men to disperse . Then , and not till then , did a few of them , on their own impulse , return the British fire . These random shots of fugitives or dying men did no harm , except that Pitcairn ’ s horse was perhaps grazed , and a private of the tenth light infantry was touched slightly in the leg .” 4
Bancroft also records the fate of eight militiamen — most of them parishioners of Jonas Clarke ’ s church — beginning with another man named Jonas .
Jonas Parker , the strongest and best wrestler in Lexington , had promised never to run from British troops ; and he kept his vow . A wound brought him on his knees . Having discharged his gun , he was preparing to load it again , when as sound a heart as ever throbbed for freedom was stilled by a bayonet , and he lay on the post which he took at the morning ’ s drum beat . So fell Isaac Muzzey , and so died the aged Robert Munroe , the same who in 1758 had been an ensign at Louisburg . Jonathan Harrington , junior , was struck in front of his own house on the north of the common . His wife was at the window as he fell . With the blood gushing from his breast , he rose in her sight , tottered , fell
Who are the people you are leading into battle ? How are you training them to respond when the hour comes ?
22