The Shot Heard Round The World Transcript (Scotland: A Scottish History Podcast)
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Scotland - A Scottish History Podcast
Episode 27 - The Shot Heard Round The World
The Shot Heard Around the World
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.
- The Concord Hymn, Ralph Waldo Emerson
MICHAEL PARK: Or did they?
It is 1824 and the Marquis de Lafayette, a dashing French hero of the American Revolution has returned to Massachusetts to celebrate the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
He tours the towns of Concord and Lexington which lie about seven miles apart and are where the armed conflict kicked off in April 1775 and is told numerous stories about the brave colonial Minutemen who fired the first shot.
There’s a weird competition going on between the two towns, about who fired the first shot and Lafayette finds himself in the middle of bad blood. 50 years later, as the centenary of the Revolutionary War loomed, President Ulysses S. Grant considered swerving the Massachusetts leg of his tour altogether to avoid giving anyone undue credit.
Essentially what I’m trying to say is that - for every version of this story that you hear, there are five more. Regardless of which one you buy into… happy independence day.
This is Scotland, a podcast about history and where we made it. I’m Michael Park.
It is 3rd September… 1651 in Worcester, England.
Weren’t expecting that, were you?
The Royalists have lost the English Civil War. King Charles II’s forces, made up primarily of Scottish soldiers, have been defeated by Cromwell’s New Model Army.
Clan Munro have sent soldiers South and many lie strewn dead on the battlefield while thousands of their fellow soldiers have been captured by Parliamentarian forces.
Among them is 26 year old William Munroe who was born into a wealthy family - descendants of the founders of Clan Munro - just outside Inverness. Now along with thousands of his comrades, he finds himself on a ship headed for New England in the American colony.
Most of the English prisoners were conscripted into the New Model Army and sent to Ireland, but most of the Scots were transported to New England, Bermuda and the West Indies to work as indentured servants.
Charles II escaped, but that’s by the by.
Arriving in New England, William worked out the time on his servitude and decided to make a life in Cambridge Farms, the settlement which would go on to become the town of Lexington.
He married and had four children. Then his wife died and he married again and had ten children. Then he married again, but that marriage didn’t produce any more kids.
He became a landowner and a free man of the town and was a prominent member of the community.
Suffice to say, William Munroe’s line through Massachusetts history is pretty well established. His daughter Martha and her husband built a tavern on the East side of Lexington and the family - for the most part - stayed in the area and became one of the most prominent.
It is 18th April 1775 in that same tavern, now owned by William’s great grandson - also William - which has become a well-known meeting place for colonials, Solomon Brown has just returned from the market in Boston.
He tells the assembled group that a large patrol of British soldiers are on their way, this ties in with information that the British plan to destroy a cache of American weapons down the road at Concord.
The militia assembled on Lexington Common the next morning to meet the British as they passed through the town, with several Munroes among their number. They had no intention of fighting, merely making a statement of intent that they would defend their rights and their property from the British forces.
Something changed as the British moved into the Common though. Depending on whose account you believe the British leader Major Pitcairn came forward and ordered them to disperse. Or told them ‘lay down your arms, you damned rebels’.
You decide which one you prefer.
The leader of the rebels had tuberculosis and therefore was quite hard to hear, meaning that many of the assembled militia straight up didn’t hear him.
The British soldiers were supposedly given orders not to fire but there was tension in the ranks as the Americans weren’t laying down their muskets. Suddenly a shot rang out. It seemed to come from the British ranks but every account differs and it could have been from anywhere.
Corporal John Munroe, yes he’s related, gave this deposition following the engagement.
JOHN MUNROE: "After the first fire of the regulars, I thought, and so stated to Ebenezer Munroe ...who stood next to me on the left, that they had fired nothing but powder; but on the second firing, Munroe stated they had fired something more than powder, for he had received a wound in his arm; and now, said he, to use his own words, 'I'll give them the guts of my gun.' We then both took aim at the main body of British troops the smoke preventing our seeing anything but the heads of some of their horses and discharged our pieces."
MICHAEL PARK: And there it was.
The shot heard around the world, fired by Ebenezer Munroe on 19th April 1775. It was his birthday. He was 23 years old.
More than a century after his great great grandfather was deported to New England for defending King Charles II from the Parliamentarian forces of Cromwell’s roundheads, a musket ball from a young Munroe sparked it all.
CREDITS
You’ve been listening to Scotland, it was written and produced by me, Michael Park and is a production of Be Quiet Media.
The music for every episode of Scotland is by the human star spangled banner, Mitch Bain, you can check out more of his work by heading over to Facebook and searching for Mitch Bain music.
Additional voices for this episode were by Chris Moriarty.
Jamie Mowat does stunning illustrations for us which you can see in our episode art. See more and buy prints at tidlin - t i d l i n - .com.
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Thanks for listening, we’ll see you next time.