He was wakened around 1am on the morning of April 19, 1775 with news of British scouts in the area. John Parker had gone to bed early that night probably already suffering from symptoms of the tuberculosis that would kill him in September. There had been rumors the British would make an expedition into the countryside outside of Boston so the news was not a surprise.
Parker was 45 years old, married to Lydia Moore, with whom he had seven children from age 18 to 4. The Parker family had lived in Lexington since the 17th century and John had served in the French & Indian War (1). With his family background and military experience, he'd been elected as captain of the town's militia.
The 77 men of the Lexington militia mustered on the town green before dawn, formed into two lines. As dawn broke the 700 soldier British detachment approached. At the same time, two men crossed through the Lexington line, carrying a large chest. It was Paul Revere and an assistant with a chest containing important papers left behind by John Hancock in a house next to the town green. What happened next and who fired the first shot remains unknown, but the British initiated the first volley fire which shredded the Lexington ranks and Redcoats then advanced. Eight militia were killed and ten wounded. In a deposition given on April 25, Captain Parker wrote:
No 4. Lexington April 25th, 1775
I John Parker, of lawful Age, and Commander of the Militia in Lexington, do testify & declare that on the 19th Instant, in the morning, about one of the Clock, being informed that there were a Number of Regular Officers riding up and down the Road, Stopping and insulting People as they passed the Road, and also was informed that a Number of Regular Troops were on their March from Boston, in order to take the Province Stores at Concord, ordered our Militia to meet on the Common in said Lexington, to consult what to do, and concluded not to be discovered nor meddle or make with said Regular Troops (if they should approach) unless they should insult or molest us – and upon their sudden Approach I immediately ordered our Militia to disperse and not to fire – Immediately said Troops made their Appearance and rushed furiously, fired up-on and killed eight of our Party, without receiving any Provocation therefor from us.
The British marched on to Concord but Parker and the militia were not done. At North Bridge, the Massachusetts men from several towns attacked and routed the British, who began an increasingly panicked retreat along the same road they'd taken early in the morning. As news filtered back to Lexington, Parker mustered his men once again, determined to confront the British. According to the recollections of Nathan Munroe of the militia:
"About the middle of the forenoon Captain Parker having collected part of his company, I being with them, determined to meet the regulars on their retreat from Concord. We met the regulars in the bounds of Lincoln. We fired on them and continued so to do until they met their reinforcement in Lexington.”
The exact location of Parker's encounter, referred to as "Parker's Revenge" has been the source of dispute for many years but excavations in recent years have identified the precise spot. The Lexington militia's initial volley inflicted several casualties on the British column and then continued to cause more damage as they followed the retreating British towards the Lexington green. The National Park Service describes the search for Parker's Revenge here, noting of the militia tactics:
Having left Lexington center before noon, Captain Parker and his militiamen had time to think about how to use the landscape to their advantage. Perhaps still questioning the decision to make a stand on the town green, Captain Parker was not going to be careless with the lives of his neighbors, relatives and friends. If the stand on the Green was meant as a show of resolve more than an invitation to battle, the fight on the town border in the afternoon was the real thing.
For more on Parker and his actions that day:
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(1) There is some uncertainty over Parker's prior military experience, though all the secondary sources claim he served in the French & Indian War, including some stating he was at the Siege of Louisbourg in 1758 and at the Battle of Quebec on the Plains of Abraham the following year. My research was unable to confirm Parker's presence at either event. In what capacity he served during the war I could not ascertain.
