The Minute Man statue stands at the site of the Old Belfry in Lexington from which the alarm was rung April 19, 1775, to warn the colonists “The British are coming!” Linda and I drove quickly from Walden Pond to the Concord Square to meet the Liberty Ride trolley, the most efficient way to get a full understanding of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The 90- minute tour left from the Colonial Inn, where we were staying in Concord, and made 13 stops where we could get off, visit sites, and reboard free all day for only $25 per person. A real deal!

The story is a familiar one. The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, were the first military engagements of the American Revolution, marking the outbreak of armed conflict between Great Britain and its 13 colonies in North America.

About 700 British Army regulars were given secret orders to destroy military supplies stored by the revolutionary Massachusetts militia at Concord. Patriots had received intelligence on the Redcoat movement, had transferred most of their supplies to other locations, and had notified their armed forces, the Minutemen, of the enemy movement.

This painting, The Battle Road, at the Lexington Visitors Center is part of the diorama of the Battle of Lexington. The Redcoats proceeded on to Concord where they searched for the supplies. The first shots were fired at sunrise and described later by Ralph Waldo Emerson in his “Concord Hymn” as the “shot heard ’round the world.”

The Minutemen were outnumbered and fell back to gather forces. At the North Bridge in Concord, 500 Minutemen fought and defeated three companies of the British troops. The outnumbered British retreated to Boston.

The American Revolution that began with 1773 tea parties in Charleston and Boston, got serious when Patrick Henry shouted, “Give me Liberty, or give me Death” in 1775, turned violent at Concord. General Cornwallis surren- dered to George Washington at Yorktown after having been torn and tattered by the Gamecock (Sumter), the Swamp Fox (Marion), and the Wizard Owl (Pickens) in South Carolina. The war officially ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1783 and British troops left New York City.

The DONT TREAD ON ME flag was designed by American general and statesman Christopher Gadsden of South Carol ina. Used by the Continental Marines it was the first flag ever carried into battle during the American Revolution. Next week: Emerson’s home

In his Pennsylvania Gazette, Benjamin Franklin reminded Americans of the danger of disunity. Each segment is marked with the name of a colony. SC is the tail that wagged the snake.

Warner raises his f ist at the British at the site of the first three meeting houses in Lexington.

Linda boards the Liberty Ride trolley.