It was an uneasy wait. The militia members used the time to exchange their worn musket flints for new ones. In Concord, the regulars burned the town’s liberty pole and the fire spread. The British helped to put out the fire, but the black smoke was visible from this spot, causing alarm. It was about 10:30 a.m.
To the assembled militia, now numbering over 500, it appeared that the regulars were burning Concord. Debate stopped. Many agreed it was now time to march. The momentous decision of the first offensive action taken by the patriots in open conflict now lay with Col. James Barrett.
"I have often heard it said that the British have boasted that they could march through our country, laying waste to our hamlets and villages and we would not oppose them. And I begin to think it is true. Will you let them burn the town down?"
Lt. Joseph Hosmer, Adjutant, Concord Minute Regiment, to Col. James Barrett, 19 April 1775Gross: Gross, The Minutemen and their World, 125.