Alexander Cain
The April 19-21, 1775 Evacuations of Middlesex and Essex Counties
When Lexington’s alarm bell rang, panic set in. A hostile military force was marching directly towards the town. Plunder and destruction were feared. The Reverend William Gordon of Roxbury reported, “the inhabitants had quitted their houses in the general area upon the road, leaving almost everything behind them, and thinking themselves well off in escaping with their lives.” Some took a few belongings. Others hid or buried valuables. The roads were clogged with “women and children weeping.” Residents escaped to woods and fields or to nearby towns. While much attention has been paid to the shots fired that day, we’ll take a close look at what happened to those who weren’t engaged in combat.
[Recorded August 13, 2022.]
Alexander R. Cain, JD, (mcalpin77@gmail.com | historicalnerdery.com | LinkedIn) graduated from Merrimack College in 1993 with a degree in economics and from New England School of Law in 1996 with a juris doctorate. Currently, he serves as the Director of Education at a Boston area vocational college. Alex is a well-respected and highly sought-after speaker who frequently lectures on the military and social influences of April 19, 1775. He has published multiple research articles that have shed new light on the Battles of Lexington and Concord, privateer operations during the Siege of Boston and the loyalist refugee experience during the American Revolution. Alex has also published two books: We Stood Our Ground: Lexington in the First Year of the American Revolution and I See Nothing but the Horrors of a Civil War. He resides in Massachusetts with his wife, Paula, and his two children, John and Abigail.