The British Left Him for Dead. He Outlived the Revolution. | 3-Minute History

On April 19, 1775 — the first day of the American Revolution — a 78-year-old Massachusetts farmer took on the British Army alone. They shot him in the face, bayoneted him, and left him for dead. He lived another 18 years. This is the true story of Samuel Whittemore of Menotomy — veteran of three wars, armed with weapons taken from beaten enemies, and officially the state hero of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Told from the original sources, including his 1793 obituary and the account of Rev. Samuel Abbot Smith (1864). CHAPTERS 0:00 The retreat from Lexington and Concord 0:00 The old man in the fields 0:00 Three wars, three trophies 0:00 The stone wall 0:00 Left for dead 0:00 “I should do just so again” 0:00 State hero, 230 years later SOURCES • Columbian Centinel, Feb. 6, 1793 (obituary of Capt. Samuel Whittemore) • Rev. Samuel Abbot Smith, West Cambridge on the Nineteenth of April, 1775 (1864) • Massachusetts Legislature, 2005 official state hero proclamation • National Park Service & Arlington Historical Society IMAGES • Amos Doolittle engravings, 1775 (public domain) • John Singleton Copley, “Eleazer Tyng,” 1772, National Gallery of Art (period representation — no portrait of Whittemore exists) • Whittemore monument, Whittemore Park, Arlington, MA New true stories from American history every week — subscribe so you don't miss the next one. #AmericanRevolution #History #TrueStory