Some were for making a stand notwithstanding the superiority of their numbers, but others more prudent 15 thought best to retreat till our strength should be equal to the enemy by recruits from neighboring towns who were continually coming in to our assistance. Accordingly we retreated over the bridge; when the troops came into the town, set fire to several carriages for the artillery, destroyed 20 sixty barrels of flour, rifled several houses, took possession of the Town House, destroyed five hundred pounds of ball, set a guard of a hundred men at the North Bridge, and sent up a party to the house of Colonel Barrett, where they were in expectation of finding a quantity of warlike 25 stores; but these were happily secured just before their arrival by transfer into the woods and other by-places. In the meantime, the guard set by the enemy to secure the pass at the North Bridge were alarmed by the approach of our people, who had retreated, as mentioned before, 30 and were now advancing with special orders not to fire upon the troops unless fired upon.
These orders were so punctually observed that we received the fire of the enemy in three several and separate discharges of their pieces before it was returned by our commanding officer. The firing then soon became general for several minutes, in which skirmish two were killed on 5 each side and several of the enemy wounded. It may here be observed, by the way, that we were the more careful to prevent beginning a rupture with the King's troops as we were then uncertain what had happened at Lexington and knew not that they had begun the quarrel there by 10 first firing upon our party and killing eight men upon the spot. The British troops soon quitted their post at the bridge and retreated in great disorder and confusion to the main body, who were soon upon the march to meet them. For half an hour the enemy, by their marches and countermarches, 15 discovered great fickleness and inconstancy of mind, sometimes advancing, sometimes returning to their former posts, till at length they quitted the town and retreated by the way they came. In the meantime a party of our men (one hundred and fifty) took the back way through 20 the great fields into the East Quarter and had placed themselves to advantage, lying in ambush behind walls, fences, and buildings, ready to fire upon the enemy on their retreat.