Parker, John (1729-1775), was a patriot officer during the American Revolution (1775-1783). He commanded volunteer soldiers called minutemen during the war’s first battle at Lexington , Massachusetts .
John Parker was born in Lexington on July 13, 1729. He worked as a farmer and mechanic. He served with the British during the French and Indian War , fighting in Canada at the battles of Louisbourg (1758) and Quebec (1759). Parker later held positions in Lexington’s town government.
On April 18, 1775, Parker received warning that British soldiers, called redcoats, were marching from Boston . They were coming to seize patriot military supplies at Concord , 6 miles (10 kilometers) from Lexington. Parker, who had been elected captain of the local militia (citizen army), assembled a group of volunteer soldiers on the Lexington town green. On the morning of April 19, the British arrived at Lexington, and shots were fired. One redcoat fell wounded. The more numerous and better disciplined British soldiers killed eight Lexington militiamen. Parker and the rest fled, but he rallied some of his friends and neighbors in the hopes of exacting vengeance later in the day.
The British soldiers then continued to Concord, where minutemen again engaged them in battle. After a brief clash, the British turned back toward Boston. During the redcoats’ return, Parker’s patriot fighters fired at them from behind boulders and trees. The ambush became known as “Parker’s Revenge.”
Parker had been ill with tuberculosis at the time of the fighting at Lexington. He died on Sept. 17, 1775.
A large boulder, inscribed with a quotation attributed to Parker, lies at the battle site. It reads, “Stand your ground. Don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.” A statue of Parker stands on the edge of Lexington Green.
See also American Revolution ; Lexington and Concord, Battles of ; Minutemen .
