James Barrett | |
---|---|
Born |
Concord, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States |
July 31, 1710
Died | April 11, 1779 Concord, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States |
(aged 68)
Rank | Colonel |
Battles/wars | Battles of Lexington and Concord |
James Barrett (Concord, Middlesex County; 31 July 1710–11 April 1779) was a colonel in the Concord, Massachusetts militia during the Battles of Lexington and Concord that began the American Revolutionary War. His farm was the storage site of all the town of Concord's militia gunpowder, weapons and two pairs of prized bronze cannons, according to secret British intelligence.
On the morning of 19 April 1775, the British Regulars were ordered by General Thomas Gage to march from Boston to the town of Concord, about 20 miles inland, and seize the cannon and raid the arsenal at the provincial farm. The British met resistance at both Lexington, Massachusetts and Concord. Before the British arrived and searched, the stores had been concealed in a field nearby, and the British never found them. He is buried in Old Hill Burying Ground, Concord, Massachusetts.