John Munroe

1748 - 1831  (82 years)

• Name	John Munroe  [1]
  Born	15 Jun 1748	Lexington, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, USA   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Died	3 Apr 1831	Lexington, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, USA
  Person ID	I3042	Munro
  Last Modified	19 Sep 2008

  
  

  Father	Robert Munroe,   b. 4 May 1712, Lexington, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, USA ,   d. 19 Apr 1775, Lexington, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, USA  (Age 62 years)
  Mother	Anne Stone,   b. 22 Nov 1718, Lexington, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, USA ,   d. 27 Aug 1775, Lexington, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, USA  (Age 56 years)
  Married	28 Jul 1737	Lexington, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, USA   [1, 2]
  Family ID	F1406	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Rebecca Wellington,   b. 6 Nov 1752, Waltham, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, USA ,   d. 19 Feb 1838, Lexington, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, USA  (Age 85 years)
  Married	17 Dec 1772
  Children	1. Margaret Munroe,   b. 31 Jul 1773, Lexington, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, USA ,   d. 14 Jan 1850, Lexington, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, USA  (Age 76 years) + 2. Rebekah Munroe,   b. 30 May 1776, Lexington, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, USA ,   d. Yes, date unknown   3. Mary Munroe,   b. 30 Apr 1779, Lexington, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, USA ,   d. Yes, date unknown   4. Philena Munroe,   b. 27 May 1782, Lexington, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, USA ,   d. 7 Dec 1870, Lexington, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, USA  (Age 88 years)
  Last Modified	20 Jan 2009
  Family ID	F3020	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  John lived on Woburn Street in Lexington, Massachusetts. He was a minute-man in Captain Parker's company. His wife, Rebecca was from Waltham, Massachusetts. The following is his deposition: I, John Munroe, of Lexington, a collector of tolls for the Middlesex Turnpike, being in the seventy-seventh year of my age, on oath do depose and say, that I was a corporal in the Lexington Company of Militia, which was commanded by the late Captain John Parker, in the year 1775; that, for some weeks previous to the 19th of April of that year, the company was frequently called out for exercise, and desired to furnish ourselves with arms and ammunition, and to be in constant readiness for action. On the morning of the 19th, at about two o'clock, as near as I can recollect, Francis Brown, who was sergeant in the same company, called me out of bed, and said, the British troops had left Boston, and were on their march to Lexington. I immediately repaired to the place of parade, which was the common, adjoining the meeting-house, where sixty or seventy of the company had assembled in arms. Captain Parker ordered the roll to be called, and every man to load his piece with powder and ball. After remaining on parade some time, and there being no further accounts of the approach of the regulars, we were dismissed, but ordered to remain within call of the drum. About daylight, Captain Parker had information, that a regiment of British troops were near, and immediately ordered the drum beat to arms. I took my station on the right. While the company were collecting, Captain Parker, then left, gave orders for every man to stand ground until he should order them to leave. Many of the compnay had withdrawn to a considerable distance, and, by the time sixty or seventy of them had collected, the drum still beating to arms, the front ranks of British troops appeared within twelve or fifteen rods of our line. They continued their march within about eight rods of us, when an officer on horseback, Lieutenant Colonel Smith, who rode in front of the toops, exclaimed, "Lay down your arms and dispurse you rebels!" Finding our company kept their ground, Colonel Smith ordered his troops to fire. This order not being obeyed, he then said to them, "G-d damn you, fire!" The front platoon then discharged their pieces, and, another order being given to fire, there was a general discharge from the front ranks. After the first fire of the regulars, I thought, and so stated Ebenezer Munroe, Jun. who stood next to me on the left, that they had fired nothing but powder; but, on the second firing, Munroe said, they had fired something more than powder, for he had just received a wound in his arm; and now, said he, to use his own words, "I'll give them the guts of my gun." We then both took aim at the main body of the British troops--the smoke preventing our seeing anything but the heads of some of their horses--and discharged our pieces. After the second firing from the British troops, I distinctly saw Jonas Parker struggling on the ground, with his gun in hand, apparently attempting to load it. In this situation the British came up, run him through with his bayonet, and killed him on the spot. After I fired the first time, I retreated about ten rods, and then loaded my gun a second time, with two balls, and on firing at the British, the strength of the charge took off about a foot of my gun barrel. Such was the general confusion, and so much firing on the part of the British, that it was impossible for me to know the number of our men, who fired immediately on receiving the second fire from the British troops; but that some of them fired, besides Ebenezer Munroe and myself, I am very confident. The regulars kept up a fire in all directions, as long as they could see a man of our company in arms. Isaac Muzzy, Jonathan Harrington, and my father Robert Munroe, were found dead near the place where our line was formed. Samuel Hadley and John Brown were killed after they had gotten off the common. Asahel Porter, of Woburn, who had been taken a prisoner by the British on their march to Lexington, attempted to make his escape, and was shot within a few rods of the common, Caleb Harrington was shot down on attempting to the leave the meeting-house, where he and some others had gone, before the British soldiers came up, for the purpose of removing a quantity of powder that was stored there. On the morning of the 19th, two of the British soldiers, who were in the rear of the main body of their troops, were taken prisoners and disarmed by our men, and, a little after sun-rise, they were put under the care of Thomas R. Williard and myself, with orders to march them to Woburn Precinct, now Burlington. We conducted them as far as Captain Read's where they were put into the custody of some other persons, but whom I do not now recollect. John Munroe Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA

  
  

• Sources

  [S100] Lexington Munroes, Richard S. Munroe, (privately published in Florence, Massachusetts (1986)), p. 23 (Reliability: 3). [S194] Clan Munro files - Cowing, Kenneth Page, Kenneth Page Cowing, Membership application fo Kenneth Page Cowing - dated 9 Se p 1999 (Reliability: 3).