The Early Spring of 1774 had been very good for Thaddeus. An avid hunter, trapper, fisherman, and outdoorsman. He'd sold enough pelts over the past few months that he began staying near town to monitor the situation more closely. Animosity between the British and the colonists, especially the good people in Suffolk County, Massachusetts had become so heated that the British deemed Suffolk County as "rebel territory". Most of the ordinarily hard working men in Lexington now spent much of their mornings gathered together exchanging heated notions about what "they" should do next. The atmosphere was highly charged, and general belly aching was rapidly bubbling up into to some sort of collective colonial call to action. The ongoing and escalating overreach of England's distant King, Parliament, and their oppressive laws and decrees was pushing them to the breaking point. Thaddeus had read a number of pamphlets and publications himself and listened to twice as many men moaning "We're not going to stand for it anymore", but it all sounded like words and empty talk to Thaddeus. Although he'd grown up knowing every man and woman in and around Lexington, the only one he genuinely trusted was his childhood friend and now leader of the newly formed Minutemen, Captain John Parker. Upon hearing that he was in town, Captain Parker paid Thaddeus a visit in hopes of convincing him to join their growing ranks. The rebels were secretly stockpiling gunpowder, weapons, and other fighting materials over in Concorde. A confrontation with the Red Coats was imminent, and along with everyone else, Captain Parker knew that Thaddeus could handle a musket better than any man in all of Suffolk County. He wasn't notably larger than other men, but he was rugged, ruddy, and the flames of his new found passion for the resistance were raging.
Captain Parker had warned the men that the British would surely send a force of men their way if they caught wind of the stockpile in Concorde, but they didn't think it would be so soon. It would be a few hours before the collum of Red Coats reached Lexington, but Thaddeus was up, dressed, and ready, as soon as he heard the man ride through town shouting, "The British are coming! The British are coming!" He equipped himself with his sharpest skinning knife, three loaded muskets, a loaf of bread, and enough powder and shot to fight for several days, if needed. He tried reading, writing, and sleeping to pass the time, but eventually, he saddled up and rode over to Captain Parker's house to wait. Just before 5 am, without as much as a mumble between them, Captain Paker emerged from his house. They saddled up and made quick time towards the fork in the road just East of Lexington. Men and teenage boys joined them, along the way, until their number swelled to about forty-five. When they arrived, they found another contingency of about thirty men already assembled on The Central Lexington Green. Captain Parker rounded everyone up and began issuing orders to make ready on the green in close order and formation. "It would prove nothing if I were to take on a bear with just my hands," Thaddeus thought to himself. "Perhaps we're waiting to disburse and take cover when the Red Coats arrive?" He wondered to himself. He took a knee and from inside his outer coat, Thaddeus produced several sheets of paper, which were carefully folded inside a leather cover. He gingerly removed a small quill pen and bottle of ink from his sack and hastily jotted down several words on the paper. With just as much care, the pen and papers were safely placed from whence they had come.
Minutes seemed like weeks, as they waited, but just before sunrise Thaddeus and the other Minutemen could finally see the Redcoats marching towards them on the way to Concorde. They had sent a much larger group of men than had been expected. A crowd of townspeople had gathered near where the Minutemen had assembled to see what, if anything, might happen. As the British drew closer, the two sides exchanged loud insults. While marching in step and moving into the left fork in the main road, the British continued launching foul words and ill-will at the colonists. It was obvious that the Minutemen were still struggling to find enough courage to confront the finest fighting force on the planet, but this was their opportunity. The British stopped and held their typical tight formation, as they turned and faced the Minutemen. "Where are you going!?", asked the town blacksmith, Levi Meade, as Thaddeus knelt and slowly began crawling in the tall grass. "I didn't come here to throw words," Thaddeus said as he continued to slither in the knee-high grass. The tension was tangible. For a few moments, the well trained, well equipped, and well-fed British "Rum Swine", as Thaddeus called them, stood in their vivid red coats, black tricorn hats with muskets and bayonets at the ready. In front of them at a distance of about eighty yards was a rag-tag gaggle of under trained and under equipped business owners, taxpayers, and idealistic colonists. The future hung in the balance, as the question of whether or not the colonials would answer the call to action was heavy on the minds of everyone. As though hunting wild game, Thaddeus crept to within 40 yards of the British. His actions were seen by some as cowardly and out of order, but Thaddeus simply wanted to get close enough to get off an accurate shot or two. With neither warning nor word from Captain Parker, Thaddeus let his flint fall and set off a chain of events that is sending ripples around the world even to this day. His shot took off the ear of an unsuspecting Redcoat and was swiftly answered by a furious and precise volley of musket shot from the British that dropped fifteen Minutemen. The colonists returned fire and wounded two Redcoats. Thaddeus produced one of his pre-loaded muskets, and carefully placed a shot in the upper torso of a British soldier, scoring the first kill for the colonies in what would soon become an all out fight for freedom. Emboldened by their courage and action, other colonists joined the ranks of the Minutemen. The Redcoats turned and continued marching to Concorde. Along the way, Minutemen hid behind trees and in ditches and peppered the British with musket shot. The British reached Concorde and destroyed or took all of their fighting materials, but the message was clear. The colonists had reached the tipping point and were ready and willing to fight.
Later that evening, Thaddeus put back a few pints at Mr. Samuel Adam's Public House, quietly wondering what his sweet Lydia would think of what he'd done that day. She was the fair daughter of, Francis Bernard, the British Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Through business dealings in Boston, he'd become acquainted with her and her father back in 1769. She could have easily been a play pretty for the who's-who in Boston, but that was against her new found sense of independence and industry. Against her father's better wishes, Lydia worked at a large horse stable, grooming, cleaning, and caring for horses. Thaddeus never failed to see her whenever he was in Boston and they routinely exchanged letters until her father ordered her to stop. To continue seeing and exchanging letters with Lydia, Thaddeus took work riding a route in Benjamin Franklin's colonial mail delivery service, where he shuttled mail between Cambridge, Waltham, and Lexington. He, Mr. Franklin, and a few others were hastily relieved in early 1774 for "distributing antagonistic publications" and he hadn't seen nor heard from her since. Thaddeus finished off his pint, made several more entries on the folded papers that he always kept with him, then returned home. He was uninjured but physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. It had been a long and monumental day and no one had a clue what the next day had in store for the colonists and their budding rebellion.
Capitalizing on the momentum and the swiftly galvanizing resolve, preparations began immediately to assemble a meaningful force of men from all over the colonies to mount an attack and prevent the British from occupying the hills overlooking Boston. Captain Parker tapped Thaddeus to lead a company of men, which he promptly and respectfully declined. "Captain Parker, I'm honored that my name came to mind as a suitable leader of this unit, but I believe I would serve the cause better while among the men and not in charge of them". After a few moments of pondering, Captain Parker answered, "I appreciate your honesty Thaddeus, and on second thought I believe you're correct. Having these men see your courage and bravery in the midst of battle would certainly better serve the greater good. So it shall be". On June 17, 1775, Thaddeus found himself with a little over one thousand armed colonial soldiers, who were ready to March to Boston and take the fight to the Red Coats. Instead of setting up earthworks on Bunker Hill, as planned, they made preparations on Breed's Hill, which was a little closer to Boston. As the men built defensive positions, pre-loaded their muskets, and sharpened their knives, a small figure emerged from a nearby crowd of civilians, who had gathered to watch the battle. Despite the oversized outer garment and head covering, Thaddeus recognized her immediately and made quick time to greet her. She threw her arms open and they embraced for a short moment. She handed him a letter as her lip quivered, "Be careful today Thaddeus. I want to see you again when all of this fighting is over". Just then the first wave of British soldiers began marching towards the rebel positions. "Go! Please get behind the crowd and I will come find you today when this is over", he said as her hand slipped out of his.
Though shot was scarce for the rebels, a few sessions of aiming practice made an enormous difference. The British sought to push the colonists from their positions by throwing superior numbers at them, but that worked against them. The Rum Swine carried the day, but lost three times the number of men as the colonial soldiers. Thaddeus had been grazed just below the knee during the battle and lost a fair amount of blood. Bandaged and hobbling, Thaddeus searched and searched for sweet Lydia, but she was not to be found. He was loaded onto a wagon for the wounded and while riding back to Lexington, once again pulled out his important papers and wrote, as best he could with all of the bouncing and jostling. His leg continued to bleed through his wrappings, and he grew increasingly weaker. Off in the distance, he could see the smoky haze hanging over the battlefield and he a sense of pride washed over him. Though he wouldn't live to see it, the British withdrew from Boston a short time after the Battle of Bunker Hill. Struggling now to maintain consciousness, Thaddeus summoned a nearby soldier to call Captain Parker to the wagon. He cautiously wrapped his papers back in their leather cover and waited. Soon enough, Captain Parker rode up to the wagon and came alongside Thaddeus. "John, these papers," he said while stretching to reach him and fighting to speak. "You didn't know this sir, but I write songs. I beg you to pass these papers along to my sweet Lydia. You'll find her in the stables just outside of Cambridge. Only she will know what to do with them." It will be done", John said as he took the papers from Thaddeus. "You started this fight Thaddeus, and I will endeavor with all that is in me to see it through."
Given the importance of the delivery, Captain Parker sent Major Tom to deliver the papers and let Thaddeus's sweet Lydia know that he passed away after fighting ever so valiantly. Through her tears, Lydia told Major Tom that she left the battle that day after seeing Thaddeus get shot in the leg. She simply couldn't bear to watch any longer and returned to the stables. Though she had never seen them, Thaddeus had, in fact, told her about his papers and that he liked to write down ideas for songs. She took the papers and climbed up into the loft in the stable. She carefully unfolded his papers and softly read aloud...
Fight For Your Right To Party- beer swilling and song singing at the pub
Living On A Prayer - alone in the woods tracking a lion
Another Day In Paradise - seeing the beauty of The Maker's creation
Welcome To The Jungle - when i took james hunting Moose in New Hampshire
Summer of 69 - when I met my dear sweet Lydia
We're Not Going To Take It - frequent cry of the angry mob in Lexington
Please Don't Go - when sweet Lydia had to return to Boston
Are You Getting It - talking with stubborn people
Here I Go Again - another day delivering mail
Rebel Yell - battle cry
Lord, I Hope This Day is Good prayer before leaving to fight
More Than A Feeling - marching to Boston with the men!
Three Times a Lady - seeing Lydia just before Bunker Hill
Don't Stop Believing - we lost a battle today, but the war can be ours!
Carefully, she refolded the papers, sat back and smiled from the inside out. She knew exactly what to do with them. Over the course of her life, Lydia put words to his songs and when her days were over, the papers were passed along again...
