On the British arrival,³⁹ Lt. Col. Smith remained at Concord.⁴⁰ They drew up before the door of Martha Moulton’s house.⁴¹ Capt. Parsons of the 10th was dispatched with six light infantry companies⁴² beyond the river to examine some houses for more stores⁴³ and to take possession of the bridge that lay a mile from the meeting house and Ens. De Berniere was ordered to showed him the road and conduct him to a house where there were some cannon and other stores hid.⁴⁴ As the light infantry advanced to the bridge a large body of people under arms assembled on the hills near the bridge.⁴⁵
The militia, who was formed on the hill. Saw the British troops at the distance of ¼ of a mile glittering in arms, advancing toward them with the greatest celerity,⁴⁶ moving toward North Bridge.⁴⁷ Some were for making a stand notwithstanding the superiority of the number of the British troops but others more prudent thought it best to retreat until their number should be equal that of the British with the people that were continually coming from neighboring towns.⁴⁸ The militia went before the troops and passed the bridge just before a party of the troops, to the number of about two hundred, arrived.⁴⁹ When the light infantry arrived at the bridge, three companies,⁵⁰ about one half of the two hundred,⁵¹ under the command of Capt. Laurie of the 43rd were left to protect the bridge, these three companies were not close together but situated so as to be able to support each other.⁵² The militia retreated⁵³ over the bridge. Then they went up the road in the face of the hill, went on a little way, then turned out of that road to another road on the right, part of them formed in a meadow,⁵⁴ a little more than half a mile,⁵⁵ the rest went still further off with women and children and formed in another meadow on a rising ground,⁵⁶ Hunt’s Hill or Punkatasset,⁵⁷ where they could see what was going on.⁵⁸
