Matt Lewis
Appearances
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
I think it's interesting to have all of this idea of a century and a half of tension going on underneath the surface that is building towards this, because there's a danger of seeing it as, you know, kind of random flashpoint that comes out of nothing. And all of a sudden there's a revolution.
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
But we're talking about something that has been brewing and building for a long, long time before it sparks off at Lexington and Concord.
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
From within the wooden buildings, voices rise in response. A tone of panic dominates. Wives wake their husbands, fathers rouse their eldest sons, and the bustle of urgent activity soon joins the muffled cacophony. You recognise the metallic clack of wrought iron and the thud of walnut wood. The tapping of ramrods confirms your suspicions.
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
So what we're seeing really is a gradual change in the relationship between Britain and the colonies that is causing an increasing amount of tension and at some point is going to boil over.
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
So is it that moment, that building tension and that increasing difficulty and this higher presence of the British Army that explains maybe why this is the flashpoint, that you've got redcoats there and you've got people who are feeling the oppression increasingly and it becomes a literal powder keg as well as the powder keg they're looking for?
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
The residents of this normally quiet town are preparing their firearms. The sound of drums is as clear as the sun above the horizon now, as the warmth of the first light of day creeps across the dewy ground, elongating the shadows of the trees into infinite black chasms. You can almost feel the tremors of hundreds of stamping feet and the rumble of cannon wheels on the road outside town.
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
So before we get to the main event of the Battle of Lexington and Concord, could you talk us through some of the key people who are involved? Who is around the area at this time and who will be the key players in the conflict?
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
One name that you mentioned a little bit earlier that kind of rang a bell for me is Paul Revere. So... For my limited knowledge of American history, I know him as someone who performs this incredible dash, this ride through the night. What precise part do we know that he plays in these events?
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
And so we have this famous ride on the night of the 18th of April. What then happens on the 19th? Can you talk us through these events? Because this is a moment that is going to become seminal in the American Revolution. We have the story of the shot heard around the world. How does the day of the 19th of April play out?
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
Yet, already lining up in well-rehearsed formation on the common, seemingly all the adult men and their barely adult sons of the town are gathered to meet the oncoming force. They don't wear uniforms. They don't have standardized weapons or regulation hairstyles. In fact, there's nothing regular about them at all.
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
So how then does this idea that the soldiers are coming and there's a little bit of warning going on, how does that spark into a kind of running battle, a serious military conflict? How do we get to the point where we have this shot that's heard around the world?
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
They look like nothing more or less than what they are, a militia of citizens ready to defend their families. The drums are in the town, the pounding echoes between the houses, and it sounds as if the drums are all around you. You look over your shoulder instinctively, just in case you really are surrounded. But there is nothing.
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
Is the idea of the shot heard around the world, is that something that is... is kind of retcon that's created later to point to this as a real moment that will spark what will become the American Revolution, rather than it being, you know, some single shot that was fired, particularly during the battles. It's talking about this battle as a moment.
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
There was a point at which guns were fired that really kicked off the American Revolution.
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
And I guess there's an element in which you talked about it's difficult to work out whether Lexington and Concord is a victory for one side or the other or a particular loss for either side.
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
It sounds like the American militia came out on top a little bit, but it must have felt important for them to portray this as a victory, as an early win against the British forces who normally would have seemed so undefeatable.
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
It's incredible, I think, when you look at some of these moments and this felt like you've said a couple of times, you know, this wasn't particularly anything unusual the British were doing. They were regularly performing these patrols. The militia had been around for ages. Paul Revere didn't do anything particularly novel.
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
It's incredible that all of this was able to turn into a moment that would spark a revolution. And I guess, as you mentioned earlier, that leans into this idea that we've had a century or more of tension that has been looking for the cork to pop. And that's what really happens at Lexington and Concord.
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
Instead, the real position of the drumming is revealed by the harsh bark of a commanding voice. the indistinct vocalisation that carries the weight of an order that must be followed or discipline will be faced. The militia on the green turn to face the approaching army. Their captain orders them to stand fast and they obey with nervous determination.
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
Feels very much like no one who was on the ground in Lexington and Concord would have particularly felt like they had just started a revolution that was going to lead to the birth of a new nation. There'd been a bit of trouble, but it seems like you would never have guessed that that would be seen as the moment that began it all.
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
Assassin's Creed allows players to step into the Animus and to travel back through history and to live through some of these incredible moments. And I wondered if you could step into your own Animus and you could revisit any moment from Lexington and Concord around that 18th, 19th of April, where would you like to stand and what would you like to see?
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
So every American boy wants to be Paul Revere on that night.
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
When they went to bed last night, they had no idea that they would be so rudely awakened. You fear that most of them won't return to their beds tonight. This small town has never seen anything like this before. But you can see the red jackets and bearskin caps before they come around the corner. The warning cry of the rider resounds in your mind.
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
I always find the detail and the complexity and the nuances, the really, really interesting bit, trying to understand the why did it all happen. And I guess for anyone who wants to understand all of this American stuff better, there's no better place than American History Hit with you.
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
Yeah, well, I hope you enjoy it. If you give it a go, it's a really, really good game. Really good, interesting experience, I guess, to be able to live through all of those moments that, as you say, have been mythologized so much. But thank you so much for joining us, Don. It's been an absolute pleasure to talk to you and to try and get under the skin of these complicated events. Thank you.
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
British soldiers are coming and today could be a fateful day for more than just the militia on the green. Assassin's Creed III gives players a unique chance to take part in the battles of Lexington and Concord and to influence the course of history. But I'd like to know why the British Empire went to war with its own people in these small towns.
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
To help me try to solve this colonial conundrum, I'm joined today by a cousin from across the pond, Don Wildman, the host of the excellent podcast, part of the History Hit family, American History Hit. Welcome to Echoes of History, Don. It's fantastic to have you here with us.
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
And that's what we're here to do today. So I'm looking forward to getting underneath the skin of kind of why it all kicked off. So we're in 1775. I guess it's fair to say there's a bit of tension in the British colonies. But before we get too far into that, I wondered if you could give us a little bit of context for what's going on.
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
So when we talk about the American colonies, kind of what are we talking about? How many colonies are there?
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
I guess it's quite interesting that all of these colonies are kept kind of separately with their own individual relationships with England and Britain in the sense that it keeps them from being unified, doesn't it? It keeps them to some extent all dealing with Britain in a slightly different way, in a slightly different context and stops them being a united bloc.
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
Yeah. So there's an awful lot of change going on. And what is the system of government for the colonies? So we've got the King and Parliament in Britain. How do they reach into the colonies?
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
The peace of the dawn air is disturbed by the rasp of drums. Their inexorable rhythm is so alien to your rural surroundings that even the pink glow of twilight seems spoiled by the sound. Nearby, you hear the clatter of hooves from a solitary rider. The pace is furious and the heavy panting of the horse is almost as loud as the warning cries from its master.
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
So we're going to talk about Lexington and Concord. Where are they? Whereabouts in the colonies are they located?
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
In Assassin's Creed 3, in Liberation, players are able to ride a horse through Lexington and Concord. You can see all of those towns. Do we have a sense of what they look like? The game tells us there are these big wooden buildings, it's muddy roads, there's big, large, green open spaces. Do we have any concept of what they would have actually looked like in 1775? Yeah.
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
Interesting. So we're talking about... A fairly small agricultural community living outside the city of Boston. How do we reach a point where somewhere like Lexington and Concord then becomes a sparking point for a revolution that will kind of redefine an entire nation? What is it about Lexington and Concord that makes everything kick off there?
American History Hit
Lexington & Concord: The First Battles of the Revolutionary War
You wonder for how long and how far the poor beast has galloped through the night. Nevertheless, you understand the rider's hurry. Punctuating the calm morning air, the drums get ever closer. Their snare is unmistakable, and underneath you hear the crunch of marching feet. There can be no doubt what's creating the martial rhythm. As the rider passes each farmhouse, he repeats his warning.