Primary Source / Item: newspaper and portrait
(Images courtesy of American Antiquarian Society and Library of Congress)
Two men in charge of the British Regulars on Arpil 19, 1775 were General Thomas Gage and Major John Pitcairn, commanders of the King's forces in Boston. Gage sent Pitcairn out to Concord with 1000 men to seize the military supplies being stored there. Seen as 'the enemy' in our history books, little is commonly known about these individuals. Here is an example of how two different types of primary sources might work together to fill in some information. Perhaps the goal is for a student to profile someone from history, like Gage, and/or develop a living history character profile.
Working with this printed document featuring the personal account of British General Thomas Gage, and this engraving by Robert Pollard featuring Gage's image, one might be able to imagine his point of view or general character. The image was accessed through the collections of the Library of Congress, and the document is courtesy of the American Antiquarian Society. In the article, entitled "A Circumstantial Account of an Attack" 1775, describing the events of April 19th Gage claims that the "about 200 armed Men" on Lexington common "fired four or five Shot at the Troops" when the soldiers tried to disarm them.
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