The column was led by Major John Buttrick, marching from his own farm. His aide was Lt. Colonel John Robinson of Westford. The minutemen of Acton, Concord, Lincoln and Bedford followed, after them came the militia. At the British volley, Isaac Davis fell. Buttrick cried, 'Fire, fellow-soldiers, for God's sake Fire!' and himself fired first. The British fled; and here began the separation of two kindred nations, now happily long united in peace."]
[Illustration: THE "MINUTEMAN" IN A SPRINGTIME SETTING]
--Copyright notice provided as in the original--this e-text is public domain in the country of publication.
--Silently corrected palpable typos; left non-standard spellings and dialect unchanged.
--Moved some captions closer to the corresponding pictures.
--In the text versions, delimited italicized text by _underscores_.
End of Project Gutenberg's Lexington and Concord, by Samuel V. Chamberlain