North Bridge Monument, Concord

The tension must have been palpable as the Minutemen faced off against the line of Regulars now blocking the way to Concord. “There we lay, behind the wall, about two hundred of us, with our guns cocked, expecting every minute to have the word—fire,” recalled Minuteman Amos Barrett. “. . . if we had fired, I believe we would have killed almost every officer there was in front, but we had no order to fire and they were not again fired on. They staid there about ten minutes and then marched back and we after them.” The four detached companies of Light Infantry under Capt. Parsons crossed North Bridge and rejoined their comrades. Maj. Buttrick let them pass without engaging them.