Both the British and the local militias were armed with smooth-bore muskets that had an effective range of aimed fire of only 80-100 yards (75-90 m), although the musket ball could have serious effect at a greater distance, if it happened by chance to hit a person. There is no record that any soldiers on either side were armed with longer-range, more accurate rifles. Dr. Benjamin Church, a member of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress and the Committee of Safety, informed General Gage in March 1775, that the colonial militiamen "from their adroitness in the habitual use of the firelock suppose themselves sure of their mark at a distance of 200 rods". Even if Church meant yards rather than rods (600 feet versus 3300 feet), it is unclear whether he was profoundly ignorant of the capabilities of a musket, was exaggerating in order to mislead Gage (as Church later claimed when accused of being a spy), or was ridiculing the American militiamen. See Philbrick, p. 92, and French, p. 57-58. On whether Church was a spy, see French, Chapter V. Philbrick, Nathaniel (2013). Bunker Hill. New York: Viking. ISBN978-0-670-02544-2. French, Allen (1925). The Day of Concord and Lexington. Boston: Little, Brown & Co. ISBN9780598832825. French, Allen (1932). General Gage's Informers. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Fischer, pp. 408–409. Fischer notes conflicting accounts of which militia companies were engaged at this point and the number of militiamen. Fischer, David Hackett (1994). Paul Revere's Ride. Oxford University Press US. ISBN0-19-508847-6. This book is extensively footnoted, and contains a voluminous list of primary resources concerning all aspects of these events.
Fischer notes on p. 409, "This is not correctly called the Bloody Angle, an error term introduced after the Civil War that is both inaccurate and anachronistic. It has been used uncritically by many historians of the battle and is perpetuated by the National Park Service." The Interim Report of the Boston National Historic Sites Commission, submitted to Congress in 1958 in support of legislation that established the Minute Man National Historical Park, asserted that: "Fittingly, this curving section of the road was soon to be named 'The Bloody Angle'." (p. 47; emphasis added). However, there is no evidence that the term Bloody Angle was ever used by the battle participants or local residents following April 19, 1775, nor did historians use the term prior to the mid-20th century. See Boston National Historic Sites Commission, The Lexington-Concord Battle Road: Interim Report. June 16, 1958. Fischer, David Hackett (1994). Paul Revere's Ride. Oxford University Press US. ISBN0-19-508847-6. This book is extensively footnoted, and contains a voluminous list of primary resources concerning all aspects of these events.
Fischer, p. 232. According to one British officer, ammunition had been wasted earlier in the day out of "too great eagerness of the soldiers in the first action of a war. Most of them were young soldiers who had never been in action, and had been taught that every thing was to be effected by a quick firing. This ineffectual fire gave the rebels more confidence, as they soon found that notwithstanding there was so much [firing], they suffered but little from it." Lt. Frederick Mackenzie, 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers, Diary of Frederick Mackenzie, in Allen French, editor, A British Fusilier in Revolutionary Boston, Cambridge, 1926. Fischer, David Hackett (1994). Paul Revere's Ride. Oxford University Press US. ISBN0-19-508847-6. This book is extensively footnoted, and contains a voluminous list of primary resources concerning all aspects of these events.
Fischer, pp. 410–411. Fischer notes conflicting accounts about where this ambush—now sometimes referred to as "Parker's Revenge"—took place, whether within Lincoln or Lexington. Fischer, David Hackett (1994). Paul Revere's Ride. Oxford University Press US. ISBN0-19-508847-6. This book is extensively footnoted, and contains a voluminous list of primary resources concerning all aspects of these events.
Ensign Henry De Berniere, "Report to General Gage on April 19, 1775", quoted in Fischer, pp. 231-232 Fischer, David Hackett (1994). Paul Revere's Ride. Oxford University Press US. ISBN0-19-508847-6. This book is extensively footnoted, and contains a voluminous list of primary resources concerning all aspects of these events.
