I almost let the date slip by

I just looked at my desk calendar and realized today is April 19th. For most of you that means squat, but my mind automatically scans the internal file system and determined today was our true Independence Day.

Yes, Boys and Girls, on this date in 1775, the citizens soldiers of the Massachusetts Colony engaged the forces of His Majesty King George at Lexington, and later in the morning at Concord. The American Revolution had begun.

The previous night lanterns were hung in the Old North Church and riders were dispatched throughout the countryside warning the Militia to rally. On this date in 1775, a ragtag bunch of amateurs faced the British Regulars on the Lexington Green.  Shots were fired and eight Colonists were killed.

Gallons of ink have been used to describe that momentous day. Some are mere exaggeration and hyperbole (ahem, Mr. Longfellow). I think none are more beautiful than Emerson's Concord Hymn (especially the first stanza):

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.