MA, USA
Concord Hides Its Military Supplies
April 19, 1775
When Paul Revere's warning reached Concord around 1:00 AM via Dr. Samuel Prescott, the town sprang into action. Throughout the remaining hours of darkness, residents worked to conceal the military supplies that British intelligence knew were stored there.
Cannons were buried in fields. Powder was hidden in attics and root cellars. Musket balls were dispersed among multiple households. Provisions were carted to neighboring towns. At Colonel James Barrett's farm, the primary storage site, his granddaughter reportedly spent hours plowing furrows to bury supplies.
This concealment effort demonstrated the organizational sophistication of colonial resistance. Concord had contingency plans. When the British arrived at dawn, they found some supplies but far less than expected—enough to claim a partial success, not enough to justify the political cost of the expedition.
The hidden supplies would arm the militia that besieged Boston in the coming months.
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.
Young Concord physician who joined Revere and Dawes on the road and was the only rider to actually reach Concord with the alarm. His local knowledge allowed him to escape a British patrol that captured Revere.