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Description
April 19th, 1775. About 80 British soldiers stand guarding a simple wooden Bridge that crossed the Concord River near the village of the same name. 120 of their comrades had crossed to the west side and marched 2 miles west to the farm of Colonel Barrett. The 80 men hold the bridge for their fellows to come back while in the town of Concord, more of their fellow redcoats search for illicit weapons, equipment and other supplies being stockpiled by the colonists. The men at the bridge watch nervously as on a nearby hill on the western side of the river, a large group of armed colonists have gathered and watched them from afar. The soldiers have already shed colonial blood that morning when they opened fire without orders on a group of militiamen in Lexington. For almost all of them, that was the first time they had fired their weapons at another human being. At about 9:30 A.M., a great commotion stirs the men as they see their pickets retreat from the west side of the river. The colonists are coming down the hill towards the bridge, and it appears there are hundreds of them. The soldiers form lines on the east bank, directly across from the bridge, and some forming in the field to the left owned by the local Reverend. As the colonists march steadily closer to them, the enlisted men wait for word on what to do from their officers. But none of them seem to know what to do, giving confusing orders and arguing amongst themselves. For all they know, the colonists are coming down to get their revenge for the deaths in Lexington. As the colonists get about five yards from the bridge, a few British soldiers fire their weapons into the river to scare them away. In that split second, confusion sweeps the British ranks. Was there an order to fire? Who was firing? Had the colonists begun to shoot? More soldiers open fire, this time aimed at the colonists, and through the smoke, they see at least two men go down. And before anyone can even begin to make sense of it all, a shout is heard from a Colonial officer; "Fire!" Next thing the Redcoats know, musket balls rip through their ranks. Two men of the 4th "King's Own" Regiment fall dead instantly, and third of the same regiment will die later. Seven other soldiers are wounded, as well as 3 of the 6 officers. Panic breaks out. The colonists have just fired on the soldiers of the King and it seems that they will charge across the bridge. Without any orders, the red-coated survivors fall back from the bridge and race back to the center of Concord where the main body waits, leaving their two dead behind.

The companion piece for the previous one. Both will be featured in a project with Minute Man National Historical Park. It was really fun to draw this, especially in getting the uniforms right. Depicted are three men from the 4th Regiment of Foot, and one private and one officer of the 10th Regiment of Foot. Both units were present at the North Bridge that day, and like the rest of their comrades, received a bloody baptism on the road back to Boston. Hope you enjoy!

Description
April 19th, 1775. About 80 British soldiers stand guarding a simple wooden Bridge that crossed the Concord River near the village of the same name. 120 of their comrades had crossed to the west side and marched 2 miles west to the farm of Colonel Barrett. The 80 men hold the bridge for their fellows to come back while in the town of Concord, more of their fellow redcoats search for illicit weapons, equipment and other supplies being stockpiled by the colonists. The men at the bridge watch nervously as on a nearby hill on the western side of the river, a large group of armed colonists have gathered and watched them from afar. The soldiers have already shed colonial blood that morning when they opened fire without orders on a group of militiamen in Lexington. For almost all of them, that was the first time they had fired their weapons at another human being. At about 9:30 A.M., a great commotion stirs the men as they see their pickets retreat from the west side of the river. The colonists are coming down the hill towards the bridge, and it appears there are hundreds of them. The soldiers form lines on the east bank, directly across from the bridge, and some forming in the field to the left owned by the local Reverend. As the colonists march steadily closer to them, the enlisted men wait for word on what to do from their officers. But none of them seem to know what to do, giving confusing orders and arguing amongst themselves. For all they know, the colonists are coming down to get their revenge for the deaths in Lexington. As the colonists get about five yards from the bridge, a few British soldiers fire their weapons into the river to scare them away. In that split second, confusion sweeps the British ranks. Was there an order to fire? Who was firing? Had the colonists begun to shoot? More soldiers open fire, this time aimed at the colonists, and through the smoke, they see at least two men go down. And before anyone can even begin to make sense of it all, a shout is heard from a Colonial officer; "Fire!" Next thing the Redcoats know, musket balls rip through their ranks. Two men of the 4th "King's Own" Regiment fall dead instantly, and third of the same regiment will die later. Seven other soldiers are wounded, as well as 3 of the 6 officers. Panic breaks out. The colonists have just fired on the soldiers of the King and it seems that they will charge across the bridge. Without any orders, the red-coated survivors fall back from the bridge and race back to the center of Concord where the main body waits, leaving their two dead behind.

The companion piece for the previous one. Both will be featured in a project with Minute Man National Historical Park. It was really fun to draw this, especially in getting the uniforms right. Depicted are three men from the 4th Regiment of Foot, and one private and one officer of the 10th Regiment of Foot. Both units were present at the North Bridge that day, and like the rest of their comrades, received a bloody baptism on the road back to Boston. Hope you enjoy!