U.S. Concealed Carry
“Armed American Report”
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August 15th, 2008
Dear Friend,
Happy Friday! I’ve got another great Armed American Report for you this week, but first I want to show you a website that I personally have found to be EXTREMELY helpful.
You’re obviously a computer user to some degree since you’re reading the Armed American Report! Well, I spend a LOT of time at the keyboard… about six months ago, my right (mouse) wrist started aching. At first it would only ache after excessive computer-days, and eventually it would hurt all week, and only recover on the weekends. Finally when it got to the point where not even the weekends would be enough time to relieve the pain, I decided to do a little investigation…
Well my friend, here is my new FAVORITE website ever. Thank God for whoever made this site!
http://ergocise.com/wrists.html
The site itself is pretty roughly done… the pictures are rough looking- heck, the site is probably ten years old (or more). But I promise you- I did ALL of these warm ups and stretches 3 times per day for just TWO DAYS, and my wrist felt like new again… it was unbelievable. That was a few months ago… I didn’t think to tell you about this site until now, because just last week, my OTHER wrist started aching the same way. I did all of this again, and once again- after only TWO days of doing these workouts three times each day, it’s like brand new.
I’ve seriously printed this page off as a PDF and I keep the pages right on my wall, just in case the site is removed.
Well, I hope you find that site helpful… now, onto the Armed American Report!
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== USCCA Laugh of the Week ==
See all of Chaim’s Cartoons at his website:
http://www.chaimcartoons.com/
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== How to Transform FEAR Into a Powerful Ally ==
Have you heard about my most recent exclusive report? It’s called “How to Transform FEAR Into a Powerful Ally”.
It’s a fascinating look at what fear is exactly, what causes fear, how to eliminate it, and how to turn it around on your adversary!
Visit this location to learn more about “How to Transform FEAR Into a Powerful Ally”.
I’m offering this report to you all at a special discounted rate, and I’m backing it up with my Bullet-Proof Promise. That means that if you aren’t happy with your purchase for ANY reason at all, I do EVERYTHING I have to, to make it right with you.
I am so proud of this report… I believe it will sell its self!
That’s why I have complied a small PDF of the report’s introduction pages! You will need Adobe Reader (a free internet program) to be able to open it, but most computers come with it. Here’s the link to the Introduction!
http://uscca-downloads.s3.amazonaws.com/fear-intro.pdf
In case you didn’t hear- I’m giving a copy of this report for free to all the people who decide to join the USCCA at the website+magazine level!
But you have to hurry… they aren’t going to last for very long- I’ve already sold three hundred of them!
| Remaining Reports (Updated Daily) 377 |
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== “Gun Cleaning 101: Introduction” ==
by Kathy Jackson
PRELUDE: Gun Cleaning and The Four Rules
Gun cleaning is one of the subjects I have hesitated to address. It’s not that I don’t know how to clean a gun (I do), it is that there are a lot of very vehement opinions about gun cleaning among gun owners out there. I’m not really eager to gore anyone’s sacred cows, so let me just say this: what is shown below is a way to clean handguns, not necessarily the way to do it. If you or someone you know and love has a different way of doing things, that’s really okay. Just so long as the gun does get cleaned often enough that its function remains absolutely reliable, it’s all good.
Oh, yes: I would simply hate it if someone read this page and died of a misprint, but please do note the disclaimer at the bottom of the page. This tutorial assumes that you are an adult and that you are going to read and carefully follow the directions on each and every bottle of gun-scrubbing goop you pick up. If you don’t, and come down with a nasty case of the creepy crud, please don’t blame it on me. Follow the instructions on the bottle, wear the safety gear even though it feels silly, and if you have any doubts about your ability to do this safely, find a knowledgeable person to walk you through the process personally.
When to Clean
One of the first questions beginners usually ask is, “How often should I clean my gun? Do I need to clean it after every time I shoot it?” The answer to that question is, “It depends.”
If you are cleaning a range toy rather than a defensive gun, you can probably allow the crud to build up a little bit before cleaning it, even though it is usually somewhat easier to remove the crud when the cleaning is done immediately. Years ago, back when buffalo roamed the plains, everyone shot black-powder rifles which absolutely positively had to be cleaned immediately after shooting, because black powder was (and is) such a corrosive substance that it would ruin the gun if the fouling were left in the barrel. Modern powder is not corrosive, and so it won’t eat its way through the metal of your barrel if it gets left in there for awhile.
The fouling can and often does affect reliability, however. Uncleaned guns are more apt to jam when you most need them. Because the crud can slow down the slide, dirty semi-automatic firearms are prone to failures to feed or failures to completely eject the spent cases. Uncleaned revolvers are prone to binding up, and the double-action trigger can become difficult or impossible to pull if the cylinder isn’t turning easily. Poorly-cleaned or uncleaned firearms are thus far less reliable than their well-cleaned and properly lubricated counterparts.
For this reason, I highly recommend that you clean your defensive handgun immediately after every trip to the range, no matter how many or how few shots you fire. Since you will be betting your life on the function of your gun, it’s a good idea to keep it as clean as you can, in order to avoid fouling-related problems.
Why Clean Your Own Gun?
Many of us women live with men who are perfectly willing to clean our firearms for us. If that’s the case, why should you do it yourself?
Cleaning your own gun helps you become familiar with how your gun works. Although the mechanical function of the gun may not be fascinating to you, it’s still a good idea to know how it works. That way, if it ever stops working when you need it most, you will have a solid idea of what went wrong and whether you will need a professional to fix it.
Taking the gun down and putting it back together again on a regular basis helps you develop confidence in your gun-handling skills. This confidence carries over to how you handle the firearm on the range and in real life.
Cleaning your own gun allows you to visually inspect all the inner pieces of your gun, so that you spot the signs of wear and tear and are able to replace worn pieces before they break on you.
And let’s be honest: men aren’t always a permanent fixture in women’s lives. If he runs off to Tahiti with that bimbo from his office tomorrow, it’s one less thing for you to learn once he’s gone.
The Basic Cleaning Kit
With a few exceptions, the cleaning products shown in the pictures on this page and the pages that follow are nearly all Hoppes brand. That is because, for the purpose of this tutorial, I went out and purchased the most basic ten-dollar cleaning kit I could find, and the kit was Hoppes brand. My thinking was that these kits are available ‘most everywhere in America, and this was how a beginner would probably start. As time goes on, you will probably find your own preferred products, and fill in your kit with other tools and supplies. Until you get to that point, these basic kits are a perfectly acceptable way to clean guns and a good place to start.
Inside the basic cleaning kit, you will usually find:
- * A bottle of solvent [Image]
* A bottle of lubricating oil [Image]
* A rod [Image]
* A jag (attaches to the end of the rod)
* A patch holder (attaches to the end of the rod) [Image]
* Patches [Image]
In order to complete your cleaning kit, you must purchase a bore-cleaning brush which attaches to the rod in your cleaning kit. The brush has to be purchased separately because they come in different sizes for different calibers of guns. A 9mm bore brush is too small to effectively clean the bore of a .45 ACP firearm, for example, while the .45 ACP bore brush will not even fit within the barrel of the 9mm gun. So make sure you get the correct size of brush for your gun.
Plastic, stainless steel, and bronze brushes are available. For basic cleaning, the brush should be made of bronze rather than of plastic or stainless steel. The only reason to switch to a plastic bore brush is if you are going to be using a separately purchased, super-powerful solvent designed to dissolve copper fouling, because bronze brushes will also be dissolved by such solvents. In all other cases, the bronze brushes are far easier to use and will get the gun cleaner with less hard work on your part than the plastic brushes will.
Stainless steel bore brushes have the opposite problem. Unlike plastic, which is generally too soft to do a good job, the metal in a stainless steel brush is as hard as the metal in the bore of a firearm. This means that a stainless steel brush would damage the barrel if the brush ends were bristly. In order to avoid this problem, manufacturers of stainless steel brushes use a slightly different design from the plastic or bronze brushes, so stainless steel brushes are looped rather than bristly. Unfortunately, this design just doesn’t clean as well as good old fashioned bristles do, so you get a double whammy with these — the stainless steel brush is so hard that it might damage your barrel, but it still doesn’t clean as well as a bristly brush made of the softer bronze.
After a few uses, you will run out of the kit-supplied cleaning patches. When that happens, you can go out and buy more store-bought patches. Or you can simply make your own by cutting similar-sized squares out of old cotton tee shirt material. If my kids haven’t outgrown or otherwise destroyed enough old tee shirts when I need new patches, I usually just purchase “new” old tee shirts from the local garage sales for a quarter apiece. Yes, I am a cheapskate.
Other Cleaning Supplies
There are other supplies you may want to have on hand. Some of these are simply nice to have, while others come close to being essential. Most of them can be found lying around your house.
- * An old toothbrush. You can purchase a specially-designed scrub brush in the same basic shape [Image]. A plain old toothbrush will do just as well. Do make sure it’s been very thoroughly rinsed to remove old toothpaste grit.
* Q-Tips. I mean cotton swabs. Q-Tips is a brand name, and the brand isn’t important. Some people hate them for cleaning because they can leave lint behind if you’re not careful. I love them, and I avoid leaving lint behind by being careful.
* Pipe cleaners. [Image] Don’t get craft-store pipe cleaners, which are usually made of nylon or some other non-absorbent and not so useful material. Genuine pipe cleaners are made of cotton and are designed to clean awkward small spaces; you can usually find them in the big-box stores in the same checkout stand where cigarettes are sold. Some pipe cleaners have flecks of bristly-brush nylon interspersed between absorbent cotton fluff, and these are very cool if you can find them.
* Cleaning rags. You can get by with only one rag, but will probably want a handful. You can specially purchase shop rags made for the purpose, or just use hand-sized squares of old cotton tee shirt material or an old dish towel you aren’t going to use in the kitchen anymore. Try to avoid using anything too lint-y. Expect to stain these rags; they can be washed and re-used, but the stains will probably be permanent.
Safety Gear and Other Protective Stuff
In addition to your basic cleaning kit and cleaning supplies, you will need a way to keep any spilled or dripped solvents from destroying the finish on your furniture. I use several layers of newspaper, laid out on top of a large plastic garbage sack. When my gun cleaning chores are done, I crumple up the newspaper and the icked-up disposable patches, then flip the plastic bag inside-out to catch the whole mess. Turning the bag inside-out neatly places the smelly solvents on the inside of the bag, thus trapping the smells a bit better. (To avoid wasting trash-sack space, I then empty the rest of the trash in my home before carrying the bag out. Waste not, want not.)
You will also need a way to keep the solvents off your hands. To some extent, this problem could be solved by purchasing some of the newer, high-tech solvents which tend to be a bit more hand-friendly. However, no matter how “non-toxic” the solvents themselves might be, they are still dissolving some pretty nasty stuff that is better to avoid getting on your hands. Oh, plus they are going to destroy your manicure if they get anywhere near your fingernail polish; that’s what solvents do for a living, after all. So get yourself some gloves. I use gloves made of nitrile, not latex. Latex gloves are cheaper, but they tend to fall apart before the cleaning is done, which really defeats the purpose. Nitrile gloves hold up to the solvents and since I began using them, I’ve never again ruined one fingernail of a fresh manicure while gun cleaning. (Stuff the guys just won’t bother telling you!)
Finally, you really should wear safety goggles whenever you are working with gun-cleaning solvents. Even the not-so-toxic types are dissolving some very nasty stuff which can do some significant and permanent damage to your irreplaceable eyeballs if it lands in your eyes. As you run the bore brush in and out of the bore, the stuff is going to spray around a bit no matter how careful you are, so you do need full eye protection.
I probably sound a bit cranky about eye protection. There’s a reason for that. A few years ago, when I first got into firearms, I accidentally splashed a bit of solvent onto my prescription glasses. The plastic lens was immediately etched deeply by the cleaning stuff. I was so thankful that it wasn’t my eye, but quite irritated that it destroyed my new pair of glasses. Don’t take the chance of it being your eyeball that gets etched like that, okay?
Conclusion
The remainder of this chapter will soon contain links to three different types of handguns for cleaning: a double-action revolver, a 1911-style pistol, and a Glock. My reasoning for choosing these three guns for the tutorial is that these three popular types of guns between them probably cover a significant portion of new gun owners. If you do not own one of these three guns, you should choose one of these step-by-step guides and read it anyway. Although the specific take-down information will not apply, gun cleaning is gun cleaning and the general information about how to clean a gun does not vary much from one gun to another. So you should find some information of value to you there even if you are not cleaning one of those specific models.
To continue Kathy Jackson’s Gun Cleaning Course with section “Gun Cleaning 102: Glock”, simply follow the following link!
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== The Pillow Holster ==
‘By PillowHolster.com‘
USCCA GEAR REVIEW
For this week’s gear review, I’m looking at a VERY unique holster. But this thing isn’t a carry-holster! This thing is a holster design to be used while you sleep…
The idea of this thing, as its name suggests, is to add a little consistency and safety to the common practice (for many people) of putting their carry gun beneath their pillow while they sleep.
Personally, I have never done this. I’m a crazy sleeper, and often times I wake up and my pillow is NOT where is started. That makes keeping a loaded pistol under my pillow a little worrisome, and it makes using this pillow holster a little difficult.
BUT- I can’t ignore the fact that a LOT of folks out there do sleep with their pistols under their pillows. And if you’re one of them, then I definitely think this rig is worth a shot!
Here are the advantages to this holster, as I see them… First, if you usually don’t USE a holster, this makes the practice of sleeping with a pistol under your pillow MUCH safer. Second though, and I think (safety aside) this is the best advantage this holster gives you- is finally you can practice drills of drawing your pistol consistently from the laying position.
For those who sleep with their guns on their nightstands, or loose in any other way, your pistol is NEVER in the exact same spot. It might be ALMOST in the same spot, but you can never be completely sure of where your pistol is, to the point where you can grab it in the pitch dark.
For example, if it’s on your night stand EVERY night, sometimes it might be tilted at a different angle than usual, or sometimes you might have it on the other side of your lamp. We all know that one thing that we do NOT want, is for you to reach for your pistol when someone is trying to kick your door in, and it’s not there.
With this holster though, you know for certain where your gun will be at all times, so you can practice your draws. You can also practice reloads- the holster has a built in spare magazine slot as well!
Technically speaking, this holster seems to be very well made. It’s made out of a rubbery type material that keeps it from sliding around, and it’s padded pretty well. I can certainly feel it through one pillow, but it’s not uncomfortable.
It does have a retention buckle that I’m not sure I would use if I WERE to use this holster, but thankfully, it’s easy to remove and replace. The buckles are positioned in such a way so that you can unhook them with your thumb while drawing the holster, but I still don’t think I would use the strap. The gun isn’t going to slide out of this thing on its own, and if you’re comfortable with using the holster in the first place, I don’t think you’ll really need the strap.
All in all, the Pillow Holster is a VERY solid rig. I’d recommend it to anyone who keeps their pistol under their pillow!!
For more information on the Pillow Holster, visit the maker’s website by using this link, or punching it into your web browser:
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== USCCA Members-Only ==
Forum Highlights
Every Member has complete access to the USCCA forum, which is constantly being accessed by members sharing information, knowledge, insight, and fun. With well over sixty-thousand posts and growing by the hour, this is one heck of a valuable resource!
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C.Trace LG 401 P4’s - 4th generation? by ‘yechave’
I am bidding on a Crimson Trace laser for my Kimber 1911, and would like to know the difference between the 3rd and 4th generation of lasers. I can not find any information on the CT site, and there is only one reference to the 4th generation on one set of grips on Ebay.
Thanks in advance!
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Barrel length vs velocity question?
by ‘rjklatt’
Is there anyone out here that is familiar with barrel length vs velocity? I often carry a 357 Mag S&W 649 snub with a 2.125 inch barrel…. when I’m looking up factory velocities on various brands of ammo I’ve noticed that the test barrels are always longer and sometimes include a vented barrel…. is there a standard rule of thumb that I could use to approximately determine what velocity I could expect out of my gun using their data?…. I’ve often heard to subtract 25 FPS for every inch of a shorter barrel….. is this accurate?
Thanks in advance
rjklatt
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There is no “safe” area of town anymore.
My experience yesterday. by ‘Jeffs’
So…I am driving through a major metropolitan city yesterday and stop to meet an old friend for lunch. It is the first time I have seen my friend in a while and we begin to talk about guns and the reasons why I carry on me. He is fully supportive and wants some lessons from me as well, wants his CCW too… awesome. We are in a classic, classy, and traditional village part of town known for their little outdoor cafe’s and such-kind of a preppy place, as you can tell from the clothes people wear.
We sit at a little corner cafe with really nothing else around except old/traditional brick houses and an intersection. Not many people out and we are the only two sitting at a table. I chose the furthest table from cafe, where there were none behind me. A few minutes later we are joined by an attractive young female (not with us) with her yappy dog (who is not yapping); she sits about 3 tables away (only 5 tables here). All is perfect and I tell my friend how I really need to move to this area-it is just perfect. Everyone is eating, minding their own business and is happy. Then from around the corner comes this “gentleman” who is not dressed for this part of town and looks very out of place, quite dirty as well.
His clothes look sweaty and well worn in. He begins to walk near the girl and starts going “Hey Preeeety…pretty girl…what up?….” A guy hitting on a girl is one thing, but this is one of those times when nothing about it looks right. Anyway, this girl would never give this guy the time in a million years (neither would I). The girl is ignoring him and the dog gets up and starts growling and yapping at this guy-smart dog. So I getter a better look at the fellow and notice PLAIN as CAN BE in his front pocket the outline of a semi-auto.
His pants were so tight and worn it printed through plain as day. That is not a good sign, I am not thinking this guy as a law abiding CCW either. Anyway, the dog keeps barking and the girl tries to eat and the guy starts going…”OK…little dog, it’s ok” and so on.
The dog keeps barking and the guy is starting to get really loud with it. He starts to walk away and then runs back like a wacko. He repeats this and then begins “Shut the —- Mother ——–!” and uses several more profanities and keeps yelling at the dog and girl-in a crazy neurotic way. Man, the poor girl was scared and it was sad.
I had my hands cleaned off and if he made any move towards his pistol I would have intervened quickly. I am of the mind set where I mind my own business, but there is no way I could go on living with myself if I did nothing here-it was “that” way-he probably would have shot at me too anyway. Finally the man walked across the street with his pimp walk and disappeared. The girl was trying to quiet her dog the whole time because it was escalating this guy. After the ordeal she was visibly shaken, she sat there a few minutes not moving, took her food and dumped it all in the garbage and walked away quickly.
Within a matter of a few seconds…a perfectly good day turned dangerous. Completely unexpected (except for the fact that I always expect stuff like this). I imagine that is how it usually is too and why I wanted to share. There is no “safe” area of town or anywhere for that matter where trouble can’t find you.
You know…I was tempted to leave my gun in the car because my friend might want to eat in a place where they serve alcohol. I opted to let my friend know that we needed to eat at a cafe where there was no alcohol present because there was no way I was leaving my gun (that is how we originally got on the conversation of CCW). I decided possibly inconveniencing us with where we ate was worth having my firearm…in my opinion I was right.
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Carry Question by ‘lsevern’
I’m looking for suggestions on new carry. I currently carry a .45 Baby Eagle. I’m looking for something a bit smaller and easier to conceal HOWEVER since I’m a woman many of the guns I’ve tried are way too big for my hand or aren’t a comfortable fit. I would prefer to stay with a .45 and definitely don’t want to go below a .40. I’m open to revolvers or automatics although I like that I can hold more rounds with an automatic.
Some guns I’ve considered that might be okay, but I’m still not sold on are a .45 millennium pro by taurus and a colt .45 defender. I don’t really like guns with a rough grip (so not sure about the millennium pro), anything with a fat grip doesn’t work for me, and I don’t like the grips that are short enough that your pinkie or a few fingers are off. Any suggestions?
Also, I really like the safety set-up on my husband’s XD ( I tried the XDM I believe it was …whichever one has the smaller grip but that wasn’t quite small enough of a grip either). My baby eagle has the traditional safety/decocker. If I go automatic I do want something with a decocker since I carry cocked and locked. Any suggestions?
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== “It Can Happen to Anyone…” ==
USCCA VIDEO OF THE WEEK
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== “Tim-spiration” of the Week ==
USCCA PHOTO OF THE WEEK
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USCCA QUOTE OF THE WEEK
- Sometimes a good quote will inspire or motivate you. Sometimes, they’ll just put a smile on your face! Here is the quote for this week…
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
-Mahatma Gandhi
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Self Defense Story OF THE WEEK
- Every day, thousands of Armed Americans use their firearms to preserve human life. Let this section of my newsletter serve as a record of this fact!
- “Four Shot in Jewelry Store Shootout”
found at:http://www.claytoncramer.com/gundefenseblog/blogger.html
Robbers invaded a Southwest Side jewelry store on Wednesday, triggering a gun fight. Four people, including the alleged robbers, were injured in the shootout.
It was a wild scene near the corner of 63rd Street and Kedzie Avenue Wednesday evening when a pair of robbers pretending to be customers walked into Sergio V. Jewelry. But the robbers picked on the wrong guy.
The store owner, Sergio Vasquez, is known around the neighborhood to be a man who doesn’t put up with any nonsense at his shop. He was behind the counter when the robbers walked in.
Chicago Police Sgt. Lawrence Gade said “Two suspects entered the store, possibly for a robbery. It went bad. Victims and/or suspects were shot in the process.”
Investigators said the robbers walked in with a briefcase and when they pulled their guns, Vasquez grabbed his and all three opened fire. Both robbers were hit and so was a jeweler in the back of the store. At least one shot also struck a motorist who was passing by outside.
That driver was hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the face.
Police from the Chicago Lawn District arrived within minutes. Vasquez’s son was at the scene too.
Manuel Vasquez said, “You get buzzed in, you get attended, you know, unfortunately I guess these guys were on a mission to do one thing only and do what they got to do and take what they got to take and run out, but I’m glad the cops got them.”
Police found one robber lying on the street around the corner, bleeding from a gunshot wound, the other was arrested at the store.
None of the people shot appeared to have life-threatening injuries. All are hospitalized.
A suspect in his 40s is in John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County in “critical” condition, police News Affairs Officer JoAnn Taylor said. The other suspect was shot in the leg and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in “stable” condition.
One of the victims, in his 30s, was shot in the leg as well, Taylor said. He also is in John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital in “stable” condition. The second victim, in his 40s, was shot in the face and at Mount Sinai Hospital in “stable” condition.
Whether the other two victims were customers or employees in the store has not yet been revealed.
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Closing Thoughts
I just want to end this week’s Armed American Report with an AWESOME story that simply CANNOT be told often enough… I found this specifically written account of the story over on the Appleseed Project website: http://www.appleseedinfo.org/
Here goes! Have a GREAT weekend!
Why April 19, 1775?
The day prior, an “unimpeachable source” (believed to be British General Gage’s American-born wife) informed Dr. Joseph Warren that British troops would deploy for Concord the night of April 18, in order to seize Colonial military supplies believed to be stored there. This wasn’t the first time they had done so—in September of the previous year they had seized 250 barrels of gunpowder from the Massachusetts Provincial Powder House in Charlestown.
The route the British planned to take was not initially known: they might take boats from Boston to a shorter northern route; or they might take the land route, but this was 5 miles longer. The increased distance meant a substantially longer trip for marching troops, who might carry up to 100 pounds of equipment.
That night, longboats from the British ships Boyne and Somerset began to take on British troops for their transfer to the transfer to the staging area for the northern route. Billy Dawes was sent via the southern route to warn John Hancock and Sam Adams that the British were to march on Concord, the current location of these 2 notorious agitators.
Paul Revere conferred with other Sons of Liberty to have the pre-arranged signal displayed via lanterns in the steeple of the Old North Church: one if by land, two if by sea. Across the Charles River, posted watchers received and immediately began to spread the message. About 10 p.m., Revere and 2 others rowed past the HMS Somerset to Charlestown. There, his famous ride began. “The Regulars are out!”
Lt. Col. Francis Smith lead 700 grenadiers and light infantry, accompanied by (among others) Marine Major Pitcairn, who had remarked the prior month that “I am satisfied that 1 active campaign, a smart action, and burning 2-3 towns will get everything to rights.”, in reference to the increase in the citizens’ increased militia drills.
77 militiamen, warned by Revere and the additional post riders activated by his alarm, assembled on the village green at Lexington under the command of Militia Captain John Parker. Parker, who was suffering from TB, had risen from his sick-bed to command his troops, men who were usually just his neighbors. Parker was an experienced officer, having fought in the recent French & Indian Wars. He instructed his men: “Stand your ground. Do not fire unless fired upon. But if they mean to have a war, let it begin here!” Despite his words, Parker had his men form 2 lines, knowing the British would perceive this as a challenge.
British Marine Maj. Pitcairn ordered them,” Lay down your arms, ye rebels, and disperse!”
The militiamen began to disperse (but not disarm), when a shot was fired. Without orders fro their officers, the British troops fired into the militiamen. A few militiamen returned fire. Afterwards, 8 Americans were dead and 10 more wounded. One British soldier and one horse had been wounded. The British officers regained control of their troops and reformed ranks. They fired a victory volley and resumed their march to Concord.
At Concord, hundreds of militiamen were gathering in response to the alarm raised by Revere and the other post riders, assembled on Punkatasset Hill overlooking the town. The Rev. Wm. Emerson instructed the militia “Let us stand our ground. If we die, let us die here.” The British troops began to search the town for military supplies, and to enthusiastically loot its contents. They found 3 cannon and 500lbs of musket balls, as well as a supply of wooden spoons and bowls stored in barrels. [Most of the military stores had recently been moved to Acton and Worcester]. These were stacked in the town and burned. The militia, spotting the rising smoke, believed the British had set fire to the town, and advanced via the North Bridge towards Concord. The bridge was guarded by 3 British companies, who fired a warning volley and another volley at the militia. Most of the shots went high – the command “aim” was not in the British manual of arms, they instead emphasized the bayonet. Over 100 shots were fired, wounding 4 men and killing 2 (Isaac Davis, the 1st American casualty of the Revolution, who had left 4 sick children at home). The Americans – outnumbered 4:1 — using deliberate aimed fire struck 4 of the 8 British officers and 5 regulars, causing the British to break ranks and run, initiating a disorganized retreat by the British as other militia joined in the fight.
As they retreated, the rear guard fired at the Americans shadowing their retreat. The senior American officer present was William Heath, a man with no military experience, a self-described “corpulent, balding farmer.” He was extremely well-read on military tactics, and had refined the idea of a ‘circle of fir’, where fast-moving troops could keep a slower moving enemy in the center of sustained fire (modern ‘skirmishers’). The British troops faced an 18 mile gauntlet of fire on their retreat to Boston. Militiamen continued to join in the series of ambushes to attack the British. From behind trees, stone walls, and houses the militia fired on the British, only appearing long enough to fire, the dropping out of sight to reload.
Fortunately for the British, a relief column led by Col. Hugh (Lord Percy) arrived, bringing with them 2 cannon. Even with these reinforcements, the British return to Boston devolved into a rout and the militia pressed their attacks. The British discarded equipment, arms, and even loot as they fled back to Boston.
The British sustained 273 casualties; the Americans 93.
Afterwards, the British reported that the militia fought not as lone assailants, but as units.
Tim Schmidt
Founder - U.S. Concealed Carry
http://www.usconcealedcarry.com
