes unfortunately was thrown from his horse and forced to walk back to Lexington. However, the hand of God was not to be thwarted — Revere was detained, Dawes was on foot, but Prescott continued on to Concord spreading the alarm along his route.

At 5 a.m., 700 British troops under Maj. John Pitcairn arrived at Lexington to find Capt. John Parker and 77 colonials waiting for them on Lexington’s common green. With the Minutemen outnumbered about 9 to 1, Pitcairn ordered them to disperse. Slowly they began to do so when a shot rang out — “the shot heard ‘round the world.”

The American Revolution had begun. The British returned fire, inflicting several deaths. This news spread like wildfire and further inflamed the colonists. The main road connecting Lexington, Lincoln and Concord is now known as Battle Road. Failing to capture Adams or Hancock or the munition stores, the British began retreating down Battle Road toward Boston. They soon found themselves under constant attack from groups of Minutemen on the low hills bordering the road and sniping from walls, trees and thickets. Throwing out flankers to clear the road edges helped, but the British “lobsterbacks” had to cross two bridges, where they could only advance three abreast. Again, constant harassment and sniping gradually wore the British down. As noon approached, they’d been up since 2 a.m., they were exhausted and out of ammunition.

With thousands of Minutemen lining their route and most British officers wounded, true disaster was only avoided by the arrival of Earl Percy with a full brigade of 1,000 men and two cannons. Earl Percy later wrote how concerning the American tactics were, how difficult to combat, noting that many American officers had served in the Indian wars and knew their business. The British lost 73 killed, 174 wounded and 49 missing.

When we arrived at Lexington it was a clear, bright, brisk, beautiful winter day. As we stood on Lexington Green where that first shot was fired, I could feel the significance, the solemnity of that early morning so long ago.

Here began the revolution that would not only bring about our own independence but help shape the future of the world to come. Here began the first colonial defeat the mighty British Empire would taste, but our nation would later help defend free Europe from the German Keiser in World War I and help defeat the Nazis and turn back the threat in the Pacific from the Japanese in World War II. Our efforts set in place foundations of democracy in other parts of the world.

As we walked the trail, read the plaques on monuments, examined the terrain the road traverses and crossed those narrow bridges the British were forced to use, it was easy to see how the Minutemen were able to ambush and harass the retreating Redcoats.

Here, on this road, my right to hunt and fish, own firearms and vote was born. I stopped and stood silently, so thankful for the bravery of our forefathers, and, yes, I am so very proud of them.

Wade Robertson