WILL THAULT: The ‘shot heard ‘round the world’ 

This weekend marked the 250th birthday of the U.S. Army. The official creation of the Continental Army on  June 14, 1775 didn’t happen overnight, though. Weeks prior, several colonies had  already organized their own separate  “Armies of Observation,” but on April 8, a  plan was proposed to create the New England Army of Observation with the idea of uniting all the colonies under one banner. 

Formation of this new army was still  underway when the inevitable flashpoint ignited. On April 18, hundreds of British soldiers began a march from Boston toward  Concord, Mass., under cover of darkness to  seize a cache of weapons and ammunition  stockpiled by the American colonists. They  never completed their mission. 

On the road to Concord the next morning, their advance was halted by a force of  about 70 minutemen who had gathered on  the Lexington village green. Suddenly,  someone fired a shot – from which side no  one knew for sure – and havoc ensued.  Almost over as quickly as it had started, eight Americans lay dead along with as many injured, with one redcoat wounded. 

The British pressed on to Concord only to  be met by another group of armed colonists  gathered at the town’s North Bridge. Again, gunfire was exchanged, leaving three patriots and four redcoats dead. Sixty years  later, Ralph Waldo Emerson would memorialize this moment in his poem “Concord Hymn:” ‘Here once the embattled farmers stood/And fired the shot heard round the world.’ Shaken by the unexpectedly fierce  resistance of an irregular volunteer militia,  the British chose to retreat back to Boston. Approximately 4,000 Massachusetts militiamen gathered and gave chase, inflicting  heavy casualties along the way. The Revolutionary War had begun. 

A few days later, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress finally executed a plan for the New England Army as they prepared to retake Boston, which was then under British control. Three months later, frustrated by the lack of progress on the Siege of Boston, the Provincial Congress appealed to  the Continental Congress to take over the  Army of Occupation. On June 14, the Continental Congress authorized the enlistment of 10 companies of “expert riflemen” raised from Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. They were to serve the united colonies for one year. This resolution officially established the Continental Army,  later to become the U.S. Army, making it America’s first national institution. The  next day, Congress unanimously appointed  George Washington as Commander-in-Chief of this new army. 

On Saturday, the National Infantry  Museum hosted a “massive birthday party for the Columbus and Ft. Benning community.” They called it a Salute to Army 250.  The event was held in lieu of the museum’s  annual July 4 Freedomfest, which will be back next year.

A library of shout-out videos from Army  senior leaders and celebrities has been  posted to https://www.dvidshub.net/fea ture/ARMY250 that anyone can download  and use at any Army birthday party or post  on social media.

The official website of the U.S. Army, army.mil, sums it all up this way: “For 250 years, America’s Army has served and defended the people of the United States, the American way of life, and our nation. Older than the nation it defends, the U.S. Army has made a difference in the history and founding of America and the defense of our democratic values. For 250 years, the Army has challenged, empowered, and equipped each of our soldiers because ‘Be All You Can Be’ is more than a slogan, it’s a way of life.”

“Will Thault is a retired businessman and a frequent contributor to The Albany Herald.“