MA, USA
British Search Barrett Farm
April 19, 1775
Captain Lawrence Parsons led several companies of British light infantry across North Bridge to search Colonel James Barrett's farm, about two miles from the town center. British intelligence indicated this farm was a primary storage site for colonial military supplies.
The search proved largely fruitless. Barrett's family, warned overnight, had worked frantically to hide or move supplies. Legend holds that Barrett's granddaughter Rebecca plowed fresh furrows to bury gun barrels while British soldiers approached. Whether true or not, the story captures the community effort to thwart the expedition.
The search party found some wooden gun carriages and supplies, which they destroyed, but the bulk of the military stores had vanished. The smoke from burning these supplies—visible from the hills where militia were gathering—would help trigger the confrontation at North Bridge.
The British delay at Barrett's farm also allowed provincial militia to concentrate in overwhelming numbers.
People Involved
Senior militia officer in Concord whose farm was the primary target of the British expedition. His family hid supplies overnight while he commanded militia at Punkatasset Hill.
Concord minuteman who fought at North Bridge and later wrote a detailed memoir of the day. His account is among the most valuable eyewitness sources.