If there is a single day in American history familiar to everyone, it is April 19, 1775. Perhaps through Longfellow's poem about Paul Revere, or Emerson's "Shot heard round the world" the day that started America's War for Independence still attracts over a million visitors annually who visit the reconstructed North Bridge and the Minute Man statue.

From 'Sketch Book '76 - The American Soldier 1775 - 1781' A detailed collection of sketches, notes and patterns by Robert L. Klinger & Richard A. Wilder.

Most also pause by the humble grave of the British soldiers to read the hauntingly beautiful words of James Russell Lowell;

'They came three thousand miles and died,
To keep the past upon its throne;
Unheard beyond the ocean tide,
Their English mother gave her moan.

But how many British soldiers were killed at the North Bridge? How many were buried there? What were their names?

These questions are not easy to answer conclusively, for historical records conflict. Ensign Lister, a British volunteer attached to the 10th Regiment's Light Infantry company thought that "4 men of the 4th" Regiment's Light Infantry company were killed. The British commander Captain Laurie of the 43rd Regiment's Light Infantry company reported three men killed. British Lt. Barker of the 4th Regiment's Light Infantry company also thought three men were killed. British General Thomas Gage's letter to his superiors stated "...killed three men..." British Lt. Col. Smith, in command of the Concord expedition, reported that "...They (The Colonists) scalped and otherwise illtreated one or two of the men who were either killed or severely wounded..." British Lt. Sutherland, a volunteer from the 38th Regiment who participated at the fight stated that two were killed at the Bridge. British Captain John Barrier commanding the 5th Regiment's Light Infantry Company was not at the fight, but marched across the Bridge after the fight; he reported a dead man from the 4th's Light Company who had been mutilated.

What can we deduce from the conflicting data? Lister was the only one to report four killed. Because he wrote from memory long after the event and was wounded on April 19th Lister's recollection might have been faulty. Sutherland thought two were killed. However, he had been wounded badly at the Bridge, and might have been thinking only of those left behind when the troops broke ranks and retreated to Concord. Sutherland suggested but never stated conclusively that the dead men might have come from the 43rd's Light Company, who were assigned the flanks. Yet Battier supports Lister's contention that the dead came from the 4th. Both Smith and Sutherland thought that two were left at the Bridge. Unfortunately Battier does not confirm this, as he was concerned only about the condition of one of the bodies. As commander, Smith probably talked the matter over with all the officers present, and deduced that two men were probably killed at the Bridge; the third man wounded in the fight died later in the centre of town. That the dead came from the 4th Regiment makes sense since they were the company in the front position facing the Colonists.

The muster rolls for the 4th Regiment of Foot exist. However the roll closest to April 19th is dated April 24th, five days after the fight. Four men from the Light Infantry company were listed as having been killed on April 19th; Thomas Smith, Patrick Gray, James Hall and James Mar. Interestingly, James Mart, as a prisoner in Concord, gave a deposition to the Provincial Congress dated April 23. Although the muster rolls of the 4th Regiment state that Marr was killed on April 19, no other evidence supports that claim. Marr may have been wounded when taken prisoner, or perhaps he took the opportunity to defect to the American cause. No matter, he was alive on April 23!

Although available information is scanty, it appears that our mystery is as close to being solved as can be. In all likelihood Privates Thomas Smith, Patrick Gray and James Hall of the 4th Regiment's Light Infantry Company were killed at the Bridge, with two of these men being buried at the Bridge and the third laid to rest in an unmarked grave somewhere in Concord.