Show the ipp shot eat ua d wa ald III HEN N the poet emerson wrote W the much quoted lines jere here once the embattled farmere stood and fired the shot heard round the world he made use of poetic license to take sides aldes in nn an historical controversy that even yet lins has not been settled a century and a half after the so called battle of lexington to which it refers that controversy Is still warm and the chances are will always find par takers especially in the towns of lexington and ana concord mass rivals for the honors of patriotism it was revived by the recent historical celebration at lexington was there really a battle at lexington when major british troops killed eight american nill itla men the phase fired the shot heard round the world would boult lend jel i d one to believe that in n the engagement that marked the first outbreak of hostilities tili ties the colont colonials als offered stiff opposition but the truth Is that right after the fight they wore were very careful to deny any shots whatever had bad been fired on their side treason then them firing on british troops meant open rebellion and the colonists at this time 1775 were petitioning for thel r rights not fighting for freedom independence had bad baldly been thought thong I 1 of the battle of lexington was nothing less than treason the massachusetts provincial congress then meeting at watertown acted camilly and lawyerlike says the new york herald the depositions of 62 persons were taken to prove that the were dispersing on Pit cairns order and it was admitted only by implication that eliat the sh shot or heard round the world had actu actually tilly been fired the report was then rushed to england to beat general gages official report the necks of prominent citizens were at stake different L later ater it was in 1824 almost a halt half century ln later that the Lexington ians reversed themselves the marqula ie do lafayette on it a visit was told the revolution started at concord and the men of lexington then andl indignantly came forward with the lie assertion that the affair with the minute men was waa nothing less than a pitched battle despite the existence of the 62 depositions A fresh set of depositions was waa taken front from the old timers who remembered the engagement to prove vint that tit nt lexington the patriots offered the first resistance to the oppre bror concord called up the past to prove that the first determined resistance bad apen offered there on Pit cairns retreat but lexington has been awarded n large share of the credit thanks largely to emerson historic portsmouth the launching lost last year at ports mouth N II 11 of a submarine boat about twice as large as any ever built before by nur navy and probably the equal in power and effi efficiency elency of any in the world Is in itself a gratifying incident but in addition it recalls some historic and patriotic ass ocla ti alons ons of the old new hampshire town which are well vell worth cherishing and one of which perhaps the greatest and most significant of till nil has been for far too much neglected it was four months before the famous night ride to concord anti and lexington und and the cons consequent shot heard round the world paul revere came riding with desperate speed peed into durham to tell john still sullivan iva n for the boston committee of safety that george III had put nn an embargo on importations of arins and into the colonies mid find was sending tw two 0 regiments uti up frota from bos boston ton to occupy portsmouth and its harbor fort S seized precious powder that night john sullivan got busy with john LiIng doit thomas pickering winborn adams and per imps a score more lie ho took one of those ungainly but capa clouA down east boats known its aa gondolas gondola anil and went down the river nine miles to the fort lie ile surprised the place captured car it without a shot ora or a blow anil took all its munitions a hundred muskets and a hundred kegs of 0 powder back to Dur durham linni in the gondola and lild bild them for future use underneath the durham meeting house incidentally lie inid had nil all the men take tak off their boots tind and wade ashore and enter the fort barefooted so go as aa to make no noise and remain barefooted in the boat all the way back lest a nail in a boot heel strike fire and explode the powder and ana it was mid december in new hampshire led to british raid it was that exploit of sullivans that provoked the british four months later to try to raid the patriot stores nt concord Con coid with momentous results moreover some soine of that very powder carted front from durham down to charles charle town in john Denie ritts oxcart ox cart although it arrived too late to save the day at bunker did arrive just in time to enable john stark to cover the retreat of Pre scotts troops and save them from being trapped the paul revere house in boston built about 1676 and captured at charlestown Charles town neck truly an episode worthy to make portsmouth rank close to concord and lexington as aa indeed their forerunner |