Capitol Mega Rally, Saturday High Noon!
Capitol Mega Rally, Saturday High Noon!
“Stand your ground; don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.”
In the pre-dawn hours of April 19, 1775, a large intimidating contingent of British soldiers advanced upon the village green of Lexington, Massachusetts. Their mission: to seize and destroy military supplies held by the colonial militia in nearby Concord.
What they did not suspect, however, was the accuracy of intelligence that had been gathered by the unassuming patriots, a small group of whom were waiting in a local pub for news of their arrival. Various accounts of what exactly transpired at dawn may differ, but nearly every American remembers the meaning of the “shot heard ’round the world” and the ensuing Battles of Lexington and Concord that led to the Revolutionary War and the founding of a new society, a new people, and a new government free from tyranny.
One memorable quote has been inscribed on a stone marker in the Lexington Common, attributed to Captain John Parker, leader of those 77 Lexington minutemen: “Stand your ground; don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.”